I'd been stuck on 271 since last Thursday, and had begun to feel just a wee bit discouraged. I've been crushing my workouts, and can both see and feel the effects... So there's a good chance that increases in muscle mass might have negated the effect of fat loss as far as my unchanged body weight went. I also could tell that my clothes were fitting ever looser, particularly around the waist.
Very plainly, you see, I had at a minimum of two solid reasons to not get bent about the numbers on the scale stubbornly remaining the same. But it still got to me, despite all the evidence suggesting that it should not.
So, over the last couple of days, I made a few tweaks to my diet. And, based on the results, that was just the boost that my body needed.
I bumped up the protein level across my first two meals, then went meatless for the rest of each day by eating a modestly-sized salad with boiled egg (and homemade Caesar dressing - yum!) for both my third and fourth meals. I also increased my water intake by an additional 32 oz or so, and tried to squeeze in a few extra moments on the treadmill during the workday. To put it simply, I wasn't going to settle for anything less than a drop in weight; the extra water and workouts were a bit of insurance, if you will.
My fifth and final meal of the day - a protein shake at 5 pm- remained the same; it, in particular, continues to serve me well and, in hindsight, has been among the most effective dietary adjustments I've made thus far.
Bear in mind, these were primarily short-term adjustments. I've already prepped tomorrow's meals; four and five consist of Italian chicken sausage, brown rice and sauteed spinach. I may go back to my normal protein intake levels for meals one and two, but I will try to stick with the extra water.
My thinking is that, haven gotten past that sticking point, I won't have to revert back to meatless mid-days for now. That being said, it's nice to have that trick in my back pocket to whip out as needed when my metabolism needs a kick in the rear.
It's been a long week. I haven't been sleeping as well or for as long as I likely need to. Here's hoping that this weekend will bring with it continued progress... As well as some extra rest.
I bumped up the protein level across my first two meals, then went meatless for the rest of each day by eating a modestly-sized salad with boiled egg (and homemade Caesar dressing - yum!) for both my third and fourth meals. I also increased my water intake by an additional 32 oz or so, and tried to squeeze in a few extra moments on the treadmill during the workday. To put it simply, I wasn't going to settle for anything less than a drop in weight; the extra water and workouts were a bit of insurance, if you will.
My fifth and final meal of the day - a protein shake at 5 pm- remained the same; it, in particular, continues to serve me well and, in hindsight, has been among the most effective dietary adjustments I've made thus far.
Bear in mind, these were primarily short-term adjustments. I've already prepped tomorrow's meals; four and five consist of Italian chicken sausage, brown rice and sauteed spinach. I may go back to my normal protein intake levels for meals one and two, but I will try to stick with the extra water.
My thinking is that, haven gotten past that sticking point, I won't have to revert back to meatless mid-days for now. That being said, it's nice to have that trick in my back pocket to whip out as needed when my metabolism needs a kick in the rear.
It's been a long week. I haven't been sleeping as well or for as long as I likely need to. Here's hoping that this weekend will bring with it continued progress... As well as some extra rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment