Week 2 Begins

So I'm back from a quick break and back to the grind. My wife and I had a great weekend of good and good for you food as well as cardio to keep the heart health moving forward. We walked about two miles on Saturday and did a ton of physical labor by cleaning out the garage and building shelves. Sunday, we checked out the Athens river walk which looks kind of like a sidewalk when compared to what we have in Chattanooga. We were able to get in four miles at a good pace with the dogs which was great.

The return to reality had some extra stress of backlogs at work and long to-do lists at home. All of that combined with this weather change and I felt pretty rough all day. I was also out late last night with my little brothers so everything just felt off kilter all day. I did meet all of my eating objectives for the day but was probably low on getting water.

My workout in the evening was good. I actually did more push-ups in one set working out than I did for my max just one week ago. Who says you can't see quick changes in physical fitness? We did very intense circuits with high reps and I made it through better than any of the workouts last week. Toward the end, I got a little woozy which may have been due to dehydration or low nutrients. I mention this to highlight the importance of eating and drinking when engaging in a fitness regimen. If you are like me, when stress spikes you might neglect taking care of yourself, this is a critical mistake. Fueling your body for exercise is imperative. Luckily, my nutrition coach at FT has been helping me work on sustained energy through good eating. We document everything that I ingest each day and then objectively review for improvements. This has a two-fold impact in that you learn about healthy eating choices and know that you are accountable for anything that you might eat. This is helping lead me to better food choices. In fact, I've now been eating health for 8 days. I think they say it takes 16 days to form a habit so I'm half way there.

A friend called me today to check in and encourage me on my goals. I was reminded that many times we make resolutions at the time of the new year which fall to the wayside often because we don't find enough motivation or support. I'm very lucky to have so many people cheering me on. If you have something big that you are working on, stick with it. If you know somebody who is on a personal quest, give them a call or drop them a line. A little encouragement goes a long way.