Y2 D31

Training Week 9

I'm not sure that I can call these training weeks anymore, at least not for a little while. I've backed my exercise WAY down so that I can focus in on eating from the lower end of the glycemic index for a little while. It's been good to exercise again, and I'm adjusting to the slower pace. To compensate I'm adding variety with yoga and strength training as well as my elliptical work.

Yoga has been interesting! I've learned just how much I can't make my body do yet, but I'm really excited to expand my capabilities. I'm working with the basic videos from youtube and though some of them really don't feel like a workout at all, I'm enjoying the new activity. It's a big learning curve for me, and something I really want to integrate into the rest of my life. I can see myself doing morning yoga with my munchkins someday!

Week 10 promises to be a challenge for me - in a good way! As I mentioned, I've decided to start tomorrow with a lower glycemic eating plan to encourage weight loss. This is how I initially shed so much weight this year, but in July and August I got away from it as I started training more intensely. The first time I had a wide variety of meal replacements that I was using to help my progress - I call this the 'easy way' when I'm talking to people who ask for my help as a health coach. It really is much easier! But this time financial priorities have shifted a little bit and I didn't put my order for this month's meal replacements in at the right time, so I'll be without for a few weeks and I'll be doing this the 'hard way.' That is, I'll be specifically planning to cook my meals, with careful eyes on the glycemic index and macro-nutrient profiles of my food.

Thinking about this, I decided to take it on as an actual challenge and see just how creative I can get with this! If I learn anything worth sharing - tips and tricks to make it all more simple, for example - I'll be sharing it with you all. This is going to be a great adventure!

I'll personally be using two very important tools to help me. The first is my nutritional supplements. Macro-nutrient groups are important, but they're just a piece of the nutrition puzzle. I have a complete supplementation system that provides all of the nutritional daily minimums so that everything else is just extra awesome.

The second tool I'll be using - and I'm so very excited about this one! - is a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, mind you. This is the 100 Days of Real Food Cookbook by Lisa Leake. I admire Lisa a lot and I've been following her blog for some time. She and her family are committed to a life of eating almost exclusively what she calls "real food." That is, foods that aren't processed. I've watched the evolution of this lifestyle for her family through her blog, and I'm not only very proud of her but also very grateful to her for all of her efforts and her willingness to share with the general public. Even though we've never met, I feel like we're good friends. Lisa is someone who I see as being on my team in my health journey and I'm so glad to have her advice and experience on my side!

Of course, I have to wait for my copy to ship to me, so I'll be going for a week or two on just what I've learned about health so far. All in all, I think week 10 is going to be a lot of fun!