Well, the saga continues. I met with my trainer on Tuesday feeling like a complete failure on my diet plan. I had not even made it a whole week without cheating and having sugar and sweets. :( I had gained a little over a pound since starting and was discouraged. He said it’s time to test your body fat and see how you’re really doing. Well, I was happily surprised! I had gone from 13.7% to 12.3% body fat even with a weight gain! Maybe this stuff really does work??!! Ken told me I had gained some muscle in just short of 3 weeks. I actually didn’t think that was even possible. I had also lost body fat so even though I had cheated multiple times on my low-carb, no sugar diet, I was heading in the right direction. Cool. Now I definitely feel motivated to stay on track with this plan.
Some other interesting things have happened. The times I cheated on my diet and ate my old foods (especially for dinner) made me feel great emotionally. However, I wasn’t able to finish what I would normally eat easily. I also felt kind of bloated and falsely ”high” on the sugar rush. This was new to me. The foods I normally eat have very little nutritional value so I would feel good for several hours and then get tired and lethargic until my next sugar and carb laden meal. Having been on this new diet I am now starting to recognize this and I don’t like that feeling anymore. Progress? I think so. The new foods I am eating are high in protein and nutritional value and although they don’t seem satisfying to me on an emotional level, they are making a difference in my overall health and fitness level, albeit slowly.
As a woman I tend to be obsessed with the numbers on the scale. I don’t weigh myself every day, but as a general rule, women want to see the pounds going down not up. This is definitely going to be a hard mind set to change, but it has to in the world of bodybuilding where you want to gain weight in the form of muscle. Ken told me I have to change my mindset as well as my diet. That this isn’t just temporary, but long-term and I will be so much healthier in the long run. I have to agree. If you are what you eat, I would be well-preserved with all the processed preservative filled foods I ate (frozen dinners, canned foods, boxed foods, the list goes on). I used to joke that they wouldn’t even have to embalm me when I pass because I am so full of preservatives! Eek! Now I have a new goal besides the bodybuilding. To find ways to prepare the low-carb, higher protein foods so that they taste good and give me a lot of variety and satisfy me on an emotional level (comfort food). I get tired of these foods so easily. Can anybody else out there relate to any of this?
Well, that’s it for now. The journey continues. I’m back on track. Let’s see if I can make it a whole week this time! L.
