Picking up, dusting off.

Ok, so now that I got all of my post-weigh-in whining out of the way, I, once again, hit up the interwebs to help plot my next moves and keep me focused.

I found a really good post on weight-loss plateaus and different things to try and beat them.

The first suggestion was investing in a body fat tester, so I went to Amazon and bought the one they suggested right away, since it was so cheap. I figured I'm at a point right now where I should probably be monitoring fat percentage more carefully (or monitoring it period, since I've never checked it before). It seems like a simple way to better pinpoint whether or not I'm actually experiencing a plateau.

I'll also try experimenting with the High-Intensity-Interval-Training (HIIT) they mentioned as well. I must admit, this is something that I've always known I should do, but just don't do it. I used to when I first started working out; I would train on the elliptical and then walk/jog on the treadmill before finishing up with a short session of weight lifting. Once I got distracted with trying to become a runner (and later, taking on incline training), I fell out of that habit completely. For shame.

Changing things up while I'm at the gym could make a world of difference. Even though I try to change up what exercises I do on certain days, I'm still essentially doing the same moves each week and I think my body has adapted to that routine, unfortunately. Instead of incline training for 40-50 solid minutes, I could run for 10/15, incline train for another 10/15, use the stair climber and then maybe do some cross-training on the elliptical. I wouldn't get bored so easily and breaking up the intervals would make the time fly by. Yes, it's kind of a "duh!" thing to try, but I've still managed to resist it for whatever reason. Oh well. Also, when I'm running the trail, I need to make a conscious effort to do some sprints. I always wear my heart rate monitor, so I can obviously use that to see how hard I'm working.

I'll also try calorie cycling too, again. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself though because I'm eager to see what the results from the body fat tester say, but I guess I'm a bit more relieved to know there are some other options out there that I haven't already tried (and/or have been in denial about).

So there's my little blurb. I needed to snap out of my pissy mood fast- it's a 3 day weekend, for crying out loud!