I lost 10lbs!

In one month.

Not trying to brag, but really want you to join in my celebration! You'll hate me when you read this, BUT, it was easy. I'm laughing, but, it really was, and it wasn't what I did, it was where I started.

There's a tendency in society to make a plan, look forward and work towards it. I've found in my own practice, once my current position is aknowledged, I get a better idea of what path would be most efficient.

I had spent about 7 months on my butt reading, studying, testing. This was a radically different lifestyle than the 7months prior, biking everywhere, eating well, a little bit of stress and doing a job I love.

The abrupt change in activity would require an abrupt change in diet, a lesson I've learned decades ago, and from every injured athlete I've ever worked with, but that's a different blog.

STARTING LINE

I gained about 3 0 lbs from stress and inactivity in that 7 months. (That truth is only easy to share now that I've made an improvement).

I wasn't moving. Literally, I woke up and when to "school" about 30 feet from my bed, bathroom and small fridge (for the abbreviated diet I had), all within 40sqft. When I tried to make time for biking and activity, my studies suffered. I had to prioritize.

Fast forward, I have the bachelor's, I have the time, I have returned to an old phase.

I started weight training in high school, I played sports, and the school had a weight room. The weight room was decked out, the football players were conference winners for many years, so the school had the equipment. It wasn't clean, flashy or new, but weight is weight. Building confidence and friendship in the weight room turned out to be so much more valuable than I could ever imagine with my fellow throwing team. We would always get a handful of ribbons at the track meets, but it was the pump that I ended up getting addicted to. Now, anytime I hear AC/DC it takes me back to that weight room, and the three other gals that I threw with.

This phase would be instrumental to my own health and wellness. My mother with her cycling enthusiasm and this team of women I looked up to (and coach 'turtle', not a woman, but very tolerant, lol).

I've been in and out of the gym, anytime I've been away from the gym I feel it very necessary to hire a p.t. to assist in my return. 'Am I activating the right muscles?', 'How's my posture?', 'Ok what's next in the workout?'. This time I'm returning with no paid accountability buddy. I'm relying on my job working at the gym to be my accountability. (How could I rep a gym if I'm so soft like this?)

MY RESOURCES

A gym, and years of reading, planning, acting on activity and diet. The years of muscle development helps, they are there, just subdued from lack of use. Time is not on my side, according to 'womenshealth.gov' women can lose 3-5% of muscle each decade, starting in their 30s.

I get into rhythms of 'increased physcial activity=loose diet restrictions' OR 'lack of activity=more strict diet'. This 10 lb loss started in my 'lack of activity=more strict diet'. This balance only works when I'm act my ideal body composition. I knew for a while that something had to change. So I doubled up. I was more intentional with what I ate and made more effort to move. I started to feel good, but the first metric I really tried to hit was drinking a gallon of water every day. That's the first and most important. The intention is to get to a point where it's second nature, that my thoughts about this 'gallon a day' don't take effort, that it's a reality I accept and provide for my best self.

I really believe that was the trick. My inbody scans (4/29-6/4) indicated that I lost 6lbs of water weight. I hate when people say anything involving that phrase, but I guess I have proof this time. One factor that men will not be able to relate on is my menstrual cycle. April 29th scan was in the bloatiest of my worst week, ugh. I did the scan anyway, knowing the next scan would be dramatic, but damn, I didn't realize it would be that dramatic! This is why it is suggested that scans and measurements are recorded in the same conditions to avoid dramatic recordings.

So, my instagram could totally read that I lost 10lbs from just drinking a gallon a day! But what would be missing is decades of intentional movement, education and practice....and one timely season of "bulking".

TLDR:

Lose 10lbs, by gaining 30lbs as fast as possible by not moving and eating shitty ("bulking") THEN start eating well, drinking a lot of water, moving intentionally, sleeping well, and removing a good amount of stress from your life.

It's that easy.

Make good choices!

<3 Carrie