When D picked me up at the airport and said 'Wow, you look like you've lost weight,' I was pleased but I thought he was just being kind. That's what husbands are supposed to say, right?
Today, when I went to the CrossFit Box and lots of people commented on me looking like I lost weight, I definitely believed it more. I know that the scale showed a loss, but still, it always feels better when people notice and comment -- so that, plus the fact that I bought 2 dresses today, both a size smaller than what I wore just 4 months ago, I was happy :)
As I was making a big veggie stir fry today (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, celery, peas, and a sprinkling of corn and jalapeno peppers - so good!), I started to reflect more on my food and how I still need to do so much work on eating more clean and getting more protein.
I've been catching up on blogs and I noticed a lot of posts about people falling off the wagon in terms of their dieting and exercise routine or making unhealthy choices and complaining about weight gain and several posts discussing the idea of cheat meals/days along with the idea of not depriving oneself of eating foods they like (but also not seeing any weight loss results).
After reading several posts related to these themes, I started to feel a bit guilty of what I may have implied or what could be misinterpreted from my post about my trip to Italy.
I was thrilled that I lost 6 lbs while being away on vacation.
The food I ate, however, was not food that I would normally eat. I don't want it to be interpreted that I ate tons of pizza and pasta because I wanted to gorge on those types of foods and I couldn't resist them. I also don't want it to be assumed that just because I lost some weight I think that I can continue to eat in this manner and continue to lose weight.
I knew going into my holiday that my dinners were going to be heavier than normal. With that in mind, I was careful about what I ate during the day - often just having fruit, a bowl of cereal, or a salad. Occasionally if I thought my dinner would be on the lighter side, I'd have a sandwich for lunch. I also think that not having any munchies - no chocolates, crisps, fries, etc. - made a big difference as I know in the past I tended to graze on these foods.
The daily activity plus good nights of sleep also helped a lot.
I'm also aware that part of this weight loss is probably loss of muscle rather than fat - not really something that I'm happy about, but hopefully I'll be able to build that back soon.
Anyway. I guess my point is that I think my improved eating and exercise habits really helped me avoid any gain over my holiday. If I hadn't made those changes (that have been taking place over several months) then I don't think I would have been as 'lucky' with losing a few pounds.
I don't want my food choices to be interpreted as saying - Yes, you can eat pizza and ice cream on a daily basis and still lose weight.
I mean, yes that's kinda what happened, but that's really not the kind of message I wanted to send. It's about long-term healthy choices and an active lifestyle that can help off-set any indiscretions that just might happen (not planned for in advance)!
Anyway. I hope that made sense. I guess reflecting on what I ate is really bothering me -- but it's back to the grind now!!
Today I went to CrossFit. Boy was I nervous as I hadn't done any training - push ups, squats, jump rope - as I had planned to do while in Italy. Still, I think I did rather well.
Warm-up:
10 squats, 10 push ups, 10 crunches
Skills: 5 rounds @ 10/8/6/5/4/3/3/3 reps of
pull-ups (I did the last half with a lighter resistance band, yay!)
tricep dips
hanging leg raises
WOD: 5 rounds
100 jump rope (still can't do double unders, ugh!)
10 burpees -- repeat until the 5 rounds are completed
{man I was out of breath!}
Strength: 3 rounds
6 reps squats (40 kg/88 lbs)
20 hollow crunches
It felt really good to be back at the Box. My upper body already feels sore from the push ups, pull ups, and hanging leg raises. I've only got a few more classes to take advantage of until I travel (yes, again). Each time I go to CrossFit I am reminded about how important it is to watch what I eat. I mean, I know it's important anyway, but I really do think that choosing the right foods and eating them in the right portion plus at the right time will help me improve my CrossFit performance. I just have to keep tweaking my foods and hope that I find an eating plan that works for me soon!
Today, when I went to the CrossFit Box and lots of people commented on me looking like I lost weight, I definitely believed it more. I know that the scale showed a loss, but still, it always feels better when people notice and comment -- so that, plus the fact that I bought 2 dresses today, both a size smaller than what I wore just 4 months ago, I was happy :)
As I was making a big veggie stir fry today (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, celery, peas, and a sprinkling of corn and jalapeno peppers - so good!), I started to reflect more on my food and how I still need to do so much work on eating more clean and getting more protein.
I've been catching up on blogs and I noticed a lot of posts about people falling off the wagon in terms of their dieting and exercise routine or making unhealthy choices and complaining about weight gain and several posts discussing the idea of cheat meals/days along with the idea of not depriving oneself of eating foods they like (but also not seeing any weight loss results).
After reading several posts related to these themes, I started to feel a bit guilty of what I may have implied or what could be misinterpreted from my post about my trip to Italy.
I was thrilled that I lost 6 lbs while being away on vacation.
The food I ate, however, was not food that I would normally eat. I don't want it to be interpreted that I ate tons of pizza and pasta because I wanted to gorge on those types of foods and I couldn't resist them. I also don't want it to be assumed that just because I lost some weight I think that I can continue to eat in this manner and continue to lose weight.
I knew going into my holiday that my dinners were going to be heavier than normal. With that in mind, I was careful about what I ate during the day - often just having fruit, a bowl of cereal, or a salad. Occasionally if I thought my dinner would be on the lighter side, I'd have a sandwich for lunch. I also think that not having any munchies - no chocolates, crisps, fries, etc. - made a big difference as I know in the past I tended to graze on these foods.
The daily activity plus good nights of sleep also helped a lot.
I'm also aware that part of this weight loss is probably loss of muscle rather than fat - not really something that I'm happy about, but hopefully I'll be able to build that back soon.
Anyway. I guess my point is that I think my improved eating and exercise habits really helped me avoid any gain over my holiday. If I hadn't made those changes (that have been taking place over several months) then I don't think I would have been as 'lucky' with losing a few pounds.
I don't want my food choices to be interpreted as saying - Yes, you can eat pizza and ice cream on a daily basis and still lose weight.
I mean, yes that's kinda what happened, but that's really not the kind of message I wanted to send. It's about long-term healthy choices and an active lifestyle that can help off-set any indiscretions that just might happen (not planned for in advance)!
Anyway. I hope that made sense. I guess reflecting on what I ate is really bothering me -- but it's back to the grind now!!
Today I went to CrossFit. Boy was I nervous as I hadn't done any training - push ups, squats, jump rope - as I had planned to do while in Italy. Still, I think I did rather well.
Warm-up:
10 squats, 10 push ups, 10 crunches
Skills: 5 rounds @ 10/8/6/5/4/3/3/3 reps of
pull-ups (I did the last half with a lighter resistance band, yay!)
tricep dips
hanging leg raises
WOD: 5 rounds
100 jump rope (still can't do double unders, ugh!)
10 burpees -- repeat until the 5 rounds are completed
{man I was out of breath!}
Strength: 3 rounds
6 reps squats (40 kg/88 lbs)
20 hollow crunches
It felt really good to be back at the Box. My upper body already feels sore from the push ups, pull ups, and hanging leg raises. I've only got a few more classes to take advantage of until I travel (yes, again). Each time I go to CrossFit I am reminded about how important it is to watch what I eat. I mean, I know it's important anyway, but I really do think that choosing the right foods and eating them in the right portion plus at the right time will help me improve my CrossFit performance. I just have to keep tweaking my foods and hope that I find an eating plan that works for me soon!
For some reason, your posts are not showing up on my blog list so I'm really glad you commented so that I was nudged to check out your blog and see if you had written anything.
ReplyDeleteI loved your pictures from Italy. I would love to go there. My only real experience with jet lag was when my daughter and I went to Tokyo. It was brutal. Before that I never understood what people were going through when they made really long trips. :)
It's funny how once you start CrossFitting, the way you look at food totally changes! I make much better choice now because I know what's going to fuel my workout and what's going to hurt it.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it sounds like you did a really good job dealing with the food options in Italy. You could have eaten like garbage the entire time and totally justified it with a million different excuses. You didn't do that. You rocked and came back with an awesome loss as a result.