Gaining Muscle or Fat? 4 Pounds in a Week, Yikes!

I hereby declare Week 1 of the Mulligan officially over! I was at the gym by 5:30 a.m. every day this week, Monday through Friday. I drank 2 liters of water each of those days except Wednesday. I lifted Monday, Wednesday and Friday, doing 20 minutes of cardio on the elliptical trainer those days. I did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical on Tuesday and Thursday, and did 60 situps all five days. And I gained 4 lbs. Yeesh! Hopefully it's muscle, or water. Don't stressed muscles retain more water, then release it after a couple weeks when they're more accustomed to a new workout routine? Cross your fingers for me.

I had a couple rough spots... Friday I parked my car in front of the gym and seriously considered just going straight home again. And for no reason really except that I was tired of being in such a rush getting ready for work after the gym; not having time to get pretty, just having time to get clean and neat. Mid-week I walked into the restroom and saw alot more of someone than I would have preferred to see. C'mon, let's preserve a little mystery, thank you. There are plenty of semi-private areas in the locker room to dress in, no need to stand out in the middle of everything in your altogether while you try to find a matching pair of socks in your gym bag. Anyhoo, I recovered from both episodes and finished my workouts.

I have one more week committed to the morning workout. Hopefully after that it will become habit. I do enjoy the workout itself, and the drive home is pretty relaxing. Plus I feel virtuouos all day, having gotten in my exercise 1st thing in the morning. However, I am so tired in the evening that I take a nap after dinner, then go to bed early. I thought I would have more energy from working out regularly, not start napping like my grandma. I haven't gotten anything done around the house and have fallen behind in emailing or calling family and friends. My mani/pedi needs to be touched up (I do it myself and do a pretty nice job, if I do say so) and seriously, it would be so nice to have time to fix my hair before work, instead of just quickly blow-drying it with a little product in it and hoping for the best.

I will stick it out another week and see how I feel at the end of next week. I'm excited about the changes that are coming. Yesterday I crossed my arms while I was talking to someone and was surprised to feel my triceps! Whoo hoo!