Well, the 60-day challenge (which I was kind of considering as a big kick-in-the-pants for myself) has been pushed back yet again. On the bright side, that means that I could truly do the four weeks/one month of schedule as AnaLee has suggested, and still — if it seems to make sense, that is — do a bootcamp for the beginning of the challenge.
I can’t believe I still have one more day during which I’ve committed to not Tapping. I’m going into withdrawal.
I still have no concept whether my weight/body fat scale is worth a nickel.
BUT…here’s what my scale says today: 151.6 / 33%
When I first started measuring — using this scale, that is — I weighed 150.4 and 37%. Four percentage points (if this scale is accurate at all) is something that makes me smile.
Let’s do a little math here.
March 9th: 150.4lbs , 94.75 lean mass, 55.65 fat
Today: 151.6lbs, 101.57 lean mass, 50.3 fat
If (yes, I know that’s a big if) this scale is correct, I’ve lost nearly 5-1/2 pounds of fat in the past three-ish weeks. And, I’ve gained nearly 7 pounds of muscle.
Does anyone with experience know if that’s likely?
AnaLee (TnT) took a look at my recent schedule and suggested that I need to take a short break - three days, minimum, preferably four. So, what the heck. I’ll do it, then go EOD with no tapping on the off days.
Brushing really is helping with all this, no kidding! I’ve already been taking alfalfa, but perhaps I need to increase my intake for a few days along with my water increase — I found that yesterday, I simply couldn’t get enough water.
What I really have to keep in the forefront of my mind is the good changes I feel in my body. My arms are much more fit and toned. My rear is higher. My legs are stronger. My neck is less crackly, and my traps are stretching out. All of this is good, and since I’m not treating T-Tapp as a short-term means to an end, it’s okay if it takes time to lose, even though it frustrates the hell out of me.
I’ve been reading an older thread on the forums about establishing hormonal balance, and a lot of what I see there really makes sense to me. I’ve had some serious cortisol issues over the past few years, specifically related to anxiety and depression — when I’m feeling off, I actually get a head rush that I self-label as “that cortisol thing, again.” Since I’m tapering off effexor, I’ve got to be especially careful to not trigger myself. On the bright side, I’m having zero of the “brain zaps” that I experienced when I tried to go every other day on 75mg (directly from 75mg per day). I am, however, noticing that a physical feeling of anxiety can happen more easily. As long as I manage my life well, this doesn’t become an issue, but when I don’t — say I run late with a work deadline — ka-pow!
All of that is to say that taking it slowly for a couple weeks is probably not a bad idea.
So my next thing to figure out is this: how will I handle the 60-Day Challenge? I had/have this grand idea of beginning with at least a 7-10 day bootcamp. The “bootcamp” I did in February just didn’t quite feel like one, if that makes sense. I’d like to try to “do it right” this time. Wrapping my brain around the idea that this could be counter-productive is really tough for me.
On the bright side, fewer days of Tapping will make creating a hiking schedule much easier as the weather warms. As it appears I’ll be living in Santa Fe for the foreseeable future, I really need to learn the trail system here. Missing Section 16, Waldo Canyon, and Templeton Trail in Colorado Springs doesn’t do me much good, other than when I go to visit!
Yesterday, I was grouchy. As a part of that, I didn’t do diddly-squat for working out. Of course, that’s silly, since a workout would have likely helped my mood, but hey, it is what it is. I did nada.
The fat shift is beyond old, I look simply *awful* undressed (like, more ripples and bumps), and I’m ready for my jeans to get looser, thankyouverymuch.
Today, I woke up feeling more motivated:
As blobby as I’m still feeling, who knows? Maybe I’ll work even MORE hoe downs in there later today. Then again, probably not. I’ve still got work to finish, and I have about an hour left before time to pick up the kidlet! Maybe if I start to get tired…
On the food front, I’ve slacked on the no-dairy experiment. Since I’ve done absolutely NO controlling, I’m unsure if it’s related, but my skin has broken out (face - jawline and chin) and the itchiness I had behind the knees and up the inner thighs has returned with a vengeance. I think that I should give it another try — for at least two weeks this time — but I have such issues with the idea of giving up dairy. It makes me angry. I LOVE cheese. I adore ice cream. I like creamy/fatty sauces, especially when mushrooms and wine are involved. Giving up dairy would mean that I’d have to live on stir fry, it feels!
Anyway, to that point, the grand dairy experiment is on hold. I’m still keeping one part of it: no milk to drink. Milk in recipes, okay. Milk in my coffee, no. Soy milk is surprisingly fantastic in coffee, and Trader Joe’s organic, non-sweetened SM is very reasonably priced.
Happy Monday, everyone!
Today’s workout:
The great fat migration is continuing. I swear, it’s so bizarre to me to be sitting here in this chair, able to feel a roll of belly flab in front of me. That’s *not* where I carry my weight, darn it! It does, however, seem to be one of the slower-to-lose places on my body, where fat gathers to chat amongst itself before heading out the door. It’s just a weird feeling to me. My hips and rear even feel less flabby than my belly, huh? Today’s a squish day in the fat shift cycle, and I keep telling myself that’s a good thing. Squish = leaving soon, right? RIGHT?
The shoulder issue on my left side that’s plagued me seems to finally be subsiding. As I did Torso Twist today, I faced a mirror on the side of the room (high up, so I can only see bustline and higher), and noticed that my left shoulder is almost *always* higher than my right one. I know exactly what’s caused this — carrying a 20-something pound toddler around — and I’ll be more careful in the future to distribute her weight evenly across me. I’d finally figured out that the pain was from an overly-tight trapezius muscle on that side, so with stretching and attention to form, the pain is going away, hooray!