Day 12 - Cardio Power & Resistance...and a few principles!

What a great workout this morning. Day 12, which was a full-on Cardio Power & Resistance session. It was tough getting up again today but once I did, I felt great. I pushed myself further this morning and I feel I am now starting to see signs of better strength, flexibility and I can definitely last longer before having to break. 

I still sometimes find it hard to get my co-ordination right on the movements but I am also getting better at this. I feel I am at least able to carry out the whole workout now with only the occasional few seconds break...its all stepping stones in the right direction!

Today I have also started taking a whey protein drink after my workout to aid in recovery and maintenance of lean muscle. Although after taking this I couldn't face any breakfast as the protein drink is really quite filling.

In addition to this, today I have decided I am going to go back to recording all of my food intake in MyFitnessPal. I did this a few months back and it really helped me to track how many calories I was consuming and also enabled me to lose weight - for me its all about getting into a routine and taking control of my diet.  I am determined to get the most out of this challenge and it feels like now is the right time to make this additional step on the nutrition front. 

To help me focus fully as the weeks progress I have also come up with a handful of principles that I intend to follow and that will hopefully ensure that I do really get the best out of the next couple of months. My core principles are as follows:

1. I am not going to drink any alcohol (except on special occasions, e.g. I have my Birthday in November so I will allow myself a glass of wine or two then!)

2. I am going to aim to do most of my workouts in the morning (early, before the 'real' day begins). However, I appreciate that on some odd days here and there (e.g. when I have got to take my mum to the airport in a couple of weeks time at 4am - that I may have to do the workout in the evening!)

3. I am going to track all of my food intake and calories consumed throughout the remainder of my challenge in MyFitnessPal - aiming to not exceed 1200 calories a day

4. I am going to aim to eat smaller portions in all of my meals and try to eat more often (5/6 times a day)

5. I am going to eat healthy, nutritious food that will fuel my body properly for the workouts that I am doing

6. I am going to aim to drink lots more water (at least 10 cups a day)

7. I am going to spend 5/10 minutes every night before I go to sleep relaxing and/or meditating

That's it for now - I may add to these as the weeks progress!