December exercise log

Okay, here's my first month's attempt at being active three times a week. It's imperfect but a good start. Hey, I lost 5 pounds, so I must be doing something right! I'm also happy that I didn't let the doldrums in the middle of the month steal my mojo, and I had a strong finish that last week.

Week 1- Yeah! Motivated and healthy!

• Tues, Dec 1: Bouldering at The Spot 7-9, plus slacklining. 
• Fri, Dec 4: Walk pushing stroller, baby in sling, to go buy groceries. Transport them in stroller while wearing baby. About 1 mile. Balmy 40 degrees outside!
  
• Sat, Dec 5: Walk in snow as a family. Toddler walked most, carried some. About .5 mile. Colder, 20 degrees.

Week 2- Motivated and... sick...all of us, including the baby. Bleh!

• Mon, Dec 7: Rec Center. 10 min walk/run on elliptical, leg weights, stretching: 1 hour.
• Tues, Dec 8: Bouldering 7-9:30, plus slacklining. 

Week 3- Still sick... needed fresh air...ugh! I haven't bought presents yet!

• Wed, Dec 15: 1 hour walk w/20lbs of baby on my back, about 2.5 miles
  

Week 4- Still trying to mail presents by the Postal cutoff date! Healthy and motivated again... what are these sniffles? I have a freakin' cold now?!

• Thurs, Dec 24: Snowshoeing 1.75 miles, half of which I carried the 20lb baby.

Week 5-  I really miss the activity from earlier! I need to toughen up and work out even when feeling a little off. Oh well.

• Tues, Dec 29: Bouldering, slacklining for 2 hours
  
• Wed, Dec 30: Rec Center- Aw yeah! 30 minutes (2.5 miles) of elliptical running, leg weights, stretching. Total 1.5 hours.
  
• Thurs, Dec 31: Pilates video at home, 30 minute legs
  

I have to touch on my eating habits a bit here too. I've been either pregnant or nursing or both since Aug 2006, and got used to eating constantly to keep my strength up. I've decided to try eating like a normal person now instead of an NFL player. When I'm paddling daily in the future, I'll be back to eating like that again, but for now it's not helpful.

I'm eating smaller portions although I wouldn't call it 'dieting' at all- I still eat whatever I want, including sweets. I'm not into fast food, so that helps. And it's not in our family budget to eat out- we cook most everything from scratch, so we eat pretty well: low on sodium and sugars, which are in everything processed these days.

My biggest dietary accomplishment is that I've stopped the 'anticipatory' eating, which is great; now my stomach growls and it makes me happy- it means I'm not over-grazing. I examine my portions and compare it to the size of my fist- that's how big my stomach should be with normal portions. And that's what I eat. So I'm not dieting, I'm just trying to find a more sustainable intake now. Seems to be working. We'll see if I lose 5 more pounds this next month...