Good morning!
I feel a LOT better today. Truly. And there's a few very specific reasons for that.
1. My union representatives at work had a meeting with the bosses, and have clarified a few things. Essentially, they were made to listen to my side of the story on the whole mess. This means a lot to me.
2. I had a talk with my boss. The one that I've had issues with. It seems like he's turned around 180 degrees after that beforementioned meeting.
3. I'm on sick leave. Stress. Heart.
Especially #3 has made me loosen up a bit. Knowing that I do not HAVE to go in, makes me a lot more comfortable with everything.
It's been a few hard weeks coming back to work. It was a lot of pressure, and I felt that I was pushed out there WAY too hard. Apparently, so did my doctor. He told me to go home and stay home until we've talked and until I've had my heart rebooted, as a minimum.
Of course, just going home isn't solving everything, but it solves the immediate stress for me.
I have a good understanding with my leaders about how we do things now.
The arrangement is simply that I will NOT be working for right now, but if I do remember things that needs to be done, then shoot them an email so they can look into it. This will prevent me from falling behind far too much. It was bad enough what I came back to. Nobody had really worked on my cases and it was ALL catch-up along with a lot of new cases being piled on top. No good.
The DOWNSIDE to this is that I can't work at the gym, obviously, and I can't teach my classes. Not while I am out sick from my primary job.
In my head, these things do NOT go together. I am stressed because of a heart condition and because of my job.
The other jobs are actually mental "re-fills" for me, and something that makes me happy and proud to do. But rules are rules, and I can see why. It makes sense, on the administrative level, so to say.
If nothing else, I suppose it's motivation to get back on my feet ASAP. Right?
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I did poor on my diet yesterday. I went over my calories, and I'm not too happy about that. It wasn't a lot - 200 calories - but it wasn't neccessary. Boo. I will just keep going.
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Since I am out and away from work, and will be for probably a few weeks, then I need a mission.
So, I have decided to change some parameters in my weight loss/maintenance plan starting today instead of February 1st. It'll give me something to commit to instead of worrying about work. I think it's the smart move.
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I have teamed up with my buddy Draglist, and we're gonna NAIL this IIFYM approach. :) It's fun, it's easy, and there is so much good food one can eat.
If you haven't really followed this journal, or heard of IIFYM, let me do a quick recap:
- IIFYM is the abbreviation of "If It Fits Your Macros". Essentially, the theory is that if you reach your protein, fat and fiber intake daily, along with not exceeding your calorie allowance, then you can basically eat what you want.
- You calculate your numbers on www.IIFYM.com. It basically gives you the numbers you need. Full focus needs to be on REACHING your protein, fat and fiber recommendations. There is supposedly nothing wrong with going higher on these. The is also a carb number, but this number is basically the "left over" calories when you calculate your calorie allowance and subtract protein and fat. There is no need to reach the carb intake. You can replace those with protein and fat.
That's really all there is to it. Count your calories as always, focus (A LOT) more on the macros. Enjoy life. Don't forget that exercise still is very important. :)
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I have been doing this for quite a while, but I have seen myself GAIN weight (and fat) with it.
The more I look at the IIFYM.com suggested numbers, I see that I have had too high a calorie intake.
I will put myself in weight loss mode and try to follow the recommended strategy from there.
Also, I see in my food stats that I am WAY low on fiber. I haven't had ANY focus on fiber, but this will change starting today.
So, my new numbers are:
Max calorie intake: 2500 calories. Min protein intake: 185g Min fat intake: 70g Fiber intake: 37 - 45g
This should be easy.
I already pre-planned my meals for today, hitting every macro there.
Lunch: 2 large homemade beef enchiladas 2nd lunch: Large, whole wheat pita with ham Afternoon snack: 1 protein bar Dinner: Grilled chicken breast in tomato sauce, with whole wheat pasta (and a HUGE portion, too!) Post-dinner snack: 2 protein bars.
There is NO way I can eat more than that. It's a LOT of food, all good, and super tasty. I am looking forward to it.
These meals are STILL putting me on the low side on the fiber. To compensate I will have some psyllian husk. High on fiber, easy to do.
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So, today I will relax. I will calm down. I will go do my walks, get the calorie burn for the day up, but mentally calm down. Down, down, down, down down, as the song goes.
It's been a couple of ROUGH weeks, and I am glad I'm finally being heard and getting some help. I needed it badly.
For the rest of this week I will try to get my footing on fully doing IIFYM with a calorie deficit, and see what's happening. I hope this is the game changer that will start lowering my body fat percentage again.
It's not like it's horribly bad. It's 13% today. I'm basically at around the same numbers as I was in November. I know I wasn't too satisfied with it then, and I'm not too satisfied with it now. But I know I can fix it, if I apply to it. I know that IIFYM will help me doing this.
The game is afoot. :)
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Today, I'm thankful for: - Sick leave. - Unions. - Wife. - Sick leave. - Unions. - Wife - Coffee. - Sick leave. - Unions.
See a pattern here? :)
Have a great Thursday. I'm gonna make this the best day in a long time. Life is good, and better than it has been for a while. Truly.
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184.7 lb
Lost so far: 157.0 lb.
Still to go: 0 lb.
Diet followed poorly.
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gaining 3.1 lb a week
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