by Beks
I own three pairs of sweatpants. I like to call them my Friday, Saturday, and Sunday pants. I put them on the second I get home on Friday after work and make my way through the remaining pairs over the weekend.
My work requires that I dress professionally when telecommuting since I’m on conference calls all day…but no one can see my pants. I’ve been sporting my sweatpants every single day. And it’s glorious.
…Or so I thought.
I do laundry every few days (there are 6 of us so I have to keep a frequent cadence) but I slipped up and didn’t add my sweatpants to the load. I dug into my dresser and pulled out my yoga pants. That, my friends, is when I realized I had a problem.
I work out an average of 90 minutes each day. I usually take a 30 minute walk or run in the morning, do a 30 minute workout DVD at lunch, and end the day with a 30 minute stint on my portable elliptical machine. I burn 700 calories daily from exercising. My hope was that I’d bounce back from this quarantine in spectacular shape (it’s also good for my mental health).
I noticed that I wasn’t shaping up like I thought. What I did not realize is that I was actually gaining weight. I got on the scale and gasped as I saw 4 extra pounds. Those yoga pants I tried to put on were tight.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘You’re gaining muscle!’ Oh no dear friends, that isn’t it. The nicest way I can put it is, I’m getting ‘softer’. A few days ago, I started logging everything I was eating in one of those meal apps. My husband cooks when he is bored. He’s been REALLY bored. Let’s just say he doesn’t waste time or effort on quinoa. We’ve been having homemade pizza, buttery garlic knots, beef jerky, peanut butter cookies, fried chicken, sourdough bread, cake, brussels sprouts cooked in bacon fat…and on and on and on.
Through the meal app, I discovered I had been eating in excess of 2,000 calories daily. Some days, closer to 2,500. I’m 5’ 5” and hover between 125 and 130 pounds. 2,500 calories is WAY outside of what I normally eat. Even with 700 calories burned from exercise, I was significantly over my daily calorie budget.
Turns out, budgeting your money is a lot like budgeting your calories. When you write everything down, the results can be shocking.
Yes, watch your finances right now but take a look at your calorie budget too. You might be surprised. Make some cuts.
*sigh*
I’m gonna miss you most of all peanut butter blossom.
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
I am in a similar boat. I have also had to work on portion size.
*raises hand* Same here, but with a twist. I had been training for a marathon, but it was postponed, so my running quantity dropped by a bunch. And then one of my hips started hurting and I had to stop running all together. So now my source of “me time” and exercise and time out of the house has disappeared. My usual solution for running-related aches and pains is going for a massage. Which is impossible right now. As my husband will attest, this is not good for my sanity.