14.5 [Day 32] Too Good to be True? Lessons Learned



Today's afternoon snack=130 cals

Yesterday's Eats:  797 Cals
I lost another pound.  Overnight.  I didn't even go to the gym.  I'm 114.5 on the main scale [114 on the extra one!!] WTF is going on??  Don't get me wrong.  I am absolutely thrilled but I am confused also.  It feels too good to be true so I'm afraid that it is.  This is period week and I'm off the BC pill.  That must be the only reason why the numbers are dropping like crazy.  Although, last month I was on a plateau from hell and even period week didn't stop it.  I want to enjoy this but at the same time I don't want to get too happy because realistically, I know it will go up.  I have breathing room for it to go up and still feel comfortable but it will still suck.  It always sucks seeing the numbers rise.


Lessons Learned:

• Consistency is key:  When you are trying to lose you do not have the luxury of losing control.  The highest number of calories I've eaten within the last 32 days is 1527.  Aside from that there have been about 3 days or where I got to 1300 or so.  Granted 1500 feels like a binge to me but technically, I know it's not.  I realize that I'm not a "binge eater."  I've never sat there and eaten a whole box of cookies or plowed through the fridge eating everything in sight.  I've eaten a lot of chips but not the whole bag.  I've eaten way too much at restaurants and been open the top button full but not to the point of pain.  I've had visions of fast food splurges and eating 3 donuts in one sitting but never acted on it.
• Be patient.  When I was on that plateau I thought I would die.  118 day after day after day.  But I didn't give up.  I stayed consistent and eventually the scale dropped even though it felt impossible that it ever would.
• Get past the hunger.  The first couple of days I was starving all the time.  It was awful.  But once I got past that and into the 800 calorie a day mode it passed.  Save as many calories as you can for later in the day. It's easier to hold out when you know at some point you will get to eat then face a whole day ahead with almost no calories left.
• Restrict but don't starve.  It's important to find balance.  I still don't know for sure if I'm screwing my metabolism by eating 800 calories but it seems to be a good number for me right now.  I like the idea of having a couple 1200 calorie days in there too.  Not an all out pig out fattening food binge for the sake of it but just days where I get in more calories.  Trying to get some good nutrition into that 800 calories is good too.  Fiber, veggies, beans, fruit, whole wheat's.  The 1st time I lost all my weight all I ate was fat free candy, pretzels and chips.  I was exhausted because I wasn't getting any nutrients and then my metabolism shut down.  When that happens you are finished.
• Restraint in dining out and social settings:  This is huge for me.  I used to use these situations as an excuse to go hog wild.  I have gotten a lot better though.  I haven't been out to a restaurant to eat or had too many happy hours in the last month so maybe I haven't really proven myself here and it's just been luck.  I'm feeling confident that dining out won't be a problem.  I think I still need to work on happy hours though because of the alcohol factor and the cheap fatty foods.  It feels so good at the time to eat without restraint but it's usually not worth it the next day.
• Indulge.  I know I just said restrict but I think this is important too.  The more you deny yourself the more you want it and feel miserable that you can't have it.  I ate my one serving of candy yesterday.  I got my fix and did it in moderation.  I might even be inclined to eat a donut if the opportunity presented itself.  It's 200 cals and as long as I don't do it every day and work it into my calorie budget it will be OK.
• Get your poop on.  The fiber one has helped in two ways.  It is deceptively filling which helps me get past the hunger and the fact that I'm regular.  Before I used to feel like I was this incredible non pooping woman.  I'd put stuff in but nothing would come out.  No wonder it was so hard to lose weight.
• Work out. I've gotten lower on zero exercise before. I don't know how but I did.  I didn't count calories back then but I suspect it was pretty low which ultimately led to metabolism shut down.  This time around I wasn't so lucky.  Which might be a good thing for me.  I had to work for it and getting my butt to the gym probably made a huge difference.  Maybe it's allowing me to eat more thus preventing that whole spiraling downward cycle of starvation and metabolism death.  I went a lot when I was off but have only gone 2x per week in the last two weeks. Even so, I think it was helpful. It got my mind right. It kept me on track and allowed me to feel less anxious about my intake especially on those days where I finished in the negatives.  I don't have to kill myself in the gym every day but I should continue to go. 

It's all about finding that delicate balance.  I'm no expert but I've been doing this "diet" thing for so long.  Too long.  I will probably fail at this more times then I succeed and there are times when I am just worn out from caring at all.  Times when my body refuses to cooperate even when I do everything "right."  Numerous times when I just feel like saying "screw it" and giving up.  When I'm crying next week because the scale has decided to go in reverse I can refer back to this post for encouragement.