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Good morning!
Wow. This is by far the lowest Sunday weigh-in in AGES. This is very nice to see.
I'm up 200g since yesterday, but this is so insignificant. I am down more than one 1% body fat, and water/muscle fluctuations are up by a full kilo. Obviously, not a trace of fat gain.
There shouldn't be any fat gain anyways.
I went to the upper limit of my calorie allowance yesterday. It was HARD to stay where I'm supposed to say, under 2,000 calories. I had the munchies all day, but I managed to keep it all at bay with sugar free/fat free ice cream (not all that much), a couple of apples and a protein bar.
We had a very reasonable dinner planned, so I allowed myself to relax (but stay focused) at the lunch buffet that Wife and I usually go to on Saturdays.
What really upped the calorie intake was the fact that by the time we realized that it was time to cook - and Wife was gonna make homemade enchiladas - it was WAY too late.
We ended up ordering food from the local pizza joint, and since I still needed more protein, I opted to have a whole wheat pita (large, please!) with plenty of beef. This is by far my favorite meal from these places. It gives me a good chunk of protein, there are no fast carbs - since I opt for whole wheat - and it's super fulfilling.
It is, of course, also 700 calories that can potentially kill a meal plan if one is not careful. Add chili oil to it, and we're talking 900. I went to pick up food to eat at home, so no oil, but instead a nice, non-oily chili here at home.
I made it within the 2,000 calories. My day burn was 2,900 according to Fitbit. It's all good.
After dinner, I really felt like something nice, something sweet. I ended up enjoying a protein bar to kill the urge. The alternative could easily have been me ending up having sugary junk, so the protein bar was a much better alternative.
It was rough to get through the day, but knowing what I could do to fix things, knowing to plan as much as I could, and remembering my mission really helped me through it.
That, and of course the fact that I walked quite a bit, giving me a slight advantage on the calorie burn.
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Today is challenge day number two. The weekends are so much harder than normal days.
I was confident that this was gonna be reasonably easy, as I was gonna spend most of the day with the band. Our drummer canceled, though, and we're NOT gonna play. Boo.
This means an entire day at home. There is so much more down time and I know that I'll get the munchies from that.
I just need to do right and focus. We have apples if I need 'em. One cannot binge on apples. :)
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I really should go walk. I really should. I just don't feel like it though, and my legs are tired. I honestly think that they're asking me for a break.
When I work out, the legs are what gets the most sore. I'm on my feet ALL day most days, and I can sometimes tell that they need a break.
It really annoys me, because I like the walks. But I understand that they need a break. They need to recover, just like when I do my lifing at the gym. My legs just don't get the same recovery, because of all my walking.
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This is something that I ponder on a lot.
Do I really need the walks to the extend that I do them?
Often, I just walk to get my fitbit stats right. I HATE not getting my 10,000 steps in. I HATE not getting the Fitbit estimated calorie burn of at least 2,800 calories. I hate not reaching 8 kilometers walked per day.
However, the actual walk only gives me an extra burn of approx. 265 calories. It's really nothing. There is not too much reason to HAVE to do it every single day, if it wasn't for the mental exercise that I get out of it.
I know. It sounds like I'm just trying to justify NOT walking today. Honestly, it's deeper than that.
When I look at the numbers that I get from all three smart scales that I own, and the estimations from both my calorie counter and fitbit, they claim that I easily burn 3,000 calories per day. This is what I SHOULD aim for at maintenance level, with my workouts, my activites, my muscle mass, everything. Actually, on my new and extra high quality scale it insists that I burn 3,200 calories at a sedentary level. This scale is made for professionals, and it's way above "normal" scales when it comes to quality and accuracy. Earlier I had it set on a level 2 of 3 activity levels and it suggested I need about 3,800 calories daily. I just can't do that. That is scary, and I would not be able to consume all that in just proper and healthy foods.
Fitbit gets those same numbers on days where I move around in general. I easily reach 3,000 calories on it. I average 3,200 calories burned daily, looking at the last three months.
So, what would happen if I stop walking? Of course, I will miss listening to my audio books, and the mental escape I get from that. I wouldn't want to put that away entirely.
I would lose some of the health benefits from walking.
I would burn about 265 calories less per day.
And I would gain a full hour of time every single morning. Maybe even more. I sure could use that - especially on my workout days.
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What I am considering is to simply not walk on workout days. Or, actually, ONLY walk on workout days.
I have two ways of thinking of this:
1. If I walk on non-workout days, I will be doing an activity every single day, and I am very sure this is good. It keeps me going, and it helps me stay fit.
However...
2. If I walk on non-workout days, maybe my legs don't get the recovery time they need from the workouts? Maybe this is why my legs often are significantly more tired and sore than the rest of my body? Maybe it's smarter to actually walk ON my workout days, and enjoy that I have more time on the other mornings.
I'm very tempted to lean towards option number two.
It's not that I won't get ANY movement done on non-walk days, no matter what. I stand up at work all day. Literally ALL day. I don't own a car, so I walk to EVERYTHING I do, unless it's to far to walk. Then I use public transport. This will always give me more steps.
I just have to be okay with lowering my fitbit goals. I think that would be okay. Since september 1st, I average almost 16,000 steps daily. I know that if I skip my walk three times per week, my daily AVERAGE will go down to about 13,300 steps instead. There are still MANY steps in there.
I think I'm gonna try this out, and see what happens.
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This might also help me a little in regards to my high stress levels.
As much as the walks help me cope with stress, it is also a LOT of pressure to HAVE to walk every single day. It's a lot of pressure when my legs are tired and I push myself to go anyways. It's a lot of pressure when it's time to wake up after a night of bad sleep.
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I think my approach in regards to my training would be best going for walk AND workout on the same day. This way, my legs will get tired from both the walk and the workout on the same day, and my entire body can use the following day for recovery. I work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This way I can keep the weekend off from working out, and maybe just sneak in one walk on one of the days.
It really would fit my plans perfectly.
Again, I just need to be okay with the lower calorie burn on those days.
Let's see what happens!
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Today, I'm thankful for:
- Wife!
- Morning coffee!
- A quiet day!
Happy Sunday! Life is good!
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181.4 lb
Lost so far: 160.3 lb.
Still to go: 0 lb.
Diet followed 100%.
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gaining 3.1 lb a week
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