by Lauren » January 28th, 2007, 9:32 am
Morning, Nova, I hope you're feeling a little better than when you posted last. :-)
Okay, take a few deep breaths, let's chuck the emotional component aside and look at this from a practical side. Everything I've read from you Nova, you seem very practical and you seem to be attacking the diet and exercise regimen with care and thoughtfulness.
Can I make a few recommendations? God knows I am no more the master of maintenance than anyone else, but I've been maintaining below goal now, so I can at least share what's working for me. And since I am also an avid exerciser, it seems we're on the same page in terms of calories out vs calories in...
First of all, while getting on the scale might make you crazy, in maintenanceland it is REALLY important to weigh daily, or at the very least every other day, because it's the only way to gauge what's working for you and what's not. Also, that way, if you see it go up a little, like 1-3 pounds, you can automatically tighten the reigns for the next couple days, to bring it back down. You can certainly do this with your 5-lb gain as well, but it would feel less daunting, and less overwhelming, and I assume you wouldn't feel like it came out of nowhere. The truth is, Nova, this 5-lb gain could be ANYTHING! You could have been below goal for the whole week, but yesterday had too much sodium, and it blew up today. You know what I mean? But by not weighing everyday, you don't know when the "flare up" occurred. So there's no way of isolating the reason.
Next, like Biki said, you are exercising a lot and lifting a lot. While muscle does weigh more than fat, it's not likely that you gained 5-lb in muscle in one week. However, you know as well as I that if you have a good lifting session, you tend to retain a lot of water to protect the muscles. I always weigh more the morning after a good strength training session. Have you been able to determine around how many calories you're burning during exercise? Is it possible you're not getting enough calories?
Did you do the formal transition process, Nova? Where you incorporate each food group over a period of time? Because I know that Jo and I both stretched out the transition phases even longer than recommended, so that our bodies didn't "rebound" with new foods. It's possible that even if you did do transition, your body is just trying to adjust.
Also, just out of curiousity, why did you start maintenance before goal? Were you planning on still going back strict to get to goal, or are you planning on staying at this weight and exercising to firm up where you are? I am curious, because it's possible that if you hit MF strictly again for a couple weeks, you'll lose the 5 plus perhaps some more.
Most importantly, Nova, absolutely do not get this defeatist all or nothing, my life always turns out this way, what's the point attitude. You've done AMAZING things, you treat your body wonderfully now, you exercise regularly, eat healthily, you are living a life of wellness. This is just a momentary setback which can be remedied so quickly it's crazy. Do not get frustrated, just get focused. Use this as a tool to figure out what works and what doesn't, treat it like a science, look at all the variables (what food have you eaten, how much exercise, is it TOM, did you have too much sodium, was it right after a lifting session, etc) and then try to attack them.
You are going to do great at this maintenance thing, just keep it simple. Perhaps this week you don't do the whole grains, maybe go back to the plan for a few days, and get on the scale, and see if that helps. Do not lose focus! It's going to be fine, I promise!!!
We're here if you need support, I am happy to do anything I can to help!
Lauren