That was the old me, but with a bigger snack bowl!
I am having trouble losing weight I gained during my 12 months of off season. This is not an easy task and is not for the faint of heart, but can be done! I thought if I wrote my thoughts out here, on my blog, it would help me and any others work through the ins and outs of breaking down weight loss roadblocks.
There are 3 parts to this post.
Part 1: I know I’ve hit a weight loss roadblock, but how did this happen to begin with?
Part 2: Making a plan to destroy my weight loss roadblock.
Part 3: Mission accomplished, stop your weight loss roadblock from returning.
Now that is one heck of a road block!
Part 1: I know I’ve hit a weight loss roadblock, but how did this happen to begin with?
Have you ever been at a spot in the year when there is a break in your training schedule or you are taking a lot more rest days then you normally would? Do you also feel that you are having trouble getting out of bed? That it’s either too cold or too hot out or the sun either doesn’t get up when you do or it goes down before you get out of the office? During this time do you eat too many good foods and too many of the bad foods? Are you 5-10lbs heavier than your normal weight and 15-20lbs above your racing weight?
I DO and am exactly in all of those spots right now. It seems too cold AND too dark, I am eating too many of good AND bad foods and am staying in bed way too long. If my scale is correct, I am roughly 15lbs (who am I kidding, 20lbs) above my ultimate goal race weight. OUCH!
I’ve wondered “what’s wrong with me?” saying too, “this is not like me at all.” 
I have talked to doctors and psychologists, asking “why am I not motivated and why can’t I be as strict and where is my stick-to-a-tive-ness that I am used to in my life?” No doctor has an answer for me. They either don’t know me or health and fitness and it’s tolls on the human psyche well enough to give me an answer that I can truly grasp on to. This lack of professional insight leaves me to think (and think too much) about why I have hit this weight loss roadblock.
From my experiences and extensive health and fitness reading I can say that too much of a good thing is never a good thing. (Now, now, I am talking about weight loss roadblocks, not money, vacation, or love).
I have also learned the following;
;Consuming sugar makes one want to consume more sugar, if not burned up right away becomes a cushy bum or a nice set love handle. Carbohydrates (lovingly called “carbs”) when eaten in amounts more than what the body can use as fuel, is broken down and the body stores it just in case you will use it later. Warning: it doesn’t burn easily after storage.
Sugar
We can assume then that carbs if not used up during a workout or a hard work day, has the same effects as sugar. ie. Too many carbs make you crave carbs.
;Consuming fat and salt in large quantities has the same effect as sugar. So we can assume from the information above about sugar that these extra amounts of fat and salt not used during a workout or a hard day of work, are stored in the body.
;Laziness begets laziness, I am not talking about a person who doesn’t work, or who doesn’t clean, walk their dogs, play with their cats, clean their dishes, etc. I am talking, fit laziness. The “ah I can take a break today”, next day “I can take a break today”, next month ” I haven’t gotten off this chair to run in months, I can take a break today” type of laziness. I personally create a fear of pain or incapability. Here, I’ll explain, after I have had a bout of fit laziness, I get struck with fear that my chest will hurt if I start running again, or that I may not be able to jump as high during a HIIT workout, I essentially spook myself out of getting up and moving my fanny. Does that happen to you?
mmm, pizza.
;Calories in Calories out. We have all heard this phrase when talking about weight loss. Yes, it is true, if you put more calories in to the body then you take out, like during a run or water aerobics, the extra calories will increase your total body weight. This concept seems so cut and dry, so easy pee-zee. What, though, if you have the body type that after 2 months of reducing your calories IN and increasing your calories OUT you find, your cloths fitting better, your family and friends noticing your hard work, but your scale, DOESN’T BUDGE! (Please note, I do believe that for most cases weight should not be a defining factor in health, but if you swim, bike, run or do all three you know that weight does matter. I digress…) If you didn’t know this yet, I’m talking about myself here people.
3 months of hard work then BOOM! I am 10 lbs lighter.
I know that if I look at the scale for the first 3 months of a program I will see minimum scale movement, but day one of month 3 BOOM, I’m 10lbs lighter… we will talk more about that in Part: 2.
For now, knowing these 4 basic ideas helps me see HOW my road block was created. It is true, I did eat too many gluten free cookies, cakes, and pies. I did eat too many beef burgers and braised short ribs out, I did consume way too much wine and fancy drinks.
Come to think of it, no I didn’t run, cycle, swim or take fitness classes to burn up the extra macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) I am putting into my body. Knowing this allows for me to start down the path to destroying my weight loss roadblock.
Now that I have acknowledged that I have hit a weight loss roadblock and how it was created, my next post: “Weight loss road block. I know what to do, I am just a little confused right now.” Part 2: “Making a plan to destroy my weight loss roadblock” will bring us through proven ways to break down weight loss roadblocks and which way works best for me.
erintris 