At the start, I thought my goal weight was perfect, but as time as gone on, I realised how bad my diet was back then when I either used to starve myself or binge heavily. I actually used to think my diet and food consumption was really good. From Ann Mather's great guidance, I realised how completely wrong I was! When I was a teenager, I was training to be a professional ballet dancer and I used to live off of almost nothing most days to ensure I kept really slim and with very little fat. I was always worried because I kept growing taller (not something for a ballerina!) and so I kept eating so little. I would be training for 6 hours in one day and the only thing I would eat was a carton of orange juice and some crackers, so I wouldn't look bloated and not get the next dancing role. Then I ate badly through my university years before I started doing martial arts and I would eat really high protein and almost no carbs and then go on week-long binges and then back on a strict diet. The protein was good, but I was eating so little carbs or not eating enough each day as I was trying to calculate things myself, so I ended up falling off the wagon all the time. Finally, I tried using calorie counters, but then they would completely over-calculate my exercise calories due to rock climbing and your calorie count would vary every day, which was bad. I am usually hungry the day after heavy training, so only being allowed 1400 calories after four hours of rock climbing the night before did not help me and I found myself having issues with sticking to it.
And now? Well, I have the same amount of calories each day. I feel more comfortable coming off the wagon to enjoy one or two foods and I have limited my drinking intake but kept myself social with my friends. This week I switched from drinking heavy lager to a small bottle of Peroni (less carbs), so I could have beer more frequently, but have a lot less per drink. I also have given myself the ability to have a burger once a week. I just cut out the fries and have sweet potato or vegetables. The other thing that happened is that I started planning more meals and learned to enjoy cooking again! So I am back in my kitchen a lot more and calling the take away place a lot less. I also varied my workouts and made them more efficient, so I could get in more exercise or climbing in shorter periods of time, which has not only helped me weight-wise, but climbing-wise. The other thing was that I think that my goal weight has changed a little bit. When I used to compete in martial arts, I was training at 70 kilos, but I wasn't as strong as I am now. Back then, I used to power clean only up to 50 kg. and now I can power clean 70 kg. Back then, I used to do 12 pull ups in a row, now I can do 20. I also could deadlift up to 85 kg. for my one-rep max, but now I can do 5 reps of 85 kg. I am very happy with this week and I know I'll have an even better loss this week. However, I think that my goal weight is now 73/74 kg. Thank you ever so much for this experience!
And now? Well, I have the same amount of calories each day. I feel more comfortable coming off the wagon to enjoy one or two foods and I have limited my drinking intake but kept myself social with my friends. This week I switched from drinking heavy lager to a small bottle of Peroni (less carbs), so I could have beer more frequently, but have a lot less per drink. I also have given myself the ability to have a burger once a week. I just cut out the fries and have sweet potato or vegetables. The other thing that happened is that I started planning more meals and learned to enjoy cooking again! So I am back in my kitchen a lot more and calling the take away place a lot less. I also varied my workouts and made them more efficient, so I could get in more exercise or climbing in shorter periods of time, which has not only helped me weight-wise, but climbing-wise. The other thing was that I think that my goal weight has changed a little bit. When I used to compete in martial arts, I was training at 70 kilos, but I wasn't as strong as I am now. Back then, I used to power clean only up to 50 kg. and now I can power clean 70 kg. Back then, I used to do 12 pull ups in a row, now I can do 20. I also could deadlift up to 85 kg. for my one-rep max, but now I can do 5 reps of 85 kg. I am very happy with this week and I know I'll have an even better loss this week. However, I think that my goal weight is now 73/74 kg. Thank you ever so much for this experience!
