A lesson in losing

Whether you lose the weight or temporarily lose a goal, the important thing is never to lose the lesson. When I returned from my birthday weekend I knew that the scale would not be particularly kind. Travel, exhaustion, dehydration, more than a few cheat foods, they all add up to punish your body in the worst way. I attempted to make good decisions on the diet and fit in 3 workouts (that's right, I even managed a two a day!) but I also made some poor diet choices outside of my birthday meal (which I decided to allow as a forgiveness meal, because you only turn 28 and fabulous once, and as my father-in-law loves to say, sometimes you need to feed your soul).

Have you ever listened to a champion talk about a prior loss and the valuable lessons learned from it? A rising star is knocked down and some think they were just a flash in the pan success. But the wisest of them know there are lessons to be learned to get harder, tougher, and stronger from it. Often they say they learn more from that one loss as a professional then in all their many wins. F igure out why there was a weakness, attack it, and get BETTER. They say success is when talent meets preparation, and that means work, reassess, and work some more.

In my case, I lost too much sleep, throwing my fat burning ability out of whack, didn't drink nearly enough water, and picked fairly good but not the BEST diet options on our many meals out. I LOVE going out to eat with my family. It's always a wonderful few hours of talking and sharing and bonding. It's also a big temptation, and we LOVE to eat great food at the best restaurants. Even when I did pick the closest thing to what I would eat at home, there were problems. My scrambled eggs would come floating in butter, toast came pre-buttered soaked in the real thing (instead of smart balance and sugar free jam). Below when I address my diet for the weekend (which I DID take good track of for all my readers) I will point out what I now realize should have been not just a better option, but the BEST option. And from this I will learn, and grow, and get better.

Also, weighed in Monday morning at 138.8. I will weigh in again on Tuesday (normally don't do more than M/Th, to see how much of that is water weight, I'm quite sure there's more than a little that will come right off again). Either way, I jumped on that scale instead of shying away from it after a bad weekend, because I'm ready to attack my problem. I'm ready to learn and change and GROW. I want to learn from my mistakes, from my losses, and be the baddest, toughest, leanest bi-atch out there, and if that means facing the mistakes then bring them on. My body is ready for new marching orders, and I've got some diabolical plans to whip it into shape this week! I'm living for the future and learning from the past.

Weekend rundown:
Friday-
Breakfast at 4:30 to be ready to get to the airport-1 egg, 2 pieces wheat toast, smart balance and sugar free jam, low fat cheese and coffee with mootopia

snack: 1/2 protein bar and small bag of airline peanuts

lunch: airport chilis-here I made the very best choice I could make-I asked for the black bean burger, ate it on half a bun, and asked for vegetables instead of fries. The veggies were SO sad, dry and withered, but they were nutritious and low calorie, so I suffered through them.

snack: 1/2 subway turkey sub on wheat (my in-laws rock and had this waiting for us when we got off the plane)

dinner-Made a few mistakes here. I started out ok by passing on drinks, but I was too hungry and had some bread with oil. Ordered the sea bass and mixed veggies, but then had 2 fried shrimp from my mom's plate. I found that throughout the weekend I was always eying everyone else's plate to sneak just a taste of all the bad foods. As if the fact that it wasn't on MY plate made a difference. Remember to use the same mentality with your diet at the office and out to eat....If you didn't bring it/order it, don't eat it!!!!

I didn't get a formal workout in today, but I did manage to walk an extra mile and a half in the airport.

Total calorie burn: 1900 (all that walking took off an extra 100 calories, not great but I'll take it!)

SATURDAY:
Early breakfast out with my family: 1 egg with whole wheat toast, 1/4 serving of breakfast potatoes, coffee with skim milk

Back to the house for a 4 mile run

Breakfast with super wonderful in-laws: 1.5 whole wheat bagle with 2TB whipped cream cheese and salmon, coffee with skim milk. I did NOT need the extra .5 bagel, it just tasted so darn good. I fell prey to poor portions here.

Lunch out with my family: split a burger with my mom (~3oz on 1/2 a bun), side salad. Here's where I tripped up, I ate about 10 french fries from mom's plate. If I didn't order it, DON'T EAT IT!

I brought a cardio video along and worked that in after lunch. Amazing how even a little bit of greasy food can weigh you down. I can usually work out hard 45 minutes after eating clean food with no issues, but I definitely felt that grease sitting in my stomach.

Post workout snack: 2/3 serving of granola cereal

Dinner: this was my birthday celebration so I let myself go. As you'll see, I still kept some things in check to keep balance in my diet, but allowed myself to enjoy all that I usually restrict: 1 glass of wine, 1 piece of bread, 1/4 of a small crab cake appetizer ordered for the table, side salad with blue cheese dressing on the side (did not eat all the dressing), 6oz tenderloin with mixed vegetables and creamed spinach, and the literal icing on the cake.....a piece of 7 layer cake brought out for my birthday courtesy of Mr. Nut (with 7 forks to pass around the table. I took about 4 heavenly bites and made sure it kept in a full rotation and didn't sit in front of me or the whole thing would have lasted about 5 seconds, it was that good!)

Calories burned: 2560

Sunday:
Breakfast-out with family: 2 eggs (swimming in butter), 2 pieces wheat toast with butter, 1/4 serving of hashbrowns, 1/2 piece of ham, 1/2 cup milk with coffee. They had an oatmeal and fruit option which I should have opted for. I've come to realize that eggs toast and ham are an OK option when out if there is NOTHING else clean available, but if there is, take it because very rarely will that eggs and toast be as lean as you're hoping for. At the very least, insist that the eggs be cooked without oil and ask for dry toast so you can butter your own. They may have an alternative butter spread they just don't put out on the table you can ask for as well. Don't be afraid to modify and ask for substitutions.

Workout-went to the gym with the in-laws for a lower body workout. It's so awesome to have a family that wants to be healthy. Not only does it make it easier to fit the workouts in, it ensures that the family will live longer, healthier lives as well!

Lunch-chopped salad, cup of matzo ball soup, 1 small piece of rye bread and a bite of a Reuben sandwich. lesson learned-there was an option for a fruit and cottage cheese plate. Is it as yummy as a chopped salad with Gorgonzola or matzo ball soup from a great Jewish deli, of course not! But it's something I would/could eat at home. And if it isn't your cheat meal, that's what you should be eating. Who cares where you are or what people think about your meal choice. If you keep at it they'll be taking notes because they'll want to the body YOU have.

Snack: 1/2 protein bar, peanuts and beef jerky

Dinner: in the middle of a long, awful layover: turkey sandwich on sun-dried tomato bread and 1/2 apple shared with Mr. Nut.

Snack: 1 bag of airline pretzels and a cup of coke zero.

Calories burned: 2100

So what lessons can I share from this trip: If you wouldn't eat it out of your fridge, don't even think about eating it when you're out, and if you didn't order it, don't eat it!

Stay tuned for my next installment: Falling up