There is no Failure. Only Feedback
Well My last post had me weighing in at 70.7 kg.
Today I am 69.8 kg. Which is great, I am definately heading in the right direction however 5 days ago I was 69.4 kg. So how did I bounce back 400grams? 4 days of drinking too much beer and skipping workouts.
Last year going backwards on the scale would have made me quit my healthy eating and head straight to the nearest burger joint and grab a six pack of beer on the way home and maybe a bog of corn ships to round me off. (Literally. I am so round!) This year is different because I have a new mantra.
“There is no failure, only feedback.”
So when I gain weight I haven’t failed, my body is just giving me feedback. Its saying
“Hey! whatever you’ve been doing this week ain’t working! So stop doing it!’
So I’ve got to cut back on beer and Hawaiian Cheese Burgers at 2am and eating crap the next day because I’m hungover, then repeating the scenario because I got an invite out I couldn’t turn down!
This may sound harsh, even cruel, but until I can turn down excess drinks and crappy snacks I may have to turn down any social situations. In the meantime I’ve been coming up with ideas to make these situation less stressful for the dieter.
1. Instead of meeting for dinner, meet after for a late movie. Just avoid the candy bar! Sneak in some sugar free gum, diet soda or a small pack of rice crackers.
2. Meet for coffee and just coffee. A nice long black! Very diet friendly, you can even get away with a small biscotti.
3. Invite your friends to your place, cook healthy options and have healthy snacks. Your friends will probably love it because they will come away feeling free of guilt and not bloated on all the fatty chips and dip they ate.
4. Go carts or mini golf? Why not? Think you’re too old? It will be fun, I promise.
5. Raves, Dance clubs! Super fast music and everyones drinking water anyway. Just think of it as a cheap aerobic workout!
6. Exercise dates! Yeah tennis! Squash! A walk around the park (good conversation included).
Anyone else got ideas for diet friendly social situations?
Lifting weights as good as running
Well according to this BBC article it is.
I guess its not news to everyone who does the Body for Life program that building muscle seriously gives your metabolism a boost. But if you want some good reasons to cut back on cardio and add some weights to your workout then read that link!
Why am I not Losing Weight?
I’ve been on this health kick for three days. No alcohol has passed my lips, no refined sugars have entered my stomach and I have exercised everyday. I’ve tracked my calories in Fitday to keep me honest and have been under 1500 calories per day. Its hard to contain my disappointment. The scales at the Gym still read 70.7kg.
Five things to keep in mind when the scales don’t budge
1. Am I being realistic?
When I start a fitness regime I want to see results straight way. All I feel is tired and hungry and for what? The scales haven’t moved an inch. What I have to remember is that I didn’t get this way overnight. The kilos sneaked on slowly and they will creep off even slower. Patience and consistency will get me there in the end.
2. Water
Did you drink a lot of water before you weighed yourself? Did you eat a bit more salt than usual and are retaining water?
3. Its just one day
That scale measurement is just one day, it could be a blip on the radar. Don’t worry about individual days, instead look for trends. Have you been slowly creeping up a kilo or hovering around a certain point on the scale? +/- 500g for weeks? Real gains and plateaus will show with trends over weeks not two days.
4. If anything I am healthier
Even If I still weigh the same I have been eating foods that are good for my body and I have been exercising my heart and other muscles to keep me strong and vital.
5. Muscles!
You can go on a workout regime and not lose any weight but your body fat percentage may have fallen through the floor. Muscle is dense tissue, but its lean and tight and not jiggly like fat. Sometimes the scales are not the best way of measuring progress.
Well I can’t let any disappointment stop me. I’m in this forever.
Lets face it. For some of us, we will be watching our calories and exercising till the day we day. Not blessed with a natural tendency towards activity I must schedule exercise and My fullness indicator is broken, so I need to count all those calories. I cant let one day get me down.
Hungry After Dinner?
After dinner, I feel peckish. I just want that sweet little something, a chocolate biscuit, sweets, ice cream or a chocolate bar.
The after dinner snack can be a dangerous habit. So here are someways to break the habit or make it work for you.
1. Shortly after dinner drink a large glass of water
A big glass of water might be what you are craving instead, thirst signals are often misinterpreted for hunger. If anything it will help you feel full and less likely to grab that snack
2. Make a herbal tea
Herbal tea, low calories and full of antioxidants teas are good for you. In this situation they will keep your hands busy. Get a teapot, use leaf tea, boil jug, steep, strain the loose leave and drink….ahhhh. There are lots of fruit flavored herbal teas that can give a hint of sweetness with no sugar.
3. Change your after dinner activity
Do you blob in front of the TV straight after dinner, or like me do you head straight for the computer? Both these activities trigger the snacking instinct for me. Take a walk after dinner, have a soothing bath or lay your clothes out for the next day. Just find a small task that will take 15 minutes or so to divert you from the habit of snacking
4. Budget Calories for after dinner
If you really like the after dinner snack then don’t each as much for dinner and leave some calories for later. If you cant stay within your desired calorie intake there’s no reason why you can’t have a little something, just keep the next idea in mind.
5. Choose a healthy option
Reduce the sugar and saturated fat content of your after dinner snack. Fruity low fat yogurt can be creamy and sweet but low in calories. Try sugar free jelly or some grapes, dried apricots or a small handful of raw almonds.
6. Switch to 6 small meals a day
Lots of people recommend 6 meals a day to keep your metabolism going (and you feel like you are eating all day!). Schedule the last meal after dinner, just keep an eye on the calories, remember its 6 meals, not six FULL meals. Also each meal should be mostly balanced within itself. The sixth should not be 300 calories worth of chocolate. Try to get some protein in there too.
Does a Binge Mean the end of your Diet?
Its a common tale, the diet goes so well for a week and then you find yourself so hungry that you dive into the nearest pizza and don’t come up for air till its all gone. Lots of people fall off the wagon permanently when things like this happen. Thoughts like “I have no willpower”, “I’m useless at diets” and the worst thought of all “oh well thats my diet stuffed up I might as well go back to eating whatever I want.” Why do we use one failure as an excuse to give up?
The joyful truth is that a weekly diet mishap is just what your body needs. Days of low calories can send your body into starvation mode signaling those fat stores to stay tight and two slices of pizza and fries could be just what you need to convince that fat to let go.
Check out this great article at Laurenfitness.com to get more details
Maybe its just a Calcium Deficiency thats Keeping me Fat!
High Blood pressure is sometimes treated with calcium supplements. Why? Well when you have a calcium deficiency your body releases calcitriol (a vitamin D metabolite made by the kidney), which constricts blood vessels (as well as promoting calcium absorption from the intestine and leaching calcium from your bones to restore low blood calcium levels). Constricted blood vessels = higher blood pressure.
Scientists have been discovering that people on this calcium treatment are also losing weight. It turns out that calcitrol also acts as a metabolic switch in fat cells, signaling them to hold on to fat. Getting plenty of calcium means that calcitrol production is supressed and that “hold on to fat” switch stays off.
The effect is more pronounced when you take in extra calcium via low fat dairy products (Leucine and other peptides found in whey can enhance the weight loss effect.)
Its a bit of a fad these days to avoid dairy, but it is a great source of calcium. One low fat fresh and fruity yogurt has 40% of your RDI for calcium and only 72 calories. You body can only absorb small amounts of calcium at a time so a few small servings spread through out the day (and not taken with coffee!) will give maximum effect.
