The Dreaded Weigh In

So, we’re all about honesty here.  We being me and my other three personalities, I suppose, but I digress.

Full Disclosure #1 – I am writing this the day before, so I honestly have no idea what I weight.  All I know is I weighed in on Tuesday at 157.8 and again on Friday, at 157.8.  So I do not have high hopes for tomorrow.

Full Disclosure #2 – I had to squash some weird urges this weekend.  I didn’t have the mindset of “I am going to be really really good so I don’t have to count calories and go back to that”, I caught myself thinking “Might as well enjoy myself before I go back to counting calories”.  Bad, bad, bad.  Chalk another one up to my *notarolemodel* list.

Full Disclosure #3 – I am currently wearing knee length men’s black socks because they are warm.  What, just said complete honesty, didn’t specify fitness related stuff, right?

So the great maintaining endeavor is not going so well.  That last week of holiday just kicked me in the hiney.  Literally.  Being able to barely move + eating crap = big jump in the scale.  And I’m ok with that.  Not happy, but ok.  There are a few times per year when I think it’s a good thing to just let go a little.  Just like I need a few vacations a year, I also need a few times per year where I can have a plate full of deserts at the buffet.  Or *shock-n-awe* eat sugar on the same day I also have some drinks.

The difference is I usually move A LOT on vacations.  Vegas x 2 and NOLA, we walked at least 5 miles a day.  At home, I couch planted and barely got up.  And I was a lot more dedicated to the efforts of being really good after vacations away than home vacations.  Since I really wasn’t coming *back* from anywhere, it wasn’t as different.  And the not-as-healthy stuff was also in the HOUSE, not some faraway land.  So while I certainly haven’t been a little devil last week, I *have* had some sweets.  I have kinda been liberal with the handfuls of pretzels. I am not eating as cleanly as I had come to before the end of December.

I did an oops and forgot to eat much on Saturday after my 10 mile run and then ate about 2/3 of the calories I burnt back with crappy pizza because it was there (instead of the burger I REALLY WANTED) and the rest of it with rum.  Yeah, I felt GREAT the next day, let me tell you.  In which I got myself the burger I wanted the night before for lunch.  I had a nice veggie-ful dinner but the damage had already been done.  I mean, I know I have some leeway when my runs burn upwards of 1300 calories but really?  Cardboard pizza?  I know that it was due to plans that fell through (we were supposed to go out to get said yummy burger with friends) but I should have been a little more sensible and had a healthy snack so I didn’t go so hog wild on the ‘za.  Even today, I felt the effects of the weekend – I didn’t feel like myself on the run and just couldn’t quite keep up the pace.

So, besides airing my dirty laundry, I guess, I’m just giving fair warning.  YES, I had said I was no longer going to count calories, restrict calories, log my exercise, or worry about my weight.  However, that was also contingent on staying under 155.  Which I have a funny feeling is not going to happen.  So, unless magic happens, tomorrow, I return to the world of weight loss for a very short, temporary time.

My plan is:

-1500 calories non-running days

-up to 2000 calories running days (since this week, I’m burning between 875-1000 on my short runs)

-up to 2500 calories long run days (since I’ll be at about 1400 burnt on my 11 miler)

-ONE sweet treat per day that fits into my calorie count (A hershey kiss or A truffle).

-on high calorie days (on all days but especially when I eat more), do my best to become a trash compactor for veggies/fruit and lean protein and good fat.  Like pre-workout today, where I consume d mass amounts of fruit to natural sugar-power my workout.

I mean, I can’t think of much else to do.  If I was not training I would go all kung fu on calorie count until the weight comes off but I learned very well last time that not feeding your body enough and running long distances does nothing but send you to the fridge to consume handfuls of chocolate chips.  So I might as well invest in myself and eat the right things instead of being forced to the fridge to eat the quickest thing because your body has to have SOMETHING.

And the silly thing is… I might step on the scale tomorrow and have it read 153.  And I’ll have postulated and whined for nothing.

I do think, if nothing else, it will be a good exercise for me.  I haven’t tracked my calories in and out since… sometime in the fall.  October? November?  I haven’t had to bite it and write it since then.  Maybe there is non-obvious room for improvement I’ll find.  Oddly enough, I’m almost looking FORWARD to tracking my food for a week.  Numbers, numbers, wheeee!

The one thing I will say is that I am NOT dropping below the calorie counts above even if I don’t lose weight.  I’m working with right around 1200-ish useable calories (a little less) after workout burn which is 800 under my maintenance level (supposedly I can sit on my ass and eat 2000 calories and not gain – but this so does NOT work for me), so it should be about the minimum I can safely do.  After the race I will re-evaluate, but running is #1 priority here.  Not making myself weak and frail and skating the thin line between starvation and injury is most important.  I’m pretty sure there is a way to do that and get the holiday bloat off, right?  I mean most people run TO lose weight, heh.

I will let you know tomorrow how the weigh in goes, or you can be my friend on the Twitter or the Book of Face as I’ll probably whine about it there earlier.  How’s the scale treating you lately?  Is it all sunshine and hugs?  Have you sent it to the corner for punishment?  How do you make sure your waistline stays in check?