I know, I know! It's been a long time since my last post. Since then I've had a 4th-year surgiversary!
It's very hard to believe that it's been that long! Today I want to talk about the fight. You know what I mean. Those pounds that want to creep back on.
I have no idea if there is any science, but I have to say humidity is the enemy for me. Does anyone else experience this? When I am in AZ and the humidity is low I do not have to fight the gain. In fact, I tend to drop more than expected. But as soon as I get to a humid area the pounds start creeping right back. Now, to be fair, a lot of this might be because I tend to move more where there is less humidity. The dry air gives me energy and the job we worked there gave me plenty of excuses to walk. Texas not so much.
Gate guarding is simple. It is not strenuous. It is also boring. You know what that combination means? Yep. Snacking.
Also, there is also no alcohol. Now we need to dive deeper into this little gem for a minute because you would think on the surface this would mean less drinking calories and therefore weight loss, right? Well, the reality is a bit different. Neither Jay nor I have ever really had much of a sweet tooth. I mean, don't get me wrong, I won't pass up a piece of pie, but on the whole, we have always been much more likely to grab something salty or fried for a naughty treat. Also since I don't eat for at least a half hour after drinking it cuts down on food in general. A couple of blueberry rum and cranapple juice drinks and I'm pretty satisfied for the night. And perhaps tmi, but they keep me regular as well.
Having no alcohol seems to have triggered a craving for sweets. For Jay, this manifests in peanut m&ms. :) I tend to bake. Of course, sweets are a short-term calorie boost so we eat more. And then we exercise less. And so we end up with an over goal issue!
I've always tried to be positive but authentic with the blog. Dr. T warned me that between 3 and 5 years would be a fight. We are definitely not in the honeymoon phase anymore. I am currently swinging between 6-8 pounds over my goal. YIKES!! I'm not talking about my lower goal, I'm talking about my cushion goal! That is WAY too many sticks of butter!!
So... deep breathes people. What do we do? Well, first, let's talk about what is good. My capacity is still small. I haven't really stretched my sleeve. I still tend to use small bowls and plates and measure what I eat. I still don't like being over full.
Where am I falling short? Well, exercise has definitely been down. I have started walking when I get off shift and will ramp that up. I need to hydrate better. Drinking keeps the eating down and also helps all the body functions work better. And finally, I need to focus on protein. If I pay attention to getting my 60 grams of protein a day I don't have room for as much other stuff. I know this. It's back to the basics. We don't have to recreate the wheel. The sleeve is still here for me. I just need to use it the way it's meant to be used.
I know without a doubt that this would be insurmountable without this tool. We have made some other changes to help also. We purchased an airfryer and cook many foods without oil or butter now. Some fat isn't that bad, but we get it other places. Also, we tend to eat a lot of bread/sandwich type food when we move, so I'm trying to make sure we have meals all set that we just heat up rather than having bread as a go to. Fortunately, purchasing a freezer before we left AZ has made having meat on hand relatively easy.
I have also started planking and squats again. When did I stop this? I don't remember but not a good thing! Boy
It's much easier to get back to good habits when I'm only 6-8 pounds over goal though. And hopefully, by the time we get to AZ in December, I will be ready to rock all those extra steps!
As always, thanks for following along!
~Mikki
