- Skies clearing up, making me able to take a picture of the full moon. Not a good shot, I know... I didn't use tripod to take this shot and I maxed out the digital zoom of my camera.
- Upping the ante. I am entering my third week of my journey to weight loss, and I think I should add more things to do. :)
- Seeing mom's delight when I told her to go Facebook-ing while I take pictures of the moon. Normally, my mom would come and ask me if she could borrow my net book, now, it was I who asked her to use my net book.
- Period! Since I took meds to correct my hormone imbalance (because of PCOS) in 2004, I never missed my monthly period, but the problem is, I sometimes don't know when it will come - sometimes it comes every first week of the month, but at times period gets delayed for a few days and it will result in a change of period for the next month. Anyway, I am thankful I had my period today because I will be traveling out of town next week and I won't have to worry about it anymore. :)
Can you see God's greatness in your life situation today?
A very sounding YES! to that question. Everything in my family, our home, my environment, and everything in between is a proof of God's greatness. Sure, I have things I still want to have, and even if I wish I can do certain things other people can do, I am very happy and contented with my life right now. God has showered me with so much goodness that I'd cry everytime I talk to God and thank Him about it.
One of the greatest lessons my late father taught me: Never compare yourself to someone or something that is obviously a step higher than you; instead, take a look at the big picture, and you'll see that you are far more blessed than some people.
- Breakfast - 2 slices loaf bread, 1/2 scrambled egg (with tomatoes, onion, and garlic) - no salt
- Lunch - 1 cup garlic fried rice, 1 piece chicken drumstick (Laguna Afritada), 3 pieces potato quarters, 3 tablespoons sauce
- Afternoon Snacks - 1 piece loaf bread, 1/4 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1/2 cheese singles
- Dinner - 3/4 cup rice, 2 medium size ayungin fish (sinigang), mustasa leaves, 1 banana
- Total Cups of Water - 12
Entering the third week, I hoped to cut back on my food intake more and wanted to eat 3/4 cups of rice every meal starting today, but while eating lunch, there was about 1/4 of rice left in our serving plate, which my sister didn't want to eat. The cats don't eat fried rice, so I decided to eat it instead. Good side to the story, I was able to strictly eat 3/4 of rice for dinner, and thankful that my tummy didn't get mad at me. Hahaha. By the way, if you want to cook the chicken dish, you can check the recipe HERE.
EXERCISE
- 9AM: Hip Hop Abs (Cardio) - 30 minutes
- 11AM: Hip Hop Abs (Ab Sculpt) - 17 minutes
- 12:30PM: Dumbbells, 5 sets - 30 reps each set
- 4:30PM: Hip Hop Abs (Hips, Buns & Thighs) - 20 minutes
- 5PM: Stationary Jogging - 5 minutes
Last week, I decided to do the other Hip Hop Abs routines, but since this is a new week and I need to up the ante, I decided to do all three routines in one day. My period wasn't that heavy so I wasn't having any discomfort, but I still struggled with the "Hips, Buns & Thighs" routine. One good thing, though, I am slowly learning how to do the cat pose exercises, and I am positive that anytime this week, I can complete all 24 minutes of that routine.
- * - * - * -
Week 2 Recap
Just like the first week, I wasn't able to exercise during the weekend, but I am fully satisfied with how much enthusiasm I have to do the exercises. I still haven't weighed myself, but I will next week - I think it'll be much better to weigh once a month, but that's just me.
Changes... well, my family has fully embraced my journey and I am happy that none of them didn't do anything to sabotage my journey. No one discouraged me to stop exercising, no one brought yummy high-caloric foods home... and we still haven't had a family food trip. A big sigh of relief! Yesterday, sister finally used her Boulevard Diner GCs, but she didn't invite me anymore, which was a good thing because it meant I wasn't able to eat burgers and chicken wings. :)
Week 2 of Lyn's Habit-a-Week Challenge was about movements, and while I feel guilty that I wasn't able to go back to the jogging habit (even just around the plaza), I am quite thankful that I am moving more this week compared to the weeks before I started the journey. I am not that confined to the chair anymore (because of much Internet), and some ways of moving I did were:
- Leaving my cup on the table. That means a few more steps to get the water in the fridge, and a few more steps to the bathroom to pee.
- Walking instead of taking the tricycle. This doesn't apply during night times, though; too many stray dogs come night time.
- Making good use of time after eating lunch. Many people say that one shouldn't sit right away after eating a meal, so in order for me to stand a few minutes (if I am not washing the dishes) is to use the dumbbells. Since it targets the arms, my fully belly is not stressed at all.
- Moving the hips while cooking (or washing the dishes). No one's watching me anyway. Tee hee!
I hope I can get back to jogging - I feel the need to do it, but I don't know if I am going to do it around the plaza or at Colinas Verdes, and somehow I don't want to do it alone. I hope, too, that I could find a cheap gym near our place so I can start using the treadmill and other gym equipment.
Plans for the next week
This will be my last full week before my out of town trip, so I really need to exert a whole lot of effort so I could fit into the Milky T-Shirt without feeling ashamed. This week, I am cutting back on food intake more - will eat 3/4 cup of rice per meal, and I will try not to eat snacks anymore.
As for movements, I will try talking my sister or our neighbor Ria into jogging, but if I can't find a companion, I might just start doing stationary jogging. Also, since I am using the dumbbells after eating lunch, I will also include using it after eating dinner.
Claiming my victory - I will lose more than 4lbs. for this month of August.
