The Kat Files

Happy Fast Burn Friday, dear reader! I am currently in Week #9 of the Fast Burn Challenge. On Monday morning, I weighed in at 150.5 pounds. I lost .5 of a pound in Week #8 with a total loss of 11 pounds since 19 April. I attended a scrapbooking event last weekend and did very well with both my eating and exercise goals. My friends and I did not go to Bud’s Broiler, so I did not splurge on chili cheese fries. I am only a couple of days away from completing this challenge, and I could not be more excited about my progress.

This week has been much easier than the past two weeks. I can eat three meals and three snacks (100 calories or less) per day. Last week was tough with only two meals. Thankfully, my hotel room had a refrigerator, so I packed healthy foods for my scrapbooking weekend.

My friends and I ate at a restaurant together only once while at the scrapbooking event. We went to Mano’s where I ordered grilled fish with veggies and a side salad. The meal also came with french fries, rice, or mashed potatoes, but I did NOT get any of the three sides. Honestly, I didn’t miss the additional side.

Drinking one cup of lemon water per day has been added back to the guidelines for this week. I drink my cup of lemon water in the morning. My IF schedule has also changed to 16:8, and surprisingly, it has not been hard adjusting from 14:10. Frankly, I kind of prefer it.

Now, I will be totally transparent. I did splurge this week, and I do NOT feel one ounce of guilt. It is the first and ONLY time that I have splurged on the Fast Burn Challenge. Two of my fabulous friends, Michelle and Maria, drove to Hammond on Wednesday to visit with me. We went to Streetside Market for lunch, and I ordered the Sautéed Beef with Broccoli (sautéed beef stir-fried, mushrooms, broccoli, onion) on a bed of Golden Rice along with an eggroll. IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS! And, I ate every bite.

Needless to say, I did not need to eat a third meal or two of my snacks on Wednesday. I felt totally content with my decision because I knew that one “treat” would not derail all of my hard work on this fast burn journey. It was a conscious choice that I had planned for ahead of time. I think it is perfectly fine to indulge from time to time. Key words, “from time to time.”

Kudos to Me for…

• meeting my daily water intake goal.
• meeting my TRF 16:8 goal.
• continuing to eat more veggies.
• meeting my daily exercise goals.
• planning my meals and snacks for the week.

Challenges

Well, this week I made a poor decision concerning dinner on Tuesday night. I had planned to eat black bean soup for dinner, but did not have time to consume it before leaving for my improv class. Since my class is an hour away, I packed two Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts with half a pint of milk and ate my dinner on the way. My meal was planned; however, my time was not planned very well. This also happened to me once during Week #3. As I have mentioned before, planning is the key, not only the meals and exercise, but also my time. I woke up late on Tuesday morning and fiddle-faddled for a couple of hours even though I had plenty of tasks to complete on my to-do list. When I have a scheduled evening activity in the future, I need to get up on time and not procrastinate or postpone a task until the next day. Another solution could have been to pack a turkey and cheese sandwich to eat on the way to my class.

It is hard to believe, dear reader, that my nine-week journey participating in the Fast Burn Challenge is coming to an end. While the challenge may be ending, my journey to better health is really just beginning. I’m eager to see my total weight loss when I weigh-in on Monday morning. I’ll publish a post next week revealing my total weight-loss, any changes in my body measurements, my overall thoughts about this plan, and my future goals concerning my health and wellness journey. Happiness!

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~ Greg Anderson