What? this is only the third workout?!

So today was only the third workout of the NROLFW plan. ONLY THE THIRD!! I am so used to working out 5 days a week that this feels so completely foreign to me, but hey, it was time for a change right? I wasn't going anywhere with my previous plan, or should I say, lack of plan? I would just go and sweat it out at the gym for almost two hours at a time doing cardio and split training. However, I feel so much more enlightened and inspired since reading NROLFW and completely trust the program. Doing these workouts have quickly made me realize that it's about quality and not so much quantity, so while I am only spending about 30-45mins at the gym, I am feeling muscle soreness that I haven't in years. Which doesn't necessarily mean that I am out of shape, but definitely means that those muscles haven't been worked like that in a long time, if ever, which makes me feel good. Am I the only one that slightly enjoys the pain of post-workout muscle soreness? It makes me feel like I really pushed myself. I can't wait to see how my body reacts to this plan, but I am excited!!

What I am not quite as excited about is the diet aspect. I don't even like the word diet, for goodness sakes, the word can't even be spelled without the word 'die'! That's never a good sign. I don't even believe in the concept of dieting. The word 'diet' implies (to me at least) that you are about to make temporary changes and I am not in this for just the time being, it's a way of life, so I'd rather call it a lifestyle change. Another thing that really bothers me about dieting is it makes it seem like things are off-limits and to me, that's never good. The minute something is off limit, it becomes a temptation. So I am not off limits to anything (well, except red meat but that's hardly a temptation or new news anyway). So having said that, I generally understand what foods I should stay away from but I am still trying to navigate through the whole Eat Clean thing. I would love to be able to cook most of my meals and know exactly what ingredients go into what, so I have been looking through some cookbooks but nothing looks appetizing. If anyone can recommend some, that would be great. Until then, I try to take it one meal at a time and make the best choices I can.

Speaking of which, I made the yummiest protein smoothie today! I made one yesterday but it tasted terrible. Today however, I blended a frozen banana with a scoop of chocolate protein (ISO femme), some milk, ice and a few drops of Nesquick Choclate Syrup (the chocolate taste needed to be enhanced a bit - I know I am going to have to find a way around this...) Never thought I'd say it but it was delicious!! I was looking for reasons to make myself some more, but thought I'd save it as a post-workout treat.

Yummm!!