Ready.... GO!

I am ashamed to get on here admit that... I've been pigging out lately. :-( It started Easter weekend and never really let up. I didn't weigh myself because I knew it wouldn't be happy. Weighed in yesterday for a high of 138.0. Yikes!

Here's where I am at regarding USA's. Today I am 13 weeks out. But I am telling myself 11 weeks out. 5 weeks before the show we are going to Hawaii and there is no way in H. E. Double Hockey sticks I am dieting through hawaii. I won't go to town like I would on a cruise, but I will enjoy some treats. Then the next week will be making up for the week I lost. I am viewing those two weeks as a wash. I will be two weeks ahead of the game going into the end of June. I knew this would be the case when I decided to do this show.

So, today I am 11 weeks out! Yikes, again! That really means it's go time. I don't have my plan from Erik and I might not for another week or so (i'm on a waiting list....). So I have made my own plan that I hope he'd approve in the meantime. There are a few healthy ingredients around the house I want to use up before I get his plan so my food may seem a little hodgeposh until then. A few protein bars, some whole wheat tortillas, things like that. I also will have some "free calories" that will equal 10% of the week to keep me on track 90% of the time. When I start with Erik I think free meals go out the window. So I'm keeping them in for now. :-)

Last Spring I gained 10 lbs while training for an endurance event. Through that time I learned that, FOR ME, my body doesn't need that many extra calories for exercise. But if I didn't eat them, I felt like I wouldn't have the energy I wanted to go as hard as I wanted. Maybe I would have... but I don't know because I just ate it up around my rides. I went from about 132 lbs to 142 lbs in 2-3 months. That 10 lbs took me 4 months to lose.

In the last month or so I have gained about 5 lbs. I am glad I have recognized this and stopped it before it grew to 10 like last year. I guess I'm learning something from the past. The thing that I have learned about myself through this particular weight gain is that, FOR ME, I need to weigh/measure my food and follow a plan as if I were on a diet (albeit, with more calories if I'm maintaining) or I throw all caution to the wind. Do I wish it were not this way? Of course. But it's all about learning yourself and your triggers and what makes you have these bad habits. For me it is, just ONE bowl of cereal. That grows to two and three. Or ONE fingerful of pb, that leads me to standing at the fridge eating 4 T. (or so... i didn't measure).

I'm not mad about this. It is what it is. I'm hoping this initial 5 lbs comes off fast. I usually get stuck around 131 for a while so I'm hoping I get down there fairly quickly.

Anyway, I'll be back on later for my check in for day one.

PS. I have gone two weeks without cardio. I have LOVED it. I truly do not believe my weight gain is because of lack of cardio. It is because of the amounts of food I have eaten. With that being said, I am adding in three short cardio sessions starting today.

What is one thing you have learned about yourself through a weight gain? What did you do to change your behavior so it didn't happen again?