Maintenance
After an enforced period of sloth due to medical issues and surgery I've regained most of the weight I had lost starting back in December. Yesterday was my first day back at the gym. Amazingly I can move my arms today and I'll be returning to the gym as soon as my husband gets home from his bike ride. I also jumped back on the healthy eating wagon. The fridge is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, we have skim milk and whole grain bread and cereals, and lots of lean meat and fish. My strategy for fat loss is to do as much cardio as possible while building as much muscle as possible. I eat a high protein and very very low fat diet, something along the lines of 20 total grams of fat a day, with about 6 of those being saturated at most. While I'm not a strict calorie counter I make sure to vary what I eat from day to day. Counted out I'm probably consuming 1400-ish calories daily when I eat like this, occasionally bumping up to 1700. After this first week or so I may go all out and do a week at 1000-1200 just to speed things up a bit.
Why not cut carbs, you may well ask. My response is--do WHAT??? I love rice and potatoes and fruit and vegetables, and yes, even the occasional piece of bread. I can live without fat. If I attempted to cut out carbs I'd be in a constant state of miserable food craving and doom myself to failure from the outset. It also makes NO sense to be working out and eliminating all carbohydrates. Your body uses those for fast energy, and as long as you aren't stuffing yourself with white bread and candy there's nothing wrong with allowing yourself the energy you need to get your metabolism ramped up to burn fat. If you're trying to lose fat what kind of sense does it make to be eating more of it? Adkins has never made any sense to me. And if you're going to cut calories but want to build muscle the protein is a must.
When I exercise I feel better. I feel stronger and more energetic. I sleep better. My libido is up and I feel sexier. In a few weeks my waist and belly will start to trim down again and I'll even look sexier (my legs will bulk up nicely--without some good muscle they're incredibly skinny--and I'm also likely to add some to my arms, but I'd rather look a little beefy than have all that extra skin just hanging there). I also have fewer incidences of uncontrolable anxiety and I can generally manage my depression without medication. Now would probably be a good time to try going off of my meds just to see what happens, but I'll have to talk to my husband about that. The withdrawal is killer, and it won't be hard on me alone, it'll involve my entire family. Also, my energy and stamina for Seidhr is increased, and I seem to have a less difficult time switching into an altered state for seeing or working. A healthy body really does seem to assist with a healthy/robust spirit. Physical and mental energy are very much tied together for me.
Regardless, in six weeks time when I travel to see family again I plan on looking and being healthier than I was last weekend. And I plan on being a sight less resistable. Even if there's no opportunity, that doesn't mean I don't want him thinking about it...
Why not cut carbs, you may well ask. My response is--do WHAT??? I love rice and potatoes and fruit and vegetables, and yes, even the occasional piece of bread. I can live without fat. If I attempted to cut out carbs I'd be in a constant state of miserable food craving and doom myself to failure from the outset. It also makes NO sense to be working out and eliminating all carbohydrates. Your body uses those for fast energy, and as long as you aren't stuffing yourself with white bread and candy there's nothing wrong with allowing yourself the energy you need to get your metabolism ramped up to burn fat. If you're trying to lose fat what kind of sense does it make to be eating more of it? Adkins has never made any sense to me. And if you're going to cut calories but want to build muscle the protein is a must.
When I exercise I feel better. I feel stronger and more energetic. I sleep better. My libido is up and I feel sexier. In a few weeks my waist and belly will start to trim down again and I'll even look sexier (my legs will bulk up nicely--without some good muscle they're incredibly skinny--and I'm also likely to add some to my arms, but I'd rather look a little beefy than have all that extra skin just hanging there). I also have fewer incidences of uncontrolable anxiety and I can generally manage my depression without medication. Now would probably be a good time to try going off of my meds just to see what happens, but I'll have to talk to my husband about that. The withdrawal is killer, and it won't be hard on me alone, it'll involve my entire family. Also, my energy and stamina for Seidhr is increased, and I seem to have a less difficult time switching into an altered state for seeing or working. A healthy body really does seem to assist with a healthy/robust spirit. Physical and mental energy are very much tied together for me.
Regardless, in six weeks time when I travel to see family again I plan on looking and being healthier than I was last weekend. And I plan on being a sight less resistable. Even if there's no opportunity, that doesn't mean I don't want him thinking about it...