This Isn't Easy

Switching up your lifestyle is never easy.  Making those changes last is even harder.  My trouble I tend to encounter is that I try to jump in to lots of changes instead of moving gradually, which adds stress to my life. 

I’ve been making many diet, workout, and schedule changes.  The program I’m using, Nerd Fitness, actually warns against this.  They recommend the gradual approach so you can get used to it before you move on.  My downfall was thinking, “Well I already work out.  I already try to watch what I eat.  I’m already trying to get to bed on time.  I can handle some minor tweaking to all of that.” 

DIET

The recommended nutrition plan on the website is the Paleo Diet.  I’ve always considered this another fad diet.  I never saw anything wrong with brown rice or whole wheat bread.  But, they said give it a try for 30 days and see how you feel.  I’m willing to try something new so I’m giving it a shot.

My standard breakfast and lunch were not “Paleo approved.”  I usually ate strawberries, Greek yogurt, and protein packed wheat cereal for breakfast.  Now, the yogurt and cereal are out.  I’ve been trying to replace this meal with eggs in the morning.  This means I have to leave time to cook.  It worked okay for a few days until we ran out of eggs.  I’m still adjusting to it.  I’m hoping I can try some of the recipes I’ve seen for scrambled eggs in muffin cups to prepare ahead of time.  BP (Before Paleo) I made turkey sandwiches for lunch.  The bread is out, but I can still use deli meat if it doesn’t have added nitrates.  I’ve been making salads for lunch with olive oil and vinegar dressings.  My boyfriend and I are also trying to adjust our dinner recipes to leave leftovers for the next day.

The biggest problem I’m having with the diet plan is that I’m cutting out dairy, bread, pasta, etc. without replacing it with the fruit, meat, and fat that I need.  A few times this last week, I came home feeling completely worn out.  My energy levels dropped.  I’m buying more fruit to add to my meals.  I still need to get creative with vegetables.

WORKOUT

My workout already included full body weightlifting.  I used to jog for 5 minutes or a half mile to warm up.  Now the warm up includes jumping jacks, arm circles, squats, and leg swings.  It definitely limbers up different parts of my body than just jogging.  I still have to look at my little cheat sheet for the warm up but I like it more and more.

I’ve chosen the barbell workout.  This includes a lot of lifts that are brand new to me.  I’m using a squat rack instead of a leg press machine.  I’ve done my first deadlift with just the bar.  I’m excited to try all of these lifts I’ve heard about but haven’t learned before.

With the changed routine and a different warm up and cool down, my first workouts have lasted around an hour and twenty minutes.  I was hoping for the workouts to be shorter than my former routine.  I’m sure they will go faster once I’m used to them.

SLEEP

I would guess that I get more sleep than the average American, but I do not get the recommended 8 hours.  Good nights in the past were 7 and a half hours of sleep.  Poor nights closer to 6 hours.  I know this is an area in which I need to improve.  I’ve changed the time I start getting ready for bed.  I also have to pay more attention to the clock when I’m reading.  Sometimes I would go to bed early only to read past my bed time.  So far I’ve been making good strides with this.  I’ve managed to get 8 hours on week nights which was impossible before.  I get up at the alarm at a later time so I don’t snooze.  I try to get things ready for the day the night before.  Then I don’t have to spend as much time in the morning doing it.

It’s been easier to go to bed because I’m getting tired at night.  When it approaches 9:30pm I start to feel drowsy.  This is new to me.  I used to feel pretty awake until it was way past my bed time.

SO HOW’S IT GOING?

It’s been a couple of weeks.  With all of these changes I’ve implemented at once, I’ve been a ball of stress at times.  I come home tired from either the workout or a lack of the right foods since I’m still trying to adjust to the diet.  Sometimes I stress out when I run out of the approved food.  I’m sure I haven’t been pleasant company for my boyfriend.  It only worries him to see me stressed out.

Stressful nights have occurred in 2 of the nights out of the past 2 weeks.  In general, I am feeling more accomplished.  I am feeling more energized with more sleep at night.  I’m trying to learn from the times I don’t feel great.  I’m still going to try to maintain my diet, workouts, and new schedule.