Why do I or don’t I blog?

I have issues with blogging consistently. I started this blog because I thought it would be fun to share my journey from fat to fit with people who are interested in the same thing. And I started it because I wanted it for myself, to keep track of what happened when and why. This journey is not yet over and still… I am an inconsistent blogger.

The main reason for this is that writing posts does not always come easily. Sometimes the words just flow. But there are also the other days when  you know you should post something and either you have no idea about  what or you have trouble to find the right words. Also we all have busy schedules and next to inspiration finding the time is often an issue.

Thank god, it’s only blogging I fail to have time and inspiration for, because I still like to do fitness and try healthy recipes and read other peoples’ blogs, too.

But I want to get things going on here again. Because yesterday I took the time to read some of the old posts I did back in March and it’s interesting for me to recap how far I have come. That is why I want to post stuff I do and share it with you guys again.

There are already two months of updates missing on here. That is why I will include one right away.

On the 8th of July I posted that I had overcome a long-lasting weight-loss plateau. I weighed in at 75 kg that last time. Last week I weighed myself in at 72.8 kg (or 160.5 lbs), which means a loss of 2.2 kg in the last two month. I am happy about that and about the fact that I soon will hit the 150ish lbs region.

ALSO THIS IS OVER 10 KG or 22 lbs DOWN SINCE MARCH! YEAH! 

What did I do to reach this? I may have told you already but I took up a new job in June. I am very happy with this job as a sales person because it’s a very active job. I don’t sit all day long as I did in previous jobs or in university, which also upped my activity level from sedentary or lightly active to very active. In conclusion I also burn more calories because my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) increased. And although I haven’t been good eating-wise the last two months I still shed pounds. The reason for my bad eating habits are practically a time thing, because I have to take food to work and sometimes I don’t have time to prepare something healthy. Besides a lot of people I know are happy enough to celebrate their birthdays in summer, like BFF, father, brother, mother and other friends. There was practically no weekend without a party and a cake.

I have gone to taking my measurements once a week and working out at least three times a week. My newest obsession is Fitness Blender’s 8 week fat loss program. I like it because it is so versatile and their workouts include a warm-up, some sort of routine like HIIT, Barre, weights, kickboxing, etc and a cool-down and sometimes even yoga or Pilates. Their workouts mostly take about 45 to 60 minutes and keep my body guessing (great for not hitting that plateau again).

To sum things up and bring this very long post to an end: I am still on track and I miss blogging and that is why I want to share more with you again.

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Fourth Weigh-In and Weight-Loss Plateaus (7-8-13).

My last weigh-in was on the 31st of May. And I didn’t do one at the end of June. That’s for a good reason. I had nothing to report. My weight had stalled since Mid-May. Nothing was happening to the numbers on the scale not down and also thankfully not up.

I had hit the well-known weight-loss plateau everyone who goes on a diet and an exercise regimen hits sooner or later. I have read a LOT about weight-loss plateaus since then. One very interesting piece of information says that this plateau happens to most people when they have lost about 10% of their original weight. I started at 83 kg and stalled at 76 kg. That’s pretty close to those estimated 10%. Most important reason for this is that your body takes that stalling time to adjust. Adjust to what I asked myself? To your new healthy way of living, eating and exercising, and your new metabolism regimen due to your previous weight lost.

Nonetheless I was discouraged. I wanted to lose again. I read tons of tips to break the plateau. Most were reasoning about changing your workout regimen in order to keep your body challenged. I incorporated some Tara Stiles yoga, walking and even jogging, and cycling to my exercise. I also read that keeping a food journal could help to identify some pitfalls in my diet, like maybe I was eating way more than I thought. I already kept a journal at my fitness pal (MFP) and couldn’t find a reason for my stalling weight-loss there. I ate 1200 calories a day and worked out five times a week. Other tips included to be patient and stick to your healthy habits. Sooner or later one would start losing again. That was not what I wanted to hear. After all I had consistently lost about 1 kg per week over a period of 7 to 8 weeks. I didn’t like it to just stop.

Two weeks into June I started a new job. I am a Sales Advisor with H&M now. I am walking and moving things about all the time during my working hours. My activity level increased from moderately active to very active.

Ultimately I think that increasing my daily calorie intake did the trick. I stumbled across a very informative post on MFP about weight-loss and the caloric deficit that is necessary to achieve this but also how important it is not to eat too less. Now this is where my problem may have been. With the 1200 calories and working out five times a week not eating back the calories I burned during exercise I was not nourishing my body correctly, although my primary goals was to be healthy not slim. I upped my calorie intake to 1700 calories per day (still creating a deficit with that) and monitored it closely until I got a feeling of how much food I could consume to reach this number.

Now I banned counting calories as well as the scale as it was driving me crazy. I have hid the scale in my wardrobe and told my BF I was not allowing myself to step on it twice a day anymore. I work out only three or four times a week, as with the new job this is easier to maintain for me.

I measure myself once a week on Monday morning. I step on the scale and take measurements of my neck, biceps, waist, stomach, hip, thigh and calf. I realized I cannot force my body to shed the pounds, I will have to be patient and stick to my habits. It’s been hard to come to this realization. I will have to trust my body that it will start losing again, when it is ready.

So today, when I stepped on the scale there was this number: 75 kg. I already expected it as my measurements with the tape the last two weeks signaled in this direction. It means a sudden 1 kg or 2.2 lbs down after 6 weeks waiting patiently. I am happy about this. And I hope my body has adjusted and will keep shedding weight some more. I hope this is the break of my first weight-loss plateau. If I understood correctly, there might be some more to come.

I have no pictures for you this time because as you can imagine not much happened to my appearance. Nonetheless I hope you will not let yourself get discouraged of your healthy way of living once the scale does not show the effect you expect anymore. Keep doing what you are doing. Be patient. I know, I know. It’s not what you wanted to hear. But still.

Have you had similar experiences? How did you break your weight-loss plateau?