Sticking to the Plan

On May 6, all of a sudden I found that I was 2 kg heavier than what I weighed in on May 1st. Ok. I knew that my food wasn't as good as it should have been while my dad was here, but I thought that as soon as I cleaned up my act the number would start going down.

On May 7th, I was 1/2 kg. down.
May 8th same weight.
May 9th same weight.

I don't remember the last time I weighed exactly the same 3 days in a row. It felt strange.

I started to panic.

I started to think of all those excuses that I know do have some influence but are not explanations to fall back on (e.g muscle gain, stress, lack of sleep - yes I know they all are related, but to me it's about looking at the basics - how is my exercise going and what am I eating).

Keeping this photo journal of my food has been good for me. I know I've been writing things down, but this added bit of vigilance has been good. I know I've been eating well. I know I've been exercising well.

My gut reaction was to make some sort of drastic change or look for a firm explanation of why I was stuck.

Again. Panic. Am I at a plateau? What can I do to get out of this rut?

That's when I had to mentally slap myself and say -- Just stick to the plan. 

I think my plan is good. My food is good. My workouts are good. I just need to focus on being patient and sticking this out before thinking about what else to do. Three days at the same weight is not a crisis. While I do realize that to see changes you have to make changes, I also think that once you have a plan, you need to stick to it for a while and really give it 100% before trying to find an alternative plan.

So right now I'm just sticking to the plan. Eat Clean. Train Dirty.

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Aside from my panic this morning, I had a relatively good day. I had a great weights workout.
My students took their final exam. I really hope they did well. I won't find out their results until Sunday (it's marked by the computer - at least there's nothing to grade!)

Then in the evening I went to my first Kajukenbo class. Kajukenbo is a mixed martial art that combines karate, judo, jiujitsu, kenpo, and boxing. It was just me an the instructor today which was good for my first class. It should be interesting. Although I'm not interested in earning belts, and I'm really not too excited about having to wear a gi, I hope that I'll be able to stick to this and not have to move around looking for some sort of MMA training. It's really been an annoying and frustrating struggle finding a place to train in this area!

Me in my new Kajukenbo t-shirt

My food for the day didn't look particularly appealing & I'm not very happy with my lunch choice. Here's what it all came down to.

Breakfast #1: Pre-workout - I ran out of bananas so I only had a date and some peanut butter (yes, I know, not a very pretty picture)

Breakfast #2: Post-workout - My usual 3 omelet muffins + 1/2 avocado

Lunch: I was absolutely famished when I got home. I hadn't eaten for 5 hours and I was feeling really cranky. There was nothing prepared at home, so I reached into the freezer and pulled out these 3 fish fingers. I peeled most of the breading off, but 

Dinner: Tuna fish salad (tuna, lettuce, tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, 1/2 roasted sweet potato, sprinkling of walnuts, and a balsamic vinegar + olive oil mix for dressing) This was by far my favorite meal of the day. It was so delicious and tasty. I normally would not have had the sweet potato, but I wanted something warm and it really gave the salad an extra yummy factor. 

Snacks: After my 2nd breakfast, I had some grapes. I didn't take a picture of them, so here's the old one. However, I had something more like 20-25 grapes, not just 10. 

After dinner I had 3 strawberries. 

Today:
- Workouts:

• Weights at the gym (1.5 hours) - only 5 minutes of skipping as my warm-up
• Kajukenbo at KOK (45 minutes)
• Burpees: 10 {total: 3,620/20,130}
• Squats Day 5: 70

- Food:

• Breakfast: date & peanut butter; 3 egg omelets plus 1/2 avocado
• Lunch: 3 fish fingers
• Dinner: tuna salad
• Snacks: grapes & strawberries

- Other: While my students were working on their final exam I managed to finish some reading and one of my quizzes in my Personal Trainer certification course

Things I've Learned and SSSDC Week 12 Update

I got back home yesterday. My throat had been a bit sore the day before and it wasn't feeling any better. By late afternoon, I felt it move down to my chest and I thought - oh no, bronchitis. I have suffered from chronic bronchitis but have been lucky not to have an attack in almost two years. The suffocating cough that accompanies it is terrible. I felt like shit.

Having slept only 2 hours in the past day and a half, I decided to go to bed early. I took a huge dose of NyQuil, put on my sweatpants, turtleneck, sweater, and socks + a hot water bottle (imagine, all this while it's still summer in Kuwait!) and got into bed.

I slept for 10 hours!

I woke up, had something to eat and took some medicine then went back to bed and slept for another 4 hours.

That NyQuil stuff really does knock me out.

I'm feeling much better today. I haven't coughed as much but it's still lurking around in my chest. I just want to get over it so that I can get back into my routine. I think my body has had enough of the traveling and jumping from one time zone to another.

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So, I weighed myself this morning and was happy to find that I weighed the same as when I left. Given my eating, I'm definitely pleased. I hope that I feel better tomorrow so that I can go to the gym, even if it's just to walk for half an hour or so.

This week's SSSD Challenge goal was to surpass our fitness/weight goals from week 10.

I haven't been setting any specific goals for each week, especially setting a number to lose each week (e.g. drop 2 lbs each week) because I have found that to be discouraging. Plus, I've really been focusing more on making changes that I'm going to continue forever, not just for the duration of a week or a challenge.

In terms of that goal, I think I've been very successful.

All the travel that I did over the past three months has really put me to the test, and I think I've passed.

Anything that interferes with my routine - even something like a meeting at work running late and crossing over into my lunch hour - makes me crazy. I've been so obsessive about my routine that I think it has actually been counter-productive. What I've learned is that there's never a perfect time when everything will go according to plan, and if it does happen, then it's an exception.

Once I accepted that the majority of my life will be filled with things that I cannot control, I started to feel more relaxed. I started to understand that the changes I need to make in my life in order to adopt a healthy lifestyle need to deal with reality and not ideal circumstances. This means learning how to cope when I'm in the middle of writing an article, grading papers, busy running errands so I can't make it to the gym, I've fallen sick, or I'm traveling. Things happen. They happen ALL the time.

I haven't perfected it yet (not sure if I ever will), but I'm getting closer.

I'm happy that I've reached the point where packing my gym clothes when going on vacation isn't a waste of space but actually something that I'll use (and enjoy).

My workouts are not a chore, rather they're a challenge. The satisfaction I feel with each accomplishment surpasses any feeling that a piece of chocolate could ever bring me.

Eating good food makes me feel GOOD. I have no urge to eat out at restaurants. I know that preparing something at home takes time and effort. I used to hate making salads because of all the chopping etc. and then one day I timed myself. How long will it take me to prepare some lettuce, chop some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, avocado, and add some tuna and black beans? Add some balsamic vinegar and less than 20 minutes before the meal is ready. It's delicious and healthy. It would take me more than 20 minutes to drive to any restaurant, park, and order my food - let alone eat it and drive back home. It's all about reframing the concept of time. The excuses are in our head.

Today D came home from work and told me that he had his usual lunch from a diet place that they've got in his office building - it serves low calorie meals but not necessarily healthy meals. He told me that his taste has changed so much and that eating the fresh foods that we've gotten used to at home has made him not enjoy these mass/commercially produced meals. I feel the same. Even though preparing lunches for him at home so that he can take them to work might take some extra time, I know that it is time well spent. What's waking up 15 minutes earlier in the morning to make a healthier meal in the scheme of things? It's probably 15 less minutes at the gym on a daily basis I think!

Whenever I think of the excuse of time I think of Jenn who has 2 kids and a job that keeps her really busy. She wakes up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the gym at 5 and get her workout done before getting on with the rest of her day. That's dedication. That's the foundation of success.

It just goes to show, if you want it, you've got to work for it - be patient and persistent - and success will follow.

I think the turning point for me was having lost 6 lbs after my 2-week trip to Italy. I feel like I learned how to balance my food and activity to a point where nothing felt a chore. I enjoyed myself. I had fun. I watched what I ate without being paranoid. I engaged in activities without exhausting or straining myself. Things just fell into place - it felt good. It gave me a new sense of confidence and dedication in my weight loss journey - 'Yes. I can do this.'

Now I'm back home. I've got a few days before my semester starts and I'll be back to work and a more normal routine. I've got the Whole Life Challenge coming up that I want to do with Jenn and that's going to take a bit of planning (I started planning some menus already on the plane!). Lots of things to do -- so I've just got to get down and do them.

The challenge for week 13 is a low carb eating plan + no eating out. This should be easy for me since I rarely eat out and I've been trying to go low carbs for ages. I need to get back to tracking my food and being more vigilant of what I eat, how much, and when.

It all feels like it's coming together. It's a good feeling ... now I just need to beat this bronchitis!