ChristyLA's Journal, 05 July 2014

I'm shocked by this weight loss and ecstatic at the same time. First of all, I thought I was going to gain, because my muscles are sore all over from the weightlifting/strength training workout that I did yesterday (which was awesome, by the way, but more on that later). I thought my muscles were retaining water and I would be heavier, but I was wrong - at least about the weight gain.

This next part is for women only.

I think the weight loss could be due to going off my birth control. Have any of you experienced this? I read that BC can cause weight gain - like practically every type of medication out there - so I'm thinking I lost some - water? - weight because I went off of it. Plus, my time of the month ended this week - yay. So those two things might have been in my favor during this weigh-in.

Okay men, you can continue from here :)

Regardless of the reason for my weight loss, I'm really happy about it. Plus, some of it could be because of my doing, since I've been working out regularly again. I lost 0.2 lbs at my last weigh-in and 1.6 at this one (I had been gaining prior). I'm really happy to see these losses, especially since I'm not trying to lose weight, but actually, trying to gain muscle, which can mean gaining weight. I'm happy to be going in the direction I'd prefer to go in, but I'm also fine with gaining muscle weight. I just don't want to gain fat, but I don't think that will happen, nor has happened.

Back to the workout that I mentioned earlier. I hadn't weightlifted in a couple of weeks at least, just because I was having so much fun walking and began power-walking again, which has been great. Well, yesterday it was raining all day, so I couldn't exactly go for a walk - at least, I didn't want to go for one in the rain (I melt). So I was really disappointed that I couldn't go for a walk and went out to get a couple of things at the grocery store, because I really felt like going out. Came back home and went on the computer for an hour, when I felt a desire to do a weight training workout. Since I hadn't had this desire in weeks, I jumped on it. (I always jump on the opportunity to exercise when I feel like doing it.)

I was in the mood to do my own workout - meaning, one I made up myself, no DVD. I worked my entire body - arms, shoulders, chest, back, legs, and abs - for 23 min. I lifted 10-20 lbs, depending on the exercise. It was awesome and I enjoyed every minute of it. When I was fatigued, I stopped. My legs were wobbly afterwards :) I guess it was fun because I hadn't done this type of workout in months - I had been doing DVDs instead. So variety of workouts works!

I plan on resting my muscles to let them recover over the weekend and possibly next week (at least until the middle to end of the week). I like to rest my muscles until I have no soreness in them, in order to get the most muscle gain from the workout (I believe muscles aren't healed completely if they're still sore). There are other workouts that I can do during that time. Supposed to get more rain next week, so I will probably do another strength training workout next week.

How have your workouts been going? If you are dreading them, I suggest doing a different workout than you usually do or reducing the intensity of your workout (like someone here mentioned, we get discouraged if the workout is too hard for us to do). What counts is that you do a workout, not how intense or long the workout is. If you're not working out because you're not motivated to, tell yourself you're just going to workout for 10 min. Then do whatever you think you can do for those 10 min. I guarantee you'll either workout for longer or you'll be motivated to do a workout the next day, or both. And don't forget to promise yourself (at the end of the workout) that you'll do it again tomorrow. That is how you get back into a workout routine, and it works! I used to have major problems with not having the motivation to exercise, and if I don't feel like doing something, I usually don't do it, so I'm speaking from experience. What counts is that you workout regularly - to preserve your muscle mass, because "if you don't use it, you lose it." If we don't work our muscles regularly, we lose muscle, and that's how we gain weight/fat. Being strong is admirable and makes you feel good about yourself. So promise yourself right now that you'll do a 5 or 10 min workout today. Better yet, do it right now.

Have a good weekend. I'll be watching fireworks tonight and can't wait. I haven't gone to see fireworks in years - I usually just stay home - so I'm looking forward to it. Another thing I'll be doing is staying on track. I promise myself that I will do this every day. If I don't eat perfectly, I say, "Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow," rather than being hard on myself. All we can do is "do our best and forget the rest." Don't blow your diet for messing up one day or one meal. Recommit with every food choice you make. After all, this is supposed to be a lifestyle, and why give up on yourself? Do what you encourage others to do and talk to yourself how you talk to others. Be your own best friend. You have to live with yourself for the rest of your life, so you might as well be a friend to yourself. Treat yourself good and with respect. Don't trash your body with unhealthy foods. Exercise or be active every day, because your body is meant to move! Above all, don't give up. Even if you gain back all of the weight that you lost, don't lose hope. Get back on the wagon when you're ready and recommit to trying again. You can do this!

172.0 lb Lost so far: 44.0 lb.    Still to go: 12.0 lb.    Diet followed reasonably well.

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1950 kcal

Fat: 80.12g | Prot: 122.04g | Carb: 190.18g.   Breakfast: Trader Joe's Steel Cut Organic Oats, Trader Joe's Roasted & Unsalted Pistachios, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds, Decaffeinated), Bananas, It Works Greens, Hood Simply Smart Fat Free Half & Half. Lunch: Sara Lee Brown Sugar Ham, Swiss Cheese, Great Value Energy Drink Mix Blueberry Acai, Baby Spinach, It Works It's Vital Omega-3, Kraft Light Mayonnaise, Tomatoes, Golden Pita Original Middle Eastern Bread, Provolone Cheese, Market Pantry Honey Mustard, Corned Beef, Apples. Dinner: Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce, Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs, Land O'Lakes All-Natural Eggs, Trader Joe's Shredded Lite Mozzarella Cheese, Chicken Breast (Skin Not Eaten), Green Giant Fresh Baby Cut Carrots, Kroger Idaho Russet Potatoes, Sour Cream, Hormel Real Bacon Bits 50% Less Fat, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk. Snacks/Other: Dannon Oikos Greek Nonfat Yogurt - Plain (Container), Strawberries, Blueberries, Trader Joe's Creamy Unsalted Peanut Butter. more...

2074 kcal

Activities & Exercise: Standing - 1 hour, Shopping - 35 minutes, Housework - 10 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 15 minutes, Sleeping - 7 hours. more...