Day 1 Operation Early Exercise: Success!

So I've decided to try to go to the gym before work each day this week, to see if my body adjusts and to see the effects it has on my energy levels and ability to feel rested after sleeping. I wasn't sure I was even going to post about it, in case I couldn't do it. And I wasn't hopeful last night. After being on duty and getting to bed around midnight, I couldn't fall asleep for some reason. Even though I had been tired all day. But I awoke before my alarm this morning and was at the gym by the ungodly hour of 6:15. (My apologies to all the early risers out there who think that time is a normal time to be awake. It isn't.)

I was slow getting started, because I'm reading my "You: On a Diet" book, which is not nearly as interesting as "Local News", which I finished last night. But once I got going, the time passed fairly quickly. I rode home with the window opening, belting out Melissa Etheridge and actually wishing my ride home was longer than 4 minutes. After showering and getting dressed (bumping in the dark, trying not to wake Michael) I had time for a healthy bowl of oatmeal and more book time. In the coming days, I hope to use that time for meditation...but I didn't find the exercise I liked this weekend like I was supposed to.

I might still go to a Tai Chi class this afternoon if I can make it. I'm skeptical though. It's weird--when I work out at night, I'm wired for hours. But even though I felt great immediately after working out this morning, I feel like I'm crashing only two hours later. I'll try to get engaged in my work and see if that helps.

And here's the tip I learned from my book today: eat 6 walnuts 20 minutes before a meal and it will trigger the "full" feeling much faster so you won't feel the need to eat as much.

As for this weekend, it wasn't a total success. I made it to the gym both days, which was good--it meant I made it five times last week. But I only got to about 8k steps on Saturday and 5k on Sunday. And I didn't even try push-ups or sit-ups. But I'm moving on. Today's a new day. And I'm already 3600 steps into it at 8:53. =)