Coach assigned Diet Break....

leanjogreen18

Day 9 Calories 1516

DBSW 202
CW 201.8

So two days back from my mini vacation (4 days) of eating 1800-2000 calories back down to 1500 and I'm back where I started on the scale 9 days ago. I know it's too soon to tell but at the very least I feel like this is what maintainance will be like.

Lesson learned that eating for 4 days controlled higher calorie days didn't ruin my progress, I was able to get right back on 1500 and going over ones calorie goal once in a while shouldn't raise one's stress levels:).

Since I started this "diet" I have approached the last 17 weeks in a very laid back, flexible way. I don't stress if I go over my calorie goal, if I do I try to make up for it over the week. I don't restrict any foods just moderate them differently depending on the food. I haven't stressed over the scale becasue I've seen it go up a lb when sticking strictly to my calorie goal then go down when I ate 200 calories over, I've decided it can say what it wants to say and I just record it and go about my day. This is how I hoped it would go so far and how I hope maintance will go:)

leanjogreen18

Day 10

DBSW 202
CW 201.6

Nothing new to report except my "diet break" will end on Tuesday. I have felt a return of hunger (should I say more hunger) eating on some days 1800-2000 so maybe this is a sign that my hormones have returned to normal? Or is it just confirmation that for me when I eat more I want to eat more? So many questions that may never be fully answered it seems:).

I think I messed up in the since that I ate breakfast (not a normal thing for me) and I didn't strictly adhere to the 1500 calories last week (average 1700). I need to get this dialed in for my eventual maintenance. I don't want to do one thing while "dieting" and then another thing while maintaining. I know the scale isn't showing anything different but I do wonder if this had gone on months what the scale would show? I did log my calories daily, weigh daily and try to adjust when I went over the best I could after my mini vacation so that is progress. In the past maintainance would be stopping everything I did while cutting and get mad my pants were getting tighter:(

I'm ready to get back into my larger defict and get down since I'm teetering on being below 200. I don't know physiologiclly what's happening but psychologically I feel ready to get back to a larger deficit continue to strengthen and work on my milage/pace. It was both confidence boosting and a bummer to see the scale stay the same for these last 10 days. I now have confirmation that I can maintain and yet I was used to the scale going in a downward trend:) Impatience is not my strong point:) but I hear slow and steady wins the race:).

leanjogreen18

Yesterday was day 14

DBSW 202
CW 203

Partial diet break over. I'm back on cycling my calories with an average of 1260 calories starting today.

Things I learned...

1. Continue to eat the same way while in a defict when maintaining. I ate breakfast a little more because of vacation and boy did it make me hungrier the rest of the day:(
2. Weigh daily to see if the flucuation is larger than a few lbs. In the past once out of a defict I stopped weighing:(
3. Eating at maintainance or near maintaince calories really does work:) I've flucuated only 3 lbs in two weeks eating approx 1750 calories average. The big swings were 2000 calorie days and super easy to see the upswing on the scale the next day (and it went back down almost immediatly the next day).
4. Going from near maintainance calories back to a deficit has been easier than I thought. I'm on point today feel ready to tackle another 12 weeks or however long until my next diet break.
5. Even though I continued to log I was lose with my calories in that I knew that I could go up to an average of 1700 without gaining.
6. Knowing my approx numbers to maintain has been empowering. Although I know it may go down some as I lose my the next 50ish lbs I have left for my first weight goal.

I hope this helps anyone who maybe thinking of taking a diet break, worried about eating maintainance, estimating their calories for whatever reason because they can't weight their food.

I wasn't keen on it at first as I get caught up once in awhile with the thought process as I'm doing great why stop the weight loss now kinda thing. I'm glad I did as it gave me confidence in the approx numbers, confidence in that I can approximate my calories and maintain. I will pull out my scale if this ever stops working, I'm not resistant to the food scale I know I need to adjust when things stop working:)

Best of luck to everyone!

leanjogreen18

I've had a few people message me and ask how I was doing after the diet break so I thought I would do a 1 month update:

SW 235ish
DBSW 202
Diet Break Ending weight 203
Current weight 198

February was a little slow on the weight loss for me but 5lbs in one month I'll take it:). I had 2 months that my weekly average calories was up a bit so that explains the slower weight loss. Also I injured my knee so my walking and hiking was put on hold which my NEAT was reduced. But I hit the trails this week and was able to complete a 2 mile 500' elevation change trail and my big win was no knee pain:).

I really killed it in my strenth training, I can feel myself getting stronger and it's really boosted my confidence which has been a nice surprise. I keep doing flex Friday but I'm not seeing anything yet lol. I will start my 3rd program with Patrick next week so we'll see what that brings. I've noticed I can walk up stairs without having to hold on to the rails which is also a big win, the calf raises has strengthend my foot I broke in 2017. I still have issues but not feeling 90 going up stairs when I'm only 52 is a nice feeling again. I guess I'm saying I'm a firm believer in strength training now:)

If anyone has any tips on self talk about lifting I'd appreciate it. I enjoy strength training when I'm actually doing it but I don't wake up and say YAY today is strength training like I do on hiking days. I sit around drink coffee and do a lot of "just do it" "get up now" type of self talk:)

I just read about keeping focus on the process and not so much the goal so that has been my current strategy.

As always I hope this has been helpful.

rosiorama

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

I've had a few people message me and ask how I was doing after the diet break so I thought I would do a 1 month update:

SW 235ish
DBSW 202
Diet Break Ending weight 203
Current weight 198

February was a little slow on the weight loss for me but 5lbs in one month I'll take it:). I had 2 months that my weekly average calories was up a bit so that explains the slower weight loss. Also I injured my knee so my walking and hiking was put on hold which my NEAT was reduced. But I hit the trails this week and was able to complete a 2 mile 500' elevation change trail and my big win was no knee pain:).

I really killed it in my strenth training, I can feel myself getting stronger and it's really boosted my confidence which has been a nice surprise. I keep doing flex Friday but I'm not seeing anything yet lol. I will start my 3rd program with Patrick next week so we'll see what that brings. I've noticed I can walk up stairs without having to hold on to the rails which is also a big win, the calf raises has strengthend my foot I broke in 2017. I still have issues but not feeling 90 going up stairs when I'm only 52 is a nice feeling again. I guess I'm saying I'm a firm believer in strength training now:)

If anyone has any tips on self talk about lifting I'd appreciate it. I enjoy strength training when I'm actually doing it but I don't wake up and say YAY today is strength training like I do on hiking days. I sit around drink coffee and do a lot of "just do it" "get up now" type of self talk:)

I just read about keeping focus on the process and not so much the goal so that has been my current strategy.

As always I hope this has been helpful.

I don’t really do any self-talk relating to lifting, but I DO focus on how I feel AFTER a gym session. I can’t say I love lifting, but I do love how it makes me feel. That feeling (energized, proud, the feeling of physical exertion) is what gets me out the door and to the gym.


Great post and thanks for the update!

leanjogreen18

rosiorama wrote: »

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

I've had a few people message me and ask how I was doing after the diet break so I thought I would do a 1 month update:

SW 235ish
DBSW 202
Diet Break Ending weight 203
Current weight 198

February was a little slow on the weight loss for me but 5lbs in one month I'll take it:). I had 2 months that my weekly average calories was up a bit so that explains the slower weight loss. Also I injured my knee so my walking and hiking was put on hold which my NEAT was reduced. But I hit the trails this week and was able to complete a 2 mile 500' elevation change trail and my big win was no knee pain:).

I really killed it in my strenth training, I can feel myself getting stronger and it's really boosted my confidence which has been a nice surprise. I keep doing flex Friday but I'm not seeing anything yet lol. I will start my 3rd program with Patrick next week so we'll see what that brings. I've noticed I can walk up stairs without having to hold on to the rails which is also a big win, the calf raises has strengthend my foot I broke in 2017. I still have issues but not feeling 90 going up stairs when I'm only 52 is a nice feeling again. I guess I'm saying I'm a firm believer in strength training now:)

If anyone has any tips on self talk about lifting I'd appreciate it. I enjoy strength training when I'm actually doing it but I don't wake up and say YAY today is strength training like I do on hiking days. I sit around drink coffee and do a lot of "just do it" "get up now" type of self talk:)

I just read about keeping focus on the process and not so much the goal so that has been my current strategy.

As always I hope this has been helpful.

I don’t really do any self-talk relating to lifting, but I DO focus on how I feel AFTER a gym session. I can’t say I love lifting, but I do love how it makes me feel. That feeling (energized, proud, the feeling of physical exertion) is what gets me out the door and to the gym.


Great post and thanks for the update!

Thank you! Maybe I need to focus on that because I definitely love the benefits. My confidence level alone has improved drastically. I just don't understand why I procrastinate:(

rosiorama

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

rosiorama wrote: »

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

I've had a few people message me and ask how I was doing after the diet break so I thought I would do a 1 month update:

SW 235ish
DBSW 202
Diet Break Ending weight 203
Current weight 198

February was a little slow on the weight loss for me but 5lbs in one month I'll take it:). I had 2 months that my weekly average calories was up a bit so that explains the slower weight loss. Also I injured my knee so my walking and hiking was put on hold which my NEAT was reduced. But I hit the trails this week and was able to complete a 2 mile 500' elevation change trail and my big win was no knee pain:).

I really killed it in my strenth training, I can feel myself getting stronger and it's really boosted my confidence which has been a nice surprise. I keep doing flex Friday but I'm not seeing anything yet lol. I will start my 3rd program with Patrick next week so we'll see what that brings. I've noticed I can walk up stairs without having to hold on to the rails which is also a big win, the calf raises has strengthend my foot I broke in 2017. I still have issues but not feeling 90 going up stairs when I'm only 52 is a nice feeling again. I guess I'm saying I'm a firm believer in strength training now:)

If anyone has any tips on self talk about lifting I'd appreciate it. I enjoy strength training when I'm actually doing it but I don't wake up and say YAY today is strength training like I do on hiking days. I sit around drink coffee and do a lot of "just do it" "get up now" type of self talk:)

I just read about keeping focus on the process and not so much the goal so that has been my current strategy.

As always I hope this has been helpful.

I don’t really do any self-talk relating to lifting, but I DO focus on how I feel AFTER a gym session. I can’t say I love lifting, but I do love how it makes me feel. That feeling (energized, proud, the feeling of physical exertion) is what gets me out the door and to the gym.


Great post and thanks for the update!

Thank you! Maybe I need to focus on that because I definitely love the benefits. My confidence level alone has improved drastically. I just don't understand why I procrastinate:(

I totally get the procrastination.

But. My posture has improved, my skin looks better, I sleep better, and the chronic lower back pain I had is gone. All those on addition to the confidence. Fitting the gym is a pain when you’re busy, and it took
me a long time to get over the intimidation factor of a weight room, but I’m always glad afterward. I hope this helps.

I also have a quote on my lock screen that says, “It’s easier to get up every morning and work out than it is to look in the mirror each day and not like what you see.”

It’s a good reminder for me.