Happy Sunday Everyone,
Our Summer Bodies Challenge is one-week-down – and I have to say just getting back on the challenge ‘bandwagon’ for as short a time as one-week is a great reminder of – well – a LOT of stuff. I’m not sure how every other participants kick-off body-scan went but I can tell you mine did NOT go well…there has been some change since March (my last scan) that’s for sure:
Category | March 2021 | July 2021 |
Weight | 89.7kg | 93.9kg |
Body Fat | 5.9kg | 10.8kg |
Body Fat % | 6.6% | 11.5% |
Muscle | 48.3kg | 48.3kg |
So – there has been ‘change’. Unfortunately it hasn’t been super positive. Whilst I understand there will be a few comments along the lines of ‘11.5% – so what? It isn’t like that’s a problem’ and I kind of get it, my body scan history going back more than a few years now will show it has really never been > 10% – until now. And increasing my body fat by 5kg in 4-months? Well, that’s NOT the way this ‘regular training, healthy eating’ thing is supposed to work.
So – what’s been going on??
First off, I’ll talk about the ‘training’ side of things. I mean, it’s been ‘OK’. Some of the challenges I face are despite being the ‘owner’ of a gym, I don’t always get a lot of opportunity to actually TRAIN in the gym. I mean, I’m up at 4am every day and in the gym – but I’m working, not training. Once upon a time, I used to train every lunch-time – but then COVID happened and I found myself running some of those classes that I used to participate in. So – I switched around to the 9am classes but THEN I added in the extra classes at 9am (so Funky and Boxing run concurrently) and again I found myself running classes I used to participate in. And of course, at nights I am either in the gym working (classes or PT) or coaching footy (that’s 5x nights per week) and the same on both Saturday and Sunday.
It’s no-ones fault. It’s just changing circumstances and we all go through them…I mean, I’ve been getting 3x formal classes each week in and a couple of random extras…but in my heart of hearts I really knew it wasn’t quite enough.
So – I jumped on the scanner and found out that it ‘For SURE’ wasn’t enough.
So. My food has been generally OK but I have found a few shortcuts here and there which clearly (CLEARLY) haven’t been working for me. For a start, my long-term eggs/sweet-potatoe/spinach based breakfast routine has been superseded by an easier to prepare and transport overnight oats. Now – it isn’t that the overnight oats are a ‘BAD’ option. They are pretty good. BUT. I have known for a long time that a carb focussed morning meal really doesn’t work for ME (it might work for you – and if it does, more power to you) and whenever I eat that way my body composition is negatively impacted. But – I can make a one week supply in < 5 minutes so…Anyway, you could ask how that is working out for me and I would have to say ‘5.9kg of Body Fat to 10.8kg of Body Fat’.
Lunch and dinner have been the usual – lunches have pretty much always been hit and miss and dinners pretty much always good – so, it is really only the breakfast that has changed. The other issue of course is alcohol.
I’m not a particularly big drinker. BUT. What happens to me as time moves on from a challenge is I (we – ‘cos I’m going to include Vanessa in this) steadily increase the number of days each week that we go from having a couple of beers/wines once every couple of weeks, to every week, to every Friday and Saturday, to every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday…it’s like an ever increasing “days of the week” type pattern. And whilst it’s usually only one and sometimes two and very occasionally three…it still adds up over the week.
The challenge is a leveller. Somehow last week I ‘found a way’ to do my 5x classes and did the extras 3x (once each on the ski, rower and bike). I got out for a run twice and an extra walk once. My morning Yoga routine which has been a little hit and miss became ‘hit and hit’. My food was back on point. And I already feel ‘better’.
What can I tell you? This stuff is HARD. And we are ALL creatures of habit – and we live our lives according the the habits we have managed to instill…and whatever the reasons for the habits we are following ‘right now’ actually don’t matter – the problem is that whatever those habits are we are going to live our lives (especially our gym lives and our ‘eating’ lives) according to them.
So – long live the challenge and here’s to getting back ‘on track’!
See you in the gym,
Michael.
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