This weekend was interesting - I expected to be lifting weights on Saturday, so I really pounded the protein. My brother and I took our kids to see the Lego Movie (loved it) and then dinner, and I made a meal choice that really put me over on all my macros. And then, I didn't get a chance to lift weights. My plan was toast, and I overindulged. No problem, though. Sunday would be the day I made the averages work out - put all three macros back on track with a lower-intake day, and drop my weight back down in the process. I would have to be good, and more precise than usual. Dinner at the in-laws would make things interesting. I kept carbs in check, and got protein to target with only the fat going high - that will have to wait a day or two to get averaged out - but I was really good, and managed a very solid calorie deficit!
And then I ended up with time to lift weights late. What to do? Lifting weights would be great, but it's counterproductive to lift and not supply my body with enough nutrients [i]right now [/i]to start the rebuilding process. The point is to grow the muscles, after all. But if I take in a pre-workout energy booster, lots of water, and some post-workout protein, I'll screw up my good performance on the day. And I definitely won't drop my weight back down where I know I can get it!
Here is where you have to decide how important a short-term goal is. My short-term goal was to correct Saturday's mess, and get back down to 182.6#, or lower! That goal supports my FS goal of dropping down to 180#. But my longer-term goals are to get my body-fat down under 12%, my waistline to 32", my lean body mass up to 160#, and my strength to "Novice" level on the
performance standards on ExRx.net. Hitting the short-term goal seems like it pushes me in the right direction for the first two big goals. However, just because something works doesn't make it the [i]best [/i]choice.
Getting that calorie deficit would certainly lower my fat % and my waistline. No doubt. And if I instead work out, prepping my body before and giving it plenty of protein after, I definitely won't have enough deficit to fuel a drop in weight. In fact, I'll be a little bloated from the fluids I'll have to take in. I might
gain weight! But the positive is that, with the extra activity and the muscle-building recovery phase, I will end up with a little more muscle mass, a little more strength, and my calorie burn to support that additional mass will eventually catch up and surpass the one-time deficit I passed up yesterday.
In the end, it was not an easy decision, but I lifted weights, and had a
great workout! Sometimes, the feeling you get by hitting a short-term goal is worth it. But you really need to be careful with sacrificing progress on long-term goals to get there. I could have gone short term and been happy today, and pushed off the long-term success. But I chose long-term thinking, and I'm still happy today! And in a few days, I'll hit that short-term goal anyway!
