Day 1

Ok, I’m not going to be the jackass who says “I thought this was going to be harder” but I will say that I was SO happy to not fall on my face this morning while jumping rope because I really thought getting the rope around my BODY would be harder. I’m not graceful by any means, but I survived it and in one of my five sets, actually did the WHOLE 50 jumps without tripping. As pain creeps from my feet up to my legs I’m sure it will become increasingly difficult to even lift my feet off the ground (not to mention what might happen with my arms), but for now I feel accomplished!

The rest of the workout was good… I wasn’t sure if in the sit-up we should be going all the way up… Patrick, it looks in the photo like you’re kind of lifting your chest off the floor and leaving your low back down. Is that right? And my dog was a little confused but the whole process… usually we enjoy a leisurely early-morning cuddle while my husband rides his recumbent bike, but today Wiley stood in the driveway staring at me while I jumped and then sat almost on top of me pawing at my armpit while I did sit ups. He will adjust.

I’ve decided that whenever possible I’ll do my workouts first thing in the morning. I noted that more than a few PCP bloggers said when they waited until the afternoon it just got harder. So mornings it is, which is new for me. I am a morning person but not a morning exerciser. It actually makes me feel sick to my stomach, but I know that it won’t take long before a habit forms and I’ll get used to it.

And finally the food. It’s too soon to tell how hungry I’ll be after a week of eating half my usual portions. We aren’t big portion people anyway in this house, and we have what we call “the 10-minute rule”. We can always go for second helpings, but better to wait 10 minutes first. It’s amazing how often you’re actually NOT hungry anymore 10 minutes after eating. So I will continue to follow the rule this week, but the first serving will be half-size and the second (if there is one) will be half of what it regularly would have been.

So far today it’s been 1 egg, 1 toast and half a tomato for breakfast, followed a little later by half a yogurt for a snack. Then I played tennis for 90 minutes and had half an apple right after. Then for lunch I had half a bowl of homemade beany-veggie soup, 1 piece of cheese, half a salt-free brown rice cake, and the other half of my yogurt. Because I work at home, I eat almost all my meals at home, which makes not wasting food easier... but because I served myself only half portions to start with I didn’t have the psychological effect of leaving half my food on my plate and walking away. Which I think I’d be ok with. But like I said, maybe in four days when I’m “HUNGRY” I’ll feel differently.

Hope everybody else’s Day 1 was great!