Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Day 7 - I have a week!

Today was day seven! I am so freaking proud of myself. I have completed 10.5 hours of yoga in a week. I think that is pretty impressive and I am really happy that I am sticking with it. The class went ok. Nothing fabulous but a solid class. I noticed I was much less focused today. I found myself looking more at other people. I also felt really fat today so I was more insecure than I normally am. It was slightly irritating.  I also found annoying some other people in the class who were always ahead of the instructor. It was a little distracting. The instructor was new for me. She had a slight accent that kind of sounded like the Lithuanian instructor. I shall call her Lithuanian Light (LL). LL was pretty good. Her pace felt faster but the room felt cooler today. At first I thought my body was just responding differently but I am pretty sure it really was cooler.

One thing I did that I shouldn't have is weigh myself. I guess I was looking for some kind of concrete affirmation and the scale did not budge not one pound. It was disappointing. I know it has only been one week and building muscle doesn't mean losing weight and bla bla bla but I was still disappointed. I have limited myself to one weighing a week and I might not even do that. If I weigh myself next week and it is still the same, I don't think I am going to weigh myself anymore. I don't want weight loss to become the focus.

I have noticed that emotionally and physically I feel amazing. I am not as sleepy in the mid-afternoon and it just feels really good to know that I am doing something positive. It also feels great to just have something that is all mine. I know other people do challenges but this one is all mine and it feels great. I just generally feel more positive, have more energy and more at peace and feel fabulous. This is pretty awesome.

3 comments:

  1. I'm officially jealous, but unbelievably proud. You're a rockstar Val. Not that I didn't know that already.

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  2. Re: Aura (the Lithuanian): she is incredible, and she also keeps the room MUCH hotter than all of the other instructors, even Altin. I like it that way though, and it is disappointing when it is cooler like that. I usually make a comment to the instructor telling them that they need to keep it hotter or I won't come back to their classes. I say it in a jokey way, but they do like feedback.

    Re: energy: this benefit is one of the best things about bikram: more alert, you actually feel smarter, you can concentrate more...it makes tedious jobs bearable.

    Re: the weight issue. You will begin to crave certain foods less as you progress through the 30 days and then weight will gradually come down once your muscles have gotten strong enough to carry you all the way through each class. You ARE actually losing weight through fat, but just gaining it in muscle mass, and that's not a bad thing. What is more intangible is that you are improving your cardio health immensely, and reactivating your metabolism - you will be hungrier, but your body with be using the food you eat in better more efficient ways. For example, I have an awful sugar addiction that takes me about a week to get past when I cut off all sugar, but when I do Bikram, I actually crave better foods, because doing Bikram interrupts the sugar cravings - the brain is too busy sending out instructions to repair and replenish the real nutrients its needs, and overrides the shallow fall-back cravings you get from empty calorie, sugary foods that contribute to weight gain. So you aren't going to see massive weight loss from doing Bikram (at least not right away) but you will notice right away that it breaks bad cycles, and makes you more aware of how you nourish yourself.

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  3. Hey, Val. I enjoyed reading your approach to Bikram. I'm also looking for some insight into how hard it is. I mean, do you ever want to quit halfway through a class? Do they let you go at your own pace (without smirking)? I think you know why I'm asking. --- a close relative. I mean, half-your-genes close.

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