Day 4 - January 4, 2011

 NO PAIN, NO GLORY...
 "Pain is temporary, glory…lasts forever!" - George Best

That's what I keep reminding myself of today as I threw myself out of bed this morning.  After the total body strength training workout that we did yesterday, my quads, hamstrings, and calves were in total shock and agony this morning! ;-(  For those of you who remember and/or watched The Carol Burnett Show many years ago, you may remember the character of the secretary, Wanda Wiggins for Mr. Tudball and the way she walked.  Well that's sort of how I was walking today except much slower.  Perhaps, my walk could be described more like the old lady character from her show instead. LOL! No matter which character best describes this walk, trust me, it was painful and remained with me the rest of the day.  As I hiked the 10 mile walk from the parking lot to my cubicle today (it's not really that far, but pretty long from the parking lot to the back of the office building), I kept chastising myself for not soaking in a hot tub last night or doing a cool down stretch after that killer workout.  Each time I sat at my desk for more than 20 minutes, then got up to move around the office, my quads screamed, "Mercy, mercy, me!"

But there's no rest for the weary, no pain, no glory, and all that jazz! After the work day, I traveled home to do my third workout for the week:  Pilate's! Can you say, "OUCH!"

 

http://www.gaiam.com/product/pilates+core+challenge+dvd.do

 
Although some of the 30 minute routine was calming and a good stretch for my tight muscles, most of it brought more torture to my achy joints that were similar to yesterday's routine.  Nonetheless, I made it through the routine and was happy I remained committed. ;-)

 
MURPHY'S LAW IN FULL EFFECT TODAY

Thanks to my dietitian, I've created a meal plan for the week.  Thanks to all of the Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, and Weight Watchers' commercials that encourage you to use their prepackaged diet plans, I've created my own cost effective version by putting together some plastic containers and zipped lock bags of food that I can eat at home or at the office, or just out and about. 

But as you know, the Murphy's Law adage, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong," came into play today against my well laid plan.  I grabbed my prepackaged, bag full of lunch, snacks, and water and headed out the door with the determination that I was going to stick with my meal plan even though I would be surrounded by the temptation of my favorite restaurants, the company cafeteria, and co-workers who love to share their high caloric snacks and meals with you.  Things were going good...I had my lemon water first thing as I read my emails and created my To Do list for the day.  Three hours later, I headed to the refrigerator to get my orange for my mid morning snack and that's when I discovered....I had remembered to pack, the mini slider buns, the lettuce and tomatoes, the Daiya cheddar cheese, the ketchup and mustard packets, but NO TURKEY BURGER MINI SLIDERS!!

During such a food crisis, I tried to remain calm. I would not order delivery or go to the food court in the mall. I would not eat from the greasy grill in the company cafeteria and I would not beg my co-worker for a can of tomato soup (ugh!).  Honestly, I did consider the company cafeteria, but they didn't have turkey burgers on the menu today.  So dangerous times require drastic measures.  I enlisted my workout partner's aid and she came to the rescue!  Did she fly in my turkey burger mini sliders like relief efforts during a natural disaster? It felt like it, as she quickly drove to my job and presented me with the food relief that my hunger pains required.

They say, trouble don't last always, but more trouble was just around the corner.  After eating my lunch, I absentmindedly tossed the extra brown bag that I brought to work into the garbage can.  It wasn't until I returned to my desk and started working on another task when I realized that within that plain, brown paper bag, lay my afternoon snack of 8 almonds! Not again!  This time, there was no rescue for me, only patience to make it home after work to grab these new, salty, nutty friends of mine! A 20 oz bottle of spring water also helped to satisfy the afternoon cravings.  So tonight and tomorrow, I'll make sure that everything is packed to prevent a repeat from today.

Well that's it for now. Gotta go check the lunch bag (LOL!) and get ready to watch the new season of The Biggest Losers! ;-)

My Word for Today:  Recovery