6 Weeks Completed

I officially ended my 6-weeks of ETL today, though I can't say I was as strict as I wanted to be. I would say adherence was a mere 75% and that's being generous. I really want to be closer to 95%!!

The calorie-counting experiment has been interesting. I screwed up a bit the first week (binged) but this past week, I was very good at inputting everything into the counter. Plus I weighed myself everyday. I feel like it helps because I am more accountable, having to enter every little thing in. I suppose that's the point of a food log right? :)

Anyway, I must be reporting something wrong - either I am burning more calories than I realize or not eating as much, because I have the program set to lose 2 lbs/week and according to the software I was "over" my calorie budget by 1257 calories last week (yes, I binged 2x last week)... and, I lost 3 lbs last week!!! Sooo, yeah, something is off.

I am FINALLY under 120 again (I'm 119 this morning). This means I lost a whole 5 lbs during the 6 weeks of ETL. Not much, but I also don't have much to lose and I did make plenty of mistakes.

So what now? I never want to be over 120 again. I'm going to keep using the program and counting calories because it seems to be working right now... I'm going to keep plugging away and trying to get my ETL-adherence closer to 100%. I'm going to get closer to my Fuhrman weight goal... AND - I want to stop bingeing once and for all!

Here I am again.

I didn't stop ETL-ing -- just stopped posting. Life got in the way of that. I did some triathlons in between and just finished up the last one this past weekend. Now race season is over and it's officially "Fat Season." I'm determined to make it "Fat LOSS Season." Hah. How awesome would it be to end the year off lighter than I am? I still think ETL will get me there, but is it too much wishful thinking that I could get to goal by the end of the year? That would be the best Christmas gift I could give me!

If I'm brutally honest, I've been about 60% successful implementing ETL. I've had many starts, stops, and hiccups along the way. I bet if I can move that closer to 90%, or heck, even anywhere closer to 100%, I'd be doing better. The one thing that seems to be throwing me off is the emotional eating. I am still bingeing and overeating when stressed out. I want to break these bad habits once and for all.

This is part of the reason I am posting again. Posting gives me accountability and anything I can do to make myself accountable is one step further from those bad habits.

I weighed in earlier this week at 119 lbs, which is less than I've been since I started this blog. Only a little more than 10 lbs and I'll be at Fuhrman's recommended weight.

Monday progress report

I am finally, FINALLY starting to feel better regarding my body. Feeling good about myself creates the inertia I need to stick with ETL. I weighed in this morning:

126.6 / 26%

Down 3.4 lbs from the last weigh-in 3 weeks ago but up 1% in BF. Not sure what that indicates...? I do know that my pants are feeling looser which I like.

Since I'm trying to incorporate some of the Beck ideas again, here is a list of the things I've been good about this week (aka giving myself credit!):

• I had a green smoothie for breakfast every weekday morning (I had long workouts on the weekends and didn't eat breakfast)


• On Thursday, there was a low-key "race" event where I only had ONE slice of pizza at the post-race buffet table and then came home and ate several cups of steamed broccoli.


• At two social meals over the weekend, I didn't cave in and ordered vegetarian fare while my companions ordered pancakes, omelets with cheese, and bacon.


• At a group dinner out, where I was under more stress than usual (try having a group dinner where an ex-boyfriend shows up and you're trying to meet guys!), I chose to order a vegetables and brown rice dish off the menu instead of what everyone else was having.


• I completed all my workouts (not sure if I should give myself credit for this since this is almost always true!).

This is what I'd like to accomplish this week:

• Get more sleep! I am much less likely to make bad decisions when rested. I'm going to aim for getting 7+ hours at least 5 days this week.


• Start doing pilates again. My midsection is where I gain the most weight (and probably why my pants get tight). My goal is to do a pilates video at least 2x this week.


• Stop eating junk food in front of the computer. This is a horrible habit of mine. Some people eat in front of the TV - my "TV" is the computer.


• Remind myself that I do not need to be 100% perfect. If I slip up, just say "oh well" and get right back on track.


• Weigh-in next Monday and report! I'll feel much more accountable if I know I have to report back.