I have returned from my Old Kentucky Home. I shared some love and laughs with those dear
to me and brought back some great memories… and a full stomach.
Yesterday I stepped on the scale and weighed 139.6 pounds. Now if you remember, that is exactly 3 pounds
heavier than my pre-Kentucky weigh in last Thursday. So am I genuinely 3 pounds heavier? Highly unlikely. I
had not consumed bread or soda or dairy in over 3 weeks, and when I did that,
my body has responded with some post-carb/dairy/carbonation bloat.
This demonstrates two things:
1. Those things genuinely were contributing to
my plumped up middle
2. Your weight can fluctuate by a few pounds
over a few days and you shouldn’t freak
out about it.
What you eat, how much water you’ve consumed (a gallon of
water weighs 8 pounds!) and hormone fluctuations can leave you pulling your
hair out if you are constantly using the scale as a sole measure of your
success. I will even give you a weigh in
a week from now to demonstrate that point.
Go by how you look, how you feel and how those favorite pair of jeans fit,
not by the fact that you weigh 154 pounds today and 152.7 pounds yesterday. It’s good to keep yourself in check but it’s
important to take all factors into consideration when trying to slim down.
My goal was (and still will be) to lose body fat percentage
points. So the all consuming question
yesterday was whether or not becoming paleo made a difference in my body
composition.
The results are in:
Beginning Body Fat
Percentage: 29.1
Yesterday’s Body Fat
Percentage: 27.0
Ladies and gentleman, I call this a success! I am (pleasantly) surprised I was able to
shave off 2 whole percentage points in this 30 day challenge.
So where do I go from here?
No not down to the cupcake shop or Einstein Bagels…
I’m going to stick
with the paleo lifestyle (because it has to be a lifestyle change and not a
diet, remember!?), with a modification.
One day a week (as recommended by a great friend who has
been doing this for over a year) I will allow myself to eat something not paleo
if I so desire. This includes things
like rice or legumes which have been the hardest to cut out. I may not choose to do it every week and I
may sub in a piece of Garlic naan bread with my favorite curry but I’m
definitely going to maintain a paleo style of eating for a vast majority of the
time (mmmm… Garlic naan. Sorry, where
was I?)
Here is a list of things that I don’t care to ever have
again and (surprisingly) haven’t really wanted to eat so they will probably be eliminated
for good:
Regular Bread (Buns,
slices, sandwich thins, etc)
Cereal (Even the granola
kind)
Granola Bars
Dairy milk (although I
will still use whey protein isolate for protein shakes)
Regular potatoes
(sweet potatoes taste better anyway)
Soy milk (Almond milk
and coconut milk are much tastier alternatives as well)
So, I’m feeling happy and healthy and determined with my new
lifestyle choices. I have also almost finished
reading Inside the Box and am
captivated by CrossFit.
Next stop…
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