On my day off yesterday, I ate way too much but I knew that, during the week, I would make up those calories and more so that it was only a glitch and not a full on meltdown. I ate about 1800 calories more than I should have, take away about 600 because of exercise and I was about 1200 overall over my allotted amount. Normally, on my days off, I would not bother calculating my calories, but I have been doing so well recently I thought that I would find out exactly how many calories I consumed during the once a week 'day off'. I was a little taken aback at the amount of calories I had consumed. And that made me think...was this how I actually got to this weight in the first place, because I didn't actually think I had had that much during the day?
After the initial shock, I worked around the problem and started looking at how this could actually help me. Firstly I made sure that, no matter how much it hurt, I was always going to record everything I ate and drank so that I couldn't kid myself. That was an easy decision because I'm doing it anyway, it was simply a validation of existing practice. But it also made me wonder what my normal day is like when I am not trying to live healthier. So I decided on a plan.
Next week, I am going to eat anything, whatever I want, whenever I want. And drink too. If I want a Coke, I'll have it. If I want a beer...I'll have it. Anything.
Now this may seem like a backward step and very foolish, and it would be if I were actually doing it for real. Instead I will be virtually eating anything and drinking everything I want. I am going to do this because this is what I was doing before I started trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.
Every time I feel like a snack, I am going to count the calories and write them down as if I had eaten it. Every time I feel like a beer or a whisky, I am going to record the calories and write it down as though I had had it. I will virtually eat whatever and everything I want. The reason I have decided to do this is two-fold. Firstly, by writing down the calories as if I were eating it, I will see, at the end of the week, the amount of calories I would have eaten had I not been on my journey. Secondly, this will tell me how many calories I am over 'maintain' calorie limit of 2500 and show me, in case I decide to quit this or go back to my normal lifestyle once I have lost the weight, how quickly I will put back on every pound I have lost. Hopefully then it will give me the motivation to carry on and keep going even after losing the weight.
It will also make for interesting reading as to where I would have been right now if I had carried on eating and drinking as I was before starting this journey. Afterwards, I may even try and calculate how heavy I would actually be right now and see all the additional health issues I would have and also look at how those are decreasing every time I do eat healthily and steer clear of the unhealthy foods.
As for today, my wife and I walked for 4.5 miles this afternoon, clocking up just over 15,000 steps. I have continued to be below the number of calories allotted to me (1680) and I have completed all my habit tasks for the day, even though writing was hard and I wasn't feeling it at all. I have completed reading Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, and have now started another book. I am back grading papers tomorrow and hopefully getting a lot done so that I can focus on other things too. I feel that my journey is going well at the moment and my determination and drive are carrying me through. I am definitely ready to face any challenges as and when they pop up, so I am ready to continue and hopefully see the number drop again on Saturday.
Looking back at my journey, seeing the ups and downs I have been through over the 128 days I have been doing this, I can see now how easy it is to quit. I have had a lot of downs and a lot of ups and, because I knew there would be, and because I knew I could reflect on them (even if sometimes I have not learnt the lessons) I could easily have simply laid down and left it, chalking it up to experience and drowning my sorrows with a few whiskies and a number of food stuffs that would definitely not be conducive to my weight loss. Watching other people's journeys and talking to the lovely people on healthunlocked.com has also helped a bundle.
So tonight I am grateful for everything I have achieved so far and for those that have followed my journey and encouraged me. Without that help and inspiration, I don't think I would have come through some of those early setbacks. I can't wait to see what the new week brings.
Until tomorrow, stay safe and stay strong.
Thanks for reading.
Sean.