Sunday, September 9, 2007

Utterly confused!!!

You know how we all have those weeks--the weeks where we stay on our weight loss plans, exercise like mad, follow all the guidelines we're supposed to and when we go weigh in nothing happens?

This wasn't one of those weeks. Actually, I had the OPPOSITE kind of week...heck, opposite kind of TWO weeks.

I'm still trying to navigate and master my new schedule and I must confess--there have been more than a few meals eaten in my car this week. If you can read between the lines, you know "eating in my car" means eating from a drive-thru. Think McDonald's. BK. Wendy's. Panda Express. You're rolling your eyes at me. I don't blame you!

I really do go out of my way to try and make the best choices I can, even when it's fast food. Mushroom chicken at Panda Express with steamed rice. Grilled chicken breasts from Pollo Tropical. But there was an order of nachos from Taco Bell thrown in there. And a cheeseburger too.

To make matters worse, I have not been working out as much as I did before school started. Instead of my 4-5 weekly workouts (plus pilates), I'm lucky if I'm getting in there three times. And this week, I was so sick on Wednesday morning because of a medicine I'm (temporarily) taking that I could barely drag myself out of bed--no pilates for me this week.

Yet in a weird stroke of "I really don't know how to explain it," I went to my WW meeting on Saturday--after missing last week's meeting--and get this...I LOST 3.6 POUNDS!

Baffling isn't even the half of it.

I'm at a complete loss for an explanation. By all accounts, it hasn't been my "best" two weeks. There have been weeks where I've spent countless hours in the gym, have tracked every meal, have stayed within my points and I've gained ounces...or haven't lost at all. (Remember the six week plateau?)

Then I have two weeks like this--hectic eating on the run, bare-bones workouts and I lose almost four pounds? Seriously...WTF? What the heck is my body doing?

I don't have any answers other than maybe I have been doing more than I give myself credit for. But honestly, I really don't know.

Part of me is almost terrified--that maybe this weight loss was a delayed reaction to what I've been doing all summer and that when I go back to the scale next week, my "naughty" two weeks are going to catch up with me. And then part of me thinks, "Well, it wasn't pretty or ideal, but you DID stick to your points. So maybe your body just needed a shock."

I don't have any answers. I really don't. Maybe you can help.

Here are a few of the things I've done over the past two weeks...I'll dare you to tell me if any of them sound like "the right things to do to lose weight."

*Eaten from a fast food restaurant multiple times in one day (although I didn't go over my points)

*Worked out much less than in previous weeks

*On each of the past Fridays, only had two meals. (Fridays are the nights I get home super late--past 1 a.m., so what I do is have a nice breakfast, exercise, and then eat a late, filling lunch around 4, 5 p.m....then by the time I get home at 1 a.m., I'm too exhausted to eat)

*Blew through all--if not most--of my flex points on the weekend (My new count starts on Saturdays)

*Journaled every bite, regardless of whether I went over my points or not.

*Went over my points a few days. Period. Over my daily points with no flex points to use

So there's some good there (the journaling) and some bad (only eating two meals on Fridays?) Do you think all this behavior is going to catch up with me next week?

I don't know why, but I do...

That said...I was DAMN HAPPY to see some progress on the scale. Again, after six weeks of waffling with the same pound, to kick that number behind for good was incredibly powerful for me!

Only...now what?

8 comments:

Teale said...

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by:) I've added you to my list of inspirational blogs!!!

Unknown said...

I think you should get out the measuring tape and take some measurements. That might help explain what the loss is - helps you to identify 'loss of what'?

At that rate, it could very well be muscle.

Princess Dieter aka Mir said...

Notice what you wrote that you didn't go over your points most days. THAT is part of it.

Also, you may not have gotten to the gym, but being busy (even stressed) as you seem to have been can burn calories.

Also, eating from fast food places isn't what makes you fat, per se. It's eating above your caloric needs. You obviously didn't eat as much as you supposed. :)

And no, I don't think it will catch up to you.

(Consider also that you may have been holding water last weigh in or some other hormonal freak and this week you're not).

I say CELEBRATE and don't stress out. Eating at your points MOST days is still eating much less than your body needs to hold or gain. It probably just balanced out, ya know?

Mir, the Princess

Diana Swallow said...

Do you want my theory on this? I've had this happen too! Exercise is a magical thing. I've found that when I quit exercising I have a grace period where I can basically eat whatever I want and not gain weight and in some cases still lose weight. Its the muscles you've built working for you. In 1990 I did aerobics every day faithfully, 60 minutes a day for 7 months. Then I hurt my knee and quit. For a year I didn't gain a pound and I was eating every junk food known and then some. Eventually the weight started coming back. I walked every day for 12 weeks just this year, I quit for 6 weeks and for 4 weeks, I didn't gain a pound and even lost a few while eating more calories. These past two weeks, its caught up with me and then some!! I really believe all the butt busting exercise you were doing allowed you to do all the drive thru dining and still see a loss. The moral of the story...Exercise is our best friend but we must get back to it ASAP!!

Anonymous said...

WOOHOOO for weight loss (even if you don't know how it happened! HAHA) I don't have any theories for you unfortunately.

Naturally Blessed said...

yay!!!! who cares why??? ok, yes, we do care bc we want to repeat it over and over again...but i am happy for you!

i finally decided to hit the *ccc* link bc i see you commenting on a few of sites i got to...we have a few friends in common. just stopping by to say hi!

blessings!

ElleBee said...

Maybe your body just needed the food change ( I know that sounds crazy but I've heard this from several people) and a break from exercise!

Either way, the loss is still amazing! But keep with the healthy eating habits, they are good for your body in the end!!

Congrats on your super loss!!!!

Sienna said...

Congrats on the loss! I am so glad that I don't have all those fast food joints here, even at our closest town we would only have a choice of 2 or 3. Most of them are fatty and yuck as well, too many white rolls and fatty chicken. Ick. With the journalling at least you are keeping track. It's all good!