Week 57, 164 lbs.



A photo taken from my bike this weekend!
I love living in the Texas Hill Country!

 My weight is hanging in there, but some things are changing.  My lean mass decreased while my fat mass increased (it's still in the "acceptable" level, thank God)!

What does this mean?  It means I am doing something to cause my body to consume lean mass for energy to keep my body in motion instead of consuming my fat stores.  Not good.

On top of the commuting to work and back via bicycle, I have started taking the bike on longer rides around the Texas Hill Country on the weekends.  On Saturday I rode a leisurely 5 miles and then on Sunday I decided to push my limits and go for a strenuous 10 mile ride.

Why the heck did I do this, you ask?  For a couple of reasons.

1. While my neice was here I ate a lot of things that weren't on my diet. I figured I could work off the added calories with a brisk ride after my neice left my house.

2.  I want to start training for a cross-country bicycle tour that's coming up in April and need to build up my endurance.  (The three miles a day I've been doing daily to and from work just won't cut it.)

I waited until after my neice left my house to get the exercise in, not taking into account that we had gone swimming and biking while she was visiting and I was very active during the week.  I went back onto the strict Ideal Protein Phase I protocol on Saturday, so I caused my body to go on starvation mode this weekend and it started consuming lean mass.  Doh!

So I sat down and talked to my coach (Hi Caroline!) yesterday and when I told her I wanted to exercise more - a lot more - in order to prepare for the upcoming bicycle tour, she put me on the athletic phase I protocol instead of the basic phase I and we're going to see what happens.  I didn't even know there was such a thing as an athletic protocol for this diet!!  Apparently, folks training for triathlons and such are also on Ideal Protein!

Part of me thinks it's time to leave Phase I and work on maintaining the current weight, at least until after the style show in September.  Another part of me (and the IP coaches) think I need to stay on Phase I for a while longer and get my fat ratio firmly in the middle of the "acceptable" range.... another small part of me is worried about what's going to happen when I am off this diet and that brings me to a book I stumbled across last night. 

I was cruising Audible for a new "read" and found Marianne Williamson's "A Course in Weight Loss."  I have read other titles by Williamson.  She's a student of the Course in Miracles and I've learned a lot of wonderful stuff from her.  If you're struggling with self-image issues, she's the person to read.

Even though I've dropped all this weight and have changed my life and the way I look at myself, I still struggle with binge eating from time to time and it's a battle I've fought since I was 12 years old.

I don't want that binge behavior to take over my life once I'm back in the real world, so it's time to take a good, hard look at the part of me that binges and figure out just what's behind it all ...  and knock it out of my life once and for all.

I've only listened to the first chapter so far, but MAN it is powerful stuff!  If you're like me and have an issue with binges or eating to excess, I highly encourage you to find this book and read it (or listen to it like I'm doing)!

I have a feeling that some of my upcoming blogs will be about what I've learned about myself from this wise, loving book. 

Have a beautiful week!