Just When You Think You've Got This Whole Thing Figured Out....

Well, I don't have this whole thing (maintenance) figured out :)

I maintained between 120-124 all last year (with a blip up to 127/128 for about a week or so in February). And here I am, second week in January, at 127! Up about 4 pounds from my "comfortable" higher weight of 123.

And I can do nothing but own it. I made several choices in the last few months to eat off plan and to drink alcohol (alcohol is really a big contributor to my weight gain... I can eat off plan and not gain, but once I add alcohol to the mix, my weight shoots up. I don't react well to it and it lowers my inhibitions, causing me to eat more than normal).

Strangely enough, I actually have a pretty positive view of my body right now - if you've been reading for a while, you know I struggle with body image a lot. But I think because of all the working out I've been doing lately (walking at least 4 miles a day, weekend bootcamp class, lots of at home yoga and strength 20 minute workouts) I'm standing taller, looking tighter, and feeling better about myself in general.

So that's a good thing!

But, despite having a generally positive feeling towards my body, I do know this extra few pounds came from alcohol and grains. So I will still work towards getting that off. When I am eating my cleanest and fueling my body totally properly, I weigh closer to 122/123, so I know I will get lose a few pounds if I treat my body right.

Plans:

No more alcohol this month, at all.

Continue to workout at the pace I have been.

No more social grain/dairy indulgences for the foreseeable future!

Back to at-home eating for the foreseeable future, as well.

We've done a lot of food prep at home, so we are all set up with paleo meals and snacks for the week. And THANK GOODNESS, we have no plans this weekend, and it is a LONG weekend :D so we can spend a lot of time focusing on our health and happiness. It is also Chris' birthday this weekend, and of course, my outdoorsy guy wants to go hiking for his birthday (which is way more beneficial to us than going out to eat or something!).

So there we have it - weight gain from not following Paleo strictly. It is a conscious decision I make and so I can't be too upset about the consequences!

But it's definitely a wake up call to get back on track.

I used to have these "blips" of weight gain during maintenance every couple of months before I went Paleo. Now, I seem to have them about once or twice a year. Ideally, I will get to a place where I don't really have them anymore. Getting back to weight loss mode isn't really my idea of a fun time. Though I don't calorie count anymore, I know I need to drop my daily caloric intake when I want to lose some weight - and I calorie counted for long enough, I know what that looks like (it means skipping a snack or reducing meal portions, etc).

But I told you all I would weight in today, and I did. It is important to check in on my weight, even when I know I won't like the number. If I just put blinders on and didn't look at the scale, I might give myself permission to be a little more lax with food. But I got the data and I have to act to correct what went wrong.

I definitely don't want to KEEP gaining. I'm still at a really healthy weight at 127, so that's a plus. But I'd like to get back to where I was.

Hope everyone has a good week. I'm still a little tired from the weekend, as I didn't sleep much in order to stay up late around the fire with friends both nights! Sleep deprivation definitely doesn't help my health, either, so getting back to a normal schedule will be lovely :)

Namaste, friends <3