Temporarily going on maintenance

gracieabem

Does anyone else do this?

I'm having one of those weeks. I have uni assignments due and work mounting up. I am a little stressed. I also work full-time. I'm finding myself a bit time poor right now.

I house sat for a friend over the weekend with my dog. We stayed up late (studying) and got up early (studying and paddock bashing). I had quite a lot of 'treat' food but I still managed to get my fruit and vege in, so although my calories were over I'm not so stressed about it. What I don't want to happen is I start to eat 'treat' food instead of my more healthy choices.

On Monday, I was set to get back on track, but in my rush to log I realised that I had forgotten that I had already eaten x,y,z (sorry, I've always had a big appetite) and I was over again. Not by much, but I was upset enough to realise that I may be becoming a little bit... obsessed.

I went to the gym on Saturday, but haven't been back since and I'm trying to figure out what my options are for this week (being so time poor). I thought I could go and do my strength training and do some intervals on the treadmill to cover some cardio, but leave my running (I usually run 3 x week) for this week. Dogs will still have to be walked and that's fine. But trying to squeeze it all in this week is leaving me feeling exhausted. I don't get enough sleep at the best of times... this week will not leave me in the best condition for heavy exercise.

I feel a bit wretched right now. Life is getting in the way, but I guess I need to realise that weeks like this will happen. I thought perhaps if I spent a week or two on maintenance calories (I have already lost 30kgs, a lot of that pre-MFP) I could relax a little, still log as long as I'm choosing healthy foods (I still believe in treats of course).

Am I too obsessed or am I just having a bad week? Thoughts?

KelliW_runner

Suggest you not stress about it. First of all, you will have weeks like this in life. Secondly, your body does need a rest week every once in a while where light cardio and stretching fit the bill. Thirdly, one week of eating near or slightly over maintenance won't set you back.

I've lost 22 pounds in 4 months. A few weeks in there due to business travel or vacation where I did some light exercise and ate around or over my maintenance calories but didn't really have much of an impact in the overall weight loss trend.

Key is to get back on the program and not find additional reasons why no time to exercise and eat healthy.

gracieabem

Thank you, Khp. You've put it all into perspective for me. Which I think I was starting to lose!

That's really great to hear about your experience with this and what a great job with your weight loss. Congratulations!

skinnylion

Feeling excessive guilt about "going over" can be really bad for your mental health. If you're already stressed out, worrying about your calories isn't going to help. I would definitely recommend trying maintenance until your life gets less hectic. Focus on staying healthy and not on a set number! If you're hungry, then eat, but don't go overboard. You'll be fine! Good luck.