As I write this post today, I’m a little pissed off. Why? I’ve let myself fall back into some not so great habits over the last year that I need to work to reverse. What triggered me getting pissed today, THE SCALE! Is that right? NO! The scale is not an indicator of your health or worth in anyway, I know this. It does let me know however that I have not done well at tracking where I am. Not by the number on the scale, but in general. I started thinking “This Sh*t is hard to keep on track!” As I was thinking this, I was reminded of a tough love quote from The Whole30 book:
It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’.
Although the writer of Whole30 has clarified the intention of this statement here: (Sometimes, it is hard), I believe there is a lot of perspective to be had from this statement.
Now, back to the scale for a minute. I am a proponent of your measurements being a much better indicator of your progress; however, I have not been doing that either. Another thing I noticed when I logged into My Fitness Pal, is the obvious rollercoaster I have been on since I started using this tool. I am glad that I have this history, even if I have not done the best job in tracking over this past year.
My Rollercoaster
As you can see, I am almost back at the top of the rollercoaster where I started about 10 years ago. What initiated the initial drop in my rollercoaster? A weight loss contest at work! I lost almost 30 lbs in 3 months and won a pretty large pot of cash. Funny how some good competition can become a motivating factor.
After that, my rollercoaster pretty much stayed between 155-165 lbs. On occasion, I would drop under 155 lbs and this year I started creeping back up to and over 170 lbs; hitting the 180 lbs mark this week. Keep in mind, I’m only using lbs as a reference point right now. It may seem crazy, but when I weighed less, my body fat % was actually higher than when I was at my heaviest at 187 lbs! Why? Well for starters, I was in my 20s when I weighed 187 lbs, which is completely different than weighing 150 – 160 lbs in your 30s.
Now, I am 1-1/2 years away from being 40 years old, so being 180 lbs now is completely different from any other point in my life. This is why taking measurements, body fat %, and using other methods of tracking are so important. Another great method, how your clothes fit! Right now, even my stretchy pants are not so stretchy!
Now What?
My main goal moving forward is to get off this damn rollercoaster. I have experimented enough over the years with different eating options to know what works best for me and I will be working on balance in that arena. What I have NEVER done consistently for an extended period of time, is exercise. I would have to say that even when I eat well, my exercise routine is sporadic at best. This is an area I want to work on so that is becomes a daily part of life. It could be a 20 minute walk, but something in addition to my normal daily activity.
I love a good reset to get back on track and will be planning another Whole30 for January 2018. Between now and the end of the year, I will begin to make small changes to ease myself back to a primarily paleo style of eating. When I have done Whole30 in the past, I was pretty much already eating paleo prior to starting. This time, I have more non-paleo foods in my diet to remove, so I want to start to transition in advance.
Have you done a Whole30 before? Leave your thoughts about your experience or any questions you may have below and join me in another round!
I will close this post out with a quote I read in a magazine this week and it should be something we all strive towards every day:
Accept the shit out of yourself!
