Week 9 on the FMD

Start of Week 9: 159
End of Week 9:  160
Weight Gain This Week: +1 lb
Total Weight Loss: 15 lbs

Exercise this week:
LIterally nothing other than long days of taking care of out of town guests and party prep for my daughter’s graduation party.

This post should be titled “Week 9 Sort of Not Really On The FMD.”

This week was a crazy one.  Last week of work at school, daughter’s graduation and party, my father and son and parents in law coming in from out of town.  Something has happened in the last few years with the parents…it has gone from them coming and helping us with food and dinners and cleaning to us taking care of them and making sure they are safe and cared for when they visit.  Both my father and parents in law are in late 70s/early 80s and it is starting to show with them.

Graduation was Thursday and our party was Saturday so there was much to do.  Throw into that mix my husband taking chemo therapy and my daughter starting a new job and I was barely staying afloat.  I ate on plan about 60 % of the time I’d say, and there was alcohol every single day.  By the end of the week I could feel that familiar complacency of “well, I’ve been doing this all week and it hasn’t been so bad.”  I saw a 158 on the scale during this week and got lazy.

So the scale was a reality check this morning.  Up a pound over last week.  If I want to keep losing weight I have to do better.  Back on the program I go.  Looking forward to getting back on track this week.  I plan on starting my triathlon training this week too…so here’s to a summer of exercise, delicious food that is healthy, and more continued weight loss.

Fast Metabolism Diet 56 Day Recap

Start of Week 8: 161.2
End of Week 8: 159 (I broke out of the 160s!!!!!!)
Weight Loss This Week: 2.2 lbs
Starting Weight: 175
56 Day Weight Loss: 16 pounds

Exercise this week:
M,W,F:  2 mile walks at school with colleagues
T:  4 mile walk around lake
Sa:  2 mile walk plus 1 hr yoga

So today is the last day of my second round of the Fast Metabolism Diet.  To say I am thrilled with the results both this week and overall would be an understatement.  I am so grateful to have finally found what works for me to get back to where I want to be.

After two rounds now I feel very confident in the plan.  I am not perfect:  there has been wine and traveling and even sometimes pizza.  To make this more of a lasting change, I go with the flow.  I’m probably on plan 90% of the time.  I’m still drinking coffee, but I’ve cut my consumption by 50% and I drink it after I eat (per Haylie Pomroy’s suggestion).  But I’m fine with the phases, I have figured out go tos (smoothies were a game changer as was raw cacao powder) and I’m enjoying the food I’m eating.  I have always said I wanted to learn how to lose weight eating real food, not some crazy gimmick cleanse or whatever.  To have found food I enjoy eating that helps me meet my goals is what is keeping me in the game.

I haven’t been as good with exercise this round, but I’m looking forward to school ending (I am a teacher) and having more time to get in good, solid exercise.  I am planning on a sprint triathlon in September, and I have exactly twelve weeks from today to get ready for it.  I know I can do it.  But I’m looking forward to the process.  That being said, I’ve gotten much better at sneaking in activity at work:  20 minutes of walking before school starts, 20 minutes of walking during lunch equals two solid miles.

Recipes I discovered this week:

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Hamburger Steak W/Onion & Mushroom Gravy

Lemon Mug Cake: Three egg whites, juice of 1 lemon, sweetener to taste, lemon rind. Bake 2 min @50% power or 15 min or so @350 in oven.  This one is still a work in progress.  It was more like souffle than cake but I only did it in the microwave.  Still worth working on.

So from here?  Another 28 day cycle.  My goal used to always be 135 or so, but realistically for me I’d be happy somewhere between 140-145.  I am sure I won’t be keeping on pace with 8 lbs a month forever…but ideally by the time the next school year starts I would be a lot closer to there than where I am today.  Last summer I gained 12 pounds, and proceeded to gain another 8 over the fall/winter to land at 175. This summer will be different.  This summer I should finally be able to say goodbye to the last of last year’s gain and then some.  Very, very exciting.

Onto Round 3!

Week 7 on the FMD

Start of Week 7: 162.6
End of Week 7: 161.2
Weight Loss This Week: 1.4 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 13.8 lbs

Exercise this week:
Tu:  2 mile walk
Th:  20 min bike/40 min strength
Fri:  1 mile walk with colleague at work
Sa:  3.3 mile walk plus gardening

Considering I was traveling on M, T and W this week I am happy with my loss this week.  I ate off phase but not off plan where I could, and I think that helped manage the difference.  It helped me make positive choices when eating out (salads with protein and grains with fruit).  There was still wine (on the funeral day, there was a fair amount of it) but beyond that, I feel very good about how I was able to navigate the challenges.  I could have easily succumbed to the french fries and fast food, but I planned carefully and had lots of portable food on hand:  nuts and jerky, fruit and a thermos of almond milk.

The last two weeks have been not great for exercise, but I am hoping to finish this second round of FMD (!!) strong this week with consistent exercise.  Would really love to close out this cycle below 160 and really close the door on the scary “never before territory” I have been in since last fall.

Still haven’t really tried any new, great recipes the last few weeks either.  Hoping this week to make the egg roll in a bowl and bake some yummy treats with the tapioca flour I just bought.  🙂

Oh….and I just committed to doing a sprint distance triathlon at the end of the summer.  !!!

Week 6 on the FMD

Start of Week 6: 163.4
End of Week 6: 162.6
Weight Loss This Week: 0.8 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 12.4 lbs

Exercise this week:
M:  First ever spin class
W, F:  1.2 mile walks with colleague at work

If I had to pick a word to explain this week’s results, it would be complacency.  I had a terribly busy, stressful week, and so I let a few things slip.  This weekend was the 5K road race that I am in charge of, so there were tons of “to do” things leading up to it.  That’s where the exercise didn’t happen.

But the weight was still continuing to drop, and I spent many days this past week seeing a 161 something on the scale, until Saturday night.  After a long, physically demanding day of moving big boxes and items for the race to our race location, I indulged in too much wine and had eggplant parmesan for dinner.  Obviously not on plan.

I could have had a salad, and not as much wine, but it was a total “I’m stressed out and I deserve this” type of situation.  I made a choice, and when I stepped on the scale the next morning, I saw the consequences of that choice.  The scale was up 1.4 pounds over where it had been the day before.

The good news is, I noted the damage, and stopped it.  I didn’t say “Well, I guess that’s it, I”m done trying.”  I got up, I had a wonderful on plan breakfast, avoided all of the trigger foods at the race (except one cookie that was satisfying and delicious and then no more).  I had a late lunch, an on plan snack and then made excellent choices at my daughter’s music banquet that night.

So that’s progress. This will be unfortunately another challenging week, as I will be traveling for my grandmother’s funeral.  I am packing a lot of things, but I may have to go to the “eat off phase but not off plan” to get through the three days.  But I will be careful and thoughtful in my choices.  No more complacency.  No more “well a little won’t be a big deal.”  That’s how I got here and I can’t continue like that and expect to see results.

Still, just over 12 pounds in six weeks?  I’ll take that.