Bye Bye Kayak?!? Part 3

I just completed week three in this crazy weight loss challenge. To find out what I’m talking about, you’ll want to backtrack here…. and then here.

Go ahead… I’ll wait… 🙂

WELCOME BACK!! And yes, I’m as surprised as you are that I’m still here – still (SLOWLY) losing weight – still working out – still writing about it…

Why so surprised, you ask? Don’t I always do the things I set out to do?

HECK no.

Here’s the usual pattern:

1. Get really excited about crushing a big goal.
2. Make thismuch progress toward said goal.
3. Start feeling really proud of myself that I’m seeing thismuch progress and tell everyoneandtheirdog about how awesome I feel about it.
4. RESISTANCE!!! Usually in the form of sickness, a schedule change, or spending time with a super triggering human.
5. Progress slows, stops, or reverses.
6. Without the results, I lose the drive.
7. I whine. I blame everyone else. And then I quit.
8. I pull on my big girl panties and try again.
9. Repeat steps 1 through 8, ad nauseum.

Though my progress is PAINFULLY slow, I’m focusing on working my plan:

Hit the Gym Everyday
Monday – HIIT, 30 min.
Tuesday – Spin, 45 min.
Wednesday – HIIT, 45-60 min.
Thursday – Run, 40 min/3 miles
Friday – Pilates or Yoga, 30 min.
Saturday – Hike as far as I feel like it – usually around 3 or 4 miles
Sunday – Run, 40 min. / 3 miles

Eat Around 1200 Calories
Breakfast – 6:30 a.m. tofu & sausage burrito with cheese and guac (dairy and gluten free)
Morning Snack – 9:00 a.m. apple, tbsp. of almond or peanut butter, or nothing at all
Lunch – 11:00 a.m. a frozen quinoa bowl, leftovers from dinner, or a Daily Harvest bowl
Afternoon Snack – 2:00 p.m. a Love 2 Nourish donut or smoothie once a week, hummus and carrots, or an orange
Dinner – 5:30 p.m. Something plant-focused from Skinnytaste or my Pinterest collection.
Dessert – 8:00 p.m. If I have any calories left, I’ll have a hunk of Sweet Loren’s Fudgy Cookie Dough … they are 110 calories each, and I keep them in my freezer for when I REALLY need a chocoloate fix.

I’m doing a decent job of tracking my calories in my Fitbit dashboard, but I still don’t have a replacement watch after I sent mine in when it broke. I try to stay within the 1200 – 1400 calories per day depending on how hard I work out – and sometimes that is really hard. I get so bored just sitting in front of my computer most of the day and end up snacking a little too much on the peanut butter I keep stashed in my desk drawer.

Daily Accountability Check – In
I have a good friend who has reached her weight loss goal and is still tracking and exercising as she works to maintain it – and we text each other everyday to check in. It’s not judge-y or shame-filled in anyway, but it helps me to stay on my plan knowing that I will need to fess up later if I fall off the wagon.

Even though it’s a slog most days, I’m pretty pleased with my progress. The weight loss is slow, but I’m sticking with the daily plan. The added energy and endurance I’m beginning to feel is encouraging and helps keep me motivated when the scale isn’t where I want it to be.

Also, I’ve been listening to a really great book that has been helping me understand why I typically tank when I go for these big goals. The book – The 12 Week Year – is literally blowing my mind. I heard about it on The Money Nerds Podcast hosted by Whitney Hansen. Shes Ah-Maz-ing. And all of her tips on adulting are SUPER helpful to me in my current life stage.

Anyway – this book – The 12 Week Year – is teaching me to focus only on one or two goals at a time – and to limit myself to 12 weeks to reach that goal. This fits perfectly, because I was already basically in a 12-week goal to lose the weight. And it makes sense – 12 weeks is a short enough timeframe that I feel the urgency to work on it every day of every week. The end date is a lot closer than a typical year-based goal, and so I know I’d better keep after it and not let up if I want to succeed at the end of the 12 weeks.

The other thing I’m learning from listening to the book is to remember my vision – my why – my reward/consequence when things get tough. For me and this challenge, my vision and why are to get back to my healthy weight so I can have more energy and strength to be present in my life and my outdoor adventures. There are places in this world I need to experience that I can’t get to by car. And I need to be STRONG and HEALTHY to be able to do it. My reward when I reach my goal is that I get to buy a kayak rack for the top of my car and give away the really frustrating foam pad/strap system that I currently use. I already have this one picked out. And facing the consequence of not achieving my goal is also very motivating when I visualize it.

As far as I know, my boyfriend, Mike – the one who started this whole Bye Bye Kayak thing – hasn’t created a Facebook Marketplace listing for it yet, but I’m confident he will – and he’ll threaten to post it if I start to lose my way and backslide.

Friends, that just can’t happen. My kayak is my happy place (literally.. I used it when going through EMDR several years ago) and I WILL NOT WILLINGLY LOSE MY HAPPY PLACE.

And so, at the end of the night – like right now as I’m writing this – when all I want is a chunk of fudgy Sweet Loren’s cookie dough… I am drinking my tea and visualizing how I would feel without my kayak.

Bad. So bad. And so sad. And so mad. And if this triggers a Gilmore Girls reference for you – we can totally be friends.

You made it this far… I will reward you with stats and pics.

Weigh In #4 – 3.13.21
Starting weight – 170.6 lbs.
Today’s weight – 168 lbs.
Total Pounds Lost – 2.6
Pounds Remaining – 18
Goal weight – 150 lbs.
Daily Calorie Goal – 1200 to 1400
Current Workouts of Choice – running, HIIT-ing, spinning, hiking
Time Remaining – 10 weeks