Wednesday, August 21, 2013

#NotEatingAllTheThings - the demise of my diet attempts

Way back, sometime between San Francisco Marathon last year and CIM, I hit this weight, and it stuck - I was marathon training, and I was content where it was. It didn't take any real effort to stay there, and I wasn't really concerned with losing any, at least not enough to be bothered with it.

Between CIM and Eugene, though, I continued to eat kind of whatever I wanted. While that strategy worked a-okay while I was in marathon training for CIM, it was no bueno when I ran about half the mileage in my Eugene cycle. It's not a surprise that I gained a few pounds.

When Becka and I brainstormed the #NotEatingAllTheThings Challenge during Eugene and the weekend of eating EVERYTHING, I figured I would just play along and see what happened. I'm not really big on numbers, and don't really have a "goal" weight - I kind of have a "feel better at this" weight, and a "that number makes my clothes uncomfortable" weight.

So, listen. I played along with the #NotEatingAllTheThings Challenge for awhile - I still send Becka pictures of most of my meals, I still weigh in habitually on Tuesday's (official weigh in day; Friday just for funs).

Weighing in has become an exercise in frustration for me - not because I'm not hitting a certain number (I have no certain number in mind still), but because my body just seems to be perpetually screaming, "NAH NAH NAH NAH I DO WHAT I WAAAANT CAN'T TAME ME!", and I gain/lose 2-3 lbs within a few days, back and forth, over and over. It didn't really matter what I ate, or what exercise I did.

So by the numbers on the scale, this has not been a success for me. While Becka has lost something like 18+ lbs, I have lost.....

6 pounds, net. Since May. I'm dead smack right back where I was in December, last year.

I dropped a few pounds initially, and I've been hovering at the same spot for about two months now. (In full disclosure, I am currently another pound down according to yesterday's weigh in, but I'm assuming it will pop back up, because my body LOVES what I weigh THE END).

I'm still running a fairly low mileage (25ish mile weeks), but I'm doing a LOT more cross training and strength work than I have before.

I still eat kind of whatever I want, but probably more reasonable than I was early this year. Maybe.


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The result of this, is that despite the number refusing to budge, I am certainly more fit than I've been... maybe ever?

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Unsure why my face is being a jerk
I  have tiny muscles, even. IT'S TRUE.
Bad lighting, but I swear they exist, not just in my brain.

So, I guess this is the thing.

I don't measure weight loss in any other way - I don't use a tape measure or fancy scale. I know my clothes are looser. I know my beautiful striped Lulu Pace Setter is too big.

I know that the stupid tank top arms video used to be hard with 2lb weights, but now it's manageable with 5lb weights.

I guess my conclusions from this Challenge are:

  • I'd rather feel stronger, than skinnier
  • As long as I'm comfortable in my clothes, I'm pretty indifferent to my weight
  • The numbers don't really mean all that much
  • I'm not willing to give up foods I love
  • Counting calories is BORING and tedious
  • It's easy for me to get carried away and "reward" myself, when I'm being too restrictive (and I use that word VERY loosely).
  • It's easier for me to eat what I want in moderation, all the time. I'm way less prone to "rewards" that way.


Anyway. I didn't want to just abandon the #NotEatingAllTheThings, without filling in the ending.

Thus concludes my experiment.

I declare Becka the winner!


7 comments:

  1. Congrats to B! You are a gracious (and strong) loser.

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  2. I agree 100% with this post. That is all.

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  3. I totally agree with not judging by the scale, that thing is a little beyotch. How you feel and how your clothes fit is a much better indicator! And look at those muscles, you're getting all strong and stuff!

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  4. I think the most important thing, obviously, is how you feel. The numbers don't really matter, although since I'm super lazy about measuring, it makes me feel like I'm making progress, ya know?

    What a horrible experiment this was :D

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  5. You and Becka are both winners because you stopped "eating all the things" which was the point - right?

    What is this tank top arms workout you guys keep talking about? I need some of those.

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  6. I think you are right to not focus on the number on the scale and listen instead to what your body is saying, especially if your clothes are fitting like you want them too. You look great.

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  7. I think you still did great, even if you haven't achieved all the goals from the challenge. The important thing here is that you've already started the path to a better lifestyle, starting with your motivation for fitness. So even if things didn't work out as you've planned, your time and effort to do the challenge weren't wasted.

    Fitness Together Chagrin Falls

    ReplyDelete

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