This past week has been a bit all over the place nutritionally. I had some really spot-on days where I ate clean, hit my calorie goals, and felt great. There were also a couple of days where I kind of fixated on junk and ended up over eating...one day by a lot. My hope for this week was just to lose 0.4 pounds, and I might have. The scale, however, said I gained 0.4 pounds instead. That may have been confusing so I'll say it again. It's definitely possible that I lost half a pound of fat this week while my body retained extra water causing the scale to show a slight gain.
For those of you who don't know, water retention can be caused by a number of factors including: high sodium intake, intense muscle soreness (like from starting a new workout - or in my case pushing harder on workouts), not drinking enough water, time of the month (for women), and general hormone fluctuations.
I'm experiences at least three of those things right now so it's definitely plausible that the gain on the scale is not genuine. Especially since the mirror and my clothes indicate that I'm doing well. Plus, if I look at the big picture, I lost 9 pounds in only 4 weeks, and that's pretty darn awesome. Plus, I feel great, and my quads are hard as rocks! I'm not kidding! I poked one yesterday while I was standing up and I couldn't believe how strong they were (I even made the bf confirm my impressions). And even better, I'm pushing harder in my workouts and I'm even doing the harder version of the burpees! Weight loss is just one piece of the puzzle; overall fitness is just as important to me. Because, for me at least, what's the point of looking great in a dress if you get winded walking up the stairs? There are so many things I want to do, like try out water skiing this summer, that require me to be strong and fit, not just lighter. So, I'm counting month one of Combat as a success!
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I also want to talk briefly about the stuff that happens in our heads. As I was grocery shopping last night before dinner, I was hunger and wasn't terribly excited about the dinner I had planned (egg and cheese on a whole grain english muffin). I caught myself day dreaming about going to McDonalds (there's one right next to the store) or getting something yummy while I was shopping. I was shocked to find myself thinking that, almost like I was trying to convince myself that it was a good idea (it wasn't). I also realized that those thoughts were the likely cause of the cravings for junk. I thought back over the week, and every day I ate something unhealthy, I realized that I had spent a good portion of time beforehand thinking about how good it would taste and building the food up in my head as something desirable even though it was super unhealthy and I knew it wouldn't help me reach my weight loss and fitness goals.
What the heck was I thinking?! My brain was certainly not doing me any favors in that moment.
Now, that I've identified this thought process, and its eventual outcome, I've got a plan this week that I'm challenging everyone reading this to do with me. Every time we find ourselves thinking about junk food, or wishing we could* eat something unhealthy, I want us to replace those thoughts with ones about being at our goal weight/goal fitness level, doing things we're not currently able to do. For me, I'm going to imagine myself crossing the finish line of a 5K that I didn't need to take any walking breaks for, or taking on the water skis and succeeding.
What do you say? Will you do this with me? I'm ready to have an awesome week and I hope you will, too.
Stay healthy!
*I do want to mention that I don't feel that any food should be "forbidden." I do feel, however, that unhealthy foods should not take over our thoughts. I fully intend to build in one "treat" meal a week, but I want to do it in a controlled way, where I feel comfortable with my calorie goals for the week, rather than letting my brain build me into a craving and then splurging multiple times a week, since that's not going to help me reach my goals.
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