At Home - Day 6

Merry Christmas Eve, Everyone! (A little late because of the posting time, so Merry Christmas as well!)

FAT STATS

Heaviest weight (Feb 2011): 259 lbs

Starting weight at Biggest Loser Resort (Nov 2011): 217 lbs

Current weight: 189.5 lbs (ut oh...gained another quarter of a pound. Guess it wasn't the banana... maybe I'm getting too much sodium?)

FUEL:

Approx 1310 calories

• Breakfast: whole wheat sandwich thins, 4 egg whites
• Snack: banana (great fuel before a workout)
• Lunch: whole wheat sandwich thins, ground chicken patty, ketchup and mustard. String cheese 
• Snack: apple and string cheese
• Dinner: whole wheat sandwich thins, ground chicken patty, ketchup and mustard. Black pepper and spinach

I should get bonus calorie burn points for watching my family stuff themselves with pizza, cookies, and candy... ugh. At least I had the foresight to bring my own food! Thank you, Whole Foods!

THE BURN:
Approx 500 calories (I really need a BodyMedia or a Polar to get a more accurate reading!)

• 40 minutes on treadmill at incline
• 1 mile run at 5.5mph
• 30 min of stretching
• 30 min of foam-rolling

SELF ASSESSMENT:

• Personal score: C+ (I am glad that I went to the gym because I had an emotional hiccup this morning that almost made me skip it)

MY DAY:

Merry Christmas Eve to all!

The first thing I do every morning is get up and put on gym clothes. I figure that even if I don't really feel like going to the gym, the clothes may motivate me and/or take away the excuses related to changing my clothes. Additionally, if I am wearing gym clothes, maybe I'll feel guilty about taking them off if they're still perfectly clean. In the past, it worked about 50% of the time and it happened to work today!

I had my gym clothes on and was ready to go, when I received a not-so-flattering Facebook post. It was just a few small words, but they hurt. I dropped my towel, keys and water bottle on the counter, grabbed my iPhone, and curled up on the couch. For a few minutes, I just remained horizontal and stared out the window. My mind went to, "Just get dressed and head to the parents'... you can work out tomorrow." and "I don't feel like working out, I just want to sleep." As I was laying there, I received a comment on my blog that was positive and inspirational! After reading it, I got a twinge of energy and decided to post on Facebook that I was headed to the gym. The Facebook post received two responses stating that because I was going, others were going as well! Accountability! I got myself off the couch and went! It was actually a great workout because I channeled my hurt into frustration that I needed to exercise out of my mind and heart. The end result was a ton of sweat with a smile and I headed up to my parents' house feeling accomplished and guiltless.

Once I got to my parents' house, I was immediately faced with the temptation of pizza, candy and cookies. I'm sure glad I brought my own sack of food! They chowed down on melty cheeses and greasy goodness while I had my healthy snacks. I was upset at the time, especially since they asked ME to go get the pizza. I just turned to my mom, rolled my eyes and went, "Really?!?!?" But, I decided to bring my niece and nephew along for the ride and turn it into something fun that wasn't about pizza. Pizza just happened to be there, but it was a fun time to bond with the kids and have an awesome car ride with good music! Plus, being able to take "Mine vs Theirs" photos is kind of fun!

Mine

Theirs

Pizza run with the kiddos!

Some of you have inquired as to why I don't allow myself to cheat on my program. I'm careful to say "program" here because I refuse to think of this as a diet - it's a lifestyle change! At times, I even receive comments like, "You should reward yourself! You're doing so great!" or "You worked out so hard this week, one <insert bad food here> won't hurt!" I'd like to clear up some misconceptions here...

First, I don't deprive myself of anything. My program consists of a "90/10" rule. This is something that was impressed upon us ad nauseum at Biggest Loser Resort. Eat clean, lean and pure 90% of the time, and save 10% of the time for foods that don't fit into that category. This equates to approximately 3 meals per week to eat whatever you want. I have these three meals in my head at all times and when I'm faced with temptation, I ask myself, "Is it worth making this part of my 10%?" Every temptation is an option that is technically "on my program."

However, with that said, I have other factors I need to consider as well. In the first week at BLR, we learned about types of eaters. I am five out of six of the worst types of eaters. The seventh type is what we are all striving for:

1. Chaotic Eater (yup! all the way!) = Has no routine and frequently skips meals. No memory of how much or what they have just eaten. Eat what's available and never plans ahead.
2. Unconscious Eater (definitely) = Usually eat while doing other things such as working, reading, watching TV, or driving. Also eat whatever is available and rarely identify if they are hungry or full.
3. Emotional Eater (eff yes...can I get an "amen!") = Uses food to cope with or avoid feelings. Food numbs them and they can feel powerless around food. They know they eat too much, but usually only realize it after they're done eating.
4. Waste Not Eater (mmm hmmm... I attribute this to the "starving people in Ethiopia guilt trips of childhood) = Hates to see food go to waste. Overeat most often when food is available in abundance (buffets).
5. Refuse Not Eater (This happens to me when I am meeting someone's family for the first time) = Cannot refuse food for fear the will offend or disappoint someone. They give other people power over what and how much food they eat, rather than listening to their own hunger and fullness levels.
6. Restrictive Eater (meh - not so much) = Always on a diet and creates new good and bad food lists just as often. Vigilant about reading labels, weighing and measuring food, which usually leads to under eating and binging. Very little pleasure out of eating (ummm... definitely NOT me), fearful of eating with others, and constantly concerned with what they will eat next.
7. Intuitive Eater (working on it! This is where I want to be!) = Conscious of their body's hunger signals. They eat only until they are satisfied and have no fear of over-eating. Trust themselves around food and experience no guilt about eating food they enjoy. Conscious and mindful of their food choices, which are mostly in favor of their health.

Knowing this about myself, I try to keep my mind in number seven (7) as often as possible. I'm still in the beginning stages of my program where nutrition and exercise are not quite yet habitual. I am also very very aware of how sweets affect my body. I had a glimpse of this while still at BLR and trying to eat frozen yogurt! The night and morning immediately after our outing is still too fresh in my memory to repeat. It may have been the best timing and method to cheat! I'm definitely off sweets for awhile (with the exception of the hypnotic and mind-altering mention of donuts that seemingly possesses my dialing fingers <See At Home - Day 5>)

After spending all that time detoxing at BLR, sugar tastes WAY too sweet (I was able to surmise this fact after using half of a Splenda in an iced tea, taking one sip, and spitting it back into the glass), will make my energy crash and will likely give me a headache, stomach ache, or both.... I hate the thought of something coming back up as quickly as it went down. I'm sure others at the table would agree with me there.

I'm hoping to reserve my 10% for things like 4-5oz of a delicious steak or some pasta.... things that I truly enjoy that aren't going to send my body into a sugar spiral or cholesterol coma. I'm not saying that I'll never have a red velvet cupcake again.... I'm just saying that I won't be having one right now because it doesn't appeal to me and I don't wish to use it as part of my 10% today.

The other fallacy in thinking that I would like to address is the rewarding of oneself with poor food choices when you do a great job. Absolutely, reward yourself! You deserve rewards for your accomplishments and attaining your goals! But, why would you reward yourself with bad food? It's counter-intuitive to hurt your body as a reward for treating it well! Rewards should be things like trips, movies, new shoes, clothes, etc! Things that won't make you feel guilty afterward and that you can continue to use as functional items or good memories. If you are working out all week just to have cheesecake on Friday, you may be setting yourself up for continuous disappointment since your reward is counter-acting your short-term gains. Please consider the 90/10 rule!

Please don't get me wrong... this is NOT easy. It takes strength, support, will, determination and motivation. One or more of these may constantly be lacking...You will slip up and that is OK!!! If you have to take each day, one meal at a time, that is OK too! Don't let your last meal define your next one. Brush it off and move on. If you are strong enough to bypass a temptation (like my donuts) that you would have never been able to avoid in the past, then celebrate it! Pat yourself on the back or go buy yourself a new workout outfit and relish in the fact that your ass is going to look that much nicer, that much more quickly!

Have a safe holiday, everyone! I will probably be a little late on tonight's blog as well, since I'll be spending the day with my family and traveling tonight.

My bro (Wyatt) and Me

My bro (Clint) and my niece (Bianca) and nephew (Tyler)

Siblings :-)

Back to work tomorrow after four weeks off! This should be interesting! We'll see if anyone notices a difference at the office! Ha!

Lots of love!

See you on the fit side!
-Heather