Week Six Ends, Week Seven Begins

Well, I knew it would happen eventually- but it was a bit frustrating to get on the scale on Monday and see that the numbers had inched ever so slightly back up.


No, I didn't get my final pound to make my loss an even fifteen.  And although I've now lost most of the 4 lbs I gained back... it's hard to describe how emotional it was to see that I had gained back weight.  It was particularly frustrating because I actually got a ton of exercise over the weekend!  Saturday night there was a concert-- lots of dancing, darting around to get pictures, moving and grooving.  Sunday I spent the day in and out of the pool most of the day, and Monday as well.  So to watch that scale crawl back up... was actually sort of devastating.


And my friends and loved ones encouraged me, told me not to give up... tried to convince me that all I'd really done was start building muscle.  And maybe that would be true if I'd started working out regularly... but 3 days of moderate exercise does not muscle-weight gain.  Not significantly at least I don't think.   Not 4 pounds worth of muscle-- as lovely as it would be to believe.


But I did love their support-- and I haven't given up!  I'm still tracking every bite, still eating well, eating healthier.   I've mentioned before that I am in LOVE with Green Giant's in-bag steam veggies.  I can throw a bag in the microwave for 5 minutes, have 4 servings of veggies with 1 serving of chicken and a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese.  I've stuffed the freezer with the veggie bags... sweet peas, sugar snap peas, red potatoes and green beans, broccoli and cheese...  all the meals weigh in at fewer than 500 calories and are plenty filling.


It's my new nightly ritual really... part of the new food regime.  Breakfast is my fiber bar (although I've switched to kellogg's Fiber Plus antioxidants... less sugar, fewer calories, same fiber content), lunch is whatever I feel like having for the day (although I typically rotate Panda Express... easy on the rice, my favorite Subway sandwich.. or occasionally a trip through wendy's if I'm having a fat craving).  But either way, I carefully maintain my limits for the day and sometimes that means lunch out and dinner at home, and I'm ok with that.


I would love to say Hey look, another pound lost, another 5!  I'd love to be sharing that my new small jeans finally fit.. or that I could even get into those new slacks that I was almost in last week...  but I'm not yet.  And I have discovered some kryptonite....


Eating with my family!!  I love them dearly but that homecooked feeling (even if it's takeout from Soleman's and not actually homecooking....) is hard to defeat!  I definitely overdid it last monday.  And although it was a lot less than I USED to eat still... it was too much.  And maybe part of that is probably nature and nurture issues... we as a family are great at excusing over-indulgence!  It was a holiday, it was just one day... and the good news is that with my new routine-- that's actually true for me now.  It was a one time, one day splurge.  My concern is that it felt out of control for me... on the heels of 6 weeks of very careful control.


I will say though that as a general principle I feel better.  Gain back aside, I've noticed a change in how I feel physically speaking.  After the concert last Saturday I fully expected to be sore, exhausted, feeling the same kind of pain and discomfort that typically follows any kind of physical exertion in my life.  I was both surprised and excited when I felt pretty good walking out to the car afterwards.  I was tired, absolutely.  I was sore.  But in some intangible way-- it wasn't the same as it once was.  And when I got up the next day I still had enough energy to hang in the pool, play some volleyball, cannonball, swim around.  And the next day, I had enough energy still to do some laps in the pool, to tread water all the way around the pool in loops.  And on Monday-- exhausted as I was... I still felt ...  ...  ... better.  Healthier.  More able, more capable.   Stronger.  I'm not ready to go out and walk around the lake every weekend.  Swimming is a lot lower impact that trotting around.  But, I am going to buy a new chair for my bedroom next week-- one that will allow me to use my cycle pedals finally!


So yes, it's a bit of a short blog this week.  I wish I had more exciting things to talk about.  But we all know this isn't an overnight sensation.  14 lb loss in a week and a half was kind of amazing.  It won't all be that dramatic.  But hopefully now I'm heading back in the right direction!


I'm looking forward to an excellent week... and I hope you have one too!


1 Screaming Skinny Girl... signing out.  See you next week!