Nat Eats Everything: Weekly Weigh In #5

As I am writing this at approximately 10 AM the day following Superbowl Sunday, I am STILL FULL from all the stuffing of my face that happened yesterday evening. Indigestion aside, I regret nothing! This week went so-so. I was not the best eater. I didn't start exercising. I think I am due for a good recommitting to my goals sesh. The tracking doesn't get old really, but I am far too lenient on myself for going over my calorie goals. I log my food and see I am over a couple hundred calories and just shrug at the screen, like 'who cares?'.

Wins for the week:

I had one good day.

Last Tuesday I was under my calorie goal by 18 calories! Focusing on the positive here.

Back in the 280's

Now that my hormonal related bloating is behind me, I am feeling it in my clothes and the scale. My bad eating for the week didn't help matters, but seeing a decrease in the scale is just motivation to keep up the good work I am doing.

The house is pretty much dessert free

This is giving me great hope for the week. The girl scout cookie plague that fell upon our household has been ~~eaten~~ lifted. I haven't bought any junk at the store. I even made my favorite dessert ever, dirt cake, for the Superbowl gathering at my brother's house and just ate one bowl and left the rest with him. With temptation stifled I will be better equipped to navigate the week without problems.

Setbacks and Challenges:

The house is dessert free because I ate all the dessert.

Dessert is my trigger food. If there are cookies or candy around, I will eat them all until they are gone. My inner voice starts innocently enough with just wanting a little sweet treat to end the meal. It isn't like I go into full cookie monster mode and am just cramming cookies into my face at alarming speeds. Reflecting on the times overindulging happens, I go into the dessert eating process with no real plans to control myself. I think deep down I just tell myself to be 'carefree' and enjoy myself before I even eat one bite. I don't store the cookies away in the kitchen and just get three on a plate and go sit down and enjoy them. No, I grab the entire box and bring it to sit on the sofa with me. Then it is just repeating the cookie into my mouth motion until I either run out of cookies or get too full to go further. It is mindless, it feels compulsive and it becomes a calorie bomb that ruins the entire day of positive work.

I don't know that now is the best time to try to figure out my compulsive dessert eating problem, but rather keep them out of the house so I am not in a position to worry about it. I want to be a person who doesn't feel the need to eat dessert at the end of the day.

I over-ate every day except one.

It is hard to be mad about this since I technically lost weight this week. I get too lenient on myself and tell myself 'aside from Sunday, you were still below the calories to maintain your current size, so it is okay. A deficit is a deficit'.

Here is the math on that, in case you are curious for your own sake (don't be Natalie and use it for making excuses...)

1. Find your BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories you burn in a day with no activity at all aside from your body processes like keeping your heart beating and your lungs working, etc.

2. Determine your calorie needs with the Harris Benedict Formula. This will factor in your activity levels. Someone who runs daily is going to need more calories to maintain their weight than someone sitting in an office all day. I calculate my number at the sedentary level, obviously.

2043.75 x 1.2 = 2452.50

So in order to maintain 289 pounds as a 5'3" 35 year old sedentary female, I need to eat an average of 2452 calories a day.

The goal calories that My Fitness Pal calculated for me is 1720, so when I eat 2200 for the day, I figure I still won't gain weight based on the math. Also why I am 6 weeks into the year and only down 4 pounds, which isn't so impressive.

I need to find a way to be kind and forgiving of myself when I have setbacks without being so lax that I just end up spinning my wheels and not going anywhere. I am trying to brainstorm a little reward I can get myself for staying in my calorie ranges all week, or some sort of 'punishment' if I am continuously going over. Maybe I will force myself to get up early and get on the rowing machine if I eat too much the day before, and if I do well all week then next Monday I will buy something from my amazon wish list. That may not be sustainable in my budget every week, but something to motivate me to stay on track. Hopefully with some more pounds down next week I wont need to have such tactics to get me to do what I am supposed to do!