Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Weigh-Ins (or the lack thereof)

A faithful reader who would likely prefer to remain annonymous recently sent me a message inquiring as to why I haven't posted any weigh-in information in over eight weeks now. "Is that because you've been hanging around a different 'jim?'"

Well, yes and no.

First off, the main reason for the lack of weigh-ins is that I just haven't had a chance to collect the data. I used to weigh myself every Friday morning (and other mornings when I thought of it). I noticed that my weight would fluctuate a good bit during the day based on how hydrated I was, what I'd eaten, etc., but it seemed to be a pretty consistent measurement if I hopped on the scale first thing in the morning.

Since I moved back to Missoula, I've only been around a scale a few times in the mornings, and I just haven't thought to weigh myself. Although I've been working out at least 3 mornings per week, I just meet my friend Jenny at a park where there's no locker room or scale. Twice I've been to the gym to do an early morning spinning class... and haven't thought to weigh in (the scale's in a weird place where I don't walk right by it).

So sorry, but I just don't have any numbers for you.

But, I can tell you how I feel, and what I've noticed. First, I definitely have not continued on the LOSING streak since I moved. And I know I've gained back some of the pudge that I got rid of during my mid-summer crunch to diet and train hard. I have one pair of pants that were just starting to fit well in early August, and now they're a bit snug again. Everything else is still fitting fine-- just not the "honesty pants."

I'd say I'm probably back in the 139-141 range again, where I was most of the past year.

So is that because I've been spending more time with Jim and less time at the Gym?

No, I definitely can't blame him. Here are a few things I can blame:
  • impulsively eating bagels that are so easy to acquire from the bagel shop across the street from my office
  • making lunch dates to get Thai food in the park instead of just having a bowl of soup or a salad for lunch
  • drinking beer on weeknights as well as on weekends (okay, we'll let Jim take some of the blame for that... )
  • once having consumed said beer, making poor choices for dinner (e.g. scarfing down a frozen pizza instead of making fresh stir-fry)
  • scrambling around trying to figure out my new schedule, trying to juggle work, workouts, social life, commuting, etc., and letting meal planning fall down on the priority list... and thus not being as conscious of what I'm eating and often finding myself in the "I'm hungry. Must eat. Now. Don't care what it is" situation
  • taking too much advantage of the "treats" that people sometimes bring to the office (so cruel... just because you get the urge to bake doesn't mean that you can bring it to the office to get it out of your house!)
  • shifting my workouts from hard training-specific workouts to more fun, and slightly less hard-core workouts
  • decreasing my weekly workout time by at least a few hours because of said juggling challenges

HOWEVER, I've now been in Missoula for eight weeks. The thrill of the good bagel shop and other restaurants is wearing off. I've "caught up" with many of the friends I wanted to visit with, and no longer feel quite the urgent need to hang out with folks every night. I'm getting into a new routine of workout times. I've started making meal planning a higher priority again.

And I think that I'll buy a scale to have in my bathroom at home. That way I don't just have to rely on my britches to tell me how I'm doing-- I can do check-ins as often as I want.

For the next few weeks my goal is to just get myself reined in-- not necessarily to diet to lose weight, but at least get back on a good maintenence routine. No beer drinking during the week. Stock up on salad makings, and eat that for lunch. No going out for lunch, or grabbing breakfast from a nearby bakery. Making eating out a special occasion, not a normal thing.

Once I get those habits re-established, then I can work on re-losing what I've put back on!

So, dear reader, I hope that answers your question. Thanks for asking!

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