…it’s been a while…again!

But at least this time I haven’t left it months between updates. 

I sometimes think that people forget that blogs/social media updating is not something that HAS to be done on a daily or even weekly basis. It is up to the owner of the page to update as and when life allows and sometimes I just simply don’t want to add anything, as I have little to say.  

Anyhow, the last few weeks, especially since my last post, have been a little up and down. Work has been full on and stressful, mood had been quite low and chocolate consumption had been creeping back up. So there had been no movement in fat or weight loss, which was fine as I maintained the recent loss… give or take a pound. 

Diminishing my addiction to chocolate (and it is an addiction) has been tough. I actually found giving up smoking far easier but this past week has proven to be one of those tipping points, much like I had when I gave up smoking. And it’s interesting that this tipping has happened when it has. 

Two weeks ago, I fell badly while roller skating causing a level 2 sprain to my left arm which is still bruised but slowly healing. Typically this happens just as I return to my coach for accountability and to ensure my kettlebell and barbell form is staying as good as it can be. Also it was 8 weeks out from my SFG1 recert. I am a complete klutz and have been pretty much all my life. This sprain, naturally, has limited what I could do lifting wise. So I’ve been taking it slow in the exercise stakes. I have started walking every morning and that’s something I will be keeping up, then moving it into running when the arm is fully healed as I do miss running and enjoy it. I find it meditative. 

So while I have been adapting my exercise to allow my arm to heal, I have also (with the help of my coach to ensure accountability) focused on my nutrition.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, starchy carbohydrates and me do not get on. So I am focusing on good fats and proteins while reducing the chocolate habit to a treat twice a week. Gone are the free from pizzas, out are the Bournville buttons, in is the Green & Black 70% (I love G&B chocolate) and cashews and blueberries have become my favourite snack quite quickly. Here is an example of my day to day eating habits now and what they will be carrying forward – obviously there is more variety in meats, fish etc but as an example this is pretty much it:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 40gs smoked salmon, 1/2 medium avocado

Lunch: Chicken breast seasoned with rock salt and pepper, mixed vegetable (usually carrots, peppers, red onion, mushrooms, green beans) stir fried with fresh ginger and garlic, dollop of mayonnaise

Dinner: Chicken/Steak or Fish with tender-stem broccoli,  mushrooms and, occasionally, sweet potato. 

Evening Snack: Cashews and blueberries 

I still have my jolly day on a Friday but now I have a quality beef burger patty or 2 (no bun) with lacto-free cheddar and some sweet potato fries, in place of the pizza, and one 35g bar of Green and Black’s chocolate.  I rarely drink alcohol anymore and when I do fancy a drink I usually have low or zero alcohol options anyway. I aim for 3ltrs of water everyday and in the hot weather of late I upped that to 4 ltrs. 

This focus on my nutrition kicked off properly last Monday and in this one week since, I have dropped almost 5lbs in weight and 1.7% body fat. I don’t feel restricted in what I’m eating because breads etc don’t work for me, so I don’t miss them and, frankly, if a food is going to make me feel like shit why do I want it in my system? The main meals are pretty much what I eat normally, expect I’ve changed the macros to be more fats/protein orientated and trying to keep carbohydrates to a max of 20% of overall macronutrients. 

I have more energy and I am bounding out of bed at 6:30am pretty much every morning to go for my walk before breakfast. On the days I do not go for a walk at breakfast, I go later in the day, but I go for the walk. I am also surprised that I’m not as bloated or craving chocolate as much as I would expect right now, as it’s time of the month. That said, I’m genuinely surprised that I have only had 2x 35g of the chocolate this whole week and have split one of those bars across 2 days – because of my period, yesterday proved to be a tough day where I was absolutely wanting to eat everything under the sun….but I dug my heals in – I want to get rid of this excess body fat more. 

This macro split is working for me and i would not recommend everyone do it because everyone is different. Figuring out what works for you is trial and error and the only way to understand your body and it’s needs. One size does not fit all. 

The biggest thing for me is changing my habits and dependancies. I am very much a creature of habit. An interesting book I am currently reading is ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. It’s a great guide on how habits are formed, how we can intersperse new habits in current ones and slowly overwrite the old habits that no longer serve us well. There is also a great chapter on changing your environment to help support healthy habits. I recommend the read for anyone who really struggles to get our of their own way, much like me. 

Motivation is fickle, I keep saying this, and discipline is learned. When we see others succeeding at the things we want to equally succeed at, it’s important to remind ourselves that it doesn’t come easy to ANYONE, so be kind to you as you navigate your path and please do not compare it to someone else’s. 

You do you! 

So Tale of the Tape time: 
Previous V Current stats: 

	Starting	Current	Difference -/+
Bust	43″ (109cm)	39.25″ (99.5)	-3.75″ (-9.5cm)
Waist	39.5″ (100cm)	35.5″ (90cm)	-4.5″ (-11.5cm)
Hips	46″ (117cm)	42.5″ (108cm)	-3.5″ (-9cm)
Thigh	27″ (68cm)	25″ (63.5cm)	-2″ (-5cm)
Weight	204.8lbs (14st 8.8lbs or 93kg)	193lbs (14 stone 0.6lbs or 89kg)	-11.8lbs (5.4kg)
Body Fat	47%	43.2%	-3.8%

So for the last week there has been little exercise other than some light deadlifting and walking. This loss is the result of getting my nutrition en pointe and working for me. It’s not easy, you have to change your mental approach not just the physical. Getting the mind on board is the bigger battle and it really does come down to what I want more. Essentially I have made the decision that owe it to myself to get the fuck out of my own way and sort my shit out. I am guilty of coming up with all the excuses under the sun and not owning my own bullshit but this week….ah this week has been the tipping point because I can’t just ‘burn it off’.  

So closer to the first stone gone. Closer to getting back to my storage wardrobe full of my gig clothes that I need to crack back out soon.

Closer to getting back to kicking ass and taking names once again. 

As always, the journey is yours and let no one tell you how you ‘should’ navigate it, but if they have solid advice, learn from them and be kind to yourselves.

You rock! 

Krissie x