I've fallen off the wagon a little bit. My weight has slowly crept back up over the past month. I'm still lower, but... it's not good.
My fitness hasn't fallen off as much. I ran a 5k Color Run this past Saturday. I've done two 5k's in my past, and both times I needed to walk for at least part of it. This time I made it jogging the whole way. It was a slow pace (probably around 10 minute/miles - it was untimed for all but the lead pack), but I did it. Felt good. And the color stuff was a ton of fun. I'm hoping to get a run in tonight too, but it might have to wait for tomorrow.
The big culprit for me over the past month has been diet. I started counting calories sporadically a while back, then just completely stopped. I really didn't want to know how bad I was doing. Lots of late-night snacking has probably been the biggest problem. I've started counting calories again today. I'm at 710 through lunch, and I'm going to add another 260 in late-afternoon snack, which I hope will help me cut down on dinner. My target is <2000 at this point, without a more specific goal. I can worry about that later, I just need to get back in the habit of counting, and have a break-point to help myself stop in the evenings.
Not to sound like a dick, but why do you need a late afternoon snack?
One thing good about counting calories is that you can identify places where you are adding too many calories. Eliminating snacking between meals is definitely a good way to meet calorie goals. If you "need" a late afternoon snack, why not baby carrots, or pea pods, or grape tomatoes? You can fill up on those and keep the snack under 100 calories.
Veggies!? You want him to snack...on vegetables?! What kind of crazy talk is that?
I don't need a late afternoon snack. Today just happened to be a day where instead of a legitimate lunch I brought what amounted to two half lunches. Between them they were <600 calories. I've also found that I tend to consumer fewer calories in more frequent smaller meals than when I have just a few biggies.
Also, my "snack" was oatmeal, so it wasn't exactly the worst thing for me.
If I get peckish in the afternoon, I usually have a tall glass of water and a couple sticks of gum, which usually can get me to supper just fine.
I find I either get very very very hungry or not at all. It's why I keep oatmeal in my office - it's enough to carry me over if the hunger hits, it's not so much as to destroy a good day. Other days I plan to incorporate it as a meal, depending on what else I've got. Other days I don't get hungry and it's not an issue at all.
I don't think mid-afternoon oatmeal is hurting you at all. Late night pizza, maybe.
And the ice cream afterward.
I'd add more earlier in the day. I have 450 for breakfast and lunch, with 150 each for morning and afternoon snacks. Don't want to go into dinner famished.
Managed <2000 today. Feel pretty good about it.