When the scale is being a bitch

Oh my scale is a bitch...or a bastard, or a frucking liar, it all depends on the day :-p

So many times I see a gain, or my scale stands still on the same number for weeks on end - and that when I worked out hard and ate healthy and definitely at a calorie deficit.  This bothers me every single time. Especially after last week's 300g gain when I did everything right. Yes, last week I worked out 5 times and ate healthy foods at a calorie deficit, but the scale was not in my favour.

That being said, the month of June was not a success when we are talking about weightloss, but cm loss was freaking fantastic.  I mean 8 cm around my tummy, come on, that's just great!

So I spent a lot of time online reading articles on weightloss vs fatloss and why the scale sometimes does not show a loss.

I want to quote a few phrases from this article, as it makes so much sense - and because I want to come back and read it again and again and remind myself regularly not to measure my success to the reading on the scale.

Link to article on Exercise.About website

• "What does your weight say about you? If you think about it, that number doesn't tell you a whole lot. The scale shows your weight, but does it tell you how much of that weight is muscle and how much is fat?  Or how much of that weight is water, bones or organs? A bodybuilder's weight could be off the charts because of extra muscle, but does that mean he's overweight or fat? Most of us would say no because we know that weight doesn't tell the whole story."
• "You now know that focusing on fat loss is much more important than focusing on your weight. When you lose body fat, you're making permanent changes in your body, shifting your body composition so that you have less fat and more muscle. When you lose weight, you could be losing water or even muscle. It's impossible to know if you're seeing real results or just the product of your daily habits, hormonal shifts and changing hydration levels."
• "When you talk about losing weight, what you usually mean is slimming down. But slimming down doesn't always mean losing weight."
• "It (the scale) doesn't reflect the changes happening in your body: If you're doing cardio and strength training, you may build lean muscle tissue at the same time you're losing fat. In that case, the scale may not change even though you're getting leaner and slimmer."
• "It (the scale) isn't always a positive motivator: If you step on the scale and you're unhappy with what you see, how does that make you feel? You may question everything you're doing, wondering why you even bother at all. Focusing on weight may overshadow the positive results you're getting such as fat loss, more endurance and higher energy levels."

This article on the Livestrong website is also great! 

• "If you continue to watch your calorie intake and exercise, the scale will eventually show that you’ve lost weight. The process may just take longer if you’re adding muscle as you lose. Ultimately, if you feel healthier, look leaner and have grown stronger – it doesn’t matter what the scale says."

Yes people, I'm trying to motivate the hell out of myself at the moment.  It's a long 3 months and only one third through now! I need to make it through the full 3 months knowing I gave it my absolute all.  I sometimes feel so alone on this journey, I sometimes feel so sad and yes, sometimes I feel like giving up, but every single time I find a way to keep going. It's just hard when you think you should have advanced further that what you already have. But hey ho, persisting and not giving up at this stage!

At this point I can say with all honesty I gave the first month my absolute everything, one down - two to go!

Fit & Fabulous

I did not get the time to update my blog this past two weeks, but my mini 3-month challenge is going well and it's doing me wonders.  I am already feeling so much more fit and stronger.  This is where I am at this moment:

• I completed the first 4 weeks of Kayla Itsines guide last Friday. One third through, yay!
• I am still following the IIFYM lifestyle and sticking to it 100% (I only took "off" on Father's Day to spoil my hubby with yummy treats though).
• The lady who calculated my original macros, recalculated it for me a little over a week ago due to me not being able to reach the amount of protein she wanted me to have. So she reduced the amount of protein by a little bit and it allows for some more carbs and fats.  My macros to reach at the moment is 199g carbs, 193g protein and 70g fats a day.

I had a fabulous weigh in on the 19th of June showing a awesome loss of 1.3 kg for that week.  Friday's weigh in did not go well as I showed a 300 g gain, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it because I know I worked out 5 times that week and stuck to my macros, so I did everything by the book.  It could very well just be my body adjusting to the increase of carbs due to the macro recalculation.  Laura advised me that it could take 2 weeks for our bodies to adjust to new macros.  So even if this week's weigh in does not go well, it will still be alright. 

On Friday, since it was my 4-week check in, I did an evaluation with measurements and progress photos.  I can definitely see I'm making progress in my photos, the evidence isn't "WOW", but it's there and I know it's going to be "WOW" when I compare my beginning of June and end of August photos - and that's what I'm working towards!  I lost a lot of cm - a whopping 8 around my waist, 3 from my hips, 3 from my thighs and a cm or two from everywhere else too.  I lost a total of 1.3 kg for the month.

So I would say I made good progress in this first month and I am happy and proud of what I achieved.  Now just to up my game even more in July as the exercise programme is going to get even tougher.  Persistence is key, especially since it's both my boy's and my birthdays in July!  And our dating anniversary anniversary on the 1st of August and hubby's bday on the 27th of August. So I will have to stay strong this next two months.

Note to myself:  Eat Clean & Train Hard! Water drops cut through a rock, not because of their power, but because of its PERSISTENCE!!!    Just like that I am going to persist, be strong and bit by bit I will shift my weight, get rid of it, build strong and lean muscle and feel fabulous by doing so.  I am working hard at a new me and I am NOT going to let my hard work go to waste again, this time I'm making it count. End of story, finish en klaar. This 3 months I am laying the foundation for the rest of my life!

A reminder to myself

After a week of working out 5 solid times, not deviating from my eating plan, not even last weekend, the scale shifted with only 300 grams.  That's pretty lousy, but that being said I know by now that if I work out hard I change my body and that change does not necessarily reflect on the scale, but I'm giving the fat a good nudge nonetheless and I'm sure when I'm going to measure I'm going to see the difference there.

I just need to remind myself of a couple of things and I need to put it in writing, so I can come back and read it again.

1. This personal challenge is for 3 months, I'm only in Week 2 now, so plenty more weeks to go.
2. Even if the scale shows little or no difference and I have worked out hard and have eaten well, it is a WIN. I'm working towards a healthy body. And it is guaranteed I'm getting leaner, and that's the most important.
3. What I weigh is NOT important.  My good friend Jess once told me nobody is going to pick me up and place me on a scale to see what I weigh - it is NOT important.  Being healthy is what's important to me - looking healthy and getting rid of the fat.
4. I am not fat, I have fat, and I'm working hard to change it.
5. I must not focus on the now, but on the end of this specific challenge.  The change I can make in 3 whole months is going to be incredible!  So I must just focus on 31 August.
6. I am a Winter Warrior!  Persistence is key.
7. Summer bodies are made in the winter!
8. I can do this, I will do this, I am busy doing this

3-Month Personal Challenge

It's been 7 months since I last wrote on this blog...7  roller coaster  months.  I have been quiet on this blog, not because I have not been continuing on my mission, life is just hectic being a full time working mom of two (three if you count my hubby) with no domestic help at home. So this blog was a little bit left behind.

Last time I wrote I said "She believed she could so she did" and I actually did - I did very well getting my weight down to about 83'ish.  But then December holidays came and I can't even remember how much I rapidly gained due to way too many indulgences.  Of course I went into the new year all guns blazing and I started Kayla Itsines programme with my dear friend Jess.  We did so well.  We finished the first 4 weeks pre training and then we went on to the intense programme and we got to week 5.  I did not lose a lot of weight, but I lost cm like it was nobody's business and my body got toned and I was so proud.  Then flucking life happened again and I got bronchitis as well as developed asthma.  I could barely breath for 2 months and I had to stop my workouts.  Eating went well throughout the week - I kept mostly to Paleo, but weekends were my downfall, and in between stressful work situations and sick kiddies and lack of sleep due to a teething baby I fell off the wagon for short periods of time here and there... mostly weekends, or for a day or so at a time.  My weight I must say kept steady at around 87'ish kg.

I feel as though I am wasting this year, so I decided as of 1 June I have to super charge my weightloss mission.  I learned about the IIFYM (If it fits your macros) lifestyle and I decided I can do this along with 90% clean eating and it would be easier to maintain and give me a little bit more freedom over weekends.  So I approached http://www.lauramelaniemuscle.co.za/ to work out my macros for me so that I could be sure it's done correctly.  Laura surprised me by allocating me 2200 calories to eat every single day according to my workout schedules and stats, but IIFYM is more about counting macros, so focusing on getting in 289g (gasp) protein, 114g carbs and 65g fat.  This is totally new to me and I am not near to reaching those macros yet.  My average calorie intake is about 1400 usually and protein rarely reached 100g per day.  But so far I am feeling good and strong, so giving this lifestyle a month to see if it suits me and more importantly if it helps me to shift the extra weight!

I also restarted Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide along with Jess and we already almost have Week 1 under the belt.  I'm sitting here with sore tummy muscles!

Hoping and wishing and praying to stay strong this three months.  I want to emerge from this winter and feel like a butterfly that just came out of her cocoon after being a fat caterpillar for far too long.

I have not set myself many goals - just to keep to it and keep going as hard as I can.  I don't know how regularly I'm going to weigh, if it is going to be weekly or monthly.  At this stage I'm just focusing on staying strong and be a warrior!  I will hopefully post soon with some awesome results :)