I have found that this go-around, I am doing a much better job of listening to my body and trying to rest when it tells me it needs rest. I am also not going all gung-ho during my workouts, when it is very obvious that I’m not ready for gung-ho anything. This is helping a lot. Last week I felt myself getting sick, and I took a day off from my workouts. I didn’t get sick! This week, I am trying to pace myself during my workouts, so that I can work out the prescribed number of days and not burn out. But before I do a workout, I ask myself two questions: How do I feel now, and How do I think I am going to feel after my workout?

I work in childcare, which is a hugely draining job in and of itself. Add to that workouts that I’m not used to doing, and I have a perfect recipe for burn-out. So I am trying to be very careful this time about what I do and when I do it. I do not want to get pneumonia again, and I think that my workout style back then, coupled with my smoking habit, contributed greatly to my getting pneumonia.

Did I mention that I won’t be weighing myself every week? Probably once every four weeks is what I will do, so I won’t see updated numbers for another three weeks or so. I’m looking forward to what those numbers will tell me!