Skip to main content

Taking a Maintenance Break : 185

Today vs 6 Months Ago
So, last week was a tough one. I found myself stuck on the same pound for about 6 weeks. Calories were increased to 1600, protein intake was increased, simple carbs were decreased, fat content is limited; workouts were in the midst of being changed up... Everything that I knew to do was being done.

I must express my immense gratitude for the Half Size Me Community here, because these people have been a key part of my journey up to this point and I will continue to lean on them as long as they allow me to seek their encouragement. I posted about my frustration and they responded by reminding me of all the things that I would say to my friend who may be facing the same challenges.

I had to reflect on how far I have come over the last 6 months. So, I am going to share the fact that I am grateful for what my body has done for me. It has given up 65 pounds in 6 months. It has strengthened enough to enjoy my children so I am able to crawl on the floor and be the jungle gym for my little girls as they grow and learn and figure out how to crawl and walk and climb! It has slimmed down several clothing sizes so that I feel confident in my own skin, this has never been the case.

Making it to size M
At the beginning of this journey, I knew that I wanted to reach 150 for my own lifetime maintenance. Last year, though, when I began working out after my first child, I gave myself grace to say, "I think I am going to shoot for 185 due to the natural 'pouch' I will likely have as a mom." Granted, I know now that I AM able to strengthen my core still, but I need to be content with where my body is now. Six months is a short amount of time for my body to drop over 50 pounds!

I am going to give myself grace for a few months in order for my body to find balance here. Besides, if I am not content with my body just the way that it is, there is no amount of lost weight that will ever be enough. I am going to take care of myself right where I am.

What does maintenance mean to you? For me, it is contentment. What does it look like in terms of your health journey? For me, it means the same thing as weight loss. It means making healthy choices and intentional indulgences that are planned and tracked.


Enjoying Vacation


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Goals, Expectations, and Hitting Refresh

These past few weeks have been difficult to get on a plan and to be self-controlled. I ha ve found myself over-indulging with food, slacking in my work, and losing focus on my goals. Then I realized this week that it is because I have too many of them; which actually translates, "I have no goals at all." Have you ever sat down, made a to-do list, stared at it with overwhelming stress and anxiety, promptly set the list aside and then did nothing? Well, that's what having too may goals is. My focus is scattered, I cannot see progress in anything, I am frustrated by the sinking feeling of defeat and then I simply give up. Earlier this week, I realized the foundation of my problem and hit the reset button. After sitting down and spending some cleansing time in prayer and Bible reading, I made the most cleansing decision I have practiced in weeks: I deleted everything from my Google calendar. As I clicked, "Are you sure you want to delete this calendar, this action c...

Calorie Counting, Honest Tracking, and a Break from the Numbers

Babies at the park, whom I am capable of keeping up with For the past 6 months, I have been eating at a caloric deficit and tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal. It is a handy little app in which I can keep a recipe box, my meals are tracked and it remembers my frequently used items. I am also able to keep a close eye on my macros, and this has kept my simple carbohydrate intake in check, as I have drastically limited these and the majority of my carbs have been fruits, vegetables, and multigrain/whole grain light breads. Keeping an eye on these things has helped me to increase my protein intake and keep me better filled throughout the day. By default, this is limiting binges, grazing, and general overeating because the satiation from the protein combined with the satisfaction of my exercise have kept my success rate high! Cue last Thursday. A refreshing morning ritual that keeps me sane throughout the day Early in the week, I had decided that Friday I would not be trac...

Reflecting on Progress Over Guilting Lack of Perfection

It has been about a week and I have been back on My Fitness Pal now. Great timing, right? Just before a baby shower on Saturday, an impromptu pre-Memorial Day dinner party at a friend's place and then Memorial Day, complete with picnic! Needless to say, I have been over my calorie budget each day since Friday. I do not regret it, I am not punishing myself for my choices, I am not feeling gross or completely out of line in my numbers or my decisions. I have maintained (as a matter of fact, I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 1 pound) and I am still waking up with relatively high energy levels - likely because I have been getting more sleep with the evening routine hubby and I have agreed to. How do I plan to move forward? I am working on adjusting our evening order of events, so that hubby and I are prioritizing our evening workout instead of skipping it once we sit down. I am taking a baby step in pre-tracking my food, without putting too much pressure on the eve...