Yesterday basically turned into Day 1 again. I went to yoga and had a double training session with J. I REALLY noticed the difference yesterday, after not working out for two weeks. The jogging warmup labored breathing more than it used to. I felt much tighter in yoga. And training kind of beat me down a bit....breathing was definitely labored more than it has been in past sessions. I also felt just plain gross during the two weeks where I didn't workout. There's a big difference between working out and not working out. My back bothered me more than it used to. I felt like I had less energy. Lethargy kicked in. I'm very glad to be back :)
I weighed in today and I'm sitting at the bottom of my plateau weight (I keep going up and down 3 pounds). By next week, I am really hoping the weigh-in will go well and I'll see that number that I've been looking for for over 6 weeks now.
During my plateau, I began to feel a little discouraged. I tried so hard to push past the plateau and nothing was working. I said this to J and he gave this response, "training is life long. Having a rocky month will just be a blip on the radar in a few months and you'll be right back to kicking ass and flipping tires." (I like flipping tires! AND kicking ass!!) That was something I needed to hear. It put it all into perspective. It gave me more hope that I will break through the plateau and get back to a moving scale and more weight loss.
This journey that I'm on is my life. This isn't something that is ever going to end. When I hit my goal weight, I'm not going to stop the healthy eating and exercise. I'm not going to stop everything and expect myself to stay as strong as I will be by then, and keep the endurance I will have, and stay the same size and same weight. It doesn't work like that. This isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle.
I see all these diet pill ads on tv and magazines, and see ads for different diet food plans and it's a little saddening. Diets don't work. No one can radically change their eating for a predetermined amount of time, lose the amount of weight they want, then stop and go back to their old habits and STILL keep that number on the scale. And then people wonder why their weight yo-yo's. Their weight yo-yo's because their diets yo-yo. It's no wonder why more than 80% regain all of the lost weight, or more, after two years.
Some even take an even more drastic step and have gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight. But 30% of those who go under the knife and have gastric bypass surgery end up gaining any lost weight back. I know of people where that has happened. Their stomachs are the size of a thumb now, how could someone gain weight after bypass, you may ask? Because they eat like crap. Sure, the weight will come off at first. But no matter what size your stomach is cut down to, if you fill that stomach with processed food, chemicals, and unhealthy options, it'll catch up.
Healthy isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle. Healthy also isn't JUST nutrition or JUST working out...it's BOTH. If you eat like crap but exercise regularly, you're not going to have the strength and endurance you should have during your workouts. If your nutrition is great but you don't workout, you won't hit your peak and will never be at your best.
"You mean, I can't sprinkle some magic 'weight loss' powder onto my Big Mac and large fry, sit on my butt, and expect to lose 10 pounds by next week?"
NO. Sure, that extra fiber you're sprinkling on should ideally make you feel fuller faster, thus eating less. But, it's not a significant enough of a difference and if you end up losing something, it's generally just water weight. Not to mention, if you then don't workout at all, you'll be just as out of breath walking up those two flights of stairs as you were before.
Food shouldn't be something that can be manipulated to fit your immediate physical/bodily wants. Food is fuel. Your body needs food to sustain. Your body needs food to live. Your body needs the proper food to perform at its peak and keep you as healthy as possible. Cheetos are not fuel. French fries are not fuel. Even if you're only eating a specific amount of calories, but those calories are filled with fast food and processed chemical crap, you may lose some weight at first, but your body will keep screaming at your until it receives the nutrients it NEEDS. The same goes for exercise.
Life happens, but you don't have to let it knock you down. What do they say again? A 1 hour workout is only 4% of your day. Choosing grilled chicken over fried is not that hard of a decision to make. It's all about whether you choose to make it a priority in your life. Do you want to live your life to the fullest because of a healthy LIFESTYLE you chose? Or do you want to try and cheap out, yo-yo diet for the rest of your life and wonder why you're not getting the results you think you want? It's your life, it's your choice.
I'm choosing to take care of myself and take care of my life so I can be as healthy as can be to take care and help others. If there's one thing I've learned along this journey, it's that I'm worth a healthy lifestyle. I'm worth living a healthy and productive life filled with longevity. I am worth health. I am worth happiness. Are you?
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