I put my reverse diet on a pause for the week I visited my friend in the City between the 17th and 23rd of November. Out of the 7 days I spent there. I counted (and hit) my macros twice. The rest of the time I had my healthy meals when I was hungry, I enjoyed home cooked meals or takeaways often and perhaps may have over-indulged in sweet treats! Here is my 2 week progress for the week I was away and for the week I'm back at home. My bus left at 10 AM on Wednesday, the 24th of November, since then I've been reverse dieting again and hitting my macros daily, except a minor free for all on Sunday, the 28th of November. To my surprise, I weighed in at 59.2 kg's on Thursday the 25th. I knew I was going to weigh much more than usual since I only weight trained twice during my stay and only hit my macros twice as well. I was surprised I didn't gain as much, usually when my weekends (or even 1 day a weekend) consisted out of an entire binge, I'd weigh in 59.something the day after, and that was while I did train daily! So, when I came back from my holiday I weighed in the exact same, whilst not even training and being way over my calorie goals everyday (minus 2 days) . That means, either my previous binges were super bad or I didn't eat as much in excess as I thought I did during my week off. After 3 days of hitting my macros and throwing in a HIIT sprinting session, I was down to 57.9 kg's again on Friday, the 27th of November. Every day since my arrival has been great, I did experience a small rebound on Sunday though. I had a chocolate fitted into my macros and decided to eat late lunch with my family (who obviously don't count macros) so the idea that I had eaten foods that I wasn't sure of their macros made me think I blew it. So for the rest of the day, I did not binge, but I had lots of cookies here and there, enjoyed supper that I did not account for, as well as a chocolate pre bedtime. It's a process, so it's fine, since then I've hit my macros again daily, although it did set me back a little bit as I weighed 59.6 kg's on Monday. I woke up this morning weighing 58.0 kg's so it's all good. During my week away I did not count macros, but during my week back at home, this was my intake:
Calories= 1973
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Although I am packing in my food scale and a whole bag of groceries for my one week trip to visit my best friend, not to mention the truckload of gym clothing, I know deep down that I'm not going to be as strict with my reverse diet or exercise. And for once, I'm completely at peace with that. I'm at peace with the fact that I might gain back some scale weight or body fat. I'm at peace with the fact that I might lose some strength. In general, I'm just at peace with the fact that this one week might set me back, and that it might take another week to get back to where I was. But it's fine, I'm in no rush. I'm enjoying my life, balancing all the important things. Here is a short "reverse diet update" for the period between the 13th September (Saturday) to the 16th September (Tuesday) since I'm leaving today at 07:00 AM (Wednesday) to visit my bestest best friend in the City. I have dropped 0.4 kg's but I usually weigh around this mid-week anyway. After a nice braai (barbecue) with my boyfriend on Saturday 13th, I ended up weighing the exact same Sunday morning as I did during my Saturday weigh-in and progress photo. My body finally responds normally to sodium. Monday's Upper Body Power day went AWESOME! I felt stronger than usual, I ended up doing more pull-ups than usually (yeah, 1 rep more still counts), my weighted push-ups also increased and I didn't struggle with adding weight to my shoulder presses either! My intake for the past 4 days (I'm not going to obsess over counting and tracking my macros during my 1 week visitation):
Calories = 1965
I sure know I've been feeling quite elated for the past 2-3 weeks, especially the last two weeks. Not only has this week been the second week I've been completely BINGE FREE, it has also been the first week (including the weekend) that I have not gone over my macros! I did not have a "free for all" or an "out of macros cheat". After the wedding on the 6th, my weight stayed exactly the same on Sunday 7th as it was during my Saturday weekly progress update. I was 58.6 kg on Sunday. I had an all time low on Monday, which is a first, I weighed in at 57.5 kg without "going" to the bathroom. I slept in on Wednesday so I only weighed myself about 10:30 AM, which made a HUGE difference since I weighed in at 56.2 kg. Thursday, I was an early riser with 57.8 kg on the scale and Friday I weighed 58.3 kg. I look and feel much leaner than last week, and my arms and back looked awesomely shredded when doing dumbbell rows during the week! It's quite possible that I've dropped quite some of the body fat I regained post "clean-eating-binging" since I'm definitely leaning out each week. I've been doing great with this weeks macros. They were as follows:
Calories = 1945
Although the scale bumped up a bit, I'm not defined by the number on the scale! Why? Because:
This was my first official weekend in which I DID NOT BINGE! Thus, it was my first successful week being binge free! Usually every weekend, mostly Saturday (depending on whether I travel or not, which then includes Friday and Sunday) I eat whatever I want, when I want and how much I want. It usually ends up being sugary sweets and treats all day long. This used to set my back a lot, I ended up regaining all the weight I have lost during the consistent week. It pretty much made my reverse diet difficult to assess. I am delighted to say that I have not binged as of Monday 1st until Saturday 6th (also not today, Sunday 7th, which by the way is the start of my week). We did attend a wedding on Saturday in another town. I had my meals in macros prior to leaving here at 2 PM. I had fudge blocks during the drive. I did not order any takeaways when my boyfriend made a pit stop. I did not even take a bite. There was no need to. I did enjoy the meals served at the reception the night of the wedding, as well as the complimentary non-alcoholic drinks and 2 snacks before starters. I didn't even finish my whole main or dessert, I only picked out he yummy parts =D. With regrets, again, I did not have the chance to indulge in a piece of wedding cake, as we left before the cake was even cut. We had a 1.5 hours' drive till home so we left at 10 PM. Let me show an example of how my weight fluctuates whether or not I’m “constipated”. Note that I weigh 59.5 every Monday due to weekend free for all’s.
Weigh-ins for the week: Mon 1st: 59.5 kg Tue 2nd: 58.0 kg (no bathroom visit) Wed 3rd: 57.6 kg Thu 4th: 58.6 kg (no bathroom visit) Fri 5th: 57.6 kg Calories = 1916
PS: The calories and macro-nutrient breakdowns with my progress pictures represents the calories & macros I followed for that particular week (these breakdowns are for the week 31 Aug - 6 Sept.) I increase my macros every new start of the week, which is a Sunday for me. No wedding gains? I ended up weighing 58.6 kg after the weekend, usually I weigh around 59 kg after weekends, since weekends blow up my weekly progress. Very much to my surprise, I actually had lost 1 kg since the wedding weekend on 22 August. I can speculate why, very sad but true, I did not have a piece of the multi layered, multi flavoured wedding cake. How unfortunate. But I made sure I made up for it by dishing up a few servings of Apple Crumble (one of my favourites) after the main course was served. By the way, wedding cake does not make you fat. Unless you eat 1 whole cake every single day apart from your other meals. As I mentioned in my previous progress update, I did not count my macros since Friday midday. But I did make sure I got enough proteins in as well. Thank you convenient protein bars & protein powder. I was somewhat afraid that I'll go full blown binge again since this was my first event after I became friends with Consistency. I did not go full blown binge. I did not feel guilty. I enjoyed (and analysed) every food (okay, who am I kidding, mostly candy) I put in my mouth. I did not go too overboard on Friday but I did enjoy quite a lot of treats like choccies, cookies and candies on Saturday, apart from the wedding foods and snacks. I probably should have mentioned earlier, for the past month or so, I've been cutting back my HIIT cardio as well. I've been doing mostly 1 session of HIIT per week, no longer 2 sessions as my training program shows. I must say, I am thrilled for eating more food every week and doing little to no cardio at all, and progressing for the good. I may be delusional, but I feel that the more food I eat, the leaner I get and the better I look. But that's my opinion. I've come to love my body. My curves. My muscles, Just everything I used to hate. I might not get the same results when I keep increasing my food, but volume is my goal! A funny fact: At the very beginning, I wanted to lose weight so that I can decrease the amount of protein I need to eat (since I work from 1 gram per pound of bodyweight) but since my carbs and fats keep increasing, I get a lot of protein from by sources. Thus, I had to increase my protein a bit too.
Calories = 1895
I LOVE WEDDINGS!!!! I love wedding foods. I love wedding cake. I love wedding dessert. I don't love wedding gains. Yeah, weddings calls for weight gain. Mostly bridal weight gain, but heck if I'm invited, put me on the list for mad gains too! Again, another good week. Gosh, things are finally starting to move forward. I give myself an A++ for consistency throughout the short week. We left for the wedding early Friday morning (22 Aug). This serves as a progress picture for the weekdays of Sunday 17th-Thursday 21st. I packed in some protein bars and protein powder for the weekend stay. We'll see how things go. Early note: no macros will be counted. I'm sure I'll end up weighting around 59 kg on Monday. I decided it was time to seriously up my fats. Since January up until now, I've only upped it about 5-7 grams in total. It's time to make up for lost macros. Hello fats! In other words, hello fatty condiments like mayonnaise. Hello more whole eggs. Hello butter. Hello chocolate bars.
Calories = 1847
I seriously need to up my macros (especially my fats) more often, or in higher amounts! So, yet another great week. I perfected tracking and hitting my macros this week! Some days I was slightly over my goals, other days I was slightly under it. Sunday up until Thursday were great. This Friday was much better than most Friday's. For the past month or two, I've been doing great during the week, but I have an all you can eat every Saturday (after I take my morning progress pictures) and sometimes Friday's or Sunday's too. So I end up gaining back all the weight I dropped during the week. I always weigh around 59.5 kg end of the weekend. I enjoyed a braai (barbecue) with some friends on Friday. I may have overdone it on the incredible potato bake and snack foods (most of which were healthy anyway), but I did not binge. I did not come home and have the entire food cupboard or cleared out my secret stash like always. I did enjoy some heated up custard as a dessert at home though. The best of all, I did not feel guilty over enjoying time out with friends. I did not feel beat down or upset that I let loose a bit. Although Saturday was an all you can eat again, Sunday was on point! My weight fluctuated every day during the week, from anywhere between 57.0 kg and 58.9 kg. Too much info here, but, I was constipated on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Lets just say the scale didn't move much due to that, Cause seriously, it does make quite a difference. Calories = 1761
Well, the week started out great! I hit my macros every day.. until Thursday. My hidden sugar stash in my cupboard wanted some attention. After dinner, and after already hitting my macro goals, I had a chocolate bar, a slice of toast, a bowl cereal and some fruit salad. The estimated calories for Thursday's episode was 2235: Carbs= 305 ; Fats= 54 ; Proteins: 107. The delicious sugary carbs from Thursday triggered my taste-buds Friday night as well. Needless to say, I went over my macros again. I just love chocolates too much. And candy. And cookies. And especially ice cream! BUT for the first time, I did not go ALL OUT on Saturday. Calories = 1741
Hallelujah! I had no problem sticking to this set of macros this week. I was slightly under my goals on Sunday but Monday was on point. I enjoyed a dinner out with my boyfriend on Tuesday, which I accounted for, although I was over my carb and fat goals (210:51). Wednesday was another great day, Thursday as well. I did go off track on Friday though, quite a lot, hence my higher scale weight on Saturday (2 Aug). My weight for the week was between 57.5 and 58.3 (depending on whether or not I went to the bathroom). I feel pleased with this week. My off plan "cheats" are starting to decline and I am much more consistent during the week. Weekends (especially Fridays and Saturdays) are still a tough one. I tend to have a free for all on Saturday's, not 1 healthy meal in sight.. Only cookies, candies, chocolates, pastries and the like. For now, Saturday's are my only setback. Calories = 1716
The reverse diet has begun.. again! This serves for a progression over the last 2 weeks since I started working out again and tracking my macros. PS: the cool headband I'm forever wearing was made by my best friend, check out her website, she's a DIY Queen and sells gorgeous handmade goods: www.missmalinda.weebly.com My macros was perfect the 14th-16th of July, thereafter I ate what I felt like without tracking it until the 19th of July. I was consistent since July 20th and my weight was 58.1 kg every day during the week. I may have been over my carbs and fats by 1-2g. The first week I continued with my 5x5 strength program to determine whether I have lost strength or power within my 14 OFF days. Yes, I'm neurotic like that! I did not loose as much strength as I thought, my squats went down by a few kilo's, that's it. The second week I started on a new program, the one that is currently listed on the "Training Journal" page, under "Personal Space". Feel free to download it and check it out. The high rep days are KILLER for sure! The first week, 14-19 July, I kept my Macros the same as BEFORE I went on vacation, I just upped my proteins a bit:
Calories = 1671
The week thereafter, 20–25 July, I upped my carbs and fats: Calories = 1700
This does not count as a progress picture. It is merely my first picture after I came back from the holiday and the 2 weeks "break" from counting macros and training. I started training and counting my macros again.
During my 2 week beach vacation, I only counted & hit my macros twice during the whole 14 days. The rest of the time I enjoyed eating everything not considered the most healthy options. I did however have healthier foods as well.. But my intake consisted mostly out of cereals, cookies, candies and take-away or junk food. Prior to leaving, I made myself a killer bodyweight workout program for 14 days.. Needless to say, I only did 2-3 days of actually following it. The rest of the time I was super lazy and my exercise consisted out of walking to the fridge and back.. and again.. I did feel "bulky" and "flabby" during the holiday but I enjoyed letting loose too. Even though I knew it would set me back, after I just started being so consistent. I sticked to the same macros as before I left, but only counted them twice during the 14 days away. So, it's safe to say, every other day was a "free meal" day.
Bread!!! That used to be my staple food back in high-school. I'd eat bread 3 times a day.. When I first started eating "clean", bread was by no means considered a good carb.. heck, not even a bad carb. It was just not a viable source for carbohydrates. I was off bread for so long, I didn't crave it, I simply felt like including it since it gave me such anxiety previously that when I had a slice, I would feel like I have "cheated" and binge. This was yet another GREAT week!! Sunday right through until Saturday. Even though I did not track the snack foods I had at an event on Saturday night, I DID NOT BINGE. Not even once!! I'm in ecstasy! My weight ranged from 57.4 kg - 57.8 this week. Calories= 1663
Besides enjoying junk on Sunday and Monday, the week was fabulous! I hit my macros almost all the time, give or take 1-2g of carbs or protein. I didn't feel as "wide" at my lower body, my hips felt tighter and my regular gym clothes started t fit perfectly again- with no love handles! More people gave me good remarks at the gym as well, so that gave me a little push in the right direction. I'm even starting to see a little thigh gap again, NOT that that is my goal, I'll be closing that gap soon enough with some muscle. My weight was anything from 56.9 kg - 57.5 kg this week. I definitely feel like I got the hang of it. Calories= 1618
A first! A GREAT week. I almost had no problem sticking to the set of macros. I have had two guys at my gym comment saying I looked great, not as "big" as months before, as if I have lost weight. I did feel happier. I felt happy with how shapely my body had gotten since 2013. The scale fluctuated many times during the week, but I came in .1 gram lighter than the week before. My core felt tighter and I was pushing more in the gym. My training program still consists of the 5x5 strength program, which I will be following until the 18th of July. My cardio is still basically non existent. I'll do a few minutes rope skipping or treadmill sprinting once a week or every two weeks. But mostly no cardio. Calories= 1598
Having just started out to reverse diet myself in order to build up my metabolic capacity and be able to eat tons of food without gaining weight, I had some trouble sticking to the macros this week. Wednesday and Saturday involved little-lots of treats out of macros. Regardless, here's my first progress photo for the week (1 June - 7 June). My updates will be as follow: 1 week following a set of macros (1-6 June), then a progress picture on the coming Saturday (7 June) of that particular week (the 6/7 days before the date on the picture, 1-6 June). I will describe my calorie intake and macros breakdown, as well as my training an nutrition for that week. As of 1 June, I started on a 5x5 strength training program. I completely stopped doing CrossFit but did about 3-4 times a week bodyweight exercises at home with my brother (1-6 June). I didn't change my macros since I wanted to see whether I gained or maintained my weight on this intake, since I was starting to be more consistent.
Calories= 1460
June 1st, Sunday, marks the beginning of my own reverse diet. After months of jumping back and forth, I finally got the hang of counting macros, being more balanced and including a wider variety of foods into my diet. Note that I am still not up to date with uploading previous photos (September 5th now), but here on out I kept note on what I did. This does not really count as a progress picture, as it is my starting picture, my "before". I mostly take my progress pictures on a Saturday, unless I have to travel somewhere to attend a function or whatever, then I will take it the day before I leave or the morning of departure. I don't think I followed a particular set of macros for most of the month May, this is the official day 1 of actually starting IIFYM and reverse dieting (although I have had / still will have setbacks).
I am not quite sure how the past weeks before went, but the following weeks after this progress photo was taken, and my macros was slightly upped, I sticked to it more consistently than before. Judging from the photo, my hips look a bit tighter, my love handles aren't as handley, lol, and my tummy looked flatter this week than in the previous progress update. Training- 3 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- Not sure of what I did before, but afterwards I was more consistent Calories= 1545
By now it should be clear. I love carbs. Dirty, fatty, sugary carbs! Every single one of my teeth are a sweet tooth. This week proved it once again. I am still eating "clean" when I'm good, even enjoying dirty treats "in macros", and the I just turn full blown rebel... where I inhale anything and everything that's high in carbs and sugar. I had ice cream every day of the week this week. Sigh, 2-3 months counting macros and I'm still not progressing... Or am I?! Recovering from disordered eating patterns sometimes takes longer than the duration in which they actually lasted. You will have setbacks. You will have relapses. You will repeat the cycle. You will sometimes wonder why you are even trying. I may not have come as far as I have hoped to, BUT, I did progress in some ways:
Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- Some days very much under goal, less days on point, some days greatly over goal Calories / Macros were still the same since my old behaviours have not yet died down.
Calories= 1460
Very, very, very few entries during this time was made... I have no idea what shit I got up to. Lets just say that I was still not consistent in hitting my macros, especially during March, which happened to have 2 birthdays and a wedding. But let that not be an excuse, I ate shit apart from the official celebrations anyway. I think it was during the end of March that my friend finally came to realise, no matter how thoroughly she helped and guided me, I'm still not recovered well enough to actually be leading a new lifestyle. I could not let go of all the binging and restricting. I had tons of anxiety just including something that was previously off my meal plan, like Feta Cheese. But I had no anxiety whatsoever to binge on the whole Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. It had come to no surprise, she couldn't have helped me unless I started to change my ways. I needed to be more open. I needed to include more variety in my "diet" in order to prevent the binging and restricting cycle. I felt ashamed and bad for having received the best possible help, but not being able to follow through. Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- No logging, no consistency, binge and restrict cycle all over again. PS: Disregard all the "Day..." on all the pictures, even upcoming ones. Just like most clean eaters I would have 1 day, well in my case 1 month, of "the last cheat" and would then start all over again. I stopped using "Day..." a while after I started officially reverse dieting myself.
Calories / Macros were the same. Calories= 1460
This starting week was by no means perfect. I went over my carbs a bit, did not hit my proteins and was still low on fats. I did not track my foods for some reason on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday went great. I even enjoyed a take away "in macros". Some of Thursday's sugar high included:
Nutrition- Early the week= somewhat good ; end of the week= sugar high for a few days Calories / Macros were the same, again, due to the fact that I was still not consistent enough in order to know how my body reacted.
Calories= 1460
The binge festival of the weekend obviously carried over to the week. I had a few good meals, but mostly I ate shit! Let me give an example of a days worth of binging (excluding some foods I had during the day). Tuesday, 4 March: I had 2 Eet-Sum-Mor biscuits and 6 toffees "in macros" with my breakfast, this was a clear trigger for a later on binge. The foods I considered as a binge included:
Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- A whole week full of junk and being over my calorie goals Calories / Macros were still the same due to the fact that I was not nearly consistent enough in order to know whether I am eating below maintenance, at maintenance or over maintenance.
Calories= 1460
So, finally a better week. 24 February - 27 February was great, in comparison to most weeks. I hit my carb goals, didn't come close to hitting my fats and I was close enough for proteins. A weekend festival led to anxiety over not "hitting my macros" or "going off plan" which finally led to giving in to an unplanned "cheat meal" which turned into a binge night (although smaller when compared to my previous full blown binges). Feeling devastated and defeated afterwards, a weekend junk feast commenced. We all know the popular "Well, I already cheated on my diet, so I might as well just keep on stuffing my face. This is the last cheat." Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- More or less on point with carbs, close to proteins, too little fats Calories / Macros were the same due to the fact that I was not nearly consistent enough so my weight fluctuated every weigh in.
Calories= 1460
I cannot yet call it my "reverse diet" since I'm NOT consistent enough with my macros. It is still early on in trying to recover from my eating disorders and obsessive behaviours that emerged 2013. Heck, the behaviours started in 2010, if not earlier! I still binged quite a lot during this time and still had a hard time sticking to my set out / starting off macros. Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- Some days very much under goal, less days on point, some days greatly over goal Calories / Macros were the same due to the fact that I was not nearly consistent enough so my weight fluctuated quite a bit.
Calories= 1460
Although this might be explicit, it's definitely not sexual... Unless you consider unwashed hair, a frown face, a constipated stance and a granny bra sexy. In which case, reconsider your definition of sexy.. or raise your standards! Training- 5 days a week of CrossFit in the AM ; 5 days a week of weight training in the PM Nutrition- Some days very much under goal, some days on point, most days greatly over goal Starting out Calories= 1460
PLEASE TAKE NOTE HOW HERE:
I weighed less on the scale but was "skinny fat" & compare them to when I weighed more on the scale, but looked much better! The scale is not telling the whole truth. There are different ways in which to measure progress. |
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