The New "Hill Factored" Plan

So, since starting the new job, and realizing that it is really a pretty huge work-out walking to work and back every day - what with all those hills; I have decided to alter the weight-loss plan a little. I have been burning up the calories, let me tell you, and am developing some killer thighs. I got home yesterday - literally with a self-digesting stomach, and decided that I needed to eat something quick. Unfortunately I ate the wrong thing, and too quickly - apparently my stomach had shrunk to nothing - due to increased metabolizing of the contents. My stomach was not happy with what I had done to it, what with filling it so quickly and all, and I had a wicked stomach ache the rest of the night. I'm surprised I actually got to sleep to be honest with you.

So, long story short, I am adjusting the plan. Marsha (and my knees) will be happy to hear that I will no longer be running. Also, I have acquired a video that my best friend suggested called - Turbo Jam which she swears has really tightened up her abs like you wouldn't believe. That seems to be one of my trouble areas for certain, so I'm going to give that a go. I haven't dropped into the library for a class once, and to be honest, it interrupts my walking time, so I probably won't now. New plan, as mentioned before will be...

EXERCISE

- 3 times a week - 1 hour of Yoga
- 2 times a week - Turbo Jam
- Walking/Biking to get everywhere for Transportation (this one's also financial - 2 purposes)

DIET

- Eat 3 meals a day at meal times (this is really important for metabolism) with healthy snacks when hungry.
- Light meal for Dinner (example - toast and eggs, or salad, or cereal)
- Front load calories (Dayna's term) - Have most of my calories during the am - because in reality you need more calories to get through the day, and virtually none to get you through sleep - and you really don't want those extra calories sitting there when you do go to sleep because it just gets stored to fat. Don't be afraid to go to bed hungry - it's actually better in my opinion.
- Get plenty of Fibre and Essential Fatty Acids - Fibre and EFA's carry out excess Hormones and also lowers LDL levels. Excess hormones often are the problem with women trying to lose weight - a lot of women (like me) are Insulin Resistant which makes it harder to metabolize food.
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day - flushing toxins and keeping hydrated is really important and also aids in digestion.
- Gum Chewing also can't hurt in aiding digestion in my opinion - I don't know if there's any scientific proof of that, but I find it helps me.
- Get the daily requirement of 5 fruit and veg a day (in fact more is helpful) - this also adds to fibre intake.

The diet, as you can see - remains pretty much the same. However, tonight I strayed from that as well, I must admit - again my stomach was pretty empty, but I was sensible. I went to my local chippy - "Gigi's" FANTASTIC selection, I must say, friendly people, reasonably priced, and overall, a great experience. Tasty food too. Though, that will not be every day, it was a pleasant break from the every day eating experience.

So, yes, this is the plan as adjusted. I found that most of last year, this adjusting occured quite frequently according to my needs. You can do that you know, in fact it's a good idea because it shakes things up, and your body doesn't get into a routine. It's important to be realistic as well, and perhaps I wasn't factoring in the massive hilled streets of Dundee. It takes 40 minutes give or take for me to walk to work - which is infinitely better than an hour of traffic in Calgary. I love my life.

P.S. I promise that I will start taking pictures of my new world. I keep forgetting. It's fun to just live for a bit and not be "obsessive picture taking Becky".