The Slump Has Been Broken!

I just finished my 1st workout of 2012, ending a run of workout free days that dates back into November.  It's done.  It's over!  The monkey is off my back!!  No matter how you say it, it's an amazing feeling.  And by 'amazing' I mean painful, exhausting and frightening. Painful because, as I sit here, from my ass to my ankle is shaking like a grade 7 boy as "Stairway to heaven" comes on at a school dance.  Exhausting because it took everything I had to get down the stairs to the computer to write this, and frightening because I know what that means for tomorrow.

Muscle soreness aside, the scariest part of all is that I just kicked my own ass for 61 minutes, burned just shy of 1000 calories, and all I will have to do is repeat that 2.5 more times to burn off the caloric equivalent of 1 pound of fat.  The good thing is that these aren't the only calories I will burn from this workout, but we'll get to that another day.  My fingers are actually starting to hurt too.

Working out does help you lose weight, but it has many more important benefits.  The key to weight loss is controlling what you eat, which brings me to the lunch I had today...soup and salad.  Not just any soup, it was sweet potato and lentil.  Check it out...it didn't taste horrible, and I will be a healthier man for it.  The truth is that neither my wife, nor I actually finished the bowl of soup.  Maybe that is the secret to the success of soup! :) 4 days in and things are definitely looking up.

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup Recipe

1 box vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 onion (diced)

2 celery stalks (diced)

2 carrots (peeled and diced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 can green lentils (drained and rinsed)

1 sweet potato (cubed) 

2 bay leaves

Throw all ingredients into a pot and simmer until carrots and sweet potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!