More is better

Tonight's workout brought me to a new total of calories burned, if indeed the machines are remotely accurate (regardless, though, I kicked my own butt again).

I brought my tm workout to 500 cals., so with my ≈500 cals. lifting weights and my 800 cals. on the elliptical tonight, my grand total was ≈1800 cals. for my 2 hrs. of gym time. I'd venture to guess that other cals. were burned today, so my grandER total is probably 2000+ calories.

I'm gonna pay for the intensity of the weights. I know that for a fact.

I take a little pleasure in the fact that I feel like I can hold my own among the 20-something guys who work out when I am there. I definitely push myself to my upper limits, hoping to drop that extra ten pounds the doctor thinks I should lose. I'm avoiding carbs as much as possible, but I won't stop eating them entirely. (I had about 6 Saltines tonight, so :P)

I had had plans to go running this morning (since I didn't do anything yesterday), but it has been raining here non-stop, with the requisite thunder and lightning, for almost two days, so it was better that I went to the gym tonight. I'm hoping for a clear morning to go running, but I don't know if that's possible. If not, I'll go run at the gym. I've also learned that the elliptical machines have Closed Captioning. I've never see that before, so either it's a new feature, or I just didn't know how to turn it on. Either way, I like it.

A few friends have asked me for advice, so here it is:

1. Set reasonable goals for both fitness and eating.
2. Simply cutting back on things like soda, excess sugar, and fatty foods, even if you change nothing else, can promote weight loss. Start small (see #1).
3. Mix up your exercise routines every few days. Do a little research or talk to a trainer about what exercises would be right for you and your level of fitness. It's easy to get bored if your routine never changes. Sometimes, doing your workout in reverse helps, too.
4. Read labels. If something as simple as bread has 50 ingredients, perhaps it's not the best bread. Avoid foods where sugar shows up close to the front of the list, and also avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup.
5. Don't deny yourself the things you like, just eat one portion of them. Just consider that as part of your calorie count for the day. A site like The Daily Plate (which keeps track of your water intake, your calories, and your fitness) may help.
6. Have a cheat day. Yes, you heard me. Have one day when you have that ice cream or that candy bar. It won't kill you. Rewards help you focus, and they also keep you from eating that stuff more often. Remember, cheating doesn't mean finishing the half gallon of ice cream; it means eating one portion.

Well, that's it until next time. Ciao!