This weekend was interesting - I expected to be lifting weights on Saturday, so I really pounded the protein. My brother and I took our kids to see the Lego Movie (loved it) and then dinner, and I made a meal choice that really put me over on all my macros. And then, I didn't get a chance to lift weights. My plan was toast, and I overindulged. No problem, though. Sunday would be the day I made the averages work out - put all three macros back on track with a lower-intake day, and drop my weight back down in the process. I would have to be good, and more precise than usual. Dinner at the in-laws would make things interesting. I kept carbs in check, and got protein to target with only the fat going high - that will have to wait a day or two to get averaged out - but I was really good, and managed a very solid calorie deficit!
And then I ended up with time to lift weights late. What to do? Lifting weights would be great, but it's counterproductive to lift and not supply my body with enough nutrients
right now to start the rebuilding process. The point is to grow the muscles, after all. But if I take in a pre-workout energy booster, lots of water, and some post-workout protein, I'll screw up my good performance on the day. And I definitely won't drop my weight back down where I know I can get it!
Here is where you have to decide how important a short-term goal is. My short-term goal was to correct Saturday's mess, and get back down to 182.6#, or lower! That goal supports my FS goal of dropping down to 180#. But my longer-term goals are to get my body-fat down under 12%, my waistline to 32", my lean body mass up to 160#, and my strength to "Novice" level on the
performance standards on ExRx.net. Hitting the short-term goal seems like it pushes me in the right direction for the first two big goals. However, just because something works doesn't make it the
best choice.
Getting that calorie deficit would certainly lower my fat % and my waistline. No doubt. And if I instead work out, prepping my body before and giving it plenty of protein after, I definitely won't have enough deficit to fuel a drop in weight. In fact, I'll be a little bloated from the fluids I'll have to take in. I might
gain weight! But the positive is that, with the extra activity and the muscle-building recovery phase, I will end up with a little more muscle mass, a little more strength, and my calorie burn to support that additional mass will eventually catch up and surpass the one-time deficit I passed up yesterday.
In the end, it was not an easy decision, but I lifted weights, and had a
great workout! Sometimes, the feeling you get by hitting a short-term goal is worth it. But you really need to be careful with sacrificing progress on long-term goals to get there. I could have gone short term and been happy today, and pushed off the long-term success. But I chose long-term thinking, and I'm still happy today! And in a few days, I'll hit that short-term goal anyway!