This was an interesting week for sure. I had some life changes and my commitment to my journey was tested and I passed with flying colors.

Life changes and I have a choice

So, something very impactful happened this week. I debated how much I wanted to say about some of the events from this week and have decided to share a bit. In part, I made the decision to talk about this based on some advice I was given about how much of a test this could be and how easy it would be to fall back into old patterns. But, I haven’t!

“We have made the decision to eliminate your position”.

That’s right, this week I heard the phrase that none of us wants to hear. After 10 years with my company, I was done just like that. To be clear, I am not mad at the company and the changes that were made were good ones. Unfortunately, I was negatively impacted and that kind of sucks. But, they treated me fairly and I am on to next.

So, I had a choice to make. Do I let this setback make me depressed and put my fitness goals on hold? Or, do I look at this as an opportunity for greatness and to recommit to my fitness journey? I can tell you, this was an easier choice for me at this stage of my life than ever before.

The successes I have experienced with my fitness journey have let me prove to myself that I can be successful at anything that I commit to and that is important to me. I have proven to myself that I am more that my job. So, I didn’t take my foot off of the gas for Operation Melt even for one second.

Becoming a fixture in the gym

On my first day of my break between jobs, I woke up with a stress-free feeling like I haven’t experienced in a very long time; I felt great! I started off at the gym early in the morning just like normal – though I did set my alarm to 6:15 instead of 5:15 for now. I did more than 35 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and burnt almost 700 calories. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and had to stop there so I could head out to a breakfast. Then, because I had time on my hands, I went back to the gym in the afternoon for a pretty fierce lifting session.

The second day of my break, I did my longest run and cardio workout I have ever done. I spent an hour on the treadmill and burnt nearly 1000 calories in one session. The day after, I spent nearly an hour and a half in the gym. On Saturday, I took a rest day, but I was back at it today with another 90-minute workout.

With this unexpected change in my daily routine, I am really planning to step up the workouts as much as possible. I want to get into gym 5 or 6 times per week and make sure that I am getting myself covered in sweat. I want to make sure that I am meeting or exceeding all of my exercise goals every single day.

This is an opportunity to step it up and I am not going to let myself squander that! My fitness is my job right now!

Need new routine

This week has included a big change in my daily routine. So, I need to spend some time figuring out a solid routine during my transitional time.

The biggest need for a routine comes in my meal plans. With the increase in workouts, I also have an increase in hunger and need for some extra calories. At the same time, I am going out for lunches with friends, colleagues and contacts instead of my old go-to lunch at the salad bar. So, I need to be careful not to inadvertently take a step back in nutrition. I have done ok so far, but need to continue being deliberate.

Big results, then not so much

So, will all of these changes and the extra exercise, you would expect to see big results, right? Well, that is how the week started.

Coming off of a big week last week with a 6.9 pound loss, I continued building on that progress. I was losing at a rate of .2 pounds per day and got to the 89.9 pounds lost mark. I was excited to celebrate my 90 pounds lost milestone on Friday. Alas, that was not to be.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, my weight increased daily and I ended the weekend 4 pounds up from where I was on Thursday. I know that this is a temporary fluctuation related to sodium, alcohol, carbs and other things that cause water retention.

These temporary fluctuations have happened before and I got through them. Unfortunately, it is more frustrating this week than ever before. I was really hoping to end the week with a big win since it started with such a big setback. Oh well, there is always next week.

Check back next week for more!

Last week’s stats (1/22 – 1/28):
Distance walked/run: 34.4 miles
Total calories burnt: 26,419
Total calories consumed: 11,139
Weight change: 6.9 pounds lost