Rest Weeks ?

I’ve mentioned lately that my workouts have not been up to par. I feel like I am just going through the motions lately, and I am not feeling energized like I used to afterward. I know it is not boredom , because I change up my workouts every 4 weeks. I thought it was the time change or the drastic change of seasons , but I would have thought my body would have adapted by now !

The only other explanation I could think of was maybe I am over training. Since January of 2009 I have faithfully worked out 6-7 days a week. Aside from 4 days I took off because of knee problems in March , and the times I over slept , I have not missed any of my scheduled workouts in over 10 months ! I decided to do some research on the subject.

It seems that many people benefit from taking off a 1 or 2 weeks now and then from working out. When I first read this I was more than a little put off. I could never imagine taking off 2 weeks ! For one thing I would be afraid that I would lose my momentum, and end up stopping all together. If that happened I would end up on a downward spiral , and I would end up back at square one ! Then I thought about it.To be honest, I enjoy working out, and I can’t imagine never doing it again. It has become an important part of my life , and something that has become almost automatic.

Then I did more research. It makes sense , that the body needs recovery time in order to continue to change. It also makes sense that 10 months of workouts with very little rest would work against the body in terms of progression.

So I made a decision . Since next week officially kicks off the Holiday Season here in the US , I do not want to take time off from exercise because there will most likely be more temptations and more treats than any other time of year. If I am going to take a break I need to do it now, or wait until the Season is over. I honestly could not imagine taking an entire week off , let alone 2 weeks, so this is what I am going to do.

Beginning tomorrow , I am taking  Rest Time . Tomorrow [Thurs.], Fri. Sat. and Sun. I will not be working out at all. I will be resting my body. I am not completely sure I can do it, but I am going to give it a shot ……. it is only 4 days. Once Monday rolls around I am hoping that I will be back to my old self and ready to make some further progress. In that time I am going to be very careful with my diet. It will not be a total free for all by any means. I am curious to see if I come back stronger …. as many of the articles I read claimed .

My hope is that I will miss it so much that I will be dying to get back to it, and I will be ready to push myself harder and further. I also don’t think 4 days will set me back too far from the gains I’ve already made fitness-wise. I would love to just not feel so tired all the time, and not feel like I am just going through the motions and  “phoning it in” as Jillian would say ! I am just going to take it day by day. Even if for some reason I can’t make it through all 4 days, maybe 1 or 2 will help matters ….. we’ll see how it goes.

On to my food for the day :

This morning I had an egg on a whole grain English Muffin with a wedge of Light Laughing Cow Cheese . I also had a sliced up apple .

My morning snack was a banana . I was a little disappointed because it was brown inside . Yuck ! I am not in love with bananas, but they are filling  and I don’t hate them , so I eat them. But when I get a brown one it truly turns me off ! I was hungry, and had nothing else , so I suffered through it !

Lunch again …….. Chobani and Apple Granola . It was really good, but I am getting bored with it . The building inspector came today to check out our new work area (that includes our kitchen !)so I should be able to unpack it so it will be in use again  soon !  I need to branch out a little in the lunch department, get a little more creative !

I thought about having a big salad for dinner tonight, but it is cold out and that always puts me in the mood for something hot and comforting. I ended up having a 4 oz. chicken breast with couscous and a spring mix salad.

I am skipping dessert tonight because of these ! I ended up eating entirely too many of these evil little things when I got home from work today ! Matt bought them for me this weekend when I was int the midst of my chocolate cravings. I got home from work and went a little crazy with them. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are definitely a weakness and not smart to have in the house ……. I have one more bag left and had Matt hide them somewhere and with strict orders to eat them when I am not around !

It sort of stinks that I blew my dessert for the night, but those are the consequences ! Maybe I will think next time before I act like a glutton !

Anyway, I get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow , so I am off to read and unwind before sleep. Peace !