Anywho. Want some comic relief for this doldrum-y sort of Thurs morning?
Ok.
I got on the scale this morning, as I always do, butt-ass naked with nothing ingested. I literally got out of bed, peed, brushed my teeth and then got on the scale. I gained 3.2 pounds since yesterday.
3.2 pounds? WHAT? HOW? I've had calorie deficits of at least 1200 calories a day for over two weeks now. WHAT?
Ok. Whatever. I'm weightlifting. I'm increasing blood counts, fluids are moving into places they haven't been for awhile, muscles are flushing and fibers are healing. Ok. Whatever. It's good. I'm happy. Really. I'm sore and I'm feeling like my arm/chest/shoulder workout from Tues REALLY kicked butt...which makes me thrilled. Tonight I get to do my legs again (took last night off from cardio to organize the house and get all the little clutter-stuff put away. Our house looks GOOD!)
So...like I say...whatever. You can't spoil me, my day, my life, my journey - you can't spoil anything you dirty stinkin rotten scale.
Love the scale...love the scale....
So I crawl in my shower thrilled at the comic relief.
But wait....there's more!
I take my shower...scrub and wash and shower and condition. I get out of my shower and dry off.
And I decide I'm a glutton and I crawl back on the scale....
I'm now down, yes, down, to only 1.3 pounds gained since yesterday. In my shower, as my husband put it, I "managed to wash away 1.8 pounds". Here I am with wet hair and moist skin and I've lost nearly two pounds!
How can you not laugh at that?
So...I'm still up - 1.2 pounds - from yesterday. But it really is ok. I'm waking my muscles back up. I'm pleased to know they are still in there and some are sorer than others. I'm pleased at what I managed to make sore and I'm especially pleased at what didn't atrophy as much as I thought it had. A lot of my weights are the same as they were last time I was really into lifting...so to be able to pick them right back up meant a lot to me. But I guess this frame (read, body) carrying over 100 excess pounds is bound to do something beneficial (said with a smirk).
Ok. So let's talk calories. How many calories do you eat? How many calories is too few? How many calories becomes too many?
After last weeks fill I am averaging between 700-1000 calories a day. And periodically I have days like yesterday. I set in my little tracker what I was going to eat yesterday morning, as I normally do. And it turned out my dinner of scallops, green beans and mac and cheese was just not enough calories unless I really jacked up the ounces of each that I ate. I planned on 3oz scallops, 2oz green beans and 2oz of mac&cheese. Problem is, 3oz of scallops is, like, nothing. 90 calories and 15g of protein. But I need more than 90 calories.
So when all was said and done, after my normal lunch and...ok...wait...breakfast...smoothie - like normal. But somehow, yesterday, it was WAY too sweet for me. So I took a sip and said 'nope, can't do it' and gave the rest to hubby. Even he, Mr. Sweets-lover himself, couldn't finish it. It was something in the banana and it was weird. Anywho...so didn't get anything for "breakfast" and then lunch was normal. So here I am...with dinner...getting a whole whopping 190 calories for dinner. Unless I eat more - which physically I do not want.
If I left it at that, I would have been at 660 calories for the day. And worried that that and the protein count, as well, were just not enough, I began to scrounge around trying to find ways to make up calories.
Just before dinner I had a serving of almonds. That added 42.
After dinner, in addition to my 1.5oz of yogurt and .5oz of granola that I love love love, I decided I really needed calories....so get this....
Me...the person that HATES candy....ate a peanut butter Twix washed down with a Dr. Pepper.
Doing so got my calorie count to 1100 for the day.
I will say that part of the problem is that there weren't more scallops I could eat. We bought what we thought was appropriate and it turns out...it wasn't. So a learning lesson there.
Now, I'm not worried about the PB Twix or even the Dr. Pepper. It is what it is, I got my calorie count to reasonable - and I chose the PB Twix over a Butterfinger, for example, because PB has protein (5g in the whole candy bar). That 5g of protein got my protein to 58g for the day which is part of what I was after. And Dr. Pepper...sigh...I just love the stuff. I can't drink a whole can to myself anymore and that's perfect. My hubby gets to drink most of it and I get the few sips I'm after. Such. A. Treat!
But should I have left it at 660? I mean, that's nowhere near enough! And I don't want to fall flat because I'm getting too little. I want the right balance of just enough.
660 seems like not enough. I am finding, courtesy of my beloved GoBe, that I really need to be above 750 but if I can stay below 1000 then I seem to do well. Once I go above 1000 then it seems to become binge city unless I really plan it out. Which I did, yesterday, so it worked. There have been a few days, since I have bonded to GoBe, that I was below 650 and those were bad. So apparently my "magic spot" is between ~750 and 1000. That's doable with what I eat and what I prefer. Of course, fill level and TOM both have a hand in being able to do this, too.
Anywho. I just want to get a sense from you, if you'd be willing to share, of what it is that works for you. I realize that not everyone has GoBe's (if new, GoBe is what I named my Gowear Fit) and not everyone tracks. I'm keeping track more because I want to see/understand trends, not because I am being strict with myself. I have learned - as many before me have, too - that if I plan what I will eat today then I am so much more likely to do so. If I say I'll wing it, then I do...and my calorie counts go crazy. It's one of those I need to see it on paper and see how it works out and plays together. And sometimes, like yesterday, it just doesn't really work out - and not for the reasons one might think.
650 seems way to low like you said. I know on days that I do that I am dragging my butt the next day. I personally can't do less than 900 without bitting the dust. Plus I stop losing weight (and when I do I noticed it isn't fat according to my meter). My nut said something about under 1000 you have to be very careful not to lose muscle - which is weird since they put most people on a 900-1100 calorie diet (b/c most of them don't exercise I have been told).
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have found for increasing calories (without the candy bar and pop) is through condiments. For example, I use real butter and cheese or make sauces to go on my fish and chicken. I don't go crazy and have to really watch the fats and sugar, but if I make my own it is pretty easy. If you use greek yogurt you can even up the protein.
Or another thing that is a great pick me up on calories is to do a good cheese spread on some whole grain baked crakers. I do tend to go with the light cheese spreads, and am thinking about making my own with some fresh veggies and light cream cheese.
Although I have to say the twix does sound better and I have done that with a cookie or ice cream from micky d's, but I have to watch my sugars pretty closely :(
As for the weight - hopefully you just pushed your muscles a little too much and they are recovering. I think I read it on Amy W's blog, but the muscles use extra water to recover and you might not look like you are absorbing water, but you do. I have noticed it myself. On those days I tend to weigh less by the end of the day which is really weird. If I don't see a loss the next day I usually see a huge lost suddenly a week later. So strange how our bodies work!!
BTW - I love the name :) I have never been one to name my band, but I am really tempted to name by BodyMedia Fit. Did you see the new skins they have? I am tempted to make one up and put my 2010 word or personal saying on it :)
It truly is a journey. You are doing great. I weigh myself every day. I only count it on Fridays, but I have to do it every day. Its a sickness, I'm a scale whore.
ReplyDeleteJust like Jenny, I weigh pretty much daily but only really count it on Mondays (that was the day of the week I had my surgery). That helps me stay more positive, or so far it has anyway.
ReplyDeleteI really believe if you're exercising you need more than the 650 calories, you might be burning that much just in your workout.
You scale whore, you LOL! I count my Friday morning as my weekly weigh in. Just this week alone I saw numbers from 149.5 - 152 and not just downward (daily variations and bathroom schedules are just a part of this). No consistent tracking here, but it certainly helps at times.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend GF!