Sunday, January 23, 2011

I have this problem...

Yesterday, I spent much of my late evening catching up on many YT WL videos that I have neglected to watch due to time constraints. I was so glad to see a video made by a certain '1healthierHeather'. <---Let me start by saying that this woman is AMAZING and is truly an inspiration to me. She started off at about 293lbs. She's a busy mother of 3 (I think, right? lol) and she had a wake up moment 80 weeks ago, and she started to lose the weight. As of today she is at about 128 to 130 lbs!!!!!! When I watch her videos I see such a wonderful person: a great mother, a loving person, an inspiration, a helper, a kind heart, and I could go on and on.


So yesterday I watched her Wk. 80 Weigh-in video. I was SO GLAD she addressed a certain problem she was having because it pertains (slightly) to an issue I'm having. Her problem is this: she has reached her goal weight, but she can't stop herself from working out just as hard and as often as she's always done. When you reach your goal, you kind of have to pull back from such intense workouts as you're used to, not to mention you should increase your caloric intake to an amount that allows you to "maintain" that goal weight, not lose more. If you do NOT do this, you risk the continuance of weight loss which can actually make you UNDERWEIGHT! (I find this so funny: for so long we worry about losing, losing, losing every single day, then all of a sudden we must totally shift gears and worry about maintaining, maintaining, maintaining. Its crazy!) Heather knows this, and is working on pulling back a bit, slowing down, and eating more each day in order to maintain her goal weight and stop losing.


Although it may seem so easy to many of you, this is all much harder than it seems. Like I stated previously, for those of us who are deep within this weight loss journey: working out, sweating, pushing ourselves constantly within our workouts, has become ALL WE KNOW! In fact, its not just the only thing we know, ITS WHO WE ARE and apart of WHAT WE DO BEST!!! <--Go figure!--> So, when you try and tell someone who has been doing this for months and months (sometimes years) to STOP, its very difficult, if not seemingly impossible.


My problem is slightly similar to Heather's, however it doesn't have to do with maintaining. Here's my issue: I'm still deep within the weight loss journey and therefore, I'm still focused on losing, losing, losing (45 more lbs). Much like Heather, I push and push and push until I sweat buckets at the gym. I go and go and go as hard as I can until my muscles are literally screaming for relief (I know it seems psychotic, but I actually enjoy all of this).

I do this every.single.day.

Recently, another YT WL friend approached me and asked a question: "Aren't your muscles sore? Are you letting them relax? You need to take a day off so your muscles can heal!" I already knew this fact, but somewhere along the way I've ignored it. Why have I ignored it? Because I have this problem where I can't NOT workout. Since speaking with that friend, I made the decision that every Saturday will be my one and only day of rest out of each week (it also happens to be the day that I spend in the library finishing up homework). Do you have ANY IDEA how hard it was for me to sit around yesterday and NOT go to the gym? There's a 6 letter word that describes how I felt: G-U-I-L-T-Y!!!!


When/If I do not go to the gym, guilt immediately sets in. I start to feel heavy and gross. And what do I do to make up for that? I restrict my calories! I mean, that's the one thing I should NOT be doing on my days of rest. On my days of rest I should be eating (however sensibly) in order to help the process of restoration for my tired muscles! So, I'm working on this. Yesterday was the first day off from the gym that I have taken where I did not restrict so much. In fact, we even went out to eat! When I started to feel guilty, I quickly shut that little voice in the back of my head off and kept repeating, 'you need this, your body deserves this, you worked all week for this one day off, enjoy it!'.


I cannot tell you how happy I am that today I get to go back to the gym! My day of rest is finally OVER and I can start the cycle of pushing, sweating, and losing for the rest of this week.


I wonder if anyone else out there has this problem as well. ?????




YT Vlogger mentioned: 1healthierHeather
CHECK OUT HER CHANNEL!

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