At this stage of the game my number one focus is on losing weight & sustainability. No gimmicks or fads which promote aggressive calorie cutting or excessive amounts of cardio, I’m in it for the long haul.
CONSISTENT COMPLIANCE is the key and I’m looking to establish a healthy lifestyle change that will serve me well over the long-term. Coach Robbie and I are looking at the BIG picture. We want long-lasting results rather than a quick-fix. I want to ensure that this time I lose the weight and I keep it off. At this moment I’m currently I’m losing weight at a rate of 0.5kg per week, which is right on track with where I want to be.
The goal is to try and drop body fat and retain lean muscle mass whilst eating as many calories as possible. The concept of losing weight on as many calories as I can may seem strange but there’s method behind the madness. If I cut my calories too low too quickly I may end up losing weight at a faster rate, however the potential downside is that I risk rebounding dramatically should I fall off track. The other potential pitfall is that I leave myself with very little room to work with later down the track should I hit a barrier and find that weight loss plateaus. In the past I’ve made the mistake of cutting calories too low and grinding myself into the ground. I very quickly found myself burnt out and back to square one.
So, taking the BIG picture view into account I want to forego the instant gratification you get from following a “fad-diet” approach in favour of an approach that will have lasting change.
Unfortunately this week I caught a stomach bug, even thought I was on a roll with my compliance to the program and macros I had to take a necessary step back to move forward. I listened to my body and prioritised recovery. I had a rest from the gym, kept myself well hydrated and focused on getting plenty of sleep. Had I decided to go to the gym and train whilst feeling under the weather I could have potentially prolonged my sickness and found myself well and truly behind the eight ball. This would have negatively affected my future gym sessions and left my body in a state of damage control, retaining water and feel run down. Whilst it’s extremely frustrating to feel that this bout of sickness has put me behind schedule I know that resting when necessary will pay off in the long run.
Sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward, no gimmick’s no fads just keep your eye on the big picture.