Thursday, March 7, 2013

Going to try something new - no more scale and more cardio

I have been a slave to the scale for over two years. I know my patterns. I know how to eat. I know how to exercise, so why am I letting the scale beat me up?

I was so bummed at the slow losses with the weight loss challenge, that I just ate more than I should have for the last several days - undoing some of the work I just did! How stupid is that? Why did I let a slower loss than I wanted to see upset me so much? It's stupid!

So, I've decided that I'm not going to step on the scale until sometime in late May or early June. I'll do it in the part of the month where I can expect to see the least amount of water weight. If my cycle stays as is, that will be around May 29th or so. In that time, I hope it will down about 10 pounds (or more), but if it isn't, am I going to get upset? No... the only thing I will be upset about is no weight loss or a weight gain. Those just aren't options!  It doesn't matter how fast or how slow it comes off at this point. It is the weight coming off and getting more fit that matters. The pace of it DOES NOT.

We'll see if I can stick with it. It will be a big change after monitoring my weight so frequently for so long. Though, even now I haven't been weighing myself daily until it's the time of the month I expect to see losses. What's the point of watching the water weight creep up on me?

I'm also going to do more cardio. While strength is good, it's the cardio that burns more calories and it boosts my mood the most. So, I'm going to shoot for cardio 4 days a week and strength 2 times a week. I had been doing about 3 and 3 or 2 and 3 (with more strength than cardio). I need to mix it up a bit and go with what I know works. I've lost better with doing more cardio.

I plan to start doing step again (a great cardio burn), some spinning, and maybe some fast walking outside and/or some running on the treadmill - oh and Zumba with the only instructor that really works us (on Fridays!). On other days, I'll do strength training. My husband and I are thinking of moving away from bodypump and going to the weight room to work out. If I don't like that, or can't get the hang of it, then I'll switch to TRX.

So, lots of options. Lots of things changing. I just need to change things up as I'm feeling a bit in a rut and disappointed with how things are going. That's no good.

I'll probably monitor my measurements a bit, but again, not stress about it. I just need to do what I know I should be doing. Warmer weather and more daylight will help. The winter funk will lift and I will have an easier time of it.

This winter was one of the easiest it's been as far as winter funks go (actually the last three have been) and I know it's the exercise, but I still feel it. Darn lack of sunlight!!! I'm already planning some gardening/landscaping projects too - more ways to get some vitamin D the natural way too! But this year I will be ultra vigilant about poison ivy (and poison oak!)

Starting weight is probably about 185ish as I'm sure I gained with the M&Ms and Reeses Pieces the last couple days.

Back at it Melissa!!!!! (Hey, and only two to three days of too much isn't the end of the world - though not caving in would have been even better!)

Oh, and our snow day yesterday? Pffft. Nothing of it. There is no evidence of snow left either. It snowed a bit and then rained. it looked like a big slurpee where there was snow. No fun and so we just sat in the house all day and felt bummed at the lack of snow! Wah! Another year of no snow to play in. Last year we didn't get ANYTHING, this year we got snow 4 times but less than an inch each of those times.

1 comment:

  1. I am at 160 and stuck. I am working on it. It sucks. I would say that I am not sure exercise is the key. For me... exercise can actually make a problem. Something about water in the muscles and I bloat right on up. And the exercise just isn't worth it. I mean 1 hour at the gym and it says I burned 200 calories. But if I just sat at home I would have burned 60 calories. So I really burned 140 extra? Is that worth it? Exercise is valuable for health but I don't think weight loss. I find low exertion exercise to work best for this (spend the day at the mall walking around) or even spend the day chewing sugar free gum. It has to be a sustained long time exercise that doesn't cause your muscles to grab water. My brother has always been thin and I thin it is because he is unable to stay still. His feet move all day long even when he is resting on the couch.

    Something that can work for me (I just have to get strict about it) is a hard cut in calories on the weekend. That sort of even's out any cheating or inadvertent eating during the week. And usually results in a lb loss. It also seems to shock my body.

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