Nancy’s Weight loss Journey 5 Yrs & Counting

I have never been a morning person unless it’s on the weekend (don’t know why); the only way I wake up is with the aid of an alarm clock. Even when I was working at 7am I had a hard time getting up at 6am.

When I first started working out, all of it was done after work in the evening. Then I found a great TKB and Yoga instructor and I moved my workouts a couple nights a week to 7:30pm and finishing up by 9:30pm. The pro, got a great sweat and sessions in but my eating habit was screwed up. I would eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack then eat like crazy around 10 to midnight because I was so hungry due to the late night exercise. Not only that I was tired all the time because I couldn’t make myself go to bed till 1am sometimes.

Since I started returning to the gym on a regualar basis in April, I experimented a little. I had some morning class then went back for afternoon classes. I still ate late, around 8pm then hungry again around 10pm; old habits are hard to break.

Due to circumstance, my boyfriend has an early morning job and has to be up at 5am, it makes it easy for me to get up with him and not go to bed. Since I started this routine of getting an hour to an hour and a half in before 7am, that my body has reacted positively to it.

Benefits of an early morning routine:
1) I can be and am now a morning person. 5am is no longer a drag.
2) I get my exercise in and I have a ton of energy.
3) I’m slowly cutting back on coffee. I don’t feel the need to drink the whole 8 oz, sometimes half is all I need.
4) I eat as soon as I get in the office. So breakfast is always done before 8am but I’m not hungry again until 10. That’s when I get a snack in.
5) I’m eating less and less food but I have so much energy. I’m not as hungry as I used too.
6) BEST PART - I’m not as hungry at night. It’s like a lightbulb went off. I get home, eat my dinner/snack at 5 or 6. Then I may eat again right before 8pm. But I don’t have such a strong urge to eat at 10pm anymore.
7) We go to bed early and I sleep throughout the night except for the occasional bathroom break.
Last but not least, I don’t feel so lathargic like I used to.
9) I have more time to spend with my family and boyfriend.

This morning I changed my routine a little. Got there a bit before my Power Sculpt class to do som upper body. Then I participated in most of the class but because I was not getting a good sweat in, I jumped on the elliptical for 10 minutes at the max resistance. Then I returned to class to join in for some upper body. When class was over did a little circuit training with weights and jump roping. Then I snuck in about 5 minutes of Yoga. I’m sure I will feel it tonight.

I will take a walk or two during break and lunch just to get in an extra 10 or 15 minutes but walking does not make me sweat like I want.

I don’t need to go back to the gym tonight because tomorrow I have a 6am Kickboxing class and a 5:30pm Yoga class.