[12-Week Challenge] Week 8 Update

@denice65 Well, my four-year-long relationship ended this week. Usually, when I'm as upset as I've been, I give up on the gym and barely eat. But I pushed through and it paid off. I took an extra rest day, and I made sure to hit my macros & micros and drink lots of water. Despite all this stress and I'm sure an increase in cortisol levels, I had a PR with deadlifts and my weight did not fluctuate over .6lb above my low weigh-in. Was it my best week of training and diet? Not even close. But was it the hardest I've worked in these last 8 weeks to maintain mental and physical balance? Yes. 1000x yes.
 
@denice65 OK, so this is something that I did not put in my initial goals for fear of failure and I did not talk about before for the same fear. But, I finally seem to have done it: I quit smoking! I have worked all this year to at least reduce it, I was very well aware of how bad it was for me and what a waste of time and money it was. But I needed to have it come from the inside. An addiction is hard to beat. I would go for a 10k run and then light up. But all of a sudden, about a week and a half ago, I put out a cigarette, and realized I don't enjoy them anymore. So I said, OK, I'll try not to do this anymore. So far so good. Can't say I am feeling any differently, yet, but the first thing I noticed is that all of a sudden I am super sensitive to any smoke smell around me (and I don't enjoy/crave it!!) so there's that. Fortunately, so far I didn't experience any severe withdrawal syndromes, but I am keeping a close eye on my weight, I feel like I have been snacking a bit more than before.
 
@bubblegum2021 That is so fucking awesome, congrats!! When I finally managed to kick a bad habit about two years ago, I knew I would make it once I got through the first few weeks, because every time the thought of doing the thing came into my head, I'd think "well I can't do that, I've made it this far and if I go back all of what I did will be for nothing" and I just couldn't let myself down like that.

It also helped once I realized that whatever little voice in your head saying "oh whatever, just one real quick won't hurt anything, it's not like I'll go back to doing it all the time" or "I don't care about quitting anymore, I'd rather X," is your addiction talking to you. Once you can recognize how it sounds and call it out for what it is, it becomes a lot easier to say "no, that's a nice try addiction, but I'm not going to listen to you."
 
@denice65 Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and words of wisdom! I'll definitely keep in mind what you shared, it's so encouraging to hear other people's experience. This is totally doable, but an addiction is called so for a reason. Knowing that other people went through this and finding out how exactly they handled it is really helpful.
 
@denice65 All aboard the struggle bus... ugh, past two weeks have been a nightmare. Not to mention that I ate and drank just a little too much this past weekend, so I'm definitely feeling bloated. Going to get back on track, especially since where I work (and workout) is starting a new challenge on Tuesday for the next eight weeks.

I've also stopped tracking calories again, and that helped me lose a bit of weight since I tend to get obsessive with the counting. I had started again because I wasn't eating enough protein, but now that I know what that looks like, things should be better :)

Here's to killing the next three weeks, cause I'm tired of messing up!!
 
@denice65 So this week was not as good as I had hoped. I set unrealistic goals since I didn't realize how much time studying for my qualifying exam would take. I lifted once, swam once, and cycled once. I also did yoga most days. It's not awful but it is not what I had hoped for. This week I start week 5 of Strong Curves Gluteal Goddess. My goal is to swim once I lift three times. I might go for a bike ride too depending on the weather and my work load. I also want to keep improving on meeting my macros more consistently.
 
@denice65 This week was rough, but I'm ready to get back on track. I was on vacation and enjoyed far too many indulgences. BUT - I did do a four mile run in an interesting area of a new city!
 
@icocguy Hey, you were on vacation, you had every right to indulge! Once you get back on track with your diet and training and you're drinking lots of water, you'll feel brand new. Good for you for that run!
 
@denice65 So I'm going to keep posting because I'm determined not to be a part of that failure rate, but I think my goals have completely changed. I've been getting super lost in my calorie/macro numbers and have started to obsess about food, so today I'm ending my MFP streak and taking a break from tracking. It's been a while and I want to see how I do now that I've built some better nutrition habits.

So the weight loss goal is out (the number was arbitrary and I decided I'm not ready to make the sacrifices needed to hit it right now, mostly due to patio season). Gym consistency goals are in. Lifting 4x/week (PHUL) and running 2-3x/week (C25K). Anyone looking for a lifting accountability buddy?
 
@maxicastag The goals don't really matter, the point is just to keep working to improve your fitness for 12 weeks, even when stuff doesn't go quite as planned. That's life; setbacks happen, goals change. Doesn't matter, keep striving :)
 
@maxicastag ugh same here! I hate calorie counting and it easily made me obsess about food. It could work for others but definnitely not me.

I would love to have a lifting accountability buddy! I lift 3x a week (SL 5x5) and trying to fit in C25K at least once a week with other days being interval/liss depending on how I'm feeling. WDYT?
 
@maxicastag Your determination is inspiring! Have you stopped tracking food before? I ask because I feel it might help my situation, but at the same time, I'm terrified of not having the accountability.
 
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