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High Calorie Days

Sometimes we have to accept that life happens, family trips are fun and filled with a lot of treat foods, and we will have high calorie days - sometimes several in a row. I am learning, again, that plans are held with open hands and in every aspect of life, the Lord is sovereign - even in my striving toward a healthy lifestyle.

On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It was so much fun! It started out a little bit stressful though. We left later than we planned. I forgot my snacks and dinner in the fridge. We did not prepare well for how we were going to navigate the maze that was the zoo! We got there 10 minutes before opening and found a pretty great parking spot. I allowed myself to enjoy the day and ate what everyone else ate and did not allow it to derail my minimum healthy habit: tracking and drinking 100oz of water. I did not get my veggies and protein in for the day, but life.

Yesterday, I recognized that I truly struggle with dinner at parties. I still stuck to my minimums and even got my veggies in. An added bonus was drinking water between plates, putting me at 120oz for the day, and not starting on "treats" until 4pm. I accomplished delayed gratification as well as a preferred healthy habit of drinking more water prior to consuming the extra treats.

This month I am participating in a "NO Scale Habit Focus" Challenge with the Half Size Me Community. I was not mad at myself for the high calorie days, I was more peeved that I did not have an accurate weight measurement prior to the start of the challenge. Per the scale, I gained 5 pounds in 3 days. Now, according to the scientific community, 1 pound = 3500 calories. I did not consume 17,500 calories in 3 days. Last week, I also started a new workout program focusing on weight lifting to build muscle and strength.

I am assessing my behaviors and the circumstances: 3 consecutive higher calorie days, 2 being above maintenance. 4 days of weight lifting to challenge and build strength. I'm bloated, retaining water and salt to clean out a couple of grown up beverages and sugar content. My body is working overtime for muscle recovery as I am sore from shocking my system with a new workout program.

There was a spike in the scale. Do I give up and eat what I want? Do I stop working out because I didn't see all of the results I wanted to this week? Do I not bother with my healthy habits because I'm not stepping on the scale so there's no tangible way to measure my progress?

Nope.

If I eat what I want when I want I'm a toddler who has no self control. If I stop working out, I definitely won't see any progress and will lose the strength and endurance I have built up (not seeing results I wanted to see and not having any results are 2 different things). There are actually multiple non-scale victories my body has accomplished this week:

  • I was able to increase to higher weights on the first week and still keep perfect form on the movements. 
  • I went to the zoo after not having visited any large parks for several months and was able to walk, navigate a stroller up steep hills, wear my 15-pound little boy during 2 extended wake times and push through fatigue without getting winded or having to stop and hold up walking traffic behind us. 
  • I was able to stick to my minimums and keep my goals in focus in the middle of a going away party and enjoyed drinks and food without gorging and eating to a sick-feeling amount. Honestly, that's progress and I am proud of these accomplishments. 



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