Can we talk about maintenance?
I am 28, 5’2” and when I started losing, I weighed just over 200 pounds. (Not sure of the exact number because I didn’t buy a scale until I started seeing results in the way my clothes fit and my face looked, but it was probably around 205-210.) Over the course of a year I lost down to my lowest weight, which was 120. It was hard work and when I got there, I took a maintenance break for mental health and so I could focus on my fitness. Eating more allowed me the energy to bike more, try bouldering, start running, etc. I continued tracking and meal prepping and though I bumped back up to 125-130, that’s where I’ve stabilized and I’ve been there for the last year or so.
In January though, I started trade school full-time. It’s captivating and I am so happy to be doing it, but with my day job to support myself and the full-time classwork (I’m learning welding and it’s very physically demanding) and the bike commute (I can’t afford a car) I have fallen off the tracking wagon. I haven’t tracked since New Years.
The good news is that my weight has remained the same; and due to budget restrictions and time concerns (I leave the house at 6 a.m and don’t get home until 6 p.m. usually) I can’t eat out and I have to meal prep so my diet is still in pretty good shape. I’m eating over my old maintenance for sure most days, but my pants fit looser and my sleeves fit tighter so I think I’m just doing the fabled “recomp” and will soon become Miss Popeye 💪🏻😜 my bike commute and welding/hammering/hauling steel around is taking care of any excess calories I’m consuming, for now at least.
So what’s the problem??
I don’t have time for running anymore, and my tummy is definitely still flabby, and if I could tack a few extra hours into the day I know I’d be able to tighten things up and lose the last 10 or 12 pounds that I want to lose eventually. (I don’t have a target weight in mind so much as a target physique- I don’t want this belly and jiggly thighs anymore!) But I only have so much mental bandwidth and right now, it needs to go towards my job and my schooling. But I am really struggling to get back into tracking. I can see myself VERY EASILY slipping back into the “It’s just this once” mindset and taking the free cookies at work, buying that soda for my afternoon slump, etc. I’ve already caught myself buying convenience foods for lunch preps a few times (chik’n tenders and potato wedges, or bagel and sausage sandwiches) instead of my usual salads or oatmeal or whatever. I don’t want to get complacent and put on more weight because that will make it so much harder when I am back in a place where I can commit to the deficit again. :(
Does anyone have advice? How do you stay focused during a maintenance break, especially when it’s situational and not chosen? How do you commit to tracking daily when you’re not being rewarded with seeing numbers drop little by little?
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2HcfizI
No comments:
Post a Comment