Hello, hello.
It’s that time of the week again! The time when I let you know how my efforts at healthier living have been progressing for the past 7 or so days.
I’ve been eating a pretty low carb diet (it seems to suit me) and generally trying to be more active. I’ve been using the school term as a time based motivator. I figure there are more school days than holidays in a year, so being far more disciplined during the term seems like a good idea. It’s also a good time for me to keep my arse in line, because I have to live by a stricter routine then anyway.
So where am I at right now?
So, I only lost 200g this week. I know why too. Fatigue always keeps the weight on me and I was particularly exhausted this week. I was also experiencing more fluid retention and bloating – my cycle has always been like this. I literally am bloated 50% of my life. Oh, joy. I guess all I can do is find ways to minimise its impact and keep on pushing through.
My body fat percentage (something I probably haven’t bothered to mention before) has stayed the same for most of the week (after steadily decreasing for the whole 5 weeks before it) and I really put this down to less exercise. While I believe that diet is at least 80% of the struggle with keeping weight down, there are definitely benefits from regular exercise. I didn’t get to do any proper work outs this week, due to Mr Unprepared having a really full on work week and the aforementioned fatigue. Where I would have normally grabbed a cheeky half hour on the treadmill when he got home from work, I found myself trying to rush everyone through the evening routine.
Still, a weight loss is a loss. I’m OK with that. I suffered from extreme PMS hunger and it was a challenging week. I still stayed on track diet wise when at times I wanted to fall off the wagon. I am proud of myself.
Good choices I made this week…
I went clothes shopping with my mum. It was very exciting. We get to do that – just the two of us – only about twice a year these days, so it’s something we treasure. Nothing like bonding over retail therapy! I was glad for the opportunity to try on clothes and adjust to the weight loss progress I’ve made so far. I was having a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I needed to figure out what size to wear and what styles suit me now that I had trouble wearing before. I may not have lost much weight in the big scheme of things, but I am now smaller than I have been in a long time. Being able to try on clothes that made me feel good, for the sake of style, not comfort or trying to hide things, was amazing. My mum was the best sidekick because she’s always honest and supportive. It was a bit of a nice boost to the ego to have her compliment me on how well I’m doing.
A lot of my clothes were starting to look silly on me. Oversized and out of style. I needed the confidence boost of finding things that I can wear right now, without feeling like an awkward weirdo.
I realised that I am no longer an Aussie size 12 on the top half. I am a 10. Even an 8 in some oversized styles! I honestly hadn’t even considered that to be a possibility so soon. I was so used to reaching for the ‘large’ or ’12’ in everything without really seeing how a size down would fit.
This week, I also finally got around to clearing out my wardrobe. I packed away the stuff that doesn’t fit or flatter anymore (for the right reasons for once!) and will decide later whether to donate those items. I put all my new items front and centre. I stashed the winter stuff towards the back. It made me feel so much better. I now look in my wardrobe and feel happy about the outfit choices I get to make each day, instead of confused and dejected!
Things I can improve for week 7…
WEEK SEVEN?! Crazy. Anyway, I know exactly what factors could have given me more dramatic results this past week. It just comes down to more exercise and pushing through the bloat (I handle it by drinking more water and green tea).
Also, even though I have been eating really healthily, I think I could probably reduce some of my portion sizes. I get a little crazy over the coleslaw bags from the supermarket in particular – I could easily single handedly devour a whole bag in one sitting. Oops! Half of that with a decent amount of protein would probably be quite sufficient!
So that’s it for me for today!
How are you doing?
