Week Eight: Mixed Results

 Whew! Week eight is a weigh-in week! Both exciting and scary, and after measuring and weighing myself, there were mixed results.

Image by Johanna Pakkala from Pixabay 

The holiday candy blast I'd had definitely messed with my measurements and my weigh-in results, but that was a minor cog in the machine that is me. Too many times I ate more than was comfortable this past month, and only in the last week did I really listen to what my body had to say, and stop when I felt full.

I did well but felt myself wanting to be on my feet more than I used to be. Sitting, something I do a lot, isn't as restful as it used to be, yet I forced myself to sit because most of the things I did this week require sitting- okay, maybe not require, but I am used to doing things a certain way, so that's how I did them. 

The good news is a lot of what I did was healthy food prep- making egg salad, a ton of homemade tomato sauce, prepping meats for the freezer, and dividing meats into smaller portions for easier cooking later on. The bad news is I did all of this sitting. I can't stand for hours, but there's no reason I couldn't do a lot more on my feet.

My eating window is getting much smaller! I've stopped taking food with me to work and decided to start my window whenever I get home. So the window usually lasts about 4 hours or less- in some cases, it was only 2-1/2 hours!- and I'm not nearly as hungry as I was when I could smell the prepped food in my van. Out of sight really is out of mind!

I also didn't add a lot of veggies to my meals like I'd planned, and I feel that also attributed to the results. But I bet you don't want to hear about the results, you want to know what they are!

Here were my measurements:

Original numbers:          4 weeks ago:              Now:                Difference:

Weight 363 lbs.                346                         342                    4 pounds

Biceps- 23"                      same                       21-1/4"              1-3/4"

Chest- 61-1/2"                 59-1/2"                   61-1/4"              + 1-3/4"

Waist- 58"                       55-1/2"                      57"                  + 1-3/4"

Hips- 69-1/2"                   64"                         63-1/2"               1/2"

Thigh- 32"                       31-1/4"                   31-1/2"                +1/4"

Neck- 18"                        same                       17-3/4"               1/4"

The loss was minimal, so I didn't take pictures this time around. I might start taking them at every ten-pound total loss instead.

Four pounds doesn't seem like much for the whole month, but it's still one pound a week- which adds up when you're doing this for the rest of your life. It's on the low side of my desired weight loss, but it's still a loss- which is great!

I've lost my desire for candy (at least for the cheap stuff) so that half-empty bowl just doesn't have the pull it did before Halloween. There are a few changes that need to be made. The food adjustments went pretty well but minor tweaks concerning food versus mobility need to be made.

So these next four weeks will be dedicated to:

adding more veggies to my menu

stand up more at home when prepping

doing house chores that involve moving around

More walking outside

Eating about the same as last month, but better choices

My job allows some movement, but since things have been slow, I've been moving a lot less. Winter will be here soon enough, and my knees won't let me be out in the cold for long, so it's best to get some good home habits started now while the weather is good.

I hope to keep the weight loss in the four to eight pound range (closer to eight next month- I hope), and I think being more mobile will definitely make my measurements smaller next time. 

I'm so glad I started Intermittent Fasting!