Food, nutrition, and set-points

  This will be a long post, but it's a good one!!

  I just got back from the gym, where I had a fabulous workout.  I did 30 minutes of elliptical, and 40 minutes of weight training/ab-work.  And I came out to 60 degree weather outside.  I think the endorphins and the fabulous weather have made me high on life!!

  But, one of the reasons that I am extra happy is because I weighed myself today after not having gone on the scale for about 2 weeks.  To tell you the honest truth, I was scared of going on there since I hadn't really worked out a ton the past 2 weeks, but I had been eating 3 meals a day and not ever really going hungry.  I was absolutely positive that I had gained weight, even if it didn't show that much in my clothes.  But I figured, what the hey, I need to see what my weight is.  I truly expected 115 (Lb) since the last time I weighed myself I was ~ 112 or so.

  So, once I got to the gym I made a beeline for the scale, took off my shoes, and awaited the moment of truth.  And the arrow landed on 110.3 or something.  What?!  I LOST weight??  Now, let me just reiterate that my goal in this journey isn't to lose weight, but to get healthy without gaining a ton of weight.  But a girl can be happy about a little weight loss, right?! ;)  But in all reality the actual reason that I was ecstatic was that I have been eating normal healthy meals without restricting my calories (eating 3 times a day plus healthy snacks in between), and I hadn't been working my butt off at the gym. So what does this tell me?  It tells me that my body has pretty much found its set-point: the weight that it's comfortable at.

  People DO YOU REALIZE what this means to me?!!?!?!  This means that I can eat like a normal person, not having to skip meals and I won't turn into a whale!!!  This means that my body is happy, and that the food that I am feeding my body is being used for energy, not being stored in my thass (thigh-ass area).  This also means that maybe I was slowing down my own metabolism before when I was restricting calories and not eating lunch.  Because I eat all the time now and my body isn't clinging to the weight like a lifeboat.  I would, in fact, call today a break-through.  If I had a therapist, I'm pretty sure that's what it would be called.  Can I get an Amen?!

  Also, since I started this healthy lifestyle journey back in January, I have noticed some changes in my body.  Obviously I'm a bit heavier (~3 pounds) than I have been for the past few years, but it's probably just muscle gain.  I used to have very skinny arms and upper body and flat but not super hard stomach (calorie restriction and good genes) and kinda of cushiony butt and cushiony upper thigh region.  I especially disliked the outer sides of my thighs.  Now my arms and upper body have gotten a bit bigger (and much stronger), my stomach is more muscular and hard (still pretty flat, but it's not as "in" as it used to be), my butt has toned and has lifted up, my upper thighs are hard and toned, and the sides of my thighs are not much of an issue anymore.  So, my best way of describing the way my body has changed is to say that my weight has redistributed.  Before I used to have a tiny top and a heavier bottom, and now I look very balanced.  I think I like it =)

  So, enough jibber jabber for today... Here is my food log and since it's only 3:30 pm, I'll guess what I'm to be eating the rest of the day.

Breakfast:

-100% wheat bagel with 1/3 fat philly cream cheese+ tea (Can you tell that I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my breakfasts? ;)  Most people would find eating the same thing boring.  I, on the other hand, look forward to it! )

Mid-morning snack:

-1 apple

Lunch:

-Tuna sandwich:  2 pieces of 100% wheat bread+ 1 can of bumble bee tuna + celery + 1 2% American cheese slice

Afternoon snack (guess):

-Light & Fit strawberry yogurt

Dinner (guess):

-Shrimp stir fry over brown rice

Late night snack (guess):

- 2 or 3 Dove chocolates with tea

  Oh and before I forget, I sometimes use Caloriecount.com to track my calories and the nutritional value of the foods that I eat.  Well, this website now has an 'analysis' button which analyzes the nutritional value of what you ate that day.  Like it tells you if you need more fats or proteins or carbs, and it also tells you if you are getting a good amount of Vitamin C or other nutrition info.  I think this is an amazing tool!  Especially if your goal is to eat nutritious food, not just weight loss or something of that sort.  Anyway, just thought I'd share =)

I hope you are all having an amazing day!