Have you ever had a day where you want to throw all the healthy stuff out the window and just do whatever you want for once? Not having to worry about spending an hour+ at the gym after work, or staring at a menu for 5 minutes trying to find the healthiest option, or walking past the box of donuts that your coworker brought in to share. Or even just something as simple as drinking something other than water with your meal!
I may have had a day like that yesterday. It was 99 degrees out, my gym has crappy air conditioning, and I just wanted to eat some Chick Fil A and get a small cup of ice cream with it, while skipping the gym after work since I didn't want to die. And I did it. Still stayed around my calories, and I did walk around the mall on my lunch and around Town Center after work so I wasn't completely sedentary.
And ya know what, the world didn't stop turning! And the scale didn't shatter when I stepped on it this morning... it was actually down to 158.3, which is the lowest I've seen all week. And I REALLY enjoyed the cup of ice cream and having a small bottle of beer with my dinner.
I think sometimes we get so caught up in being PERFECT with trying to lose weight/be healthy/reduce body fat %/whatever your goal may be, that we forget that it's not really something we're going to do every single day of the rest of our lives. There will be hot days where all you want is a beer and an ice cream cup, and there will be days where all you want to do is hit the gym and sweat it out. I've had both. I logged what I had yesterday, and I didn't wake up this morning hating myself for "stepping out of line" for a day.
The most important part of this whole journey is to think about the long term. I've been maintaining my 60-ish lb weight loss for nearly a year and a half now. If I tried to stick to 1200 calories a day, crazy cardio, gym 6 days a week, etc, I'd completely rebel and regress back into old habits. But if I let myself have a mini rebellion day every now and then, a beer, an ice cream, skipping the gym, eating out with the boyfriend, etc. it keeps me sane! And it's not enough of an impact to throw the scale into oblivion. I bounce back, I get motivated the next day to continue, and that's the most important thing. I admit sometimes I give myself a little too much rope and end up hanging myself (i.e. the scale freaks out for a week or something), but I pick up where I left off.
I just wanted to explain my thought process on long term success. I know many people on here are still in weight loss mode... but what happens when you're near or at your goal? You still have the rest of your life to deal with it! I like being a voice for the maintainers, since it's not a voice you here as often. My victories are in a new weight for my deadlift, or surviving a week away without gaining 5 lbs in the process. And just being happy to buy clothing that is 5 sizes smaller than I was 3 years ago. It's all about balance and seeing progress in those things.
And yes, eating a cup of ice cream every once in a while!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
NROLFW Phase 3 Results
So here's what happens if you dilligently do all the workouts, increase your weights.... and eat and drink terribly on the weekends. You lose 0.5" total. LOL!
So Phase 3 was only 3 weeks long, 8 workouts total... and definitely a buttkicking. I really liked Workout A, and Workout B took some effort to make it a challenge (all that ab stuff, bleck). I have mastered the Body Weight Matrix, and my thighs apparently have responded since they're the only area of my body that lost inches! I will say that my legs in general look much more toned lately, and more lean. I usually have chunky thighs and chubby calves, but they're transforming into muscle and I like it.
As for the other half of the equation, my eating hasn't been great the 3 weeks of this phase. I had weekend travel, 2 Nationals MLB baseball games, long weekends with the boyfriend when we'd eat out or drink beer. I had an awesome time, but it didn't help much for trying to lose weight or inches. It just goes to show how you can work your butt off in the gym, but if you don't balance it with eating right, it won't do a darn thing for the scale!!! (or the measuring tape in my case).
I'm more hopefuly for this Phase. As much as my boyfriend rocks, he's not around this weekend since his mom is visiting and that means I won't be tempted to go overboard. I can control my meals better and I won't drink as much (if at all). That should go a long way in getting back on track. The following weekend I'm in Jersey for 5 days for 4th of July and since there's usually not food in the house, I don't eat much, LOL! I will have to take a break from my NROLFW workouts while I'm home tho, but I'll still try to get to the gym at least once with my sister to do a regular workout. My next big event is my cousin's wedding on July 21st and I want to be looking my best! So... I've got a month to get there, hopefully I'll have just finished up Phase 4 that week.
If anyone is interested, here's my progress with the workouts in Phase 3. I'm rather proud of my incline bench press, 60 lbs is a lot for a tiny girl like me! The guys probably thought I was going to drop them on my head, hahaha. Nope! I also can finally hold a plank for 90 seconds, but it hurts!!!
Workout A
One Arm Dumbbell Snatch - 30 lbs to 35 lbs
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift - 30 lbs in each hand to 35 lbs (60 to 70 lbs total)
Barbell Bent Over Row - 60 lbs to 85 lbs
Single Arm Overhead Squat - 15 lbs above, 30 lbs below to 20 above, 30 below
Incline Bench Press - 25 lbs each arm to 30 lbs each arm (50 to 60 lbs total)
Plank - Holding it for 70 seconds to holding it for 90 seconds, whoot!
Reverse Wood Chop - 50 lbs to 60 lbs
BWM - Slowest time was 2m 24sec, fastest time was 1m 25sec!
Workout B
Deadlift/Bent Over Row - 65 lbs to 80 lbs
Single Leg Squat (used the box) - 15 lbs in each hand to 25 lbs
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown - 100lbs to 115 lbs
Back Extension - Holding a 12 lb medicine ball to a 25 lb plate
YTWL (bane of my existance) - Stuck with 8lbs the whole time
Swiss Ball Crunch - Held a 25 lbs plate over my head the whole time
So Phase 3 was only 3 weeks long, 8 workouts total... and definitely a buttkicking. I really liked Workout A, and Workout B took some effort to make it a challenge (all that ab stuff, bleck). I have mastered the Body Weight Matrix, and my thighs apparently have responded since they're the only area of my body that lost inches! I will say that my legs in general look much more toned lately, and more lean. I usually have chunky thighs and chubby calves, but they're transforming into muscle and I like it.
As for the other half of the equation, my eating hasn't been great the 3 weeks of this phase. I had weekend travel, 2 Nationals MLB baseball games, long weekends with the boyfriend when we'd eat out or drink beer. I had an awesome time, but it didn't help much for trying to lose weight or inches. It just goes to show how you can work your butt off in the gym, but if you don't balance it with eating right, it won't do a darn thing for the scale!!! (or the measuring tape in my case).
I'm more hopefuly for this Phase. As much as my boyfriend rocks, he's not around this weekend since his mom is visiting and that means I won't be tempted to go overboard. I can control my meals better and I won't drink as much (if at all). That should go a long way in getting back on track. The following weekend I'm in Jersey for 5 days for 4th of July and since there's usually not food in the house, I don't eat much, LOL! I will have to take a break from my NROLFW workouts while I'm home tho, but I'll still try to get to the gym at least once with my sister to do a regular workout. My next big event is my cousin's wedding on July 21st and I want to be looking my best! So... I've got a month to get there, hopefully I'll have just finished up Phase 4 that week.
If anyone is interested, here's my progress with the workouts in Phase 3. I'm rather proud of my incline bench press, 60 lbs is a lot for a tiny girl like me! The guys probably thought I was going to drop them on my head, hahaha. Nope! I also can finally hold a plank for 90 seconds, but it hurts!!!
Workout A
One Arm Dumbbell Snatch - 30 lbs to 35 lbs
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift - 30 lbs in each hand to 35 lbs (60 to 70 lbs total)
Barbell Bent Over Row - 60 lbs to 85 lbs
Single Arm Overhead Squat - 15 lbs above, 30 lbs below to 20 above, 30 below
Incline Bench Press - 25 lbs each arm to 30 lbs each arm (50 to 60 lbs total)
Plank - Holding it for 70 seconds to holding it for 90 seconds, whoot!
Reverse Wood Chop - 50 lbs to 60 lbs
BWM - Slowest time was 2m 24sec, fastest time was 1m 25sec!
Workout B
Deadlift/Bent Over Row - 65 lbs to 80 lbs
Single Leg Squat (used the box) - 15 lbs in each hand to 25 lbs
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown - 100lbs to 115 lbs
Back Extension - Holding a 12 lb medicine ball to a 25 lb plate
YTWL (bane of my existance) - Stuck with 8lbs the whole time
Swiss Ball Crunch - Held a 25 lbs plate over my head the whole time
Thursday, June 7, 2012
No One's Perfect
I realized I haven't blogged in a while, mainly because I've been on the same roller coaster that I'm always on. Strength training has become my main workout activity and I'm loving it. I'm used to eating more calories on a daily basis and getting enough protein. And I still have my weekends and my days where all my best intentions go completely to crap and I start the week up a few pounds.
Like this week.
The day before Memorial Day I managed to get to 156.6 lbs. I felt tiny, my bikini looked good, and I was coming off a week where I had managed to workout all 5 days after work. And then came Memorial Day weekend. I didn't do too terrible, since we cooked our own meals quite a bit and only ate out twice in 3 full days. We did drink, but it wasn't excessive. Then the week after I only got 2 workouts in because of my schedule and I left for Boston early on Friday morning. Travel ALWAYS throws me for a loop, and despite my best intentions and efforts, I was up a few pounds on Monday. And then Tuesday was a baseball game where I threw caution to the wind and ate a HUGE dinner at the restaurant while drinking beer.
Needless to say, I can talk all I want but it doesn't mean much if I'm not able to follow through with it!
I honestly wish it was easier. And I wish my boyfriend and I didn't enjoy beer so much. Or junk food wasn't so readily available (try ordering healthy in a baseball stadium!). But, I've learned its about tradeoffs and making the best choices possible. Sure, I can go the game and refuse to eat or drink anything, but there's no enjoyment in that. I love baseball games and I only go to a few a year. And I only travel a few times a year on top of that. It just happens that it all fell within the same week.
So, here's my promise to myself. I'm not going to stop myself from living a little and beating myself up over it. I'm pissed the scale shot up 4 lbs to 161 lbs. It's not a number I want to see. But I know how I got there. And I know it doesn't stop me from doing my best in the next week to fix it. I didn't go through all this for the last 2 1/2 years to let one week drag me down. I've got the next 40 or 50 or 60 years to deal with life situations. There are always ways to improve, and there will always be trips or baseball games. What's the fun in being a healthy weight if I'm miserable?!?
So, to focus on the good things, here's my accomplishments for the week.
- I held a plank for 90 seconds without giving up! My previous record was 70 seconds.
- I can bench press 60 lbs on an inclined bench now.
- I can actually see the muscles in my upper back and shoulders!
- It's bikini season and I don't feel like a cow in my swimsuits. Which is good, because I own like 6 bikinis and a few tankinis!
Like this week.
The day before Memorial Day I managed to get to 156.6 lbs. I felt tiny, my bikini looked good, and I was coming off a week where I had managed to workout all 5 days after work. And then came Memorial Day weekend. I didn't do too terrible, since we cooked our own meals quite a bit and only ate out twice in 3 full days. We did drink, but it wasn't excessive. Then the week after I only got 2 workouts in because of my schedule and I left for Boston early on Friday morning. Travel ALWAYS throws me for a loop, and despite my best intentions and efforts, I was up a few pounds on Monday. And then Tuesday was a baseball game where I threw caution to the wind and ate a HUGE dinner at the restaurant while drinking beer.
Needless to say, I can talk all I want but it doesn't mean much if I'm not able to follow through with it!
I honestly wish it was easier. And I wish my boyfriend and I didn't enjoy beer so much. Or junk food wasn't so readily available (try ordering healthy in a baseball stadium!). But, I've learned its about tradeoffs and making the best choices possible. Sure, I can go the game and refuse to eat or drink anything, but there's no enjoyment in that. I love baseball games and I only go to a few a year. And I only travel a few times a year on top of that. It just happens that it all fell within the same week.
So, here's my promise to myself. I'm not going to stop myself from living a little and beating myself up over it. I'm pissed the scale shot up 4 lbs to 161 lbs. It's not a number I want to see. But I know how I got there. And I know it doesn't stop me from doing my best in the next week to fix it. I didn't go through all this for the last 2 1/2 years to let one week drag me down. I've got the next 40 or 50 or 60 years to deal with life situations. There are always ways to improve, and there will always be trips or baseball games. What's the fun in being a healthy weight if I'm miserable?!?
So, to focus on the good things, here's my accomplishments for the week.
- I held a plank for 90 seconds without giving up! My previous record was 70 seconds.
- I can bench press 60 lbs on an inclined bench now.
- I can actually see the muscles in my upper back and shoulders!
- It's bikini season and I don't feel like a cow in my swimsuits. Which is good, because I own like 6 bikinis and a few tankinis!
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