Building our white picket fence.
I tend to struggle a great deal with tackling various tasks, life adventures, or projects out of fear of failing. Who will join me in just going for it? What do we have to lose anyway? Take this note into the weekend, let it sit and simmer on your brain, and let’s all start next week off in full slay mode. Happy Friday!
…stepping on the scale! So I broke my weight loss plateau, I’m feeling sexier than ever, and it’s Scorpio season! I’m below my September progress report weight, but I will not be posting another progress report until later this month. I’m one who gets very stuck on what the scale reads. I’m one who dreads hospital weigh-ins because they make you step on the scale with ALL of your clothes on, and with EVERYTHING in your pockets. So what is it that makes me – and plenty others in the world – step on the scale knowing that a person’s weight shifts up and down throughout the week?
The morning I weighed myself, out of pure curiosity, I was feeling light, and my stomach looked like it had shrunk a bit. “Let me get on this damned scale” I thought as I read the refreshed numbers under my feet. Success! The plateau was broken. It’s been just under a week since that morning, and every morning since then, I’ve been tempted to get on the scale. This is why I’ve learned to avoid scales and monitor my weight based on how my clothes fit and feel. There’s no reason I need to be weighing myself every single day. I mean I could, but I’d only be pissed, discouraged, or overly motivated to lose weight.
For me, I know how I react to any weight gain, and it’s not terrible, but I definitely have my downer moment if the numbers don’t read how I hoped they would. Lifting weights regularly will make your weight go up and down, and I hit the weights pretty hard during the week. I remind myself of these things constantly, but still, there’s an itch that almost leads me to the scale most mornings. Does this happen to any of you? If you know you’re following your preferred diet well, getting in some exercise, and feeling generally positive about your body and progress, then why do we long for daily validation from these devices that haunt our bathroom floors?
Talk to me in the comment section, and shout out to all my Scorpios!
Victory comes in the form of turning down all the tempting, delicious, carb-filled treats that my mother-in-law will present when S and I visit home. We had to put our foot down, and really prove to ourselves that we could stay true our health and fitness goals. S and I try not to worry our friends with our low-carb lifestyle, but a voice popped into my head before we hit the road down South. It was the voice of one of my best friends, ST, in Minnesota. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask someone to respect your diet and lifestyle…” Never wanting to come off as a snooty, delightfully rude individual, I would always eat what was presented, and never put in any special requests for any meal.
What ST said during our visit in Minnesota turned into a gospel, of sorts, just hours before leaving the low-carb sanctuary we call home. The few days we spent visiting the parents went surprisingly well, and it was easy – easier than expected, anyway, when saying no to a mom – to not eat any sprinkled, cream-filled, frosted item. In the past, we would visit home, and assume we’d be eating terribly. It felt good to put an end to an assumption like that, because we now feel like we have full control over how we eat when we aren’t at home. Dealing with naysayers can be enough when it comes to our low-carb, keto lifestyle, but it’s a small price to pay for how great we feel sticking to our regular routine. The downside of it all will affect S’s mother the most… She’s a mom! She will always think we aren’t eating enough.
As promised, I have my first month’s results of maintaining a low carb and ketogenic lifestyle; sticking to my only drinking on Saturday rule:
Data collection #1, August 24, 2015:
Weight – 245.5 lbs
Body fat – 30.5%
BMI – 33.3
Data collection #2, September 26, 2015:
Weight – 237.9
Body fat – 27.5%
BMI – 32.3
Now, remember, I lift weights and do body-weight exercises regularly. Weight-loss is not important here, and is just another benefit of the lifestyle. I’m focused on lowering my overall body fat percentage. If I’m being completely honest, my workouts definitely have room for more intensity. I’m getting comfortable with my current routine, so it’s time to mix things up with some new workouts, and slightly tougher yoga sessions. With that being said, expect the next report a couple weeks early! October 17th is Indiana University homecoming, and I will be enjoying some not-so-low-carb-treats on that day, so expect the next report to come in on October 16th. I’ll eat low carb and keto, but I MUST have a couple beers that day with my fellow Hoosiers 🙂
