10+ Days to a Goal

I challenged myself to the goal of a 90 day weight drop this year. I’ve done it in years prior. Having gone from 156 after graduate school to 135 slowly over the course of one year,  I now find it mentally difficult to put on any significant amount of weight without an end goal in sight. I would love to have bigger muscles but I too succumb to the pressures of body image and having a toned physical appearance.

I began my challenge on February 1st at 138lbs and with just under two weeks left, I am currently at 133.2lbs. Yesterday was a high carb and high fat day after getting together with a long-time friend for brunch. Yesterday I was at the 132.8 mark. I suspect stopping my daily creatine for two weeks will drain some water weight from the muscle tissue. Also, try as I might, I do periodically give in to the foods hovering around me at work, such as glazed donuts and corndogs.

I haven’t really found the happy medium between calories and fitness. If I don’t eat enough, my body holds on to the weight in starvation mode. I don’t eat back calories I lose at the gym and I don’t do  pre-workout meals. I also don’t take a pre-workout concoction of caffeine above my normal daily intake. I also don’t force myself to drink a ton of protein powder. If Myfitness Pal tells me I’ve reached 100 grams of protein for the day, I’m good. It’s difficult for me to desire to choke down four 56g scoops of whey isolate per day.

I’ve found that it is much easier to accomplish a goal when I have a deadline. I’m sure I haven’t put in my total energy into this goal but then again, I’m not doing it for a show or a competition. I’m doing it because I enjoy challenging myself and working on the process of developing something gradually towards an end that can be visibly shown.

So it’s the home stretch. I have a ten day regime that I follow that I have tweaked over the past two years after educating myself on the science of food and biology. Challenge ends on May 4th, my half birthday. I’m going to present something that ties into my piece, Life is Poetry.