Right. So …
New stress in the personal side of life cut back on a lot of things, as did the heat in Colorado. I’m now looking into possibly buying a house because I’m not 100% sure it’s going to work out with the bf, despite being together for 9.5 years. So … that hasn’t been fun.
That aside, I had my first trip in 13 months, first flight in 15 months, and first work travel in 19 months. That was last week. And I lost 1 lb during it!! 🥳
Going into the work trip, I had hoped that I would be able to control the eating urges and especially the urge to eat out. I had pre-planned some things, I brought a few protein shakes (just the powder, pre-measured in bottles), protein bars, I made some protein pancakes ahead of time to eat for breakfasts, and I brought my latest purchase a set of resistance bands. I also knew that there’s this Chinese place in a strip mall across from the hotel that I LOVE, and so I pre-planned eating there twice. Unfortunately, a coworker was supposed to room with someone else who cancelled, never got their room reserved, and I was a nice guy and offered to share mine so there were some things I didn’t feel comfortable doing in front of him (exercising).
So, how’d I do? Monday, I ate an estimated 90% of my calories, only eating some protein pancakes and calling out for a different Chinese place that was mediocre because I had my heart set on it but didn’t realize the place I wanted was closed on Sundays.
Monday I ate about my goal calories, though I think I went maybe 200 over because of all the snacks that are set out at these meetings. That’s another one of my downfalls: The snacks. You get a bit bored in a session, you walk out, there’s all this food I normally don’t eat, and it’s just so easy to … yeah. So what I did to try to minimize that both Monday and later on in the week was to get the lunch I wanted – dumplings and chicken fried rice for Monday – and eat it over the course of about 3 hours. That way, I wasn’t hungry in the afternoon, and I wasn’t even hungry in the evening. So, I had one very large meal in the middle of the day, and a few snacks scattered about.
That worked Tuesday, as well, but I played hooky on Wednesday and gave into my second craving: Domino’s Pizza. I know what most of you are probably thinking: Eww. But, sorry, I like it. Without looking at calorie counts, I ordered the garlic breadsticks and a medium double-pepperoni pizza. It was all I ate during the day (well, plus one protein shake), and doing the math later (today, Saturday), it was 170% of my goal. Those garlic breadsticks are crazy-high in fat and carbs, and actually not that great. I really should not get them next time.
Thursday, I was back to under my goal by again doing a larger lunch that I ate between 1pm and 4pm, and Friday was a half-day. I finished off my protein pancakes, protein shakes, but I grabbed a few bags of remaining snacks: SkinnyPop popcorn. I figured if I was going to snack over the next several hours, and not even eat lunch (though I did have a protein bar), I’d rather it be something that’s relatively low calorie and relatively filling. Of course, three bags is still 250 calories or so. I landed around dinner time and went grocery shopping. And got myself a doughnut. And take-out Thai food. So, all those things combined and I was at 130% of my calorie goal.
Today, Saturday, I took a look at the damage and was actually surprised it wasn’t as bad as it was. I certainly don’t drink enough on trips, so I was way-low on liquid intake, but all-told, I averaged just +13% over my calorie goal. Now, granted, the macros were crap. I was at 134% of my fat, 136% of my carbs (pizza, breadsticks, fried rice, and drunken noodles will do that!), and 75% of my target protein. But still, only 13% over on calories, and one pound down (almost certainly water weight), I’m going to say that’s a victory.
So, today, I ate a salad with canned tuna and made gingery ground beef for dinner. I did snack on a few Triscuits throughout the day, protein shake, some berries (filling!! fiber!!), and also tried to drink a lot. I’m ending the week at 105% of my calorie goal, 117% of my fat goal, 124% of my carbohydrate goal, and 77% of my protein goal. Oh, and 93% of my drink goal, as opposed to 74% as of yesterday.
Again, for my first trip, when it could have been so much worse, I’m willing to call that a victory.
Okay, going back to the top, I do have a new impetus to again get back to working out. My roadblock has really been (I think) … no, my roadblocks have been:
- Inability to pull back from doing too much work on a daily basis.
- Inability to PUT DOWN THE FORK. *cough* I mean, inability to stick to the pre-planned food limits during the day and instead think that I can just make up for it later.
- Inability to count all those nibbles, licks, small bites, slurps, tiny pieces, etc. that in themselves seem like nothing important but seriously add up over the day or week.
- Inability to work up motivation to actually exercise (“I’ll do it later!”).
Right, well, that’s probably everyones’ problem who has a fitness issue, right?
But, I’m hoping that I now have – for better or worse – a few new drivers to help with that motivation:
- If my personal relationship is failing, I’m going to put myself back on the market (so to speak) and The Gay love their muscles.
- Flying for the first time in 15 months, I was reminded of just how small those airline seats are and just how closely packed that tray table is if you have a belly protruding … every inch counts!
- I’ll be seeing family again as soon as in one month, and I really don’t want to be fatter than I was last time I saw them, especially the New York cousins in ≈2–3 months.
- Okay, here’s the don’t laugh one: If I’m going to be on the market for a house within the next 12 months, to afford a larger down-payment, I’ve actually considered maybe doing something on Only Fans for The Gay audience, which, well, no one is going to pay to see my fat ass as it is now.
Alright, that last one is at least 95% joke. I don’t think I’d ever do it. But, the thought did (very) briefly cross my mind. And, my best friend outside my relationship also joked about it. So, if it at all helps with motivation, it doesn’t hurt to think of that as a possibility and help drive fitness. And, well, houses are expensive!
So, with another few weeks lost, I think I shall be hiding them as I did the previous year in my sheets, and “pretending” to start anew tomorrow, which in reality is Week 67 of this latest run.
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