Hi! For those who celebrate it, I hope you enjoyed a Happy 4th of July!
The past week has just been KILLER. Two family members ended up in the ER: my 3-year old nephew had an asthma attack; and my mom was hospitalized for 5 days with pneumonia.
My sister, the matriarch of our household, ended up with a horrible flu, passing it on to her entire family. As of today, all four of them are sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, headachy and have had fevers.
Thank goodness my son and I have managed to get by with just allergies and some congestion. Sheesh! I thought the hot summer would bring some relief from colds!
I’ve been to the hospital every day my mom was in, including the 3 hour bout at the ER. Consequently, I’ve been eating a looooooot of fast food– and by a lot, I mean– grilled chicken chipotle bbq wraps with extra lettuce three times this past week, one trip to get a bean burrito and a (gasp) crispy taco, and one trip to Zippy’s for won ton min. (For those not in the know, it’s a ramen with dumplings).
Add at least one diet soda every single day this past week, sometimes two, and guess what happened? I increased in width. 
I could actually feel the difference between this week and last, because I couldn’t fit into a pair of pants I was so proud to wear near the end of June. One inch makes a huge difference in the hips, let me tell ya.
So, here’s what I’ve learned. I like to have something sweet every day, and I’ve been getting by with my morning medium-sized iced vanilla latte (no sugar added powder) with an extra shot of espresso.
When I’m stressed out, however, I crave salty, fatty foods. Although I managed to keep my calories and sugar intake at a relatively acceptable level, I guesstimate that I increased my sodium intake by 100%. Add to that a more than occasional diet soda, and it’s no wonder I feel bloated.
I included my goal sheet below my measurements so that you can see the difference between my progress and the goals I’ve set. And here’s the disturbing thing… I have 12 pounds and 4 inches to go… in exactly two weeks from today.
So, now why is my weight less? I have a couple of theories:
- My scale is totally broken. (I’ve more or less discounted this because I checked my weight with my trainer’s scale twice this past week.)
- I’m totally dehydrated. (I’m always dehydrated, so I’m not sure about this one.)
- Fat weighs less than muscle, or, I actually gained fat. (Hm. Interesting theory. I need to track data to hopefully disprove this.)
- I’m bloated. (Fast food + diet soda? This is very possible.)
- I’ve actually been doing more strenuous workouts, including more swings and cleans, and walking for longer distances, sometimes jogging, resulting in burning more calories than usual. (This is the theory I like the best!)
Theories aside, I need to take action! The only way I am going to be able to lose the pounds is by increasing my metabolism and decreasing my caloric intake.
If I don’t meet my first goal, I’ll re-evaluate my progress and potentially, need to change my birthday goal. Which doesn’t sit well with me.
For now, I am going to avoid the “convenience” of fast food, pack snacks at all times for myself and the kids, stop drinking diet soda (wah! okay, I’m over it), and start jogging (Sad. I don’t like high impact exercise. But hey, if that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it)!
Please join me as my journey continues. Today, I could use a little extra encouragement. Also, if you have any tips or tricks, I’d love to hear them. Please post to this blog! Thank you and as always, aloha!
Yikes! Multiple trips to the ER sucks. Sorry to hear you’ve had a rough week. For myself, eating habits are my weakness too and with 2 kids I always find myself just eating whatever they don’t eat even though I know I should be eating lean protein and not mac-n-cheese and musubi. It is a matter of convenience most of the time so ultimately it is a change in habit and lifestyle. I haven’t been meeting my goals either so if you’re going to draw a new line in the sand, so am I! I’m in this with you, Angela! We can do it!We KNOW we can!
It’s amazing isn’t it, whenever you are getting results it motivates you to do more to get better results, and then when your results slow so do your efforts!
I have 2 bits of advice:
1) Don’t cut calories! You are correct that you need to raise your metabolism, but do not worry about cutting calories. Your body will go into starvation mode and actually store more fat than before as it is wondering where your next meal is coming from. Besides, it’s not that healthy to cut cals either. You need a certain amount to simply run your system!
Instead, I suggest that you eat healthy, often, stop when full.
2) Always be hydrated! I know this doesn’t explain why you were previously getting results and now they have slowed since you say you’ve always been dehydrated, but it is soooo crucial that you drink enough water.
Take your body weight in pounds and drink half that amount in ounces of good quality water each day. You will feel so much better!
I hope this all helps and if you need any help let me know!
My recommendations for eating:
Cutting calories can be very effective. For example just the milk in a nonfat tall iced latte is substancial calories and it’s just a drink. Drink calories are the devil (unless you have the discipline to not eat something else).
Here’s what I eat when I’m in a rush (lunch):
Quizno’s – They have a lot of < 500 calorie meals with not a ton of fat. Their turkey chili is 140cal/cup, get that instead of chips.
Subway – Similar to Quiznos, a foot long Subway Club with no cheese and no mayo is 670cal, will fill you up on veggies for sure.
Sushi – This is good especially if you can get it with whole grain rice. Otherwise I will mix in sashimi. Stay away from rolls with mayonnaise.
Baja Fresh – Their Burrito Mexicano can be ordered "in a bowl" or "bare style" meaning no tortilla. The chicken version is 570 cal and < 30% fat calories.
Pho – The Vietnamese soup is low in calories and high in flavor (and salt), sorry I compensate by eating a lot of salt but my blood pressure is still OK and I sweat like a pig when I work out.
Salad – Places with salad bars rule whether it's a cafeteria, the grocery store, etc… I normally don't use any dressing, instead I use soy sauce (low sodium) and sriracha hot sauce. Don't put cheese on it.
(lol. that’s what a taxpayer called me today… it thought it suits me… lol)
oh wow.
no, i mean Oh Wow.
you are super woman. aside from the advises that the smart people above have given you, i think you are doing marvelous. staying sane and handling all that deserves lots of kudos. dealing with sudden dilemmas throw curve balls left and right and you are managing all of them wonderfully. a week of non healthy eating BECAUSE you were managing hospital trips is OK BECAUSE you are aware of it. and then God and everything else (your body conditioning itself, your metabolism accomodating the food by processing it faster since you’ve been exercising already, etc) are working with you to achieve your goal. i’m glad you have a goal, but your improvement is showing already physically and mentally.
i am extremely proud of you.
more positive thoughts and prayers going your (and your family’s) way!
xoxo
Sorry abt everybody getting sick. That DOES make it hard to work out, and definitely increases stress level. Glad u r managing… even if not to ur liking. One step at a time, that’s all you can do. So long as you keep stepping. And you ARE! So yay for you.