I Fell Off But Got Back On Track
Last week I fell off the path for a couple of days, but I managed to get back on. I got a bit happy and cocky when I realized I had lost 20 lbs. So I decided to celebrate by eating some pasta, which isn’t that bad. But then I didnt workout on Wednesday and had sub par workouts on Thursday and Friday. Add to that the fact that I ate Taco Bell Gorditas and some KFC Honey BBQ wings and you will see why I feel sorta crappy about it. I don’t regret eating the food since I didn’t really overeat, but I do regret not getting better work outs in. I had fallen into that slump I get every few weeks after I start working out again.
Then Saturday came around and I had a pretty decent session and started seeing the light again. I was getting back on track but wasn’t quite there. That is until Sunday. Yesterday I had one of the best workouts I have had to date. I rode the recumbent bike for 40 minutes on a high resistance level, then I lifted weights working out my back, biceps, shoulders and some chest. To top it all off I hopped on the treadmill for a 10 minute run and cooled down with a 10 minute walk. Afterwards I felt amazing. I was back on track. I actually wanted to keep working out but realized that too much is not always good. So I showered, had my protein/creatine/amino acids/green tea shake and relaxed.
My wife then made some grilled chicken breasts with salad that we both devoured. I was feeling great: I worked out and ate a healthy meal. I couldn’t ask for anything else. Amazingly, she had the audacity to bake a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (one of my favorite). It was crunch time and I needed to make a judgment call. Do I indulge and negate the progress I just made or do I maintain and live to fight another day. I am happy to say that I was strong enough to resist. That right there made me feel better than the workout I had earlier. Each time as I passed the kitchen I would see the cake tempting me with its chocolaty frosting, but I would keep going.
I told myself that I couldn’t let this happen again. I was tired of starting the weight loss process and then quitting after I start seeing results. It’s like a switch always flips that tells me to revert back to my old ways of self sabotage. But not this time.
This time I persevered. I got back on track.
That’s awesome… Pretty intense workout! Personally, I’m more of a weightlifting fan so I always lift before I run. I also do a lot of the powerlifts (squat/deadlift/bench) – so a typical workout might look something like this:
Squat 10×2 (heavy weight, always work heavy!)
Deadlift 10×1
Good Mornings 3×8
Power Cleans 3×6
Maybe a few more supplemental lifts if I’m feeling good, but then I’ll go do some running.
100yd sprint 40yd walk (10 times)
80yd sprint 60yd walk (8 times)
60yd sprint 60yd walk (6 times)
40yd sprint 80yd walk (4 times)
20yd sprint 20yd walk (8 times)
Then do some stretching, and feel great!
I’m not trying to boast about my workout regime or anything, more trying to suggest something new to you if you have not tried it. It’s a great workout (and personally I’m not even back to doing that complete workout yet) and it will wear you out.
Good luck though!
Cool, did you play sports? That sounds like what I used to do when I played football in high school and college. We used to always squat, military and bench. Those were our main lifts, then we did dead lifts, etc afterwards. Our running was insane man. We used to do 220’s. Those are basically running half a full sized track at full speed. We would do those and walk across the field to then do it again. They used to get us good. We never ran less than 12 of those. At times we would run 20. When our track was being remodeled we moved to 100 yd sprints and something similar to what you have above. Those killed us too.
I usually lift before running on my lift days, but I just needed to feel a like i was back before I could.
Good for you. Those food temptations can drive you crazy. My wife is also an amazing baker, cookies, pies, cakes you name it and she can make it.
I can relate to the cockyness. You build up some momentum from your workouts and think you can eat anything. There is nothing wrong with it once in a while but when it becomes a daily/weekly thing? That is where the trouble starts.
Keep up the fight.
Gonna keep on trucking.
Hey – keep going. You didn’t cheat big time, only a little. You’re doing great.
I agree! One of the biggest accomplishments, in my opinion, is having the strength to “get back on track”. It is so easy, after letting things go for a couple of days, to get frustrated and lose the motivation and discipline that will help us reach our goals. Way to go!
Hi Liz, thanks for stopping by. It was a major accomplishment for me.
Keep on trucking man. We all have those days where we fall off our game plan. Just remember you’ll be fine doing it once in a while. Also, when you put on some more muscle, you’ll notice that you can cheat more.
I have muscle, i just need the fat gone. lol.
You should give yourself a big pat on the back. It’s so easy to stay off when you have fallen off for a few days. The willpower that got you back on track is what will ultimately let you succeed in your quest to lose the weight and keep it off.
Will power. That is crucial.
Congratulations on getting back on track! Have you thought of keeping a video diary of your progress? This is something that I’ve done myself and found that watching myself talk about how great I felt after good workout, actually motivated me to stay focused and on track.
Thanks, I have not thought of a video diary. I may give this a shot. Do you have any online I can see?