Week 4 Weigh In

Weight: 184.8 lbs.

Exercise log:
I've increased it, and the scale shows it. In addition to my Tues/Thurs intermediate level classes, I'm now taking the Mon/Wed advanced classes in preparation for my red belt test in September. Of course, I'm back to feeling exhaustion in my legs! I started drinking the protein water mix after workouts, and it helps. So does getting enough rest.

We've added in stick fighting routines during our karate training. It is something the black belts picked up in their seminars at the ITC (International Training Convention). The stick fighting drills have been awesome for my arms. I'm loving it. (Plus, there's the practical aspect of being able to pick up something in your environment resembling a stick that you can use to readily defend yourself with.) The bad part is that the disarming techniques frequently smash the sticks into your feet. (The guys teaching the seminars were wearing shoes, which we don't do at the dojo.) I may start wearing my Ringstars on the mat when I know we're doing stick fighting drills.

Food log:
I have been watching my portion sizes. I have been quite conscious of sugar intake...or lack thereof. The only sugar I had was a slice of cake at my dad's 70th birthday party. I didn't even drink a drop of alcohol! I'm very proud of myself. I do need to start tracking again because once school starts again - I'm a teacher - it will be very, very easy to slip back into bad eating habits.

Emotional junk:
I'm going to start adding that here each week just to reflect on things on a weekly basis related to weight loss and fitness and my journey. I have a completely separate blog that serves as a journal for personal reflections. Most of my gut-spilling will be in that one.

I'll start with the fact that I'm happy I can see where my waist is supposed to be. It makes me proud to have lost over 20 lbs in the past year. However, when I start to compare myself to other women at the dojo, which I frequently do, I start to get very depressed. I am competitive by nature, and once I came out of the fog and started to take a serious interest in getting healthy again, I started getting competitive again. I have really got to focus more on my own goals and not so much on how other people look. I've come a long way in one year.