Week 5 | New Low, Labor Day, and A Spike

Last week I made a prediction. 

I said that in the upcoming week (which was last week) that I thought I would hit a new low... 

Lo and behold... 

That is exactly what happened. 

On August 28th, my weight was 130.1, which is the lowest weight I have tracked so far. 

And given that I am trying to research how to lose fat while not tracking my nutrition, you may assume that the reason I wanted to make that prediction is to prove this is working, or that I am not wasting my time by doing this...

But that is actually not why I did it (even though I am becoming more and more confident in what I am doing here). 

The reason I did that is to show you all that even though our weight constantly fluctuates, there is still a pattern and reasons our weight will spike and drop drastically. 

So I am going to share some of those with you so maybe you too can approach the scale with a little more grace for your body and the number reflected back to you. 

First let's talk about that new low, that we are going to call a "whoosh"...

There are a few reason I knew this was going to happen... 

1) I had been pretty consistent up to this point, and it was a matter of time until the scale reflected that. 
2) I was starting the week at a lower number, and I also know that my weight typically drops in the middle of the week... So if I was already starting a lower number, it was likely that it would drop even lower based on past evidence
3) I could tell by the way my body was looking (leaner) that I was losing fat, but the scale had not yet reflected that... and it was just a matter of time. 

You will notice that I repeated a certain statement above...

"It was just a matter of time." 

Because it is. 

If you are doing what you know you need to do, don't get so hung up on the scale that you decide to quit.  

It's a tool, and that's it. 

It doesn't reflect every aspect of your progress, and that is why this conversation is so important. 

We (too often) let our emotions get the best of us when that number shows up... and that is going to bring me to my next point. 

Labor Day and a Spike

I wish last week that when I predicted that drop, that I would have also predicted the spike after labor day. 

I decide before I went that I was going to relax over the weekend. 

I have had a lot of stress lately, let's face it... The amount of events that I have had to navigate over the past month(ish) has been insane. 

So I decided that if I wanted to keep doing this, then I needed to take a breather. 

I didn't go crazy, but I did let go of the reigns a bit... 

I didn't drink any alcohol on Friday, but I did Saturday and Sunday. 

I did hit my step goal on both Saturday and Sunday as well. 

I did eat veggies and protein, but the amount of carbs I consumed was ramped up for sure. 

I kept my drinks low calorie. 

And I got in my staple protein every morning. 

So overall, I knew I did not make progress over the weekend with fat loss, but I was quite sure I maintained... 

And even knowing that, I knew that the scale was going to fly up. 

Let's talk about why...

Just like I did when I was talking about the whoosh (drop), I also knew that this spike would be inevitable... 

But I am not upset about it, and here's why: 

1) I know this is not fat gain. Once we understand why the scale is doing what it does, then we can take the emotion out of it and clearly identify what is happening. 
2) This spike is due to water retention because of the extra carbs I had along with the alcohol. 
3) I also consumed foods higher in sodium, which will also cause water retention. 

Over the course of this week, I have no doubts that my weight will drop down to where it has been hanging out recently, which is 130-131. 

And that is about 4lbs lower than where I was typically sitting before I started this. 

What's next? 

So I am going to be honest with you all... 

When I decided to do this through my busiest month of the year, I was really fucking nervous... and that was for good reason. 

No one wants to say, "Hey, I think I can do this!" and then fail. 

I also knew how crazy my life was about to get, and that was worrisome.

But I knew that if I was going to tell you all it was possible, I need to show you.  

So you all have come along while I have navigated through concerts, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, pool parties, a baby shower, lake weekends, the Missouri State Fair... 

I have eaten and drank ANYTHING I wanted while following the guidelines I set for myself.

And I still lost fat. 

Not quickly. 

(I never promote quick weight loss anyway)

But I did. 

And I did not miss out on one single thing. 

So, I am going to call this a success so far.

When I started this I told you all that I was going to do this for 6-8 weeks, and we are in the middle of Week #6... So I want to let you all know where my head is at. 

Given that I do not (at this point) plan on going back to tracking (this could change in the future), I see no reason to stop these blog updates. 

Plus, I want to see what I can accomplish outside of the busiest month in the history of ever.

I want to keep doing what I've been doing, while not having to fight for life with the amount of events I need to/want to attend... lol

So hang around for September, friend. 

Let's see what else we can learn together. 

Here's the stats: 

Started the Week: 131.2
Ended the Week: 133.4 (again, I expect this to drop throughout the week)

That wraps up Week 5! And I am looking forward to having a much slower paced weeks in September :)

See you then!