Workout Blahs

I’ve found myself in a little bit of a workout funk this week. Yes, I started out super excited but now, blah. My sleep patterns are off so I don’t want to get up in the morning, I’m more tired during the day, I’m hungry all the time, I think I’m gaining some weight back and my knees hurt.

Sigh. I’ve learned that when my body is trying to tell me something, I should stop and pay attention.

So here is what I’ve discovered:

When I’m more tired than usual it is usually due to stress, not sleeping enough or I’m low in vitamins. This week, I KNOW it’s the vitamins. I am not stressed and I’ve been sleeping enough (although my times have been off). Thanks to MyFitnessPal.com, I can look back over my meals for this week and…oh my.

It hasn’t been too horrible. I complete each day close to my calorie goal range. But I’ve completely overlooked nutritionally balanced meals. My vegetable intake is super low, hence my lack of life-giving vitamins!

This could also be why I am sleeping weird. Waking up still tired is a horrible feeling, especially when the first task of the day is C25K. Ha!

And my lack of veggies would help explain why I am hungry all the time. My diet is high in carbs and fats (the good kind like whole grain cereal and avocados) but these types of food, even when healthy, always leave me craving more. Vitamin-packed veggies help round out a meal and leave me feeling satisfied. It’s time to get them back on my plate.

As far as the weight gain, it’s most likely the fact I am building muscle during my workouts. This is a very good thing and the weight gain doesn’t bother me - but I am concerned about my goal-setting abilities. I wanted to lose 9lbs, just to see if I could get back to my college weight. I should have thought that through…

I found a healthy weight calculator which told me that the ideal range for my height and age is 118 - 155lbs. The weight I’ve lost the past few weeks as put me below the median weight. I’ve decided I need to take weight loss of my list of fitness goals and just focus on being active and eating right. Trim and toned is nice, but I don’t need to pressure myself to accomplish the ridiculous! J

And finally, my knees. Ugh…pain in the body is the hardest thing for me to figure out. I’ve never had knee pain like this before so it will be a learning process.

I know our joints are cushioned from shock by strong muscles. So for the next couple of weeks I’m going to back off cardio (only do C25K three days a week) and increase my strength training. Probably could use some more stretching in my routine as well. Tightened muscles can pull knee caps off track. There’s also the possibility my shoes are a problem, however I am certain they haven’t reached their mileage yet (300-400 miles).

Or maybe I need to try this barefoot running stuff…are Vibram Five Fingers in my future? Haha…I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

 I’m plugging along and will adjust what I need to. I’m thankful I can see some problems and easy fixes. By next week, my body will be thanking me. J