Fitness Log #5

#5, really? I've been keeping track for 5 weeks? Weird.

This week's weight: 208, though I did drop to 2.65, but then, immediately upon weighing myself mom said, "lets get pizza" and I was like, "hell yeah, I want some pizza."

Was it foolish... yes. Did I learn a lesson about how pizza can result in gaining 3 pounds overnight... yes. Did the really hot waiter flirt ridiculously with me and ask me everything except my name and number... yes. Was the 3 lbs gained worth the attention and self-esteem boost... hell yeah. When I'm done with the bar, I expect to hit up the pizza shop more often.

I do have a new goal over the next week and a half though. I need to drop about a size. The Virginia Bar exam requires that you wear a suit. A suit to 2 6 hour days of the hardest most frustrating testing ever. I feel that I would be a shinier, happier, bar taker if my suit was just slightly bigger. So the exercise I do this week will probably be spent trying to tone up muscles and dropping a little bit of water weight... or something like that.

It's also important for me to be both physically and mentally strong. And, for the first time ever, I haven't waited for the last minute to start prepping. I'm not trying to jump into working out and eating well all at once this week. While physically, my body feels like its being beat up on on a regular basis, I don't feel weak. A lot of people I talk to are stressed. They're having mood swings. They're freaking out. I've been channeling that. And I think that works for me.

And because I've been doing it all summer, I'm not trying to over do it this week. I'm not like I was in the beginning where I was fanatical about weight food and counting calories. I can guestimate what I'm eating, and know how to keep things balanced. I recognize what foods make me feel like crap. And I'm not beating myself up if i cheat a little... I'm not trying to justify it to myself anymore. It's like I acknowledge and accept whatever I do, jump back on track, and just keep going without thinking about it... except for right now, as I'm writing about it.

I'm also regearing my diet this weak away from losing weight, and instead focussing a lot more on improving brain function. So avacados, dark chocolate, dark berries, green tea, etc, etc, etc. I may even force myself to eat some salmon.

And all of this has lead me to a rather shocking revelation: there is no such thing as an ideal diet. I'm serious. No matter how healthy you believe you are eating, diets need to be tailored to your goals and your life. Someone studying for the bar eats totally different from someone running a marathon. Even the difference in diet between losing weight v. building muscle is amazing. I don't think I have ever considered using a nutritionist before, but I can sort of feel how having one might make just that slight difference.

As cancer survivors, I can't help but feel that maybe a nutritionist is something that should come along with our treatment; doctors are not nutritionists. We put our bodies through hell and back again and then its just left up to us to do what we believe is right to get ourselves healthy. And our knowledge of eating right probably still has a lot to do with what we learned about the food pyramid in grade school.

I think that part of post-treatment recovery should include a meeting with a nutritionist. Or even a standard made packet of what foods will get you back on your feet depending on what kind of treatment you got. Just a random idea.