How did that 'Scale Strike' go, anyway?
Back in the middle of January, I posted about my Non-Resolutions and what I was going to do to achieve them. You can read it here.
The short recap is that I didn't step on the scale for the entire month of January, because the scale SUCKS and isn't a good measure of your overall progress. HOWEVER, it's hard as heck for me to not see that number and relate it to my self-worth. You dig? If you're a female, you've likely done it before, and if you say you haven't, you're probably lying. Letting the scale dictate whether you can 'Treat yo self' or "Hate yo self" is BANANAS! I know that. So, I decided to say "to heck with the scale" for the month of January. I did take progress photos, but I'm not in a place (yet) that I'm happy sharing with the internet.
We didn't get back from our visit to Yarmouth until a couple of days into the New Year, but when we did, I picked my weight lifting program right back up where I left off and kept going, and began honestly tracking my macronutrients.
Now, if you haven't looked into Flexible Dieting yet, and you're stuck in a horrible rut of yo-yo dieting on completely unsustainable diets which just results in you quitting, regaining the weight, and hating yourself, PLEASE look it up.
*Disclaimer* Be careful, though, what you see on the internet. Instagram is bad for being just a snapshot of one second of someone's diet. If you look up #flexibledieting you'll see people with crazy 6 pack abs eating stacks of protein pancakes, covered in ice cream and chocolate bars. That CAN be a reality for some people, under certain circumstances (bulking and likely intermittent fasting), but it's NOT a reality all of the time. What you don't see is that to get to where they are, that person ate 90% good, whole nutritious foods, accompanied by a few fun treats. You don't see the other 90% of their diet, you see what will get Instagram likes. Which is giant piles of candy, cereal, and pancakes. Instagram is NOT real life. Ok, I'm ranting. How come I always rant about something? Ok, end of that rant.
So, what happened after my scale strike?
I can tell all of my 6 readers are DYING to know!
I faithfully tracked (and hit) my macros daily except for one day where I didn't track at all, and had 2 official 're-feed' days (which is when you add 100 grams of carbs to your daily plan). I want to emphasize one thing. It's important to me, so listen up. I ate CHOCOLATE every single day. I'm NOT kidding. I ate a Cadbury milk chocolate bar every day that I wanted it, and that was most days, and the days I didn't have it, was likely that I had cake or something like that at a party instead. You CAN have small treats, if you fit them into your daily plan, which isn't difficult if you're not starving yourself. HOWEVER, the bulk of my calories came from whole foods, with lots and lots of protein.
I lost 10.5 lbs and I'd say 4 inches or so off of my hips and waist (I didn't really measure at the beginning, so I'm 100% sure it was more inches).
I was actually shocked that I had lost this much, as I had been careful to keep up with lifting heavy weights, as to not lose muscle mass. I'm very happy with it though, as it's the first time in a LOOOOOONG time that I've felt in control of my diet, and not completely deprived.
I'll devote another post in the near future to how I learned how to count macros, and the learning curve (it was rather difficult for me).
When I got home from Guatemala, I waited a few days and stepped on the scale ONCE. I had gained 3 lbs I believe, which isn't bad at all, considering Antigua had some of the best food I've ever had in my whole life, and I ate ALL THE THINGS.
What's the plan from here on out? I struggled to get my head back on straight for a couple weeks after I got home, but it's securely screwed on now, and I'm back to tracking properly. My weight training has been a bit off lately, as my head/neck/jaw aches have returned with a vengeance. I'm dealing with that in the best way I can, and trying to keep going with lifting. I'd like to start adding some cardio on my off days, but so far all I've managed is a bit of walking, which is actually fine.
Onward and upward.
The short recap is that I didn't step on the scale for the entire month of January, because the scale SUCKS and isn't a good measure of your overall progress. HOWEVER, it's hard as heck for me to not see that number and relate it to my self-worth. You dig? If you're a female, you've likely done it before, and if you say you haven't, you're probably lying. Letting the scale dictate whether you can 'Treat yo self' or "Hate yo self" is BANANAS! I know that. So, I decided to say "to heck with the scale" for the month of January. I did take progress photos, but I'm not in a place (yet) that I'm happy sharing with the internet.
We didn't get back from our visit to Yarmouth until a couple of days into the New Year, but when we did, I picked my weight lifting program right back up where I left off and kept going, and began honestly tracking my macronutrients.
Now, if you haven't looked into Flexible Dieting yet, and you're stuck in a horrible rut of yo-yo dieting on completely unsustainable diets which just results in you quitting, regaining the weight, and hating yourself, PLEASE look it up.
*Disclaimer* Be careful, though, what you see on the internet. Instagram is bad for being just a snapshot of one second of someone's diet. If you look up #flexibledieting you'll see people with crazy 6 pack abs eating stacks of protein pancakes, covered in ice cream and chocolate bars. That CAN be a reality for some people, under certain circumstances (bulking and likely intermittent fasting), but it's NOT a reality all of the time. What you don't see is that to get to where they are, that person ate 90% good, whole nutritious foods, accompanied by a few fun treats. You don't see the other 90% of their diet, you see what will get Instagram likes. Which is giant piles of candy, cereal, and pancakes. Instagram is NOT real life. Ok, I'm ranting. How come I always rant about something? Ok, end of that rant.
So, what happened after my scale strike?
I can tell all of my 6 readers are DYING to know!
I faithfully tracked (and hit) my macros daily except for one day where I didn't track at all, and had 2 official 're-feed' days (which is when you add 100 grams of carbs to your daily plan). I want to emphasize one thing. It's important to me, so listen up. I ate CHOCOLATE every single day. I'm NOT kidding. I ate a Cadbury milk chocolate bar every day that I wanted it, and that was most days, and the days I didn't have it, was likely that I had cake or something like that at a party instead. You CAN have small treats, if you fit them into your daily plan, which isn't difficult if you're not starving yourself. HOWEVER, the bulk of my calories came from whole foods, with lots and lots of protein.
I lost 10.5 lbs and I'd say 4 inches or so off of my hips and waist (I didn't really measure at the beginning, so I'm 100% sure it was more inches).
I was actually shocked that I had lost this much, as I had been careful to keep up with lifting heavy weights, as to not lose muscle mass. I'm very happy with it though, as it's the first time in a LOOOOOONG time that I've felt in control of my diet, and not completely deprived.
I'll devote another post in the near future to how I learned how to count macros, and the learning curve (it was rather difficult for me).
When I got home from Guatemala, I waited a few days and stepped on the scale ONCE. I had gained 3 lbs I believe, which isn't bad at all, considering Antigua had some of the best food I've ever had in my whole life, and I ate ALL THE THINGS.
What's the plan from here on out? I struggled to get my head back on straight for a couple weeks after I got home, but it's securely screwed on now, and I'm back to tracking properly. My weight training has been a bit off lately, as my head/neck/jaw aches have returned with a vengeance. I'm dealing with that in the best way I can, and trying to keep going with lifting. I'd like to start adding some cardio on my off days, but so far all I've managed is a bit of walking, which is actually fine.
Onward and upward.
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