Less is More

A couple of weeks ago, I had a sort of epiphany (I love that word).

Side note:  Speaking of the last couple of weeks, did anyone notice I haven't been around here for a while?

I didn't think so.

We've been on the hunt for a bigger house to rent. House hunting is time consuming and stressful.  Did I mention we found one and love it?  May 1 is the day.  Can't wait.

Back to my epiphany ...

I was sick with a sinus infection and wasn't able to work out for about 5 straight days.  That is HIGHLY unusual for me.  I'm an up-at-4:30-every-morning-6-days-a-week-worker-outer.  True story.  I don't like the feeling I have when I skip my workouts.  I feel guilty and lazy.

I was eating as I normally have been during this exercise hiatus.  I wasn't so sick that I'd lost my appetite.   I mean really, it's rare that I'm ever THAT sick.  My appetite pretty much never takes a hiatus.  Sad.

I was very apprehensive about stepping on the scale at the end of those five days.  But I sucked it up and braced myself for the bad news.    So how shocked was I to see that I had LOST WEIGHT?    WHAT?

This mysterious turn of events caused me to pause and re-evaluate everything I've been doing over the past few years with little to no success.  I've shed many a tear and thrown many an internal tantrum over the fact that I probably work out harder than just about anyone I know, or at least more often and consistently, only to see THEM basking in the glory of their newly-revealed abs while I'm still over here wondering when I'll see my toes again.

Not fair.  Begin. Internal. Tantrum ... NOW.

So I did some Googling and reading and some more Googling and discovered that I might be on to something with this whole concept of fewer workouts and more rest.

My workouts have, in the last year or so, begun to feel like punishment for my body -- something I was doing TO it rather than FOR it.

Time for a change.

Over the past two weeks, I've been following a new schedule:  The "work out for four/rest for three" schedule.  Two days per week, I hit THIS workout hard:

It's a hiney-trasher, fo sho.  But totally in a good way.

The other two days, it's some vigorous hill walking on the tread.  Not killing myself, just getting my  heart rate up in intervals.

And what, you may ask, do I do the other three days of the week?  

Does this answer your question?

Oh, if only.

But I do sleep a little longer and enjoy a day of rest.  No, THREE days of rest.  And by "rest," I mean going to work, taking care of kids, running errands, doing laundry, cooking dinner, helping with homework, picking up messes.  THAT kind of rest, minus a workout.

REST.  Who knew your body needed it in order to be healthy?  What a concept.

And the result of all this working out and resting and working out and resting?

Last week's loss:  -1.6 lbs

This week's loss:  -2.4 lbs

That's 4 lbs lost over the last two weeks and a total of 14.2 lost since I started this little blogging adventure.

The little bits here and there are adding up.  And I'm learning things as I go.  

What I've learned recently:  "Only" working out four days per week does not mean you're a lazy, good for nothing slacker.  Rest and recovery are just as vital to your overall health and fitness as exercise. Eat good-for-you food, move your body, change your attitude, and the results will come.  Slowly but surely.

I hate the "slowly" part of this whole process, but I'm learning to relish the small victories.