February Nutritional Experiment: No Wheat!

Happy February fine folks!  Here's hoping for an early spring since the weather so far this month has been gross.  I am not a fan.

I am a fan, however, of this book I just read called "Wheat Belly."  A friend recommended it to me and I read it last week.  It's a great read, so I definitely recommend picking up a copy (I read it on my Kindle), but I'll give you the highlights.  The author is a cardiologist (Dr. Davis) who accidentally discovered a connection between modern wheat and all sorts of health problems when he told his diabetic patients to stop eating wheat in order to help keep their blood sugar more stable.  He found that that change ended up helping a lot more than just their diabetes.  After some substantial research, Dr. Davis explains in his book that modern wheat has been severely altered by humans to create a more profitable (higher yield and easier to grow) product without checking to see if the resulting plant was still compatible with human digestion.  Dr. Davis argues that this new "wheat" is so far removed from its natural origins that it is not acceptable for human consumption, causing inflammation, an addiction response in the brain, and all other sorts of nasty things.  He asserts that removing wheat and replacing it with meat, dairy, nuts, veggies, and fruit (rather than "gluten free" process products which are still too high in sugar-response), will help people live healthier lives, and eliminate many of their current health issues (including losing weight).

Now, I don't think I have any particular gluten sensitivities (like people with Celiac diseases or a Wheat allergy do), but it does make sense to me to avoid such a genetically modified food.  Plus, I naturally don't eat a ton of wheat anyway, so it won't be too big of a change.  So, I've decided that for the month of February I will give up Wheat (and all gluten) as much as possible.  Since I don't have any medical need to avoid it, I won't worry too much about cross contamination (like if a product doesn't contain wheat but was made in a plant that also processes wheat) the way someone with Celiac would have to, but I will be making a conscious effort to stay away from any obvious wheat (bread, pasta, baked goods, etc.) and from less obvious sources by looking at ingredient lists for things like sauces, soups, etc.  If I like my results, I'll keep it up!

Oh, and remember last week when I mentioned that my 0.4 weight gain was likely not a true reading?  I was right!  From last week to this week I've lost 4.8 pounds!  I'd bet I lost at least 1-2 of those pounds last week, but the scale didn't register it because of a water retention.  This brings my total weight loss since starting Combat to 14 pounds.  I can't believe I've lost that much weight in 5 weeks.  It's amazing to me.  Combat + calorie counting is a great combo apparently.  I'm excited to tackle week 6, which introduces a new workout on Saturday!

Stay healthy!

Month 1 Results & Getting my Head in the Game

This past week has been a bit all over the place nutritionally.  I had some really spot-on days where I ate clean, hit my calorie goals, and felt great.  There were also a couple of days where I kind of fixated on junk and ended up over eating...one day by a lot.  My hope for this week was just to lose 0.4 pounds, and I might have.  The scale, however, said I gained 0.4 pounds instead.  That may have been confusing so I'll say it again.  It's definitely possible that I lost half a pound of fat this week while my body retained extra water causing the scale to show a slight gain.

For those of you who don't know, water retention can be caused by a number of factors including: high sodium intake, intense muscle soreness (like from starting a new workout - or in my case pushing harder on workouts), not drinking enough water, time of the month (for women), and general hormone fluctuations.

I'm experiences at least three of those things right now so it's definitely plausible that the gain on the scale is not genuine.  Especially since the mirror and my clothes indicate that I'm doing well.  Plus, if I look at the big picture, I lost 9 pounds in only 4 weeks, and that's pretty darn awesome.  Plus, I feel great, and my quads are hard as rocks!  I'm not kidding!  I poked one yesterday while I was standing up and I couldn't believe how strong they were (I even made the bf confirm my impressions).  And even better, I'm pushing harder in my workouts and I'm even doing the harder version of the burpees!  Weight loss is just one piece of the puzzle; overall fitness is just as important to me.  Because, for me at least, what's the point of looking great in a dress if you get winded walking up the stairs?  There are so many things I want to do, like try out water skiing this summer, that require me to be strong and fit, not just lighter.  So, I'm counting month one of Combat as a success!

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I also want to talk briefly about the stuff that happens in our heads.  As I was grocery shopping last night before dinner, I was hunger and wasn't terribly excited about the dinner I had planned (egg and cheese on a whole grain english muffin).  I caught myself day dreaming about going to McDonalds (there's one right next to the store) or getting something yummy while I was shopping.  I was shocked to find myself thinking that, almost like I was trying to convince myself that it was a good idea (it wasn't).  I also realized that those thoughts were the likely cause of the cravings for junk.  I thought back over the week, and every day I ate something unhealthy, I realized that I had spent a good portion of time beforehand thinking about how good it would taste and building the food up in my head as something desirable even though it was super unhealthy and I knew it wouldn't help me reach my weight loss and fitness goals.

What the heck was I thinking?!  My brain was certainly not doing me any favors in that moment.

Now, that I've identified this thought process, and its eventual outcome, I've got a plan this week that I'm challenging everyone reading this to do with me.  Every time we find ourselves thinking about junk food, or wishing we could* eat something unhealthy, I want us to replace those thoughts with ones about being at our goal weight/goal fitness level, doing things we're not currently able to do.  For me, I'm going to imagine myself crossing the finish line of a 5K that I didn't need to take any walking breaks for, or taking on the water skis and succeeding.

What do you say?  Will you do this with me?  I'm ready to have an awesome week and I hope you will, too.

Stay healthy!


*I do want to mention that I don't feel that any food should be "forbidden."  I do feel, however, that unhealthy foods should not take over our thoughts.  I fully intend to build in one "treat" meal a week, but I want to do it in a controlled way, where I feel comfortable with my calorie goals for the week, rather than letting my brain build me into a craving and then splurging multiple times a week, since that's not going to help me reach my goals.

Combat: Week 4!

Today marks the beginning of the forth week of Combat!  I've lost approximately 9 pounds in the first 3 weeks and I am really loving the workouts, especially all the kicks!  I do have to say, though, that my nutrition has seriously slacked the last few days.  I've gone out to eat for at least one meal a day for the last five days!  Ugh.  I am honestly sick of restaurant food at this point.  I can't wait to go back to eating my home-cooked meals (which I will be, starting with dinner).  This week will be another challenge nutritionally though because Friday is my birthday and I'll be celebrating it with my folks on Saturday.  I'm going to do my best to eat well anyway.

So, with today being the start of week four, it was a nice that I stumbled across this video in my back office (for my Beachbody coaching business).  It was just the reminder I needed to get my nutrition back on track!




As Rach mentioned in the video, what you eat accounts for at least 50% of your results.  I'd argue that it's closer to 80% but either way, the point is that no matter who hard you workout, if you eat junk your body will function like junk.

So, here's to acknowledging that we're human, we'll fall off track occasionally, but knowing we can jump right back in with both feet as soon as we recognize the slip.  I'm ready to embrace my home cooking, give the restaurants a break (with the exception of my birthday dinner, which I'll keep reasonable), and have an awesome week four!

Stay healthy!

Week Two Review & the "Real" World Says Hi

Week two of Combat has now come and gone and I did well, even though I was sick for three days and had a not-so-healthy trip to Applebee's on Sunday.  I kept up with my calorie tracking, pushed myself during my 5 workouts, and lost another 1.4 pounds!  That brings my total to 7.2 so far.  Plus, I'm happy to report that my cold is on its way out and I'm feeling much better!  That's especially good since I start work and my last semester of class tomorrow.

Last semester of grad school.  Now that's an exciting and terrifying thought.  There are only 115 days until I walk across that graduation stage and I have a master's degree.  I can't wait!  But, with graduation, comes an impending joblessness, and that reality is sinking in.  Luckily, by the end of this week I will have submitted the first of what is sure to be several job applications.  I'm very excited to have already found a job to apply to that I'm very excited about.  It's in my field, has all the main components in a job that I'm looking for, and although it's a little father away that I would like, if we move it will be a reasonable commute for both me and the bf.  Who knows if I'll even get an interview, but it's a start.  The real world is standing at the end of a tunnel waving hello!

Oh, and I do have to mention today's workout since it was incredible.  I did Combat 60 for the first time today and it was just one awesome section after another.  There were tons of cool kicks and wicked punching combos.  It was super fun.  And just when you've given all you have to this super intense cardio session, they throw in a sections of push-ups and crunches for good measure.  I was not expecting that, and I'm sure I will feel it tomorrow.  That said, though, I can't wait to do it again on Saturday!

Stay healthy!

The Biggest Loser (and my week 1 weigh-in!)

So, I knew of The Biggest Loser, but I had never really watched it before this past Sunday and Monday.  It's definitely an interesting show but I'm worried that it portrays a very unrealistic  view of weight loss.  On Sunday, one of the men lost 21 pounds in just the first week, but the trainers told him that he should have lost more.  Now, I get that he's a very large man (over 400 pounds) but 21 pounds in one week is insane as it is!  That should never be a disappointing number.  And yes, I know they workout 2+ hours a day and have a very strict diet, but I worry about the viewer who sees that and gets depressed when they're only losing 2 pounds per week, which is actually a really great number!  I was even more concerned on Monday when one of the contestants lost an additional 4 pounds in week two (again, an awesome number for only 7 days of work) and he commented that all his work amounted to nothing.  Nothing?!  Four pounds is NOT nothing.  I just worry about this men and women when they leave the "ranch" and go home and are losing more realistic numbers.  If four pounds is nothing, what will happen when they are only average 1-2/week?  Anyway, that's my rant about The Biggest Loser.  My hope is that any of you who enjoy that show (and I'll be honest, I'll probably keep watching) please keep in mind that if you're losing 1-2 pounds a week, you are doing great!  And if you have a week where you only lose 0.2 pounds, you're still moving in the right direction so I hope you can see that your hard work matters.

Alright, on to a review of my first week of Combat.

I am loving Combat so far.  The HIIT workouts are crazy intense, and the actual "combat" workouts are super fun while still kicking my butt.  And I love that the schedule is only 5 days/week, because that allows me to walk/run once a week as well.  I've been counting calories, and I've been surprised by how simple and easy it's been.  Even more shocking, I have tons of energy even though I'm only eating the recommended 1200 calories in this first week "metabolism kickstart."  I can only assume that the energy is a result of packing those 1200 calories with as much nutrition as possible.  I'm feeling great and am pumped to start week two!

Oh, and I promised to reveal my weigh-in results.

In the first week of Combat, I lost 5.6 pounds!  Now, my start weight may have been inflated because of all the junk I was eating, but either way, I'm pleased and am looking forward to week two.  Now, keep in mind, my goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week, so weeks like this are an anomaly and not the rule for me.  In fact, I only expected to lose maybe 2-3 the first week, so I was certainly shocked on the scale this morning.

Stay healthy!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you're all off to a wonderful start.  A lot has happened since I last posted a few months ago.  Here are the highlights:

• I finally talked the boyfriend into getting a kitten!  We adopted an adorable black cat who we named December;
• I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and wrote my first ever novel in 29 days;
• I finished the fall semester in one piece (although it was the worst semester GPA-wise of my academic career, pulling an A- in each class.  But I guess I can be ok with that);
• and unfortunately, I let life get in the way and my workouts slacked, bad eating habits creeped back in, and I regained pretty much all the weight I worked so hard to lose in the late-summer/early fall.

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty bummed about regaining the weight, but I'm not going to let that get in the way of me having an awesome 2013.  There is so many exciting things happening this year, including finally graduating from college (with my Masters) and entering the real world!

In the spirit of the new year, I want to share my New Year Resolutions with you.  Normally, I make a list of goals (usually 10-15) that I want to accomplish that year.  This time around, however, while I still made that list of 10 goals, I'm only focusing on three of them right now.  These three goals, once accomplished, make the rest of my goals possible so that's why I'm focusing my energy on them.  They are:

1. Get in shape
2. Revise my novel
3. (Graduate and then) get a job in my field

Here's a little clarification since goals should be measurable and have a plan of action to meet them.

Getting in shape to me means losing excess fat, gaining lean muscle, increasing endurance, and overall being healthier.  My ultimate goal is to be around 145 and a size 8-10.  I want to be fit enough to run a 5K and strong enough to do 10+ push-ups on my toes.  To accomplish this goal, I'm tweaking things a bit from what I did before.  First, I've started a new program called Les Mills Combat.  It is a mixed martial arts style program and it is AMAZING so far!  I started on January 1st and I am incredibly sore.  I plan to do three rounds of Combat (each round is 2 months and each round increases in intensity).  During round 3, I will add 5K training 3x/week and after that I will most likely mix Combat with running and Pump for weights.  Nutritionally, I will be eating clean, drinking Shakeology every morning for breakfast, and also tracking my calories daily (something I didn't do before).  I have a myfitnesspal (MFP) account (feel free to friend me!--my user name is SamAdams125) and I have the MFP app on my phone so I can track cals on the go.  I have a great support system (I'm looking at you Melissa B!) that includes friends and family, and I'm ready to reach my fitness goals!

So, about that novel.  I had never written a novel before NaNoWriMo, and never taken a creative writing class.  It was just something that I wanted to do, and I found out about the November contest the day before it started, and I just went for it.  It was super fun and I met the 50K word count!  Now, I want to revise my novel to make it something worth reading.  However, revising means way more than simply fixing grammar mistakes.  There are plot inconsistencies, whole plot points that I now think are stupid and need to be eliminated (but the info in them needs to still be in the novel somewhere), and all sorts of issues.  Since I want to do this right, and have no background in this type of thing, I'm taking a 22-week online revision course by Holly Lisle called "How to Revise Your Novel."  I'm almost done with week 2 and I'm learning so much!  I know this is something worth my time, too, because I get so incredibly excited when I read each lesson and start figuring out what's wrong (and what's right!) with my story.  To revise my novel completely in 2013, I'm committed to doing at least 15 minutes of revision a day, working through the online program, then (once that's done) I'll send the new version to a couple of beta readers to make any final changes.  I've very excited to have a readable novel within 12 months, even if it's a lot of work!

And finally, the dreaded "get a job" goal.  I'll be graduating from my master's program in May, and the anxiety about getting a job (and hopefully a local one, since I really like where I live) has been at the back of my head since this summer.  I would love to have a job by graduation, but I know that that's not  realistic.  Instead, my goal is to have a job by the end of August and I'm going to focus on the things I can control, like how many applications I send out.  I have conferences I need to look into, local college job websites in an excel file that I will begin checking weekly, and I'm on a mailing list for jobs in this area.  I'm going to do what I can to remain calm, to not be too picky while being selective enough that I end up in a "good fit" position, and to make myself the best candidate I can be.  I know it will be a stressful process, but I am very much looking forward to the day I am no longer a student and am instead a college staff member.

So, what about you?  What are your goals for 2013?  Do you have a plan on how you're going to reach them?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Stay heathy!

This isn't a Race: Lessons Learned from Les Mills Pump

Fitness is not a race.  Let me repeat that, because I so often hear people stress about not losing weight fast enough: Fitness is NOT a race.

 

Our society glorifies people who can lose 30 pounds in 30 days (or even 90 days).  That's great for that individual, but it is far from realistic.  Success stories in particular frustrate me.  I think it's amazing that these people have transformed their bodies and are living happier, healthier, and more energetic lives.  That's completely awesome.  However, the stories that are chosen by fitness companies (and while I love Beachbody, they are no exception) are the exception and not the rule when it comes to speed.  I fully believe that I can lose 77 pounds (now only 63 left after my 90 days of Pump!) using Beachbody workouts, eating clean, and drinking Shakeology.  However, I'm not going to do it in 180 days.  Heck, it might even take more than 365 days!  I've seen success stories where people lose all their excess weight (even when they have 60-70 pounds to lose) in just two rounds of a 90 day program (180 days or 6 months).  I'm hear to tell you that losing that much weight in that short of time, while clearly possible, is not realistic.

 

I'll admit that I've been discouraged many times by success stories who lost a ton of weight in 90 days.  I have to remind myself that fast weight loss like that is not realistic, that it's not the norm.  This past weekend I completed my 90 days of Les Mills Pump.  It was a fantastic program and I loved it.  I'll admit that the last three weeks were not great nutritionally, but the first 10 were awesome and the whole time I pushed really hard in my workouts.  Overall, I lost 13.8 pounds.  Let me rephrase (or I guess, re-punctuate) that: I lost 13.8 pounds!!!  That's something to celebrate!  Who cares that it wasn't the 30 pounds some success story lost.  That is 13 pounds of fat that is no longer weighing me down.  I am celebrating my success instead of stressing over what I *might* have lost if I ate perfectly the whole time.  I can't change that, so there's no point in worrying (plus, even if I did it would not have been a "success story" high number).  And, not only did I lose 13 pounds, I gained muscles!  I feel so much stronger, and my biceps are starting to show.

 

This morning I started my next program, ChaLean Extreme.  I've eaten well all day and have healthy things packed to eat during class.  While I loved Pump, mentally I was ready to do something different, and I'm sure my muscles will appreciate the change as well.  Would it be awesome to lose 30 pounds in this next 90 days?  Well, yeah, it'd be cool.  But that's not realistic.  My goal is to lose 15 pounds (just slightly more than I lost the past 90).  But beyond the weight loss goal, my more important goal make eating clean a habit again.  I want to nourish my body with healthy nutrients and build strong muscles by working hard during my strength training sessions.  And if I only lose 10 pounds instead of my goal of 15, that's ok!!  So long as I am moving my health forward, I am happy.

 

If you are just getting started on your journey to fitness, do me a favor, ok?  Don't stress about how fast or slow things are moving.  Just focus on making healthy choices and you'll be just fine.  Ease in slowly.  Take it easy on your body.  If you can only do 10 minutes of activity at a time, that's ok!  Do what you can, and always remember that nutrition accounts for 80% of your results.  If you're not ready to workout, start eating healthy.  If you're not sure what that should look like, pick up a copy of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet and that will teach you what eating clean looks like.  And if you fall back into old habits (like I did the last few weeks), don't worry!  Just dust yourself off and keep moving forward.  I'm here for you if you need a gentle push.

 

Stay healthy!