This is basically just a dump of all of the photos on my phone, as I can't seem to wrap my head around writing a cohesive post today. I'm tired y'all. I blame it on the carb flu.
For Lent, Phil and I are following a low carb diet, and we were *shocked* at our starting weights on Ash Wednesday. I don't weigh myself a lot, and since January 17, Phil has been on Exodus 90 and I have been on Magnify 90 which had already restricted our diets (no sweets, no snacks, and no alcohol) and we assumed that we were losing weight. I guess we ate more than enough at meal times to counteract all of those sacrifices.
Plus, while I'm on a role of complaining about weight, I work out A LOT.
Every day, I walk 3 miles on my lunch break, then I either go for a run after work or go to a workout class at my gym (and I only attend the hardest classes). Most days, I will also walk the dog for a mile or two. My apple watch shows that I burn 800-1000 active calories every.single.day.
And yet, this week? I GAINED 1.2 pounds.
This is a Saturday morning Boot Camp class with some of my kids. It's held on the indoor track and you run from station to station around the whole track.
So one would think that all of that activity + eating less carbs + no snacking/no sweets/no alcohol would equal a lean mama. Like, what am I doing wrong? I track my food and eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, and because I burn through a lot of those, I am hungry a lot. We have one cheat meal each week. One. It's just so frustrating. I've had my thyroid checked at every physical and it's been fine. I'm not looking to be skinny, let's not be crazy, I truly just want to be healthy and strong. I want to look like Colleen 2010 (after four kids when I ran my first half-marathon):
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| 12 years and 17 pounds ago |
Please don't think less of me for thinking less of me. Just being honest.
Almost $80 to fill up my tank.
It was so interesting to read your comments on my last post about the price of gas throughout the country and even (expensive) Canada!
The boys went to youth group last week, and taped each other to the wall, as one does. Eamon was fed cookies as he hung there. He did not inherit my claustrophobia.
Andrew's team of 11th graders wanted to recreate their 8th grade photo:
Andrew is on the left.
JP is flying home tonight for Spring Break! Yay! I'm going to smoosh his face so much and then take him to get a haircut. I was trying to convince him to go back to his 9th grade hairstyle by sending him this photo while we were Facetiming, and it ended up looking like he was wearing a dress :)
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| Me lovie the short hair and loathie the long hair |
If you are looking for a meatless Friday meal, and also counting your carbs (but why? it's a scam!) may I suggest this Keto Salmon Patty recipe? I used a pouch of salmon and almond flour. I thought they were a little salty, so next time I will omit the salt but you do you! I cut the recipe in half and it made two big patties and I ate one for dinner and one the next day for lunch, delish.
And I guess that's all she wrote. Have a lovely weekend everybody!
Do you think you could be building muscle? You do so many workouts - and eat so well - that you might have lost fat but added more muscle mass. Muscle is denser than fat. I think you should ignore the number of the scale and focus on how good you feel and how strong you've become.
ReplyDeleteCollege boys and hair - I'm in the same boat. My son who is having job interviews really needs a hair cut and he hasn't gotten one yet. all the interviews are Zoom at this point, so he get away with it being pulled back. Sigh.
I hope you have fun with your son on his break!
Without wanting to toot my own horn...I am very muscular and strong. But I'd rather have a leaner frame and not feel like my stomach is growing. It's not even vanity, I just don't feel good at this weight :( Anyway, you have given me pause to think that I should go easier on the weights and see if that helps. Thanks!
DeleteI've always suspected that exercise makes you gain weight! You've confirmed it-- and made me laugh in the process. I haven't made salmon patties in a long time. Seeing your photo I'm suddenly hungry for them. If not tonight, then maybe over the weekend. Speaking of which, happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou never should have doubted yourself ;)
DeleteSo sorry about your weight frustrations. That boggles the mind. I have felt a similar thing: BUT I'M TRYING SO HARD? Maybe contributing factors are age (boo, hiss) or genetics? I hope you see better results soon.
ReplyDeleteThe getting taped to the wall thing is hilarious, as is JP 'wearing' a dress. Good luck with the haircut request. Lad recently looked ridiculous and didn't want a haircut. Finally I pointed out that he looked like he was wearing a tope from the back angle - it just WASN'T laying right. He let me cut it that night and said it was fire. I guess that means good, because he is very happy with it.
That's great that you can cut it. I only cut my younger boys because I can use clippers but don't trust myself with scissors. They start going to professionals once they outgrow my free home haircuts (and they pay!)
DeleteI think you may not be eating enough calories! Perhaps your body is in starvation mode so it's trying to hang on to every thing you put into it. But I feel your pain. I have put on 30 pounds over the last two and a half year. sigh....... I blame perimenopause and it's so defeating because I feel like nothing I do (eating less, exercising more) is working. It just keeps on coming. Even talked to my gyno about it the other day and he basically shrugged and told me to ear less/exercise more and there was really nothing else to do. I wanted to slap him. BUT - Dan and I are also going back to our low carb diets for Lent to see if that will help. I've tried low carb a few times of the last two years and had zero success with it while being in perimenopause. Which is even more demoralizing because I have had wonderful results with it after the kids were born. If you get anything figured out, please share!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the empathy Beth. It's tough. Whole 30 works, but it's soooo hard to give up everything on that list. However, I might need to just tend towards that diet, even if not perfectly.
DeleteI fear that you actually may not be eating enough and putting a lot of stress on your body which does something very wonky to our hormones - just something different to consider. I highly recommend the work of these two ladies - they are amazing!
ReplyDeleteMargaret Barry from Mind Body Fitness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr9mrQBQ8bU
Jessica Ash Wellness
https://www.youtube.com/c/JessicaAshWellness1/videos
I just watched some of those videos - intersesting! I would LOVE to find out that I need to eat more, but scared to try.
DeleteI definitely can be scary but our bodies need the fuel and nutrients. Just something to think about - I know you have been working hard for years and it has been frustrating. I firmly believe there is something not at all right about eat less/exercise more plan. I will be praying for you! <3
DeleteI wondered this too! I’m a bit younger than you, but find I drop weight faster when I eat closer to 2,000-2,400 calories a day. I also try my best to balance my macros most days to 25% protein, 45% carbs, 30% fat
DeleteThis website/quiz also gave me pause that I may not be eating enough: https://fallonstable.com/
Maybe you would feel better if you ate more calories and more carbs. Recently, I was having some thyroid problems and couldn't lose my baby weight (18 months after baby at age 41). I had been eating less and exercising more to try to lose the weight. I cut gluten and ate lots more calories--healthy food but as much as I ever wanted--and I lost 10 pounds! Personally, I don't feel well on very low carbs (and I do not work out like you!). If I add a bowl of oatmeal a day, I feel fine. I hope you can experiment and feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteThat's very inspirational :)
DeleteWelcome to middle age! Same sich here, just accepting that pre-menopause means a few more pounds, thickness in my middle. Oh well. I still walk, lift weights & ride my bike most days, but I am not going to see the results I used to see!
ReplyDeleteYes, I go back and forth from who cares - I know I'm healthy to AAAAHHHH when did I gain all this weight?
DeleteYou are working very hard and cutting food. It must be so frustrating for you; I get it. Maybe you're thinking about it too much and I honestly don't think carbs are that bad for us. I always feel like I'm happier and feel healthier the less I think about my food.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo recreation; the boys are so cute, even with the one with shaggy hair.
Since your last gas post, ours has gone up tremendously. I'd better dust off my bike...
I definitely need to think less about it, as I know stress leads to high cortisol levels which leads to weight gain. It's learning how to shut off that part of my brain that's hard.
DeleteI've always heard that if you burn too many calories out of what you eat it's actually leads to weight gain (or maintenance) not weight loss because your body thinks it's starving. Perhaps that's what's happening for you? It's super frustrating - I've been there and have only ever consistently lost weight right after having a baby or in the first trimester of pregnancy. Have you considered talking to a registered dietitian? Im not one but have some very good friends/family who are RDs and they can be very helpful in figuring out how much of which foods to eat and how to balance calories in with calories out in order to achieve your health/fitness/weight goals.
ReplyDeleteSuch a good idea about seeing an RD. I had to go to a nutritionist when I had gestational diabetes, and she taught me lots plus was mean enough to keep me in line :) I always turn to weight loss plans, but a person who could work with me one on one would be way better. Thank you for this!
DeleteStick with the low carb thing, it gets better. I stopped feeling hungry and started losing weight after a week. I also got the free trial of the My Fitness Pal Calorie Counter and really watched the macros for a few weeks to get a hang of Keto.
ReplyDeleteI have no diet advice because my relationship with food is effed up beyond repair and I can't even advise myself, but your activity level is inspirational. That boot camp actually looks really fun! My son grows his hair now and then, or (even worse) shaves his beard and just sports a terrible moustache, but I try really hard not to leave them their bodily autonomy so I just suffer in silence. He did text me a picture of him the night before his senior photos to make sure I was okay with how his hair was. :) I LOVE the taped-to-the-wall pics, and the re-creation. Super fun.
ReplyDelete