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<\/p>\nIt hit me at the gym yesterday that I did nary a workout from Sunday evening to Friday evening last week due to the fine, fine funk that had infiltrated my bod.\u00a0 Friday barely even counted, as I burned 300 calories in 30 minutes doing DDR.\u00a0 I usually burn over 600.\u00a0 Saturday was the ONE real workout of the week, and Sunday, we walked to lunch and back, which was maybe a mile and a half tops round trip.\u00a0 This is the least I have worked out since last January (the last time I was sick).\u00a0\u00a0 I think it may have been the least working out I’ve done since I started this whole shebang up in August, 2007.<\/p>\n
Oddly enough, I did not gain the 110 lbs back I’ve lost.\u00a0 The universe did not implode upon itself.\u00a0 I did not decide that working out was a bad idea and decide to stop doing it just because I didn’t for that week.\u00a0 I didn’t have any thoughts of wanting to give up on the whole healthy-ish living thing.\u00a0 I did not all of a sudden lose all the muscle tone I’ve been working to build up, and become a skinny-fat ball of putty.\u00a0 I had a thought of skipping my workout on Monday and starting again Tuesday because of the holiday, and that worried me, but I’m realizing it was my normal lazy monster that I deal with always.\u00a0 Once I was back in the gym, it felt just like usual, better even!<\/p>\n
I’m only doing 5k runs this week so it’s slightly harder to judge than a normal week, but my running didn’t suffer, I think the rest might have actually improved my time.\u00a0 I am either doing the same or more weight and reps for strength stuff even after my muscles have atrophied into oblivion after a week of no strenuous use (or at least, this was my fear).<\/p>\n
I even lost weight last week.\u00a0 It was that one week where I’m supposed to lose weight (my body seems to be going with the lose huge 1 week, gain a lil back the next week otherwise known as TOM time, lose the gain the third week, then lose a few ounces the fourth, rinse and repeat), so it wasn’t shocking, but I was terrified that my laid-up-ness on the couch all week was going to throw a wrench in my newly found momentum.<\/p>\n
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I also found that my appetite automatically just sort of shrank without the extra moving around – so I was doing a lot less nom-noming than this guy.\u00a0 The only weirdness was I had very little appetite except for sugar – like I couldn’t get enough fruit, chocolate, or anything sweet.\u00a0 Which, actually, worked out to help me keep my calories where they should be even though I wasn’t hungry for regular food.\u00a0 My body actually asked me to treat it a certain way, I listened, and it didn’t result in mayhem and chaos.<\/p>\n
This is both a terrible and wonderful realization.<\/p>\n
Wonderful, because I really should give myself more time off.\u00a0 My workout schedule in and of itself is not a problem – I think 6-7 hours is a perfectly adequate amount of time to dedicate to a hobby or pursuit, ‘specially one that is as beneficial as exercise.\u00a0 I am just that girl that was a little miffed at myself for missing ONE workout day on my vacation in November (although I totally rocked the other four).\u00a0 I need to occasionally let lose and skip workouts and rest and not drive myself crazy over it.<\/p>\n
Terrible, because the fear always sets in – what if I get used to being lax about workouts on the weeks that I *should* be good.\u00a0 What if I become the girl who would really *like* to make time to workout but just can’t figure it out anymore?\u00a0 Can 17 months of habit just change in a week like that?\u00a0 I’d like to say no, but I’ve seen how easily my sleep schedule shifts LATER – months of work to get myself into an earlier schedule, one week and I slip comfortably back into my 10am start time on the weekdays and pushing noon on the weekends.\u00a0 Would the same happen with working out?<\/p>\n
I hope to never find out.\u00a0 Hey, at least I know the world won’t end if I take a week off once a year.<\/p>\n