I’m on day 35 of 60 and over halfway through the program! I’m really enjoying it and this week I even had a cheat meal (it was delicious!) without even a blip.
How Did Week 5 Go on my Weight Loss Journey?
This week was just alright, if I’m honest. There were some wins and some things that felt like set backs. But I came out the other end of it and I look forward to starting anew next week.
Still feeling like the meal planning is keeping things together for me. I just really feel like there’s only so many decisions I can make in a day and when you’re in the middle of a global pandemic, ‘what to eat for lunch today’ isn’t the best use of my mental bandwidth.
At the beginning of the week (Mon-Wed) I was very emotional and I had no idea why. I broke down crying in the middle of the workout Wednesday (bawling, ugly tears) and just felt so depleted. But again, there was no rhyme or reason. My energy level was still high so it wasn’t physical depletion – just mental depletion.
But the second half of the week, I was in much better spirits. The most important thing though is that throughout the entire week – ups and downs – I did not stop.
Nutrition This Week: 7 out of 7 days
Still going strong on the nutrition front and meal planning has helped immensely with this. Even though I had a cheat meal Saturday night, I am still saying I conquered 7 out of 7 days because I planned ahead for it. I planned for it and I still ate in the right portion sizes.
In case you’re curious, the cheat meal was two Baja Shrimp tacos from Torchy’s Tacos. Complete with chipotle ranch dressing. OMG, it was heaven. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Surprisingly, even maybe more so than when it was a regular meal in my repertoire.
Typing that out right now, that’s a win in of itself. You don’t have to be perfect. You can enjoy an “unhealthy meal” even. Just do so in moderation, and in full mindfulness so that you appreciate every ounce of flavor.
Fitness: 5 out of 5 days
This week, Barre Blend really upped the intensity. It’s only 5 minutes longer than the previous weeks’ workouts but boy do you feel those 5 minutes. It’s wild!
My fitness goal this next week is to not always jump straight to the modifier. I assume that because this is my first time doing the program and because I wasn’t in the best shape that I need to do the modifier. I’m going to push myself this week and start with the more advanced option and work my way down to the modifier if need be.
You can’t move forward if you don’t push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Cheat Meals and Your Weight Loss Journey:
I struggled with what to write about this week in my “musings” section. Maybe because I’m still feeling a tad depleted. But I’ve landed on cheat meals.
They seem to have both a good and bad reputation.
Some say that cheat meals are great because you reset your body. It “tricks” your body into thinking that food is plentiful and that it’s okay to burn through fat stores.
They also say that it can help keep you on track long term because you know you have things you love coming.
Some say that cheat meals are awful because they breed guilt and can lead to obsessive thoughts and even binge eating. On the guilt side, the thought is that by labeling it a “cheat” then you’re training yourself that certain foods are forbidden and that leads to feeling like you’re doing something wrong when you do indulge.
Another line of thinking on the “bad” side of this is that if you need to have a “cheat meal” then your program is too restrictive in the first place. That it’s not really a lifestyle.
Here’s my personal opinion and – for legal purposes – I am not a dietitian, nutritionist, or medical professional. This is just purely my own thoughts on the subject.
You have to know yourself. Like really know yourself.
You have to know what motivates you. What makes you anxious. What will help you succeed and what might become an obsession. Then like with almost every other thing in this world, you have to do what is right for you.
For me, I personally don’t like calling it a “cheat meal” because literally the word “cheat” makes me anxious. It’s as simple as that. So I choose to say “I’m indulging this evening” or something like that.
I also choose not to schedule them in. Meaning, I don’t say “every Saturday night is a cheat meal” because then that makes me feel restricted. It would make me feel like I can only have something that I love once a week and even if I don’t want to indulge on a Saturday night, I have to otherwise I won’t be able to for another week.
Instead, I schedule them in if I know I have an event or a date night or something like that but I am free to indulge when I feel like it. Now, of course there is a bit of awareness that has to come with this. I would not choose to indulge every single night. But I do find that not being restrictive about when I’m able to, makes me feel like “food is plentiful” and “it’s okay to indulge.”
Which brings me to my final thing and that is awareness. I have no desire for my healthy habits (eating, working out, etc) to become an obsession. And I don’t want to constantly think about food or calories. I would hate to start hoarding food or throwing perfectly good things in the trash because I can’t have them in the house. Plus my boyfriend would hate me for that! I also wouldn’t want to be so restrictive that it’s not sustainable without special cheats.
Instead I want to be aware of the decisions I’m making, good or bad. I choose to listen to my body and my mind on what I need that day. I also choose to challenge myself if my mind is telling me I really need donuts. Sometimes, my mind wins and I get a donut. Sometimes it doesn’t win, and I choose to have a piece of fruit and a nibble of dark chocolate instead. When I do indulge, as I mentioned earlier, I am fully aware. Aware of how everything tastes, of how I feel before, during, and after eating it, and aware of how much I’m eating.
Basically, I am training myself to be sensible. Not restrictive, obsessive, or glutinous.
Weekly Grade: 95 out of 100.
I am feeling a really high grade this week. Namely because of my reactions.
I was very emotional for half of the week but I pushed through and finished my workouts anyway.
Really, I was not always thrilled with my meals this week when I felt like I had to have “yet another salad” and so I would find a healthy way to change the taste up and make it seem different.
Saturday, I had an indulgent dinner and chose to watch my portion sizes and not have a cocktail alongside it.
I made good choices, I followed a plan, I showed up. I won. 🙂
Results to Date: Down 6 pounds.
I didn’t lose any additional weight this week which was disappointing. But I am still 6 pounds down which makes me happy. Especially after having those creamy, ranchy tacos Saturday night!
My boyfriend told me that your body will always look for a way to adapt and not lose weight. It’s in our DNA. So his take is that likely, my body finally learned to adapt to this new diet and exercise and now I need to shake it up a bit to get the weight coming off again. Makes logical sense to me. Hence why my workout goal this week is to not always go for the modifier. Start at the hardest level and pull back only if/when I need to.
Let’s push this week!
P.S – See previous check-ins here.
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