See Ya Daily Scale Weigh-In
You know that thing, where you weigh every day, and you see your weight abnormally drop at times, but then you weigh in on your weigh-in day, and even though your weigh-in was perfectly acceptable, you beat yourself up and call yourself a diet failure even though you actually had a loss?
Yeah, I had that this week.
The weight I posted on Saturday was TWO pounds less than the weight I posted today.
Here’s the thing. I tracked EVERY bite that went into my mouth. I was UNDER my calorie target EVERY… SINGLE… DAY… And no, I wasn’t under it so significantly that I should have hit a starvation mode. My target is 1900 to 2900, based on a BMR of 3400. I was in that range, (admittedly the higher end), every single day of this past week.
So how did I do?
May 9, 2012
Weight: 360.4
Change from Last Week: -1.8 pounds
Change from All-Time Highest: -42.4 pounds
See, I weighed myself on Saturday, and it was 358.6. Woo hoo, right?
Well, why is it, then, when I weigh myself today, that I’m back in the 360s?
Because the human body is a jerk, that’s why. I know weight fluctuates, sometimes for no obviously discernible reason.
I understand that you are supposed to look at the big picture.
I understand that, if you can’t handle it mentally, you shouldn’t weigh yourself everyday.
So what am I going to do?
I’m going to look at the big picture.
And I’m only going to weigh myself once a week.
Because if I had done that this week, if I had not stepped on the scale since last Wednesday, I would have seen a loss of 1.8 pounds, and instead of Tina trying to cheer me up as I scrambled eggs, we would have done a little happy dance. (That… that sounds dirty. I literally just meant we would have done it… danced… in the kitch-… never mind.)
So I am saying adios to the daily scale. It is not for me right now. I hope it will be at some point. I want to be strong enough mentally that I can accept the number and not let it judge me. Right now, I just can’t do that.
This was a tremendously successful week. There is 1.8 pounds less of me!
I need to stay in the NOW of weight loss. From what I’ve heard from those who have made it to goal weight, losing weight is the fun, easy part. Maintenance (while doable and certainly worth achieving) is much harder and not nearly as much fun. I can’t beat myself up over the past where I gained weight; I can’t torture myself over dreams of getting to goal. I can only live in the RIGHT NOW, where I am going to try and be as healthy as I possibly can, regardless of what the scale says.
My first step in living in the positive NOW is to get rid of the daily scale. And if I happen to gain, then I’ll look at my inch measurements and celebrate any change there. And if that is a gain, too, then I’ll truthfully examine my diet and see if it was earned or accidental.
I am about to leave for San Diego in a few days. Next Wednesday, I will be on the road. I have some awesome guest posts lined up. As a result of this babymoon Tina and I are going on, I will not be weighing in next Wednesday. I’m taking my tape measure, though, and I still plan to track all of my food and get in LOTS of activity.
In two weeks, I plan to post another loss, and no matter what it is, I plan to be happy about it.
Failure to plan is plan for failure.
I have many, many strategies to make this vacation one of the healthiest vacations I have ever taken. Recap, of course, will be coming when I get back.
How often do you weigh? Can you successfully weigh every day?
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Visualizing During a Workout
Although I am a few days late in posting this, let me first announce the winner of the Run for Your Lives Indianapolis Race Tickets Giveaway!
Chosen via random.org, our winner is comment #1!
Congrats to Amanda Heathman and her husband! I hope you enjoy the race.
And on to other news…
I am VERY excited about my weigh-in on Wednesday. Last time I checked the scale, it seems I am clearly on target to get below 360! Woo hoo! That will put me ever closer to hitting the 50 pound mark.
The main thing that I am finding helps me right now is visualization.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am vain. My fitness goal, honestly, is to look like this.
Heck, you can judge me. But I want to look like Ryan Reynolds. I want his arms and I really want his abs.
Right now, whether I am flying through a cardio workout or struggling with Jillian Michaels yelling at me, I literally visualize my way through the workout.
No, I don’t necessarily think about Ryan Reynolds’ abs for the entire time. (Much.)
I mostly envision the physical body I hope to have.
Don’t get me wrong – I KNOW I have a long way to go. I know that to even get a semblance of that body will eventually require a tummy tuck and a much stricter, cleaner diet than I am eating currently.
As for the tummy tuck, I freaking can’t wait. I know it’ll hurt, both my body and my wallet, but I want to do it so badly I can taste it.
And as for the diet, well… I’m a firm believer that moderation in all things is key. However, as I stick to my healthy eating plan (which is just “eat less junk and more real food”), I find myself gravitating to healthier and healthier options.
So, my tip in all of this? Visualize. Think through your workout. Picture your end result. Right now, I’m not worrying about if it is super realistic or attainable. I’m doing what I have to do to get through each drop of sweat.
No matter where I am, the end result will be worth it.
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A New Way of Thinking Weigh-In
Just so you know, I am still doing PhysicsDiet. I am keeping up with my daily weight. But I missed my weekly weigh-ins, so here we go again!
May 2, 2012
Weight: 362.2
Change from All-Time Highest: -40.6 pounds! (Woo hoo!)
I’m not going to post a change from my last weigh-in, as that was SEVERAL weeks ago, but my weight is significantly down. It’s finally starting to sink in. I have to change more than just my diet. I have to change my thinking, because otherwise, this won’t be a permanent change, and it has to be.
There is only one thing I’m doing different at the moment, and it’s very grade school, but so far, it’s working.
Tina and I are eating the rainbow.
If you have kids, you know what this means. If you don’t, it’s basically this.
We eat vegetables and fruit in the color of the rainbow. Just by making sure we get in all five colors (technically, there are seven, of course, but blue, indigo, and violet are lumped together), we automatically ensure we get in at least five servings.
For instance, for red, today, I ate strawberries and tomatoes. For yellow, I had a banana and an ear of corn. For orange, I ate a sweet potato and some oranges. For green, I’m going to have cabbage with dinner. And for blue/violet, I had purple grapes.
Understand, this is by no means ALL that we are eating. It is just a surprisingly easy, fun way to get our fruits and vegetables in. And yes, it’s lame, but I’m a dad now. I think I have to be lame.
Lastly, I want to point out a great sale going on right now for anyone who is thinking they may want to start their own business. I JUST now bought this package myself. Only72.com periodically hosts 72-hour sales for a HUGE package of various ebooks. This package is all about small business start-ups (essentially). This is the second one I’ve taken advantage of, and while I just got it, if it is even an iota as good as the first one I took purchased, it will be worth every penny. The links in this paragraph are my affiliate link, but if you are wary about that, you can google Only72 and find it pretty quickly. This one has a huge perk – you are going to be getting an actual hard-cover in-your-hands book as well.
I am picking up this package for a few reasons. One, my wife wants to become an event planner, and that is definitely a small business. Two, I want to be published. And three, I’d like to grow my blog. There are literally thousands of reasons why this sale might appeal to you, but it’s almost over. As of the time this is published, you only have about sixteen hours left. At 12 pm (noon) Eastern on May 3, 2012, this sale ends. Take advantage before it’s too late!
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Busy, busy, busy!
Busy, busy, busy.
I have no other words to say.
Okay, one more.
Busy.
But not bad.
I don’t know if I’ve shared or not, but I am completing my second Master’s Degree in Educational Technology. One of the most amazing perks of my job is that I get free tuition, and before I go on to get my doctorate (which is coming within probably a semester of me completing this degree), I want to increase my skill set a bit.
I had a major project due last night. Yes, I procrastinated. And I paid for it last night, by working pretty much nonstop from 2 p.m. until 10:30. It was due at midnight, and I got it done with ninety minutes to spare.
Whew.
This is the last project of that class, and although I have another big project due for another class, it isn’t due until May 11th, and I plan to finish it next week when the class I teach is over and I only meet with them once more for the final.
Whew.
This has been a busy semester, but I’ve loved every second of it.
And that is my way of saying why I am just now getting around to posting about my first weekend in the Weekend Warriors!
So, would I have survived Clove’s knife attack? Can I climb a tree yet? Can I run for my life?
Well, no. Not yet. However, I did successfully accomplish all of my goals! I exercised every day! I tracked my calories every day, drank all my water, and yesterday morning, I saw a number (363) on the scale I had not seen in a LOOOONG time.
I think I’m going back to weekly weigh-ins. I’m going to keep doing PhysicsDiet, because I like seeing my average weight drop, but I just miss the excitement of a weekly weigh-in.
Wednesday seem like they’ll be a good day, as the summer is almost here, and as a college instructor, I get the summers (mostly) off! Woo hoo! I only teach on Tuesday and Thursday this summer, so Wednesday just feels like a good weigh-in day for now.
That’s just my way of explaining that I’ll be back tomorrow with a for-real weigh-in.
Weekend Warriors will definitely be back at the end of May. We had three participants this time (thanks Brandon and Erin!), but hopefully, we’ll have more as it goes. Once a month, I need to light a fire under me. Hopefully, this weekend will carry me through until then!
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Match-Up #8: Yoga Booty vs. a Boring Gym Routine
I get more and more behind on these all the time. And really, as I’ve been a bit grounded from traditional exercise for the last week (minor injury resulted in me not being able to work out in the traditional sense), I should have already caught up. But I did not, so today, I’ll get one post closer. (And I need to post sooner, because by the time I get around to posting it, sometimes it’s been a week or more (much more, in this case), and I’ve forgotten a bit about the videos. Whoops.)
This match-up is between Yoga Booty Ballet (Tina’s suggestion) and the Abs Diet Workout 2.
I’ll be honest – Yoga Booty Ballet was a LOT more fun than I was expecting it to be. It involves dancing, yoga, and some light toning type moves.
However, it didn’t burn NEARLY as many calories as I would have guessed it would. I like the yoga aspect, because I am SO stiff, I need to stretch more, but I wanted more dancing to get more of a sweat going. Didn’t happen, although I did burn enough calories that I’d be willing to do this workout again.
The second video in the match up was the Abs Diet Workout 2. (I can’t find Abs Diet Workout 1.)
This video was boring. It consisted of some guy coaching two women lifting weights on a boring set.
For a long time.
There was a cardio session, too, but this is not a video that I would ever select to do for fun.
So who was the winner?
Abs Diet Workout 2. Of course. The boring video.
I can’t say I hated this video, because it wasn’t dangerous, it wasn’t too easy, it wasn’t too hard, and it wasn’t overly complicated. It was just boring. The closet analogy I can think of is imagine going to the gym to lift weights and run on the treadmill for an hour, but you forgot your iPod at home and the gym’s music speakers are boring, so all you have to listen to is gym noise. You still get a good workout, but dang. It was boring.
When this video shows up in the next round, I may put a little music on in the background to help me get through this video, because the calorie burn was decent and I do feel like I got a good workout.
How do you get through a boring workout?
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