Looking up

After a very frustrating week since my last post, my mood is better.  Still not great, but definitely improved.  I have lost 5.8 pounds.  I'd like to just round it up to 6, but I'm working on being honest with myself.  That was a much needed positive after the last couple weeks of really struggling with the process.  Yes, I know.  I am impatient.  Some things do not change.

I met with my trainer on Saturday.  I must say, I'm not overly impressed.  The session basically consisted of her telling me to use about 10 different weight machines.  I don't really feel like I need to pay for that.  I was hoping for a more personalized approach.  I've been following the routine: cardio for an hour every day, weight routine 3 days a week on top of it.  I feel a little better.  Stairs don't kill me until the 3rd flight now vs. the 1st on flght.  My arms are sore as hell, but hopefully in time they will jiggle less.  :)  I'm going to give the trainer another week and see how I feel.  

I had my first appointment with my dietician yesterday.  That was a positive visit.  I was sure she was going to rip apart my diet, but she concluded that it "looked pretty good overall''.  That was a much better report than I expected!  I also expected her to put some pretty strict restrictions on me as far as calorie intake, "can haves", and "can't haves", etc.  That wasn't the case.  She is more focused on getting me to a point where I am figuring out  why I'm making that choice.  So I am going to have to do a little more thinking about what I'm putting in my mouth, but the main focus is making as many healthy choices as I can while still allowing some indulgences.  Also portion control and slowing down are a priority.  I think I need to dust off my copy of Eating Mindfully and reread it.  A friend recommended it to me the last time I tried all this.  I think I could use a refresher.

One of my favorite things she said was that she doesn't really believe in supplements.  This differs greatly from the philosophy of the gym.  They have their own line of supplements so I am sure that has a lot to do with it.  She thinks the shakes are a good substitute if I'm not really feeling hungry, but haven't had anything to eat in more than 4 hours, but other than that she prefers actual food!  ACTUAL FOOD!!  Music to my ears!  She gave me a few suggestions to try for meals, snacks, etc.  It's kind of funny, but I feel like now that I have permission to have what I want, I don't really feel the nagging "I have to have this" urge to eat junk.  I know it's only been a couple days, but I think it helps to hear a professional say "it's ok".  I think I still have a lot of psychological work today with the diet aspect of things.  I think I am my own worst enemy in that department.

I'm still doing good with the no caffeine thing, which is really surprising to me.  I'm going to try to keep soda out of my diet.  There really isn't anything good for me in it.  I must say I do feel better with this diet.  My heartburn/acid reflux has only bothered me one night in the last three weeks.  I can't remember the last time I went that long without waking up to eat a handful of Tums.  I am sleeping much better.  Mornings still suck without my coffee.  I might work that back in to the equation for the mornings as needed.  Luckily, my schedule is pretty flexible at work so morning usually don't have to start for me until 7:00 or 7:30 depending on my travel that day.

So the good news is that the work seems to be paying off.  Hopefully things keep moving in this direction.