Frustration!!

I GAINED Weight?!?!  

Do you ever have those days when no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to work out?  You can be the best parent, boss, employee, teacher, but still, things continue to happen that disappoint you.  The first step is to realize what you have control over and what you don't have control over.  (This coming from an absolute control freak!) 
No matter what happens we all need to measure success by our own efforts and actions. 

I am an awesome voice teacher, but my students don't always get the part that they want in the play, or the highest score at the competition.  Sometimes, no matter what I do, or how good I am, they choke.  This feeling of helplessness came again yesterday. I was feeling a bit frustrated as I stepped on the scale to see that I had GAINED a little weight.  Now, this isn't something to be TOO worried about, but I have done EVERYTHING this week.  I mean, I have eaten better foods in the correct portions, I have exercised daily with a rest day, I have tried to get enough water and sleep......I have done everything!  

Possible Reasons for Weight Gain 

I researched this a little to see what the problem could be.  I found that gaining weight when starting to exercise is very common, but shouldn't be taken lightly. Here are some ideas to help find the cause.Muscle Weighs More Than Fat....Right?:The first step is to determine if you're gaining fat or muscle. Since muscle is more dense than fat, it’s possible that you’re losing fat but gaining muscle. This seems to be the "go to" answer for most fitness experts. And, I'm not saying that this isn't exactly what is happening to me, but if you dig a little deeper, you find out that there is more to it than that.

Portion Sizes: People sometimes get hungry from exercising so they end up eating MORE than they did before. Even if they are eating the correct foods, they could be eating more of them.

Water Weight: If you are not drinking enough water during your workouts, your body can hold onto it. I KNOW that this might be a small issue for me. I am trying to get enough water, but since recording the amount that I am getting, I know that I am not getting enough. Plus, I feel it during my workouts. My hands start to swell up to look like fat sausages sticking out of a hamburger bun.

Overall, frustration sucks! BUT, I have evaluated what is actually IN my control and have made adjustments to change what needs to be changed and monitor other things just to make sure that I'm not off track. The other stuff is fluff. I can't control how my body reacts to working out. I might have gained a little weight, but I feel A LOT better than I did a week ago.

Don't Sweat It!  

Well, STILL sweat, just don't sweat THIS! I am in control of where I am going and how I get there.  I really believe that as long as I am honest with myself in my accountability and actions, I will succeed.  (I still might take a sledge hammer to take a break from the scale for awhile.) No one is going to see the small failures or set backs. They will only see the end result. And my end result is going to be BIG and AWESOME!  I mean, SMALL and AWESOME....my end will be small and awesome! Better?  Not sure. 

Large or small, the setbacks make us who we are. Now, remind me of this if I ever "fall off the bandwagon" for a day.  

I am on my way to becoming The Healthy Redhead!