Nothing interesting to say. I swam yesterday, I biked and ran today. All this despite a general desire to just go back to bed and sleep. I won't chalk it up to depression (though that's a possibility), and I don't think I should blame it on overtraining. I'm certainly not undereating (judging from the recent slight upward swing of the scale, though my fat monitor assures me that I'm building muscle and losing a tiny bit of fat). I'm preparing a nice juicy steak for dinner tonight on the off chance that I'm slightly low on iron. If the steak doesn't do it, then maybe it's time to get a solid blood workup just to make sure that eight and a half months of dieting down isn't leaving me with an unexpected deficiency.
I'm seriously considering taking a solid month off any targeted weight loss, intentionally eating as close to maintenance as possible. (The only difference from the past few months would be that I'm targeting maintenance calories, not just landing there most of the time.)
On the other hand, I wonder about my sleep. Am I sleeping too little? Not very likely. Too much? Possible. I've never been a morning person. I typically get up only when I have to, or when it's so late in the morning that I'd be embarrassed to be caught in bed. I have no qualms about napping (or, ahem, polyphasic sleep) so, again, a lack of sleep is probably not the problem.
I'm seriously considering making the toughest commitment to a challenge I've ever made. For a week, just a week, I hop out of bed the instant I wake up naturally. Sounds easy, right? Yeah, um, not for me. I wonder what effect this would have. Certainly no negative effects. If I could do it. You just don't know how reluctant I've been - my entire life - to ever climb out of bed. (The only exception to this is the delicious joy of climbing out of a sleeping bag and exiting a tent to inhale crisp mountain air at dawn. That's the only exception.)
Just one week. I wonder if I could do it. Rather, I wonder if I would do it.
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If you are going to commit to getting out of bed every day when you wake up, fighting the urge to NOT get out of bed... I'll commit to go on the treadmill everyday when I have the urge to NOT go on the treadmill:)
I fight the balance between too much exercise (which causes a lot more pain in my hip and feet) and not enough to keep my efforts at being more healthy on the move.
I hear you. I think I understand, perhaps better than you know. ;)
You are probably feeling tired, and you are probably feeling rather down, even depressed. No shame in these things, and you are right to state them out right. It takes more courage.
Judging from what you say I think you should find a way to DO training with out stress. And eat what you think you need, not like before, just as you say to maintain your current weight.
You might actually be over training. What that means is that you are not recovering properly from your training stress. That might be caused by diet, not enough sleep, and other personal stress or difficulties.
So respect your body and mind telling you to ease off. But I would draw a line in the sand, some where in the near future, when it is time to continue. Because we don't want this to be the point when things start to backslide beyond control. Perhaps you need 2 weeks perhaps a whole month, of just maintenance.
But watch the red pixie with the horns, and listen to the white one with the wings an halo. The red one is much easier to follow. So stay honest about what you are doing and be as objective about your situation as you can.
You have been stalling for some time, if we look at the numbers. I kind of worried a bit, perhaps with out reason, when you stated that you wanted to change up your workout routine, that had been working so well. Sounded like you wanted a change, feeling bored, and so on.
So in one word, regroup. Dig in, but don't loose ground. Hunker down, but remember that you must collect energy for a new offensive.
I would personally not skip working out. That might end your program totally. The main thing is to keep the structure of working out intact. So go out for a walk, do things that you like, that are easy. But work out, even though it is gardening. There must be workouts in your life! If you lose that, then you might lose your grip and perhaps never gain it again until a few years and many pounds later.
Things tend to get worse before they get better. So hang in there! Hold on for dear life.
At least your challenge of getting out of bed is during the summer. I have stay-in-bed-itis *really* badly in the winter when the bed is warm and the room is chilly. Good luck!
UPDATE: Today was much better. It was either the iron or coincidence. My money's on the iron.
@Cidtalk: That's certainly a deal worth pondering. I'll get back to you. Tomorrow. ;)
@Arnþór: (How do you pronounce your name, anyway?) If I do take an official maintenance break, it will definitely have a set end date. And, just for the record, I haven't been exactly "stalled"... just, um... "coasting". There has been loss, just not at the previous rate. You know, just for the record. ;)
@elwing: I can definitely understand that! (I don't really have a choice during the winter.) But that's part of what drives me crazy: Who's silly enough to sleep away gorgeous summer mornings? ME, that's who! :D
I was very similar with my sleep patterns for most of my adult life, until I met my gf and was forced to wake up every morning. After that I committed to waking up earlier than her to go to the gym, and now I wake up every morning at ten to six, whether or not the alarm goes off. Now I absolutely love mornings.
What I found helpful when shifting to the earlier start was to wake up every day at the same time. It doesn't matter if it's a weekend or holiday, just wake up at the same time. Don't worry about what time you go to sleep. When you get tired you'll sleep.
The only problem with this is going out on weekends. I just can't do it very well. I've almost literally fallen asleep on the dance floor or at a bar. :)
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