This past week was a mix of good and bad, and I guess that's what I get for ending a bet and feeling cocky!
The good things:
I hit my goal for gym time in the week and went five times between Monday-Monday. I mixed it up with some Zumba classes and some working on the stationary machines (treadmill, elliptical, bike).
I managed to get FOUR MILES in on the elliptical which is insane! I had been previously averaging about two miles on the treadmill, which isn't bad because really any kind of movement is good, but one day I decided I wanted to do the elliptical.
Now, normally on the treadmill it takes me about 40-45 minutes to do the two miles, sometimes a little less. So when I switched over to the elliptical, I decided to keep the same time and set the machine on random for 45 minutes (+5 minute cool down, 50 minutes total). After 14 minutes, I thought to myself "there's no way I can do this two more times plus five minutes for the cool down". So then I thought what if I just go until I get to two miles, and see how I'm feeling. Now, I got to two miles when I was 25 minutes in. At that point, I was like, I'm halfway there, why don't I just keep going until the timer is up and I won't care how many miles it is. So I kept pushing.
Mind you, I normally go on the machine with headphones and music blasting, then read the subtitles on the HGTV channel (usually Flip or Flop) to entertain myself, and this time there were no subtitles so I was making stuff up as I went and kind of getting bored and wanting to quit. But I knew I couldn't quit, I had come so far, and I only had ten minutes to go at that point.
So I pushed and pushed, and then when I had only one minute left, I was at 3.9 miles. So I added another minute. That's right, I had originally thought I couldn't do the workout I had planned and I ended up ADDING TIME!! That was a major NSV for me right there. I stepped off that elliptical, legs a little shaky and definitely covered in sweat, but feeling great. Now I know I can do it, so no more excuses.
The bad things:
I had TWO holiday parties over the weekend. Friday was my work holiday party, which I did know about beforehand and I could definitely have planned better. I made cupcakes (one funfetti, one WW pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing) and only allowed myself to have one of the WW ones (7sp). But what I should not have done was partake in the ordering of Domino's pizza with the rest of the office. I know I shouldn't have, but I was just coming off of the high of winning a second DietBet, and knew I didn't have to weigh in for my transformer for another two weeks, so I decided to splurge. I had one slice of medium cheese pizza (5sp), four mild wings (12sp), a cup of blue cheese (5sp), and 1/2 cup of Dr. Pepper (5sp) damn my boss for not getting any diet soda options. I estimated the points values, but I know it was around that. So I blew 34 points just on lunch and dessert. Not the total end of the world as I get 40 points per day and could still eat dinner if I was smart about it.
But I wasn't smart. I was incredibly dumb. I got Chinese food takeout from our local grocery store. General Tso's chicken, white rice, and an egg roll. I can't believe I did that. But I wanted it, and I am a serial eater, so I had it. I knew it was a bad choice, but I did it anyway and there's nothing I could do about it once I ordered it. It was delicious and everything I wanted. I chalked that meal up to my weeklies and vowed to be good for the weekend so my weigh in on Monday wouldn't be ruined.
But I wasn't good. I had a holiday party on Saturday to go to. I had a plan, bring the dessert (WW cranberry bread), fill up on 0sp veggies, and allow myself to have a few select treats that the hostess had made. The chili wouldn't be too bad, those brussel sprouts look good but they're wrapped in prosiutto, I can't not eat the sausage balls they are her specialty, there's a real cheese plate with fancy cheeses I have to try them.. on and on and on. That's not even including the champagne cranberry punch she made, or the white zinfandel that came after that. Bad food choices all around. Everything was delicious and I'm kind of glad I ate it, but I should have had more self control.
Overall:
The only benefit to my good/bad week is that I managed to lose 1lb at my weigh in. This is good because I did make a lot of bad decisions a very short time before my weigh in and I still managed to lose, but it's bad because I worked my butt off at the gym and didn't see as much loss as I should have because I made bad eating choices. There's nothing I can do now about it, it's in the past and I'm ok with that. I had a binge weekend and there's nothing to be ashamed about, it happens to everyone at least once in their journey.
The difference is that now I will not let that one weekend derail me. I know that it's a journey of a lifetime, and if it takes me forever to get there, that's fine. As long as I am consciously aware of the bad choices I make, and put effort into making myself better, then it's all worth it. This is a new week, and I won't let last week ruin it for me.
Here's to hoping that next week I will have a bit more positive news to share.
Bring on the last two weeks of December!!