So I’ve got about a week and a half of exercise classes under my belt, and despite continuing to fantasise about my old life in the armchair, the asshole voice in my head hasn’t really made any significant dink in my determination to drag this fat old body to a better place. Between you and me, I reckon we’re both a bit scared of pissing off the God of Pain. Who, by the way critiqued my food diary before the weekend and made it clear I had to do better…it didn’t pass muster.
Which made me think. I’d stayed within points. Sort of. Well I had, it’s just that I’d used up all my exercise points too, of which I’d earned loads because I did loads. So I ate loads. God forbid that all that effort should go unrewarded, right? God forbid that so much as one point to which I’m entitled might sneak by uneaten…not on my watch.
And, dammit, I realised that the asshole voice had sneaked in through the back door and presented a very compelling argument that since I was working so hard, all those extra points I’d earned could be spent on whatever I liked.
Which is how come my food diary was peppered with two sticks of chocolate here, and a handful of Pringles there…looking from the outside in, I can see why I deserved harsh words. It probably didn’t read like the food diary of someone who was determined to lose weight, you know? Viewed from an athlete’s perspective, my fat-girl thinking stuck out like a sore thumb.
And hands up, it’s a fair cop – the needle didn’t move on the scale this week. I ate within points starts to sound a bit hollow when I’m faced with the reality that I’m in exactly the same place that I was in last week – all that effort, and all those sore muscles just to stand still.
Even as I’m writing this, the asshole voice is busy being all outraged and trying to convince me that muscle weighs heavier than fat, and that I’ve actually lost weight and gained muscle…yeah, nice try dickhead, technically that may be the case but after one week and change I’m not buying it. I just ate my efforts, is the long and short of it.
The additional points that all my hard work brought home should’ve been points in the bank, but in exactly the same way that I’m hopeless at saving money, there were available food funds which burned a hole right through my pocket and I pretty much ate them as soon as I’d earned them, on the basis that I was allowed. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Hmm…innocent face my arse, I wasn’t doing it right either.
So, lesson learned… time to regroup. God of Pain gave me a suggested diet plan which is all around clean eating and to be fair, it’s not a million miles away from what I’ve been eating, just without the crap that wormed its way in through the back door. I’m not going to stop counting Weight Watchers Smart Points, even though he doesn’t approve of diets…but, I take his point about when I’m eating and more importantly when I’m not eating. I can do better.
I’m going to go for a turbo-charged week. I’m going to eat well, space it out properly, carbs before a workout, protein after, and no crap…I refuse to tread water for another week because of what I’m putting in my mouth when I’m sweating my cahoonies off on a daily basis to support my journey. This week, I’m going to make every bead of sweat count 🙂
I’m so proud of you for jumping deep in to the gym routine. You are going at it hard and strong. I didnt lose weight if I ate my exercise points. I had a tendency to eat whatever I wanted as long as it was within my points but most of it wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t until I changed my eating to more healthy food that the weight started falling off faster. Healthy food is generally lower in calories so I could eat more and feel fuller, which resulted in less cravings. I always read here but don’t often post, I’m a women of few words. Dee I love to read about your progress and will always root for you. Your doing great.
Hi Laura, thanks so much for the encouragement, I learn loads from you guys and it really helps to know what has or hasn’t worked for other folk!
Dee, it’s a tough pill to swallow. You are doing great. Tweaking your diet (nutrition) may be what you need to do. You’ve developed a rhythm and maybe now is the time to step outside your comfort zone. I’m a huge chicken and vegetables proponent. Hang in there, your determination will not let you derail. You got this!
You’re right Tracey, no way am I falling off the rails. I do eat all the right things, my problem is not eating all the wrong things too!
Dee, you are doing a fantastic job. Working out as often as you are is commendable – I have never managed to enjoy the gym! I just wanted to add something from my own experience – I joined a gym about 2 years ago and had personal training sessions and saw the nutritionist. Many trainers and nutritionists live in their own perfect world and often it is not realistic or sustainable for most of us. The list of foods I was allowed to eat was very restrictive and made everything very difficult. They are also great believers in loading yourself up with protein shakes and vitamins. I found it impossible to stick to and lost very little weight. I quit the gym, joined WW and have been very successful. I do try and cut out most processed or added sugar and try to make healthy choices but I don’t deprive myself of anything I really want. I have now stuck at WW for over a year! Probably the thing that helped me most was earning exercise points but never ‘eating’ them. I would use my daily points and weekly points but never the exercise ones – and I usually earn around 100 per week.
The most important thing is to find something that is sustainable for the long term – my experience is trainers hate WW but it works!
You’re right Claire, it does. And I think that’s exactly how I need to be 🙂
“I just ate my efforts, is the long and short of it.”
You see the truth, Dee! I use points and I’ve learned that I have to keep exercise totally separate in my mind or I stand still or regain. I don’t calculate fit points at all because an hour of running is like 2/3rds of a Kind bar or something ridiculous. Exercise for fitness and emotional/mental benefits, points for weight loss and never the twain shall meet…
You’re right Margaret…that’s the way forward.I guess I had to discover it, right? Every day’s a lesson 🙂
To an extent, “eating within points” when the points are calculated to be low enough to help you lose is technically correct. When it comes down to it, our bodies do everything they can to hang on to the weight (a survival thing ages ago and unneeded now), so eating as clean as you can, and under points, will help a lot.
Yeh that’s what I figured Mimi…I’m pulling out all the stops this week 🙂
Wild cheers!!- omg, Whatever the Bitch in the Bathroom has to say this month, it’s of only marginal interest. Remember we’re seeking to control or fine tune INPUT & (secondarily) just measuring OUTCOMES.
More power to you!
love, Fleury
You’re bob on there Fleury…I didn’t even flinch yesterday you know? I’m so psyched to realise that bad news from the bitch no longer sends me into a tailspin…overall I know I’ve got this, and I just keep on pushing forward. Input all the way 🙂
You know, the mindset shift that really helped me, and might help you too is this: when it comes to food and exercise I’m not working out so that I can eat more, I’m eating so that I can get the most out of the exercise I’m doing. Because exercise isn’t about burning calories, it’s about improving fitness, right? And actually that’s why you started working out more often, because you want to be in tip-top condition for your Cuba trip.
I also think that moving away from the entire mindset of food-as-reward is helpful too. A handful of Pringles isn’t a reward for exercising, it’s just a handful of Pringles. There’s nothing wrong at all with eating Pringles, but it’s not super helpful to me at least to think about food either as something I have to “earn” or “deserve” (and am not allowed to eat unless I’ve “earned” it), or as an automatic reward system. Eating generally clean never a bad idea either, but I think it’s important not to demonise the chocolates and the sweets that you want to eat less of. A lot of people swear by 80% “clean”, whole foods, vegetables, etc. and 20% “treat” foods. That seems to be where the sweet spot for food sanity and getting the right nutrition to fuel your exercise and your life lies for a lot of people, including me! Okay, some people have trigger foods that they can’t eat ever, but that doesn’t mean eating has to be a totally utilitarian affair.
We’re all different, it’s an individual process of finding what works for you — which is while I’m sure GoP’s diet plan is great it’s also worth bearing in mind that he probably gives the same plan to everyone so it’s okay to deviate a little bit if you find that, say, it’s unrealistic to avoid all carbs outside of the window around your workout every single day, or whatever. It might also be helpful to frame WW not as a “diet” so much as a system of accountability and awareness for what you’re eating. Because realistically you’re going to have to be accountable and mindful about what you’re eating for the rest of your life, right? Even if you don’t count points or calories forever, there are still going to be some checks and balances in place. No doubt GoP’s issue with diets is that people crash diet over the short term and then quit and regain all the weight, but what he’s offering you is still a “diet” that has all the same pitfalls, it’s just a slightly different system of accountability and it’s up to the user to make it work. Just some thoughts!
You’re doing great! Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good, remember to celebrate your successes as well as troubleshooting your failures. I read and lurk a lot and find you very hard on yourself. This probably comes off as really earnest and cheesy, but you’re doing a lot better in terms of behaviour and habit change than you might realise.
Hey Maria, lovely to meet you and I really appreciate the benefit of your experience…you talk sense, lady! Thanks for the encouragement…you lot rock 🙂
Good for you! I agree that the quality of what we’re eating does matter – it’s not all about the point value. You’ll feel great after a week of staying away from the junk!
Watch this space Beth and I’ll let you know!
One thing that no-one ever tells you when you start an exercise program is that the body gets a bit of a shock (that part you know) and it releases more cortisol (the stress hormone) into your system which can result in you standing still on the scale. However, once the body realises that this exercise thing is the new normal, the cortisol levels return to where they were and you should start seeing the weight coming down. Usually takes about 2 weeks or so. Keep on going, you are doing so well.
M
Is that right Moira? Jeez Louise I never even knew that. All of a sudden I don’t feel so bad! Thank you that’s really helped 🙂