Three weeks in… and the deficit is getting old fast.

But seriously… I said this (the title) to a friend and fellow coach earlier today.

Who likes running at partial battery… not I.

Especially not after I had the sweet taste of a really solid maintenance and building phase. I like food. I like all kinds of food. I like making food. I like going out to eat. I like my sweet treats.

But… I am here to break it down for you. How are the last two weeks has gone. What I’ve done. What I’ve been challenged with. I’ll even throw in the exact things that I am tracking. I wanna be as transparent with things as possible because that’s who I am as a coach. I’ve always been very transparent. No smoke and mirrors. If you’re going to see something from me, I want you to see everything. See what’s real.

For the recap: Time to put on my big girl pants, PIVOT and dial it in.

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Activity & Training

When I touched base before in the link above… My coach changed up the way I was going to do things to help support this.

• I maintain about 10-12K steps daily
• I am running three days a week.
• I am training three days a week.

But that doesn’t really give you the details to what I’m doing.

I am still navigating a lot with my autoimmune situation. It’s not fully in remission. Things are looking really good, but I’m still not fully there yet. One of the medications does make me sick for a little bit each week. And I am still dealing with some joint pain; mainly in my knees and my hands. This does throw a wrench into a lot with training.

My steps… I love walking in my neighborhood. It allows me to step away from the house and work and the kids and other things. It allows me a moment to just be me. In motion. I look around and take it all in. I listen to an audiobook. I enjoy the breeze. Not all of these steps are from walks. Some of the steps come from the runs. When those steps are not necessary, I rest. Recovery is huge deal for me right now.

My running over the last four months has grown to a 10 to 15 mile weekly average. I am currently maintaining that. When I head out for each run, I’m giving myself a range and doing what I feel that I can do on that day depending on the energy that I have available and how I’m feeling.

My training… I missed the barbell. I am willing to deal with some of the joint issues to be back at the barbell. My three days of training are in the three movements that I love; back squat, bench, press, and deadlift. One each day. There’s a treadmill walk to warm up. A dynamic warm-up following that. Multiple sets of varying reps for that one movement and then there is lying down and deep breathing at the end. This is what my body can handle right now.

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Nutrition & Hydration

Takeout

In my last post, I talked about minimizing estimations as much as possible by only having something that I would need to estimate once a week. That might be pizza. That might be going to the movies. That might be brunch on the weekend. And in the last three weeks, the kids have had pizza. There has also been other types of takeout. I even made a loaf of banana bread and some chocolate chip cookies at request. I did not partake in any of it. I didn’t want it.

I am dedicated to this six weeks and that was my choice. I have made my foods satisfying to the point that I do not feel as though I am missing out. And all of those things… they will be there when I’m done. I can get pizza whenever I want. I can make a loaf of banana bread whenever I want. These are not things that will never be in front of me again and I need to indulge on right now. This is a mindset thing. This is locking in. This is not me being really disciplined and having some superpower. I wanted those things, but I know, and I talk myself through it… they will be there later. We don’t have to rush and have them right now. Besides, how much sweeter will it all taste when I’ve made it to my goal and I feel so damn successful in this?

I did enjoy a Starbucks latte one day. I got something that I’ve been getting for quite some time. I logged it and moved on.

Meal Prep

I have prepped everything. This has been a big part of what has made this successful. Previously, I was estimating and I was not tracking as diligently. I was not always ensuring that I was getting an adequate amount of protein. I was leaving things up to the last minute, knowing that I am capable of quickly figuring it out.

With a limited amount of time, I didn’t wanna mess around. I also did not want to go back to weighing all of my food. And I am very resistant every single day when I have to pull out my scale and weigh the half of a banana that I’m having before I head out for my run. But I’m going to do it because I want to be successful in this and I know that this is what helps me be the most successful I can be.

Last Week’s Food

The protein pudding… that carried me through cycle week 🙌 It was just 1 1/2 chocolate Fairlife protein shakes & SF chocolate jello pudding mix. I added some light cool whip and a couple of dark chocolate chips.

And yes, I prepped a dinner too because it was cycle week and I know myself. I knew exactly what I needed with the spice and the salt from the buffalo chicken dip and then the sweetness and indulgence from the chocolate pudding. Everything else was working protein, satiety and volume.

This week’s Food

I definitely made some more pudding. I just wanted it. It’s so dang good.

Hydration & Liquid Calories

Finally, hydration. I am still working on this. I do have my Crossbody bag with my 40 ounce Hydro flask in it for my walks. I have 32 ounce cups that I drink my water in at home. I have been using liquid IV to help on the really really hot days, especially after I have run. I am a coffee drinker though. I am a ghost energy drink person though. I am a zero sugar root beer person though. And a chocolate milk drinker though. I love water. I love drinking it all by itself. But… this is still working in progress for me.

I should also add this one thing. I don’t drink alcohol. I can. I don’t choose to. It is simply because I find that I don’t sleep well and I don’t like how I feel the next day when I do drink. It has been a personal choice that I made along the way for me. I am much happier without it and if I do choose to have a beverage, I would rather it be one of the things I mentioned above. Or a really good hot chocolate. I love me a good hot chocolate.

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Recovery, Stress & Sleep

This was something that I did not touch on in the last post, but I do think it is quite necessary to be fully transparent.

In December, I got an Oura ring.

My main reasoning for this at the time was because I didn’t want to continue to wear a watch and wanted something else to track my steps. I was also very curious about sleep because I wasn’t getting much of it. I have been dealing with a high stress situation. And I am perimenopausal.

I have been working on my sleep habit/hygiene. It has been rough.

Here’s the chart for you to see for yourself. Yes, I was getting on average 4 hours and 19 minutes of sleep when I started to do this. And that was why my previous efforts at a deficit didn’t really work well. I was slacking in one of the main pillars that I talk to my clients about. I sucked at recovery.

This has included some changes that were very specific to what I needed to do with my autoimmune situation. There’s been changes with a humidifier, a fan, AC unit, a new bed frame, new pillows, new bedding, a pillow for between my knees to help my hip alignment, panda & dino pajamas (don’t judge me… I went through a divorce).

I attempted sleep aid medication and it backfired on me and caused me to have insomnia for a few nights. I am back to using melatonin and L-theanine only.

I have also been working on my routine to shut down for the night. And I do think that this is probably the thing that has made the biggest differences with my sleep habit.

Night Routine & Sleep Habit

• Upstairs by 9pm. No, just watching a show still. No, just cleaning one more thing up. No, just working for a little. It can wait for tomorrow.
• Washing my face… Don’t judge me. This was one of the hardest things throughout the last year. It was hard at the end of the day to have any desire to take care of anyone else, including myself. So washing my face at the end of the night was a big deal. Actually, putting lotion on… not just buying it and putting it under the sink. Actually caring for myself. And brushing my hair and my teeth. And flossing. Depression does a number on you with the basics.
• I put my clothes for the next morning on the bathroom counter so that I am ready for what I intend to do the next morning.
• If I’m feeling anxious, brain dumping everything in my head into my journal or a note on my phone for tomorrow. What lives on that page can stay on that page overnight. That is what I tell myself. That is what I believe. It’s what slows everything down for me.
• After that, I read… right now it is the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. It is light. It is funny. It is nothing close to real life. It’s perfect.
• Finally, I open my Abide app and I listen to the daily meditation or I put on a sleep story.

Recovery & Cycle

We might as well throw the hormones into this conversation as well since they challenge my recovery regularly. My autoimmune situation requires a good work through with recovery AND is seemingly exacerbated by my cycle. Being a 44-year-old woman, my cycle is already bananas due to hormonal shifts. I have worked with my coach on really starting the recovery before I even finish my training or my run. How do I quickly move into that transition where my heart rate comes back down. My nervous system settles. My body temperature comes back down. I can help my joints and my swelling and everything. It’s crazy how much I have tested out to get this where I am right now, but it’s more due to not fully being in remission than anything else.

But I also started this deficit during my PMS week. A lot of people would probably think that that’s insane… but I’ve also run an ultra marathon so think about my mental state LOL

When I see a window for something, I will move hell & high water to make it happen. Life is fleeting. And this isn’t some FOMO thing about a one time night out with somebody to go for drinks. This is a FOMO thing about feeling good in my skin for months upon a month. If I have this window and that means that it will result in me feeling better for the rest of the year, possibly if not longer… not even a question in my mind. Going out to eat on the weekend can wait. Going for takeout and beers can wait. I wanna feel good. I know what needs to be done. It doesn’t matter what part of my cycle I’m in because it’s going to keep cycling. This is just my mindset. This has always been my mindset. I like to take things on at the hardest points because it tells me that this is as hard as it’s ever going to get and if I make it through, everything else is going to be easier.

So with that… I jumped right in. I was hungry, but I meal prepped. I made sure that my food tasted indulgent by the spices and the marinades and the mixes that I put together. I made sure that I had high protein and high fiber. I was hydrating as much as possible. And I knew that if I had my A&W zero sugar root beer at the end of the day, I would be just fine about not needing a sweet treat. Especially because I was already going to be putting myself to bed.

Stress

I have a therapist. I have had this therapist specifically since the day of my divorce in April.

I had a different therapist with my other insurance company for a few months before that.

This has been necessary. This is integral.

I need a place for me. I needed a new perspective. I may know all the things in the world, but I only know the way that I know them. And I only know the way that I have applied them. I needed perspective.

This is also the reason that I have a coach again. I need an outside perspective to say the things that I do know and hold me to them. But I also need somebody to say the things that challenge my current nature that put me in this position.

My therapist and my coach guide me. They guide me when I am too tired to make one more decision. I get homework on creating structure. I have gotten homework on finding things that bring joy that have nothing to do with food. I had to answer reflection prompts on boundaries and self-care. All of these things, they take time. But they’re helping me grow and learn more about who I am and who I am becoming.

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And that would be it…

It has been 3 weeks and 6.4 lbs. I have 3.6 pounds to go from the goal that I gave myself and 3 weeks to do it.

• I will be setting up my meal prep yet again this weekend. I already have some recipe ideas saved on my ReciMe app. And we are gonna keep on keeping on.
• I have logged 2 strength training sessions, a 3 mile run as well as a 4.25 mile run so far. And I will be running one more time and hopefully training one more time as long as my body doesn’t say that it needs more recovery.
• For stress management… I am taking a picture of something beautiful, something joyful, something funny each and every day whether it be on my run or in the house or with the kids. I have to come up with something every single day. And with that, I will leave you with the flower I found today.

Thanks for reading!

I hope it helps ♥️

With love, Coach Nik