Official Loss?

Official weight @ 03/11/2013: 194.4 lbs

...wait for it....

Official weight @ 3/15/2013: 190 lbs. Even.

Shocking isn't it?

I was pretty shocked, myself. But then I remembered I lifted on Sunday night – the night before weigh-in. There’s lots of stuff out there that talks about water retention in the muscles after strength training, whether that be lifting or body-weight exercise, but I guess I never really thought it could make THAT big of a difference. Until now. Holy moley!

Okay, but here’s the most exciting part: I’ve been in a plateau since early January hanging out between 191 and 192 – the lowest I hit was 190.8 for ONE weigh-in in February. But my body’s favorite weight over the last 10 weeks was 191.2 exactly – week after week. But this morning that beautiful “190.0” popped up on my scale. I stepped on and off the scale about four times… just to be sure. And it stayed.

I am counting this as my first REAL loss of 2013. A) because it’s the lowest I’ve been since January 11th, and B) because this number showed up even after drinking barely any water yesterday, eating more processed food that is ever necessary, AND drinking 3 glasses of wine.

This will probably jinx it, but: I believe I may have finally broken through my weight plateau. I absolutely attribute this to being more diligent on my calories the last two weeks and staying in my 1900-2100 range most days as well as paying closer attention to my macros (protein, protein, protein!). I have also added lots more whole foods and organic into my diet, which is probably always a smart move.

I redid measurements this morning as well. Here we go:

Measurements @ 3/10/2013 (changes in blue)

Estimated Body Fat: 33.6% / 33.28%

Chest (across bust in sports bra): 38" 

Bicep: 12"

Waist: 33.5"

Waist at naval: 36.5" / 36"

Hips: 44.5"

Thigh: 26.5" / 26"

Very slow change happening, I am glad that my BF% went down even if it was only by 0.3%. I definitely feel like I’m seeing the changes more in the mirror right now, which is totally okay. I’m pretty excited to take some more pictures this weekend!

I’ve officially completed the first half (4 weeks) of NROLFW Stage 1. I have 8 more workouts to go! I’m feeling really good about this program. I’m definitely gaining strength – I’ve gone from using 8lb dumbbells and bodyweight to using 10-15lb dumbbells on everything except pushups! But I will say I’ve progressed from doing wall push-ups, to “girl” pushups. I’m hoping by the end of Stage 1 I can do a real push-up! What this means: for arm exercises I’ve gone from lifting 8 lbs to 15 lbs/for leg exercises I’ve gone from bodyweight (squats/step-ups) to 20lbs, and for deadlifts from 16lbs to 30lbs. I’ve almost doubled in everything, which I’m pretty damn excited about. I am very much going to need a barbell set soon! My dumbbell set only goes up to 25lbs. And let’s face it, dumbbells can be pretty unwieldy once you get heavier than 30-40 lbs for most exercises.

I definitely had some down days this last week. Work has been incredibly stressful and it’s kind of pulled everything else going on in my life down with it. It’s been hard to stay positive on my progress, but a blessing in disguise came yesterday when Nolan was running a high fever. It meant I got to stay home with the baby for the day and not deal with anything work related. Even though he was fussy and clingy most of the day, to the point where I couldn’t even go to the bathroom by myself – it was wonderful to be able to just hold him and snuggle him and take a nap together. It was nice that he needed me and I was actually able to meet his needs. It was demanding, but in a completely different way. And it is exactly what I needed.

I woke up in a much more positive place this morning, and my “cheat” weigh-in definitely helped perpetuate that positivity. Sometimes I still feel pretty low about the scale meaning so much to me… but I feel pretty secure that once I reach goal body fat – or close to it – that number on the scale won’t matter anymore.