Day 18 Update! And, Sore muscles? Try a warm soak instead of a hot soak!

Only 18 more days until the photo shoot! :)

Exercise:
Sweatbox with Jump Rope Circuit (50 minutes)
Abs and Arms (25 minutes)
Zumba (25 minutes)

Eating:
5:30am Zone Bar
8:30am Egg white omelet with spinach and green onions
12:30pm Zone Bar
5:15pm 3oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup cooked spinach, and 3oz Crystal's Sweet Potato Delight
9:15pm 3 oz Chicken, green onion, and spinach tossed in 1T of Balsamic Vinaigrette

Drinking:
160oz h20

How I feel today?
I didn't do so hot on the eating today, in terms of my intervals. There was definitely too much time between meal 3 and 4, and this caused me to have meal 5 too late. (I had to eat it because I was only at 942 calories for the day w/o it.) I never want to eat that late at night because I am usually in bed by 10pm in order to get up by 5am. Additionally, I ended the day too low in calories--1,118. My high goal is 1,500; low goal is 1,200. I have to do better tomorrow and get that 6th meal in no later than 7pm. Since I ate so late today, I'll be going to bed a little later--probably by 10:30pm. Good thing I have laundry to fold and a book to read! Maybe I'll take a BUBBLE BATH and soak my muscles, but not in HOT WATER!

A couple of weeks ago some friends (and workout buddies) of mine were telling me the adverse effects of soaking tired muscles in hot water. Basically, the hot water dilates the blood vessels in your muscles, which allows lactic acid and other waste products to accumulate, which causes the soreness. Colder temperatures constrict the vessels and limits the amount of waste that can accumulate. Therefore, colder baths are best and warm baths are good for soaking sore muscles. While the hot bath feels GREAT while you are in it, once you get out, you find yourself still sore.

Lately, a few of my friends have been contacting me for advice about changing their lifestyles to more healthier ones. While I have given them many tips (most found on the pages of this blog), there is one tip that keeps coming up, that I think is truly the key to my success (beyond my big three: eating, drinking, and exercising). I'll talk about this key tomorrow, so check it out! :) Maybe it's what you need to unlock the door to a more healthy future.