I'm So Excited!

For more than one reason:
1) I got my first outside comment. Thanks Kristen! Yay!
2) I lost weight this week! 1.2 lbs to be exact. Yay again!

So, I weighed myself this morning and found that I was down 1.2 pounds for the week, and I was very excited. I had made a quality decision (smile) to um, actually do what I'm supposed to for the week, and I did it, and it worked. I found out I can eat about 2,000 calories and still lose a pound. Sweet! I'm eating a high protein, low carb diet, and doing high-intensity weight lifting 3 days/week and high-intensity cardio 4/week.

Looking forward to my cheating powered me through my workout today. Doing jump squats with 55 pounds on my back, moving straight to a push press and then to a good morning ain't easy. After 3 sets of that with a 90-second rest in between sets, I move to a lunge, lat pulldown, and russian twist. And THEN, 22 minutes of cardio - 5:00 warm-up, 1:00 high-intensity (7.5 mph on the treadmill), 2:00 recovery (5.0), repeat 4 times, and then cooldown. Let me tell you, I was ready for some pizza after that! And it was good (I love Papa Gino's!). Not to mention my orange Sunkist, which was also good. It was worth the wait, so I plan to be a good girl this week too.

Yesterday my GF read me a description of the types of people at the gym. I think she saw it on someone's blog. I forget all the titles, but there are the meatheads, the talkers, the elderly, etc. So while I was at the gym today I was cracking up to myself, watching this group of guys, listening to their MP3 players, bopping their heads, talking loud. Not to mention their tanning booth tans and tattooes and disproportionate upper bodies. But the people that I really don't understand are the ones on their cell phones. I mean, really - did you come to work out or use your daytime minutes? I saw a guy once who was talking in between sets. He would put down the phone, do a short set that was obviously hard, evidenced by his loud grunts, and then pick the phone back up and continue his convo! I was in awe. Whoever was on the line must have been extremely important and very patient.

Now, to answer Kristen's questions:
- After I eat starchy carbs, the scale goes up 1-2 lbs typically, and takes a couple of days to level back out. I read a scientific explanation for that, having to do with the body retaining the glycogen and water or something, but it's not fat. So, if I refrain from carbs on Thursday, it might give me a more accurate reading on Sunday, since my body will have an extra day to level itself out.
- The 3-hour window rule basically is that for 3 hours after a high intensity (90 minute plus) workout, the glycogen (carb stores) in your muscles has been depleted and needs to be refueled. You have 3 hours to do that, and outside of that any starchy carbs you eat can be stored as fat. Plus it is a quick energy source for recovery from your workout. Outside of that window, I eat mainly carbs that come from fruits/veggies - complex carbs.
*Anybody can feel free to chime in on this if my explanation is not up to par. No offense will be taken!

Well, that's all for now. A new week begins!