Finally got past my post-holidays funk and losing again! Here's what did it...

I recently wrote a post lamenting about how I couldn't get back on track after the holidays. This week I tried two new things that really helped, and I'm back at it! I've seen several other posts from people either still struggling after the holidays, or just fighting the cycle of restricting and binging. So I thought I would write about the changes I made this week and the results I'm so happy with.

First, I'm a female, 43, started at 153 lb with goal of losing 25-30 lbs. I began last July and lost 18 lbs by Thanksgiving. Aaaaand, then nada! I went up 2 lbs at Thanksgiving and basically maintained from then until last week. That felt like a lot of wasted time! Mind you, I'm thankful to have maintained and not actually gained a lot back, but I've been eager to get back on track. My main problem? I just couldn't stick to my 1500 calories/day goal, but especially on the weekends. So last week, I finally got fed up, made some observations, and changed it up!!

Here's what I did:
1. I decided to bank/cycle my calories, so everyday is not the same. My main reason for doing this is that I know I want to be a able to eat more on the weekends, and with my schedule, I realize it's much easier for me to eat less Mon-Wed. So I set up my calorie goals for the week like this: 1200 calories Mon-Wed, 1500 on Thursday, and 1800 calories on Fri-Sun. This still averages to 1500 per day, giving me a 1lb loss per week.
2. Pre-logging!! I had read about people doing this, but dismissed it for myself because I tend to decide what I want to eat on the fly, and I'm disorganized to the point that often dinner is decided about 43 minutes before it's on the table. Pre-logging seemed silly and pointless to me. But with my new 1200 calorie goal for 3 days of the week, I began prelogging to some extent so I could be sure to stick to it, and also to fit in some treats everyday, and now I'm sold!

So, how did it work out? This is the first week in a loooong time that I've actually stayed within my calorie goal most days! With a goal of a 3700 or so/week deficit, I ended up about 200 calories over goal for the week, which still gives me about a lb loss. Yay! The varying calorie goals worked great! I feel like the 1200 cal days start off my week well, I feel light, and I fill up easily. I also use my walking treadmill desk the most those three days, so I get about 230 exercise calories while I work, and only having 1200 calories as my goal, it's incentive to get in that time on the treadmill! Then, on the weekend days, I have extra calories to spend on special dinners with the fam, an extra glass of wine or beer, or whatever. Before, I was going over by 600-1000 calories on weekend days (each day!). This weekend, even with Super Bowl Sunday? I was over about 180 calories for the entire Friday-Sun timeframe. A big win for me!!

And I LOVE pre-logging! It's hard to explain, but it seems to help me to know what I have waiting for me to eat later, to know that it's all figured out. I can eat more sensibly and not overeat earlier in the day when I know what God is still waiting for me later. And for times when I eat something different, or I eat more of something than planned, I just go and remove or reduce the amount of something else from later in the day. For instance, I had Girl Scout cookies (Samoas!!) planned for my dessert for tonight, but then at our church small group there was unexpected leftover baby shower cake to be had. I could have skipped it, but I ate a piece, logged it, and then deleted my entry for Girl Scout cookies and another small treat I had pre-logged. I can always eat those another day. The cake was awesome and totally worth it!

So, I hope this might help someone out there who is struggling to stick with their calorie goal. I did lose a lb this week, for the first time in about 9 weeks! My methods are specific to my own situation, but you might be able to figure out something like this that fits your weekly schedule. It just might get you out of your slump!

ETA: Another big thing that helps me is to be sure to fit in treats! And only eat my favorite foods! Dark chocolate with my coffee, my fav Greek yogurt with honey, sinful-tasting Luna bars (hello chocolate cupcake!), and Valentine heart cookies have all been pre logged this week, along with some of my favorite dinner meals. This really helps prevent that "deprived" feeling. Don't be afraid to eat your favorite treats, just fit them in!