Week Three Recap

This week was a tough one. Not so much in that it was tough while on the treadmill (although, early in the week the case could be stated as such) but because I had a hard time making time for the treadmill. When I had the time, I was happy to do it, but due to things I was involved in at work, I was highly stressed, and thus, more motivated to eat out, meaning, even less time at home and less time for the treadmill.

I expected this week - having only done my interval training 3 times, and having only walked one time - to have been a downer, at least, when the scale is considered. How I felt though, was something a bit different than what I expected out of the scale. I felt good, and I felt, even though I may have "slipped" off of the workouts this week, that I truly had made a lifestyle change. Yes, I went out to dinner 3 times this week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) which caused my lack of workouts - but here is how those eating out days went for me:

Thursday - I don't necessarily consider myself a vegetarian, and I don't miss meat when I pass on it (I have had minimal meat intake since about October of 2008) but on this night, after a very stressful workday, I went to a steakhouse. First, I skipped the appetizer (though, the fried shrimp is phenominal at this establishment), and only ate about 6 ounces of my steak and half of my mashed potatoes. With bread and salad - judging by the establishments website, I only consummed about 550 calories on this dinner - not too bad.

Friday - same story, I was far too stressed at work, and thus felt the need to go out to eat (I know, it's a bad habit, but I tried to keep good habits even when being bad). I was unable to resist the fried calamari this go round, and I ordered a pasta in a white, creamy alfredo sauce, but I did not devour the calamari - between my wife and I, there was still plenty of this left over at the end of the night - and I only ate about half of my pasta. In total, however, I did go over-board for this meal - over 1,000 calories. Oh well, no sense dwelling in it.

Saturday - after working out, I went out with my wife yet again. Again, I ordered a pasta - and again, we shared an appetizer (harmless chips and salsa?). We again left portions of the appetizer on the table, and I again only ate about half of my pasta - but still, I came in at about 1,250 calories for the meal.

After doing the math, it seems I truly should have showed a slip up on the scale, however, the scale did not reflect my errors.

Instead, I weighed myself Sunday morning at 204 pounds and 4 ounces. In the evening, before bed, I weighed in at 207 pounds and 12 ounces. The daily average being - 206 pounds and zero ounces. Since last week my net average was 209 pounds and 12 ounces, I have still managed to lose 3 pounds and 12 ounces this week - even though I "slipped" ... although, leaving food on the table is a drastic improvement from where I used to be - to me, it seems the "lifestyle change" vs. "dieting" is paying off ... knowing that even being "bad" I was able to lose some weight, is giving me encouragement to work that much harder. Next week, I'll be back in the saddle and pushing myself on a daily basis - not only during my exercise regimes, but to watch the food I put into my body.