Or DO I?????
(This is a reference to my son, who likes to answer everything we say with: "Or do I", "Or do you?" "Or is it?". Example: Me -"Jacob, it's time to go out back and pick up dog poo!" Jacob - "Or is it?" - said with one raised eyebrow)
My BMI is 23 (within the normal range), I enjoy "taking some exercise" daily, or almost daily. I also love preparing and eating whole foods, with lots of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, some whole grains, nuts and seeds, etc. Basically - a "Mediterranean" influenced diet, including red wine....and cheese. I bet I'm pretty healthy.
Perhaps it's my age, my adoration of wine & chocolate, or my healthy appetite and complete fear and abhorrence of "hunger" (even doing the low-carb thing, 16 ounces of lean Turkey Italian Sausage in one sitting is probably 13 ounces more than I need to eat), that all conspire to keep me pleasantly plump.
I should mention here that, as in all things, I'm a slacker dieter too. I have absolutely no desire (or ability in some cases...like the wine and chocolate thing) to change any one of the "shortcomings" listed above. Not a single one. I gave up smoking 5 years ago. And except for the occasional and epic fall from the proverbial wagon (a girl's gotta live, right?), I don't eat anything "white" - my carbs are limited to occasional and whole, I yoga, I hike, etc. etc.. Basically, I eat, drink, and do the things I love. So why can't I just love the body I'm already in and call it a day?
I'm at a cross roads (again). Do I just throw in the towel, "accept what I cannot change"? Or decide to put forth one last herculean effort to finally be rid of that "last 10 pounds" (more like 20, but whatever). I tell you this, I don't want to spend my entire life worrying about, or obsessing about things like weight and calories.
I have a pool and feel perfectly comfortable wearing a bikini in the privacy of my own back yard. Yes, I look very "European" in a bikini...so what? I'm of European descent, I can pull it off. In my backyard.
Self-deprecating jokes and comments aside, I honestly do think I look pretty darn good for 35 (or whatever). Most of the time. Maybe it's other people who "just aren't there yet" and can't see that, really, "European" is the new thin. And what am I doing measuring how I look against what I think other people think anyway? Or against the jeans and jawline of my yesteryears?
I'm thinking of giving up and just living fat and happy.
Or am I????
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Day Three
Day three of the "Back on Track - No BS - This Time For Real" phase.
I've deduced, after a successful couple of 17 day cycles (of the 17 Day Diet), and then completely falling off the wagon, that my "carb tolerance" level (the level at which I can eat some carbs but not turn into a ravenous, moody, tired and sloth-like shadow of my former self), allows for a No Carb/One Carb schedule. That is: No carbs one day, SOME carbs the next day at ONE meal, repeat. And by carbs, I mean the starchy stuff: rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, etc. I don't limit my fruits or vegetables. I do limit my starchy carbs to whole grains (with a few exceptions on occasion).
How I came to this conclusion is pretty simple. I did really well on the first two cycles of the 17 Day Diet. I dropped a few pounds, had energy to burn, and felt really great. So great, in fact, that I thought I could increase my starchy carbs to one meal per day (a serving...every day), vs. every other day as the 2nd cycle of 17 days recommends. WRONG. That was a slippery slope that I now know to avoid. One meal a day led to two, then it was ON. I couldn't stop eating to save my life. I went from "rarely hungry, oh look it's time for lunch" to "holy shit, how am I going to make it to lunch, wait I just ate lunch, when's dinner?"
oBsEsSeD!
Beginning Wednesday, I went back to the every other day thing. So far, so good. Feeling more and more like myself, and today....I am so not hungry. I think I'm back on track!
I've deduced, after a successful couple of 17 day cycles (of the 17 Day Diet), and then completely falling off the wagon, that my "carb tolerance" level (the level at which I can eat some carbs but not turn into a ravenous, moody, tired and sloth-like shadow of my former self), allows for a No Carb/One Carb schedule. That is: No carbs one day, SOME carbs the next day at ONE meal, repeat. And by carbs, I mean the starchy stuff: rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, etc. I don't limit my fruits or vegetables. I do limit my starchy carbs to whole grains (with a few exceptions on occasion).
How I came to this conclusion is pretty simple. I did really well on the first two cycles of the 17 Day Diet. I dropped a few pounds, had energy to burn, and felt really great. So great, in fact, that I thought I could increase my starchy carbs to one meal per day (a serving...every day), vs. every other day as the 2nd cycle of 17 days recommends. WRONG. That was a slippery slope that I now know to avoid. One meal a day led to two, then it was ON. I couldn't stop eating to save my life. I went from "rarely hungry, oh look it's time for lunch" to "holy shit, how am I going to make it to lunch, wait I just ate lunch, when's dinner?"
oBsEsSeD!
Beginning Wednesday, I went back to the every other day thing. So far, so good. Feeling more and more like myself, and today....I am so not hungry. I think I'm back on track!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
AHA! I knew it.........
Wracking my brain and the internet, trying to figure out WHY I feel so much better without excessive carbs, and yet can't seem to control my cravings, I came across this article. It almost made me cry. It's me. So what am I going to do about it?
I've noticed that when I eat low carb, I feel great, have tons of energy, and rarely think about food. When I eat starchy carbs, I feel tired, grouchy, bloated, and have a constant "gnawing" in my stomach that feels like hunger. You would think that being aware of it, I could stay off the stuff. I think this is what addiction must feel like. It's very frustrating to know what you need to do to feel healthy and vibrant, and just not be able to do it. To feel totally powerless and out of control.
I'm going to give it another go. God knows it took me a hundred tries to quit smoking. I can do THIS, right? At this point, it's less about losing weight and more about feeling healthy. Like I felt a few short weeks ago!
Article by Laura Dolson:
You’ve been following a low-carb diet for several weeks. Perhaps you’ve been "experimenting" (what some might call "cheating") by eating half a bagel or some ice cream. Maybe you’ve been eating a lot of foods with sugar alcohols and hoping that "Net Carbs" number on the wrapper can really be trusted. And suddenly, there you are, standing in front of the refrigerator for the fifth time that afternoon – not really hungry, but wanting to eat something. Carb cravings are most likely exerting their influence.
What are Carb Cravings?
To be clear, I’m not talking about cravings FOR carbs (these are most common in the first few days on a low carb diet) as cravings CAUSED BY too many carbs. This is an extremely common phenomenon among carb-sensitive people. If you’ve been on a low-carb diet for awhile you might be able to get away with a meal or two with more carbs, but if you continue, it will evenutally catch up with you.
Essentially, carb cravings are 1) a strong urge to eat which is not associated with what we ordinarily think of as "hunger", and 2) usually triggered by either an excess of carbohydrates or the wrong type of carbohydrates. The craving itself may or may not be for carb-rich foods, but it can easily lead to a cycle of carbohydrate eating that is difficult to break. When people talk about "sugar addiction" or "carbohydrate addiction" they are probably talking about the same or a similar phenomenon.
My Experience
Years ago, I read a book called Welcome Silence by Carol North. North had grown up hearing voices and other noises in her head. She tells how she tried to make sense of these voices, creating what we would call paranoid delusions about them - and indeed, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, at some point in her adult life, she received an experimental treatment which totally removed the voices in her head (the probability is that toxins in her body were causing the symptoms, and a form of dialysis removed them). The title of the book refers to the morning when she woke up...to blessed silence in her head.
For me, getting rid of carb cravings was a little like this. For many years I had tried to figure out why I kept eating when I wasn’t really hungry. I sat in support groups pondering the emotional reasons I must have for keeping myself fat. I moved on to leading groups where we endlessly discussed our reasons for eating. Just like Carol North, I tried to come up with the reasons for those "voices" that didn’t seem to make sense.
Then I went on a version of the Zone Diet. And it was my own "Welcome Silence" experience. Suddenly, those urges were gone, and I suddenly had total control over my eating. I went about my day without thinking of food, until I was hungry, when I ate! Wow! Just like normal people! It was a revelatory experience.
Carb Tolerance Level
Unfortunately, I went off that diet, and regained weight. And although I tried from time to time to do it again, it never really worked for me. Now I realize that for whatever reason (I blame menopause), my body has become less tolerant of carbohydrate, and the amounts permitted on the Zone are just too high for me. Once I found my new carbohydrate tolerance level, I again experienced control over my eating, and the "Welcome Silence" experience.
Carb Cravings – Sending a Message
These days, my understanding of carb cravings has totally changed. Instead of cursing them, or giving in to them, I try to simply receive the message they are sending – that my carb level has edged up too high. It’s time to evaluate my eating patterns and readjust. Everyone missteps from time to time. Aren’t we lucky to have such a vivid communication system telling us we’re off track? It’s simply that we're standing in front of that vending machine, refrigerator, or snack food aisle when we “just need a pick-me-up”. Our bodies are calling to us in those moments - we just have to listen.
I've noticed that when I eat low carb, I feel great, have tons of energy, and rarely think about food. When I eat starchy carbs, I feel tired, grouchy, bloated, and have a constant "gnawing" in my stomach that feels like hunger. You would think that being aware of it, I could stay off the stuff. I think this is what addiction must feel like. It's very frustrating to know what you need to do to feel healthy and vibrant, and just not be able to do it. To feel totally powerless and out of control.
I'm going to give it another go. God knows it took me a hundred tries to quit smoking. I can do THIS, right? At this point, it's less about losing weight and more about feeling healthy. Like I felt a few short weeks ago!
Article by Laura Dolson:
You’ve been following a low-carb diet for several weeks. Perhaps you’ve been "experimenting" (what some might call "cheating") by eating half a bagel or some ice cream. Maybe you’ve been eating a lot of foods with sugar alcohols and hoping that "Net Carbs" number on the wrapper can really be trusted. And suddenly, there you are, standing in front of the refrigerator for the fifth time that afternoon – not really hungry, but wanting to eat something. Carb cravings are most likely exerting their influence.
What are Carb Cravings?
To be clear, I’m not talking about cravings FOR carbs (these are most common in the first few days on a low carb diet) as cravings CAUSED BY too many carbs. This is an extremely common phenomenon among carb-sensitive people. If you’ve been on a low-carb diet for awhile you might be able to get away with a meal or two with more carbs, but if you continue, it will evenutally catch up with you.
Essentially, carb cravings are 1) a strong urge to eat which is not associated with what we ordinarily think of as "hunger", and 2) usually triggered by either an excess of carbohydrates or the wrong type of carbohydrates. The craving itself may or may not be for carb-rich foods, but it can easily lead to a cycle of carbohydrate eating that is difficult to break. When people talk about "sugar addiction" or "carbohydrate addiction" they are probably talking about the same or a similar phenomenon.
My Experience
Years ago, I read a book called Welcome Silence by Carol North. North had grown up hearing voices and other noises in her head. She tells how she tried to make sense of these voices, creating what we would call paranoid delusions about them - and indeed, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, at some point in her adult life, she received an experimental treatment which totally removed the voices in her head (the probability is that toxins in her body were causing the symptoms, and a form of dialysis removed them). The title of the book refers to the morning when she woke up...to blessed silence in her head.
For me, getting rid of carb cravings was a little like this. For many years I had tried to figure out why I kept eating when I wasn’t really hungry. I sat in support groups pondering the emotional reasons I must have for keeping myself fat. I moved on to leading groups where we endlessly discussed our reasons for eating. Just like Carol North, I tried to come up with the reasons for those "voices" that didn’t seem to make sense.
Then I went on a version of the Zone Diet. And it was my own "Welcome Silence" experience. Suddenly, those urges were gone, and I suddenly had total control over my eating. I went about my day without thinking of food, until I was hungry, when I ate! Wow! Just like normal people! It was a revelatory experience.
Carb Tolerance Level
Unfortunately, I went off that diet, and regained weight. And although I tried from time to time to do it again, it never really worked for me. Now I realize that for whatever reason (I blame menopause), my body has become less tolerant of carbohydrate, and the amounts permitted on the Zone are just too high for me. Once I found my new carbohydrate tolerance level, I again experienced control over my eating, and the "Welcome Silence" experience.
Carb Cravings – Sending a Message
These days, my understanding of carb cravings has totally changed. Instead of cursing them, or giving in to them, I try to simply receive the message they are sending – that my carb level has edged up too high. It’s time to evaluate my eating patterns and readjust. Everyone missteps from time to time. Aren’t we lucky to have such a vivid communication system telling us we’re off track? It’s simply that we're standing in front of that vending machine, refrigerator, or snack food aisle when we “just need a pick-me-up”. Our bodies are calling to us in those moments - we just have to listen.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Night and Day
I'm back!
I didn't really go anywhere. Well, a quick camping trip maybe. It's been busy though - family visit, holiday weekend, camping trip, etc. - all conspiring to make me eat bread.
Seriosuly, I don't know what happend, but for the past week or two (I'm not sure exactly how long, I'm in a carb stupor), I've cut way back on the low-carb, healthy lifestyle thing. The difference in how I feel is like night and day. I feel sluggish, bloated, hungry (like, out of control hungry), and just generally bummed out.
The good news is that I'm back on track, starting today!
The problem with the starchy carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, chips, etc.), is that once I eat them, I just crave more of them. It's always been that way. And they make me feel crappy.
So forget it. Not for me!
I'm hiking this morning and blending up some protein smoothies. I'm ready to feel good again!
I didn't really go anywhere. Well, a quick camping trip maybe. It's been busy though - family visit, holiday weekend, camping trip, etc. - all conspiring to make me eat bread.
Seriosuly, I don't know what happend, but for the past week or two (I'm not sure exactly how long, I'm in a carb stupor), I've cut way back on the low-carb, healthy lifestyle thing. The difference in how I feel is like night and day. I feel sluggish, bloated, hungry (like, out of control hungry), and just generally bummed out.
The good news is that I'm back on track, starting today!
The problem with the starchy carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, chips, etc.), is that once I eat them, I just crave more of them. It's always been that way. And they make me feel crappy.
So forget it. Not for me!
I'm hiking this morning and blending up some protein smoothies. I'm ready to feel good again!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Living...After Midnight...
(I believe I danced to this Judas Priest song on Saturday night...but I can't be 100% positive)
If there is any actual science behind the "calorie confusion" theory, then I've done my part this weekend to confuse the hell out of my metabolism.
I've been eating very "low carb" for the past few weeks and it feels GREAT! Lot's of banana cream flavored whey protein powder (and the addition of work outs like "Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred" to justify the delicious muscle building smoothies). It feels good because I suspect I might be "carb sensitive" - I love 'em, but I feel like garbage after I eat the starchy stuff. I now eat those types of carbs in very limited amounts and only in one meal a day or every other day. I haven't noticed any big changes on the scale, but my clothes are getting looser. And I feel great!
It just wouldn't be like me to me to stay in this uber-healthy mode without having a rockin'-partyin'-caloric blow out of epic proportions...and true to form, I managed to have the epic-est blow out to date.
This weekend was a busy one. Jacob had a baseball game, a friend celebrated her 50th with a house party in the afternoon, then the little league fund raiser - "Casino Night" was in the evening. All within a mile of each other and a mile of home. I'm loving our life here...really, truly loving it.
At our friend's party, we met a local musician, Michael McNevin, who invited us to his small studio space (Mudpuddle Music) in downtown Niles for a 6pm "Rapture Jam". We went, we toasted our good fortune with champagne and cupcakes, met some new friends, and listened to Michael and some of his musician friends jam with a couple of guitars, a stand up bass, drums, and a slide guitar. Lots of fun loaded into about 45 minutes (we had to get to Casino Night!).
The Mudpuddle is a great little space (really little - I think it's about 50 sq ft and fits no more than 20 people). It's right on the main street in old town Niles. Some of Mike's etch a sketch artwork is in the windows, you can't miss it! You can learn all about Michael here: http://www.michaelmcnevin.com/
Casino Night followed: raffle prizes, drink tickets, Mexican food, DJ and dancing, gambling, parents ready to cut loose, etc. There may have been a small dance off incident with our neighbors and some words exchanged, but I won't get into that here. Suffice it to say, I'm not sure they should serve jello shots at these types of events. It was loads of fun though. (It was possibly loads of fun...or it might have just been a little bit fun, the fun being greatly exagerated by the above mentioned jello shots)
We had time for a quick "dive" into the Florence (the last local "biker" bar in downtown Niles - a town that used to have a couple of bars on each block, some of which I used to frequent "back in the day") where we were pleasantly surprised by some rockin' music courtesy of Jungle Rooster. A hard rocking band that is lots of fun to dance to. Lots. Of. Fun. To. Dance. To! http://www.junglerooster.com/
Our neighbors, along with some of the other parents from the NCLL Casino Night, and even Michael McNevin himself, all ended up at the Florence around midnight. We decided it was time to go.....
Because this blog is mostly about my fitness and diet successes and snafus, I should add here that I did nothing but eat and drink beginning at about 4pm and continuing into the wee hours. But I DID dance my A$$ off in at least two of the venues, so I think I broke even.
It was a fun night, and I think Rob has been officially indoctrinated into the Niles culture. We met lots of locals and were welcomed like family. This is a great community! And they know how to rock....(and folk rock) out.
And now I remember why I don't party like I did when I was in my 20's. I'm not in my 20's. It hurts the next day.
If there is any actual science behind the "calorie confusion" theory, then I've done my part this weekend to confuse the hell out of my metabolism.
I've been eating very "low carb" for the past few weeks and it feels GREAT! Lot's of banana cream flavored whey protein powder (and the addition of work outs like "Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred" to justify the delicious muscle building smoothies). It feels good because I suspect I might be "carb sensitive" - I love 'em, but I feel like garbage after I eat the starchy stuff. I now eat those types of carbs in very limited amounts and only in one meal a day or every other day. I haven't noticed any big changes on the scale, but my clothes are getting looser. And I feel great!
It just wouldn't be like me to me to stay in this uber-healthy mode without having a rockin'-partyin'-caloric blow out of epic proportions...and true to form, I managed to have the epic-est blow out to date.
This weekend was a busy one. Jacob had a baseball game, a friend celebrated her 50th with a house party in the afternoon, then the little league fund raiser - "Casino Night" was in the evening. All within a mile of each other and a mile of home. I'm loving our life here...really, truly loving it.
At our friend's party, we met a local musician, Michael McNevin, who invited us to his small studio space (Mudpuddle Music) in downtown Niles for a 6pm "Rapture Jam". We went, we toasted our good fortune with champagne and cupcakes, met some new friends, and listened to Michael and some of his musician friends jam with a couple of guitars, a stand up bass, drums, and a slide guitar. Lots of fun loaded into about 45 minutes (we had to get to Casino Night!).
The Mudpuddle is a great little space (really little - I think it's about 50 sq ft and fits no more than 20 people). It's right on the main street in old town Niles. Some of Mike's etch a sketch artwork is in the windows, you can't miss it! You can learn all about Michael here: http://www.michaelmcnevin.com/
Casino Night followed: raffle prizes, drink tickets, Mexican food, DJ and dancing, gambling, parents ready to cut loose, etc. There may have been a small dance off incident with our neighbors and some words exchanged, but I won't get into that here. Suffice it to say, I'm not sure they should serve jello shots at these types of events. It was loads of fun though. (It was possibly loads of fun...or it might have just been a little bit fun, the fun being greatly exagerated by the above mentioned jello shots)
We had time for a quick "dive" into the Florence (the last local "biker" bar in downtown Niles - a town that used to have a couple of bars on each block, some of which I used to frequent "back in the day") where we were pleasantly surprised by some rockin' music courtesy of Jungle Rooster. A hard rocking band that is lots of fun to dance to. Lots. Of. Fun. To. Dance. To! http://www.junglerooster.com/
Our neighbors, along with some of the other parents from the NCLL Casino Night, and even Michael McNevin himself, all ended up at the Florence around midnight. We decided it was time to go.....
Because this blog is mostly about my fitness and diet successes and snafus, I should add here that I did nothing but eat and drink beginning at about 4pm and continuing into the wee hours. But I DID dance my A$$ off in at least two of the venues, so I think I broke even.
It was a fun night, and I think Rob has been officially indoctrinated into the Niles culture. We met lots of locals and were welcomed like family. This is a great community! And they know how to rock....(and folk rock) out.
And now I remember why I don't party like I did when I was in my 20's. I'm not in my 20's. It hurts the next day.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Less Blogging, More Doing.....
Well hello there, Bloggie Blog!
I've been so busy with the 5K, Mother's Day, Jacob's birthday, baseball, work, etc. that I haven't had much time to write. That's kind of a lie, I always have time to write. But I have felt sort of busier than usual lately.
I'm in cycle two of the 17 day diet. I was holding at a total loss of 6 pounds and I'm beginning to inch down on the scale again.
I went completely OFF the diet for Mother's Day weekend - had a good deli sandwich on Saturday, went out for Mexican food Saturday night, hosted Mother's Day lunch on Sunday and made tea sandwiches, then had some yummy home made tamales from Mr. Mikey's on Sunday night! (Mr. Mikey's is the little general store in town and sells the tamales from a crock pot on the counter).
But I DID run a 5K on Saturday, so....
OH! And I decided to incorporate some protein shakes and....weight for it......I'm working out with WEIGHTS! The protein shakes are on the advice of my friend Lisa - who has lost a ton of weight and swears by them, and I've also been reading a lot about whey protein.
SO, I bought some Whey Protein Powder (Banana Cream flavor) and I mix it with 1 Cup of plain low fat Kefir, 1 Cup of berries, 1 T flaxseed oil, 1 tsp of Agave Nectar - delicious! I also got the Rich Dark Chocolate pre-made protein drinks. I have one for lunch and the other for an afternoon snack.
Now I'm seeing the weight come off again this week...about a .5 pound at a time (per day or every other day).
I'm doing more activity - something every day, whether it's swimming, yoga, walking, running, hiking, weights, etc. I tried a 21 minute Bikini Body Workout with Weights that I found on our Xfinity On Demand. I'm still sore. It was brutal. And I only did about 12 or 13 minutes of it. But I think I'll do it again.....
I AM going to have a beach body. It may be a one piece beach body, rather than a bikini beach body, but whatever.
I've been so busy with the 5K, Mother's Day, Jacob's birthday, baseball, work, etc. that I haven't had much time to write. That's kind of a lie, I always have time to write. But I have felt sort of busier than usual lately.
I'm in cycle two of the 17 day diet. I was holding at a total loss of 6 pounds and I'm beginning to inch down on the scale again.
I went completely OFF the diet for Mother's Day weekend - had a good deli sandwich on Saturday, went out for Mexican food Saturday night, hosted Mother's Day lunch on Sunday and made tea sandwiches, then had some yummy home made tamales from Mr. Mikey's on Sunday night! (Mr. Mikey's is the little general store in town and sells the tamales from a crock pot on the counter).
But I DID run a 5K on Saturday, so....
OH! And I decided to incorporate some protein shakes and....weight for it......I'm working out with WEIGHTS! The protein shakes are on the advice of my friend Lisa - who has lost a ton of weight and swears by them, and I've also been reading a lot about whey protein.
SO, I bought some Whey Protein Powder (Banana Cream flavor) and I mix it with 1 Cup of plain low fat Kefir, 1 Cup of berries, 1 T flaxseed oil, 1 tsp of Agave Nectar - delicious! I also got the Rich Dark Chocolate pre-made protein drinks. I have one for lunch and the other for an afternoon snack.
Now I'm seeing the weight come off again this week...about a .5 pound at a time (per day or every other day).
I'm doing more activity - something every day, whether it's swimming, yoga, walking, running, hiking, weights, etc. I tried a 21 minute Bikini Body Workout with Weights that I found on our Xfinity On Demand. I'm still sore. It was brutal. And I only did about 12 or 13 minutes of it. But I think I'll do it again.....
I AM going to have a beach body. It may be a one piece beach body, rather than a bikini beach body, but whatever.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First 17 Days Down
Today I start the 2nd cycle of 17 days. This is the cycle where I will eat no carbs one day, then eat certain carbs (brown rice, quinoa, etc. still no bread or pasta or beans/legumes) the next day, no carbs, some carbs, no carbs, some carbs, etc. etc.
The first cycle wasn't too difficult, although I did get bored after the first two weeks and I did cheat a little - I had one hot dog (no bun) when I was working the grill at snack shack, one chocolate chip cookie, a homemade hamburger on a whole wheat bun with sweet potato baked fries, pizza and cake for Jacob's birthday, some plain popcorn once or twice and some cocktails and wine now and then. It sounds like a lot of cheating when I write it all down like this, but spread out over 17 days, it's not so bad. I lost a total of 6 pounds (lost 7, then gained 3, then lost 2) over the course of the first cycle. Sometimes without doing anything. I gained when I wasn't cheating, then lost when I cheated...there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason.
So on to cycle two! I'll try to be a bit more mindful this time, I still have a plateau to crush.
The first cycle wasn't too difficult, although I did get bored after the first two weeks and I did cheat a little - I had one hot dog (no bun) when I was working the grill at snack shack, one chocolate chip cookie, a homemade hamburger on a whole wheat bun with sweet potato baked fries, pizza and cake for Jacob's birthday, some plain popcorn once or twice and some cocktails and wine now and then. It sounds like a lot of cheating when I write it all down like this, but spread out over 17 days, it's not so bad. I lost a total of 6 pounds (lost 7, then gained 3, then lost 2) over the course of the first cycle. Sometimes without doing anything. I gained when I wasn't cheating, then lost when I cheated...there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason.
So on to cycle two! I'll try to be a bit more mindful this time, I still have a plateau to crush.
