End of week report: overeating, missing spin, returning to 19:5 diet

The biggest news this week is that I am going to rededicate myself to restricting my diet by both tracking calories on MyFitnessPal and by following a strict 19:5 IF diet—intermittent fasting! The worst news is that it's been six days since last I have been indoor cycling over at CYCLEBAR Columbia Pike—and it's my favorite thing!

I'm Falling Apart (a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy)

Okay, my fitness routines have been all over the place. Proud I'm spinning but sad that I've canceled a lot this week, have been overeating, and not been using my treadmill desk—at least not as a treadmill desk but rather as a standing desk.

As a direct result of that, I feel like I have been physically falling apart. Man, have I been the King of making excuses. And I have not been losing weight at all.

And, because I had been exerting so much energy during my nightly 45-minute HIIT spin class, I had been falling for the "I need me some protein within 30-minutes of the exertion" and have been eating that protein instead of maybe just drinking a scoop or two of whey protein powder in a glass of water.

A Burrito or Chicken is Not Post-Workout Nutrition

Yes, sometimes in the form of a Chipotle chicken burrito or a Giant grocery store whole roast rotisserie chicken. That's a lot of protein and might be good if I rocked the OMAD—the one meal a day—diet I had been following and ate that one meal right after the class as a whole roast grocery store rotisserie chicken is around 1,104 calories and a regular Chipotle chicken burrito with all the fixings are about 1,500 calories and around 700 if you forego rice, beans, guac, sour cream, queso, and cheese.

Still, 1,500 calories is more of an OMAD treat rather than the protein bomb that you need within 30 of your high-intensity workout.

Intermittent Fasting as a Way of Reducing

I have tried intermittent fasting in the past in the form of the one meal a day diet—but there are others. There are IF diets that have eating windows. Some of the more popular ones are 16:8—16 hours fasting and 8 hours eating; there's also the 18:6—18 hours fasting-per-day with a 6-hour window. 

I've not only downloaded both the BodyFast and Vora intermittent fasting (IF) apps but have also chosen to unlock the IF plan in the BodyFast app that allows one to track the 19:5 IF plan I want to try out for the next number of weeks.

What that means is that I will allow myself to eat up to around 1,500-1,800-2,000 calories between 7:30 AM in the morning and 12:30 PM—a 5-hour daily window for eating, which will then give my body 19-hours-a-day to fully digest and to allow my body to become used to using fat as fuel—hopefully without spooking my system into thinking it's starving or really being deprived of food.

I Stopped Going to My Indoor Cycling Classes—WTF!?

I know you all know how much I love riding with the gang from CYCLEBAR over on Columbia Pike with Natalie and Nikki and Sylva and Sam and Marina and Danny and Dwayne, etc, etc, but I don't know what's gotten into me! I lost my streak! And now, it's been a SOLID WEEK AWAY! This is not acceptable at all!

I got a little stressed this week because I am responsible for getting some new clients for my boutique consultancy company, Gerr.is, and so I have been bumping my spin classes at CYCLEBAR again and again because I think that if I just work more, and longer, and even hold myself hostage at the office, I will land contracts even faster.

Drinking More Than Normal As Well

That stress—and the lack of a way to reduce it—is also the reason why I've probably been drinking more alcohol than I am used to—and less water.

I've been stopping more often to pick up a bottle of red wine on the way home and then drinking it down. Not every night, but much more than when I was really devoted to trying to get both calories and also alcohol consumption way down. In the last couple weeks, to add salt to the wound, I have dropped by our crazy Virginia State-run liquor stores, called ABC, and have picked up, and drank, scotch, whiskey, and vodka as well.  Nothing bad happened in any way, I just think that, as someone who overeats, drinking isn't often sipping so much as it is actually drinking. 

Only water should be drunk like water. 

Back to Spin Class Tonight at Columbia Pike CYCLEBAR

Hand-in-hand with my recommitment to eating right and also not overeating or eating all day long, and in my desire to hydrate and not only keep active but become the best athlete I can be, I am recommitting to attending as many classes at CYCLEBAR as I can as well as actually using all the equipment that I have collected at sometimes great expense.

And look at how happy, lovely, friendly, and beautiful everyone at CYCLEBAR are! Lucky me—and I have been welcome with great big open arms by all the CYCLESTARS and riders!