Be an AHB Rockstar: Kathleen Week 1

Kathleen has apparently survived week 1 because she sent me a write up! The outpouring of support after her initial post was inspiring and we can’t wait to see what the next few weeks bring.  

When I first agreed to do this, it seemed easy enough: train hard, eat well, write about it. But here I am, trying to document my first week and I realize this may be a little harder than I thought. It’s not like I am learning all of these concepts for the first time. I’ve done this, and pretty well if I do say so myself.

So in thinking about what’s brought me to this point, I came to this conclusion: This “thing” – working out, eating well, my “healthy balance”- it’s a full time committed relationship. (This would be the point where I apologize to my fiancee, but luckily I have a fantastic guy who’s openly accepted that there’s “someone else”). In the beginning, my healthy balance and I were pretty hot and heavy – we bonded over logging meals, it soothed me when I woke up unable to move the morning after a workout, and we celebrated together: 1 pound, 5 pounds, 25, 30. As with many relationships, we seemed perfect together.

But, as many relationships can witness, lately things have gotten…stale. Sometimes logging every single thing I eat seems absolutely tedious and annoying. After a night out that involves a few too many drinks and an unknown amount of snacking, we get into a hazy, late night fight- which we try to mend in the morning with a run. The pounds that we used to cheer about together disappear slower now.
This first week has been the start of a rekindling for my healthy balance and I. With the help of Maisie, one of the dietitians, we began to tackle the first part of our relationship. After giving her the rundown of my history, I told her that basically I’m bored. I am a Catch 22 when it comes to food: I hate trying new things, yet I get sick of repetitive foods at an obnoxious rate. You can only get excited about an English Muffin with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for so long. One meal at a time, we’re going to put some pizzazz back into eating. This week: breakfast. Part of my problem seems to be that sometimes I’m not eating enough in the morning which can have a snowball effect on the rest of my day. Maisie suggested switching hings up with oatmeal with nuts and fruit (genius, I know). The first morning I excitedly put together my oatmeal with diced apples and walnuts. Unfortunately, I didn’t add enough water and it ended up becoming a ball  of paste. THe second morning I tried honey and almonds. This time I put in too MUCH water and had a water logged mess.

PS – This is totally Alicia’s oatmeal fail, not Kathleen’s, but we thought it was fitting to include. Oatmeal can get the best of everyone 🙂

So much for eating a better breakfast. I ended up throwing most of it away. I guess this will take some time. I can only imagine what working on dinner will be like, when we try to move out of my comfort zone of chicken, chicken…and more chicken.
As far as the workouts go, it seemed to me for the most part that my healthy balance and I always saw eye to eye. We do burpees in the pouring rain, we often get up to run before the sun rises, and we faithfully make it to several bootcamps a week. But I’m now realizing that lately it’s been a lot of just going through the motions. While I love bootcamp, this new addition of one to one personal training is the breath of fresh air that my healthy balance and I needed. The last time that it was just me and Alicia, and some free weights, I was forty pounds heavier and dying after 15 seconds of an exercise. I’m excited to see what my body can do now, and as much as I roll my eyes and complain I know that Alicia is pushing me to do what she knows I’m capable of. When I started to get the familiar heavy feeling in my arms the afternoon after my session, I smiled to myself and thought “I’m back.” My healthy balance and I are ready to jump start this relationship.

I’ve decided to keep a chart of “successes.” While they might not be typical forms of measurement, they are things that I struggle with and hope to see some serious improvements in by the end of this adventure:
# of sarcastic eye rolls towards Alicia: 15-20? (I think that’s already an improvement!)
# of days I logged my meals: 3
# of times I ate chicken: 5? I need a chicken intervention.
# of “real” pushups: Zero. Sadface.

–Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com