Week 6 has unceremoniously come and gone and again, it’s because I have no progress to report. My husband keeps asking me if I feel any different yet and so far, the only good news I have to report is that I am sleeping better. He says, that’s a step in the right direction so I can recover from my workouts and be better rested to push myself harder in my workouts. OK – I am TRYING, I swear but I feel like I have a few things working against me.
First, something I haven’t really brought up because it’s the most ridiculous injury known to man but I have hurt both of my big toes. I have no idea why but off and on, I get the worst ingrown toenails from my normal shoes that I have worn for years and years and never had any issues and they seem to hurt the worst after a really tough workout, particularly Crossfit. This has been plaguing me for about a month now and I keep thinking, WOW, I feel old! Washed up now at 42? I have heard older people complain about various aches and pains and have thought to myself, those sound like a lot of excuses and now, I find myself saying the same thing.
I haven’t been that diligent in taking care of it. I know there are things I can do like soak my feet, put hydrogen peroxide on it to keep it from getting infected (which I think it does slightly, from time to time, hence the off and on pain) but life keeps me pretty darn busy and I don’t take the time to do it. I am bordering on going to the doctor to have him take a look, to make sure there is nothing else I should be doing but honestly, not sure what he could really do for me.
Next, I worry that some of these diet changes could be affecting my health adversely. Things I have avoided for years – egg yolks, milk with fat in it, lots of cheese, higher fat meats, all because Eat to Perform says you need the optimum balance of protein, carbs and fat and I’m sorry, there is no good way to get it, get ENOUGH without adding all of these things. Of course, I realistically understand I haven’t given myself high cholesterol or heart disease in a month and a half but is this way of eating really “healthier”?
I must point out – Eat to Perform hasn’t specifically said to eat these things. In fact, like I mentioned in my last post, their main author says he eats mostly meat and veggies. OK, unless you are eating nothing but fish and chicken, you are going to get some higher fat meats in there, especially if that is your total diet. I just can’t eat like that – I need variety, I need choices every day to get the grams of protein, fat and carbs I need and I think I have found a lot of great, go to options. It just includes all of the things I mentioned above and also more nuts, especially almonds, protein shakes, drinks and bars and I keep searching for ways to add healthier meats like fish – tuna, salmon, etc.
All of these changes – increasing my calories, a different mix of calories and again, my weight and body fat hasn’t increased but it hasn’t decreased either and lower body fat is my goal. In all honesty, I haven’t changed my calories intake THAT much. My goal before was 1,400 a day, which I was always slightly over, depending on my workout for that day and right now, I am shooting for around 1,800 so realistically, only about 200-300 more calories a day than before but like a lot of these Eat to Perform articles talk about, I have been trained over the years to think in order to lose weight, I need to eat less and less. We all know that – you have to burn more calories than you take in, simple as that. Well, Eat to Perform complicates that, blurs that line by telling you your body isn’t getting the fuel it needs if you are just relying on trackers like Fitbit to tell you how many calories you burn each day. It doesn’t take into account step intensity, workout intensity, heart rate (though some trackers do offer this now), etc that can point to you burning more calories than you think.
I am trying to kick my workouts up a notch – pushing the mph on the treadmill, increasing the weight or reps in my free weight workout and even just increasing my weight workouts but so far – NOTHING. Here is how my weight has tracked for the year and it is frustrating to see that line just steadily climb. As we approach the holidays, I worry that this is just going to keep going higher.
SIGH. I am going to keep at it. 3 months puts me at December 31st, or there abouts and if nothing changes or I have gained more weight or body fat, this all goes out the window and go back to what I was doing before. Maybe I will treat myself and invest in a Fitbit Charge HR so I get a more accurate calorie burning count. I have had the Fitbit Flex for a year and a half now and it’s probably ready to be retired. Technology improves and changes and I am ready to change with it. I know, I know – I just need to keep telling myself do I feel fit, do I feel healthy, do I feel good and the answer to that right now is yes but I just have a tough time accepting this extra spare tire around my middle. THAT does NOT feel like me at all.
So, I plug on. On another note, for those waiting for a fashion update, my next Fix is set for Friday, December 11th. I will be posting an update on what I ask for and items I’ve seen that caught my eye soon!
Struggles of a Healthy Foodie 