Got a little busy and didn't have time to catch you all up on my current progress, so I'll smoosh both weeks into this post and we're back on track. See? It isn't about bumps or distractions in the road, it's about continuing the journey despite those situations.
So let's get to it...
Food: I was able to maintain the deficit AND track my "off" day, so I'm pretty proud of that progress overall. Since I'm pretty boring with my meals all week it's not tough to stay consistent with my calorie tracking. I say "boring", but this isn't to imply my food tastes like crap...lol. I eat pretty delicious meals. I'm a big fan of the FitMenCook app. I've made chicken enchiladas, cajun sausage/rice mixes, etc... I definitely do not suffer when it comes to eating in a deficit. Yes, it takes a bit of time on Sunday to prep for my week, but you know the saying: "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" or some hokey shit like that. And, seriously, it takes all of a couple hours to make a huge meal, pack it in some containers and be on my way. Of course, I still have nights where I am at the movies, but I check the concessions ahead of time and most have their nutrition information posted, so it's easy to just plug those numbers into MyFitnessPal and plan around that meal. It comes down to mindfulness and working with purpose, people. Enough of this floating through your day shit and letting life happen to you. Make purposeful decisions that cast the vote for who you are or at least who you are working towards. Good: I kept on target and kept my protein grams consistently high (No, I'm not on keto...I love carbs & so do my muscles). Bad: Not too much bad, except for the one day I had a little TOO little to eat before a hard workout. I am definitely NOT in the "fasted workouts are the way to go!"...I almost died/passed out/vomited because there wasn't enough fuel for what I was doing at the gym
Workouts: Pretty close to the same last check-in a couple weeks ago. I stay consistent, do the same basic stuff, but track my progressions. Each week I make sure I lift a little heavier or add an extra superset into a set routine. I'm not big on cardio, but that's because I don't really have the time for it. Ideally I would love to head to the gym on my "rest" day and just walk, but I can be exceptionally lazy for an active person. One day, perhaps. I, like most on a health journey, have an idealized version of myself that I'm working towards, but am also pretty ok with just being 80% of her, too. My deadlifts and hip thrusts have progressed in weight, so me and my big butt are extremely happy right now. (I do hope to have some exciting news on this front in a couple weeks...stay tuned). Good: I think I've maintained around 3-5 days a week, so I'm good with the amount of work I put in each week. Also, like I said before, I'm happy to have progressions in strength. Bad: I have felt SHITAY so I'm not as far as I'd like to be energy-wise, but these things happen when Covid/Flu/Cold season is out there kicking everyone's ass in some sort of way.
Sleep: I've been more sleep focused the last few weeks because I haven't felt 100% yet. I know this is my biggest key to keeping what energy I have and getting healthier. My sleep has stayed consistently around 7hrs, I get up at the same time every morning, and kiiiiiinda go to bed the same time. Still working on that part. I hate my nights to end so I'm a huge foot dragger to bed. Every night it is one more comic, one more paragraph, one more episode...consuming information is my one huge weakness to accomplishing ANYTHING. Good: My sleep hours are consistently high which is great. I don't drag out of bed in the morning or start slow. I do wake up a lot in the night and stay awake, but I still get to bed early enough for it not to be too big of a disruption. Bad: My nighttime routine still isn't in place, but I have become more aware of the time, so definitely a step in the right direction.
Conclusion:
Week 2: +.8lbs I could've gone insane seeing the scale go up only two weeks in, but I am a girl and girls have moments during the month where we get puffier. I'll spare you the details, but I shrugged it off and was glad it was less than a pound, all things considered.
Week 3: -2.4lbs (from original weight) I should just start posting my actual weight because the math is getting confusing for me...lol But so far into the process I'm doing fairly well. I don't expect to lose a pound a week due to the amount of weight I lift and how little my deficit is. I will lose the most early on, but it will slow down significantly the closer it gets to April.
Sorry for the delay in my progress report, but I will get these out...hopefully in a more timely manner in the future. Let me know how you are all doing...good/bad/no change. You'd be surprised how many positives outnumber the negatives.
All sounds like good work! :)....it's very hard to lose weight while lifting aggressively to add muscle. If you can find someone to do it (who knows what they're doing), body composition assessment is probably more meaningful. You're weight may not change much but the ratio of lean tissue vs. fat tissue will. Also, don't neglect some type of cardio...it's "heart medicine" that the strength work really doesn't hit. If time is an issue, do more HIT interval work which is just as effective. I do some form of cardio every day and lift 5-6x/week and get it all done in about 1.5-2 hours tops. Great to hear of your progress....some days are better than others....consistency is the key :).