I am finishing up week 9 of my cut phase, which means I am less than a month from the finish line of this cut. By the numbers, I am hovering around 130 lbs, which is 9 lbs down from my starting weight. That translates into a 1 lb/week loss on average, though it definitely fluctuates day-to-day and with my menstrual cycle. I did lower my daily calorie allotment by ~100 Cals on weekdays (to ~1500 Cals) because I was going over by so much on weekends, when I was eating out. This strategy of “banking” calories has made it possible to still live life on weekends, with all the normal outings and celebrations, and stay in a deficit. That strategy seems to be working on average, even if there’s some wonkiness and uptick in weight after weekends, which settles back down through the week. I am working on fostering the discipline to weigh in every day and the emotional detachment to let the number on the scale fall where it may, without affecting my mood.
Most importantly, I am feeling good- strong in my workouts, and like I still have the energy to do mom life and all the things. I PR’ed my mile time yesterday by almost a minute, coming in at 7:43, which was shocking and incredible. It’s a huge win, for this formerly ultra-slow runner. 😆
I would say this lifestyle feels sustainable except that it does get tiresome to track every bite of food. I am looking forward to when this cut phase will be over, when I can take a break from tracking. When I first started, I had a goal weight in my head of 125 lbs. Looking at the progress of the last 9 weeks, I don’t think that is feasible, and I have to be okay with that. I will be happy to get another couple of pounds down, and then start on the hard work of maintaining my new “homeostasis” under 130. I am liking the way my body is looking and feeling here, with slightly more muscle definition. I’m curious to see what body fat percentage I will land at, but there is still more work to do. Patience and consistency.