January has come to an end, and unfortunately, as far as diet and exercise is concerned, what I did this past month did not work in my favor. I actually gained weight this month instead of losing weight, even though I was exercising 5 days/week and following Weight Watchers. It’s easy to beat myself up, but, that won’t do anything, so it’s time to rethink my strategy and try to figure out what possibly backfired.
Now, before you say “don’t weigh yourself” and “you gained muscle, that’s why your weight went up”, I know I didn’t gain muscle because my cloths don’t fit any better than at the beginning of January. I added inches! anyway...
I took out a piece of paper and wrote down what I did in the last month that are possible culprits to putting on weight.
Diet:
Over doing it on 0-point foods
As you know, I follow Weight Watchers, and the list of “free” 0 point foods includes beans. For the last month I made beans a BIG part of my meal plan: lentil soup, vegetarian chili, refried beans, etc…you get the point. Although I think beans are great, they are calorie dense and high in carbs. I try to follow a “lower” carb diet, and beans, although they have protein and fiber, are still mostly carbs. The macro composition of beans vs. chicken breast are very different, yet both are on the "0" points food list.
Takeaway point:
Even if a point is “0 points”, you have to be aware of the calories and macros.
When I was actively losing weight on WW, my lunches consisted mainly of protein and veggies, so I’m going to reduce my intake of beans and tofu, and go back to chicken, turkey, lean red meat, tuna, and eggs to get my protein.
Late Night snacking and not counting it
I would be pretty good, not perfect, but good about my food choices, but then sometimes at night I would take "just one" cookie, or "just a few" peanuts, but then I would keep going back to the pantry and eating another cookie, and some more nuts.
Takeaway point:
Make an effort to stop/reduce eating late at night, and own up to it by tracking it. If you have to track it, you might be a little more choosy about having too much
Emotional and/or Mindless eating
So, like I just mentioned, when I was at work, my food was carefully portioned out and planned for, and even for dinner. But then after dinner... I would go to the pantry and start pulling stuff out... sometimes it was for a craving for chocolate, or for something salty and crunchy, but more often than not, I was looking in there thinking "what should I have, what should I have" and not really wanting or craving what I had just noshed on.
Takeaway point:
Be conscious of cravings, vs. emotional/mindless eating. If there's a craving, give into it with a small portion. If I think I'm actually hungry, pick a fruit or vegetable. If I reject eating a fruit or vegetable, then maybe, just maybe, I'm not hungry at all. hmm.
Fitness:
What can I say here... according to my FitBit, I hit 10,000 or more steps everyday and hit my target for calorie burn. I worked out 30-40 minutes 5 days/week (low impact cardio + strength training). All this, and, my weight didn't budge, nor my measurements.
Takeaway point:
I just finished up the 4-week Fitness Blender program I mentioned in my other post, and next week, February 4th, I'm starting a new 6-week program that might provide more intensity... the trainer, not as "genttile" as Daniel and Kelli. The program is actually on DVD, and I've owned it for 3-4 years, the case is still sealed, it came out 10 years old, and I found it at Dollarama's DVD section. Do you feel the momentum building up? You want to know "what? what is it? please tell us now!".
The next exercise program I'll be following is...
Biggest Loser - Last Chance Workout - with Jillian Michaels
Funny fact, I picked this up at Dollarama a few years back for maybe $4. If you go on Amazon.ca, it's selling for $24.99 CND, although there's other cheaper purchase options, and on CollageVideo, it's selling for $9.99 USD. The DVD has good reviews and I'm hoping it will help me get into the shape I wanted and start losing some inches.
Not Sleeping Enough?:
I'm not sure if this could be an issue, but lots of sources say sleep is important for weight loss. On a typical work day, I'm getting about 5 hrs of sleep, although, I'm in bed targeting for 5.5 to 6 hrs.. I'm sometimes awake/restless for 30-45 minutes (according to my FitBit).
Takeaway point:
Not really sure... I wake up early for the purpose of exercising. I don't want to exercise late at night. The only real thing I can do here is try to go to bed earlier.
Well Nerds, upward and onward, maybe February will produce some better results.
And that brings me to my question...
Are you sticking to your New Years resolutions related to health and fitness? It's said that people often fall off the wagon by now.
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