Day 57, 308 To Go

February 26, 2013

I'm back to work and back to my normal schedule.  Another thing that is back.

Fat.

I gained  6 pounds over the weekend.  Seriously.  That's 2 pounds a day.  If I went away for two weeks, I'd come back 28 pounds heavier at that rate.

I can assure you, though, if I gained 28 pounds on a vacation that it was a GREAT vacation!

However, it is still not a good thing.  This begs the question, "How do you go on vacation and enjoy yourself yet stay healthy?"

The answer is, "You can't.  Just give up and enjoy your vacation."

Seriously, that is really the only answer.  It isn't hopeless though.  There are things you can do before and after to lessen the blow of coming home to tighter pants and unflattering glances in the mirror.

Chances are if you are getting away, unless you are going skiing, you are getting away somewhere warm where you want to be in your bikini (I look great in a bikini, by the way...oh wait...Honey looks great in a bikini!) So, you already have the right idea.  You go on a diet.  This is a good idea.  I'm not talking about some fad diet or some crazy diet where you take in only fluids or you just eat Special K or you take those weight loss drugs that keep getting banned by the government because they kill people.  No, I mean a normal diet where you just take in less calories over a period of time.

Sound too simple?  It is.

A pound consists of 3,500 calories.  If you want to lose a pound, you need to consume 3,500 calories less than you usually do.  Say, over a week?  If you are really motivated, you can try to lose two pounds in a week...but any more than that and you are going to lose muscle and you will just end up hurting yourself over the long run.  Muscle burns calories...the more muscle you have the more calories you burn in a day.  Lose muscle, and your metabolism slows down and you end up gaining more weight than you lost.

This is the endless cycle of dieting that many go through.

Start a food diary.  They have a ton online and if you have a smart phone, you can do it on there.  I use Lose It! and when I do, I lose weight.  When I don't, I gain.  The simple step of writing down what you eat has the affect of making you eat less.  And the app makes it so easy. 

So, I am back on the app and back on my diet.  Now, I am not overweight and I never have been, but at 40, I have to fight to stay at a weight I am comfortable at.  It only gets harder every year, so I have to work harder.  It is a lifestyle decision.  Is it one you can make too?

Here are my numbers:
Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.62 miles

Pace: 9:17/m

Max Pace: 8:11/m

Calories: 206

Avg HR: 133

Max HR: 148

I have some work to do over the next few weeks so I can get back to a good race weight.  I have about 10lbs to go.  That should take me about 10 weeks.  Not enough time to lose what I want before my race, but I'll have to live with it.

I don't regret it though...I enjoyed every bite and I'll do it again.  I'll also diet again.  And so it goes...

Run for life!