That image alone should give you some idea of how week two has gone on my AHS plan.
It has not been a successful week for me, but let me be clear... this is not Dr. Dave's fault at all. This is my fault. I got into a funny place in my head and for whatever reason I have bucked the idea of a diet. So where did that lead? To a bit of a downturn. I don't weigh in or measure up officially until tomorrow so will definitely turn this ship around today but I'll be honest, I'm bummed. Like why the hell did I think it would be a good idea to write about a diet?!? WTF. That's never a good I idea when it comes to me because I am no good at dieting. I am just not a rule follower. Period. I wrote "I will not obey" into my wedding vows for crying out loud!
Anyway. I think things really started to go wrong when I had to go rogue at the end of week one on account of many of the foods on the menu generating inflammation in my body. Then looking at the menu plan for week two and hating pretty much every food on there pushed me even farther out onto the skinny branches. Well then I was just basically on my own so I became unable (Read:unwilling) to go without carbs and I am not talking about the good kinds of carbs like quinoa, nope. I'm talking popcorn, tortilla chips - junk food! Junk food!!! On a diet plan! That's an epic fail right there, folks.
Things were looking up at the start of the week as I was being careful and sticking to my safe foods, but boredom and rebellion kicked in and I blew it. I have one more week - and this week puts me into phase two.
In Phase Two - this is from the book - you will slightly decrease your fat to 40% of your total calories and increase non-refined carbs to 35%. (we were 50% fat and 25% carbs in phase one). We do this by adding whole kernel grains like brown rice, steel-cut oats, or quinoa and some starchy veggies other than potato. Protein remains the same at 25%. Phase two is designed to retrain your fat cells so that your weight decreases progressively until stabilizing at its new, lower set point. This process can take a few weeks or months for some people. Phase two is intended to be your basic plan, to which you can always return as needed. If you're sensitive to processed carbs (which we test in phase three) you may do best remaining in phase two indefinitely. As with all phases we let hunger guide us.
To be honest, part of my problem is that because I am not following the menu to the tee, I may not have my percentages just right but here is what I can tell you so far after nearly two weeks in.
I am not hungry most of the time since starting Dr. Dave's plan. Eating fat works.
While I am a sugar-holic junkie ho who has 44 days clean and sober (meaning off all sugar except that which naturally occurs in whole {non-tropical} fruits and veggies) I still get mad cravings for sweets. Yes, even 44 days later. Ugh. It's hell.
I wake up feeling more awake. That never used to be the case. I was always in a fog. Today was the exception. I was exhausted and did not want to leave my bed. But guess what??? I had Indian Takeaway last night. SOOOOOO not on the plan. So carb heavy. So filled with sodium! I was a lump this morning and at 10:45am I could absolutely go back to bed right now. Let that be a lesson to you. Indian take away is no bueno when you are trying to make a life change in your diet dammit.
I'm not sure how I will fair on week three - Phase two. I kind of just want to quit and go back to Dr. Junger's Clean. I did (at the persuasion of my gloriously intelligent and super supportive mate Sophie) get a copy of Dr. J's latest book Clean Gut. Who knows where this road could lead to. Anyway, that's enough of my moping for one sitting I think!
Have a great weekend.
Shan
Sorry Shan, that doesn’t sound like fun times. :( I will admit I have never done a diet in my 35 years just because they sound so ghastly. I also hate rules and rule givers so that wouldn’t work for me. I also don’t eat very healthy lol (I don’t eat meat or drink soda but I do mainly eat snack foods since I also hate cooking and am a major chocoholic, and could never dream of going without it for 44 days like you have).
ReplyDeleteI do weigh myself every day and I find that works for me because I’m never correcting more than 2 lbs. (3 if it’s that time of the month). I feel like that works for me because it could never get too out of hand without me knowing, although how your clothes fit is another obvious sign. I do Tracy every other day because that’s sustainable for me, and on the days in between I’ll sometimes walk/jog on my treadmill. I don’t look like Tracy, I am totally Hipcentric and you just have to look at my mom to see where that came from, lol.
Most every other part of my body is on the thinner side, but then I have these bigger hips, thighs, and butt that are way less proportional. It’s been the bane of my existence really. I’ll think I’m doing Tracy’s moves pretty much correctly and then I can sometimes catch myself in the mirror and it’s like, no, not really. But then she is so small and short – I sometimes feel like she can do the moves faster because she has smaller, shorter parts to move, lol. So I don’t look like her, but I do as much as I can because I hate feeling blubbery in my body and I love clothes so I like to look nice in them.
I lost my way somewhere in there (I tend to meander when I do write, as you have mentioned the same). I follow you much more for who you are as a person and your awesome personality more than just health and exercise. So if I have a point I think it’s just to do what will be sustainable for you, so you do less on the wagon, off the wagon stuff. Especially if the diet is having you eat foods you don’t even like – I would have thrown it away right then, as I can be a picky eater too.
You obviously exercise regularly and you do eat healthy foods quite a bit and seem to enjoy finding new healthy recipes. I guess that’s a whole other topic though – how good is good enough? When do we feel a final sense of happiness with our body? That question made me laugh just typing it. I am 5’6 and weigh 127 as of this morning. I would like to weigh less so I guess that’s my ongoing journey. 10 years ago I weighed 115 and thought that was great, but looking back I don’t think I ate enough and was kind of a little too preoccupied with it if you know what I mean.
Finding a happy medium is best I think, and not being too hard on yourself in the meantime (as you tend to do). :) The middle path. The golden mean. The Goldilocks quotient. I know you already know all this, too. I wish you the best luck with next week’s diet plan if you’re continuing, I read and root for you every post, even though it’s silent most of the time. I am at work and goofing off on the internet so I guess I’ll do something work-y lol. Have a great weekend.
Awe thank you so much for your insightfulness Heidi. It's always lovely to hear from you. I appreciate everything that you are saying and do agree that if you check in with the scale regularly you can make adjustments as needed.
DeleteMy issue is that as the years creep on, my body isn't functioning as well as I know it is designed to so am (through trial and error) trying to give it all the appropriate nutrients in balance and keep it off the junk in order for it to settle into a healthy place of being. So I will feel well both physically and mentally. I hate to be tired and as I pay more attention I can see that some foods affect me mentally or energetically.
I'll keep you posted and thank you so much for reading whatever I write about. Love you.
Well, you are on the right path, so I commend you. Or trying to find the right path, which is just as important! Getting older is weird. It sounds like a dumb statement, but however old you are, that’s the oldest you’ve ever been so with each birthday I get more and more confused as to what I’m supposed to be doing, where I should be by now, etc. But I do see you as a health/fitness mentor (don’t freak out, no pressure lol) so I always look forward to see what you are mulling over next, or what successes you’re having. Love you too! :)
DeleteHa ha that's true Heidi, however old we are is older than we have ever been and shit is going to eventually break down so I want it to operate as it was designed to. Happy to have you with me as I stumble along - maybe eventually even into something great!
Deletexoxo
Shan, it doesn't sound like Dr. Dave's plan is going as well as hoped! But if you're having to modify because certain foods don't agree with you and then finding it difficult to eat well without following the plan... why not set your OWN plan up and follow that?! I mean, you know the macros that are recommended, so why not just make some meals up that suit that, and fill your plan with loads of veggies and protein, plus some things that taste REALLY good? And I don't mean sugary things, I mean real food, but just put together cleverly so that if feels like a real treat but really it's darn good for you too.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I had cheese on my granola. No, not even kidding. But not hard cheese, but Quark, it's a high protein soft cheese, a lot like philadelphia soft cheese, but no fat and lots of protein - I put a half teaspoon of honey over it then a teaspoon of cashew butter and i'm not joking it was the yummiest thing ever. You just have to think outside the box and not feel like you're eating things because 'you should' or because you're so stubborn you've decided that's what you're going to do and can't possibly change because that's called failure. Well it's not failure, it a choice, and you are allowed to make choices :-)
Anyway... I'm not too hopefully that Dr.Dave will last the course but there's no reason you can't. Just last your own course, not someone else's who is not YOU.
Have a great weekend, but no more Indian's okay?!
x
Janice, I love that: "just last your own course" it is in fact what I am doing. Although as I said not so sure I am getting my percentages exactly right but am taking some great recipes from Dr. Junger's Clean Gut and some of my own personal faves and tailoring them to this particular plan. So lets see where we get.
DeleteAnd yes, def no more Indian take away.
xoxoo
Oh Shan! It's frustrating! I think you should eat the way your instincts are telling you. Shut out all the experts and go back to basics.
ReplyDeleteI know in my case, when I get too much information I end up with paralysis by analysis. If it's diet related I end up binging.
I never got the hot bod from TA that you did. I've honestly been making myself miserable the last few years besting myself up over it.
My bible study took my picture and I look like a gargoyle ! A potato-y gargoyle with a big nose. I think I a just not photogenic. The daguerreotype needs to make a comeback. Everyone looked bizarre! Or I need to hook up with a Kardashian.
I love what Janice said about "Its not a failure, it's a choice". You are not failing anything. Take what you need from Dr.Dave and leave the rest.
Whatever you do, I'm cheering for you!
Hey Gia,
DeleteI so get what you mean about too much info, so that is why I selected Dr. Dave. He seemed to sum up what many of the other experts are saying about fat and protein etc.
My instincts are messed up which is why I require education. So far I am not binging tho so that's a bonus in itself.
Thank you for always being in my corner and I hope you know that I am also in yours.
xox
Ha! Nate and I went out for celebratory dinner to an awesome French restaurant here in Asheville....and the rich food, wine, and then Americano for dessert because I'm an idiot and couldn't leave well enough alone. I basically had the food sweats for the rest of the night (so romantic), and flutter slept because my system was so hyped up. Whatever, it was worth it, but damn I was a mess yesterday. ;)
ReplyDeleteI kept thinking as I was reading this post about my old line of work and the null hypothesis. I was a researcher (social sciences rather than hard science), and most of our research revolved around the null. Basically, you're trying to prove something sexy in your main (alternative) hypothesis like "controlling for other effects, these two variables that I wrote this whooooooooooole paper on...they are totally related". Totally. Big time. Statistically significant even. Whoop whoop. Yay! I was right! More often than not, you prove the null hypothesis with is there is no statistically significant relationship between you two variables. Sad face.
But at the end of the day, finding no relationship isn't all that bad. It's not as sexy and fist pump-y....but it fills in the puzzle pieces of a body of research. We are fairly certain that x, y, or z doesn't work/have and effect/influence your variable that your studying. And that's actually a help to understanding a system as a whole.
That's what this process reminds me of for whatever reason this morning as I'm sipping my coffee and reading this post. You're doing the right things, and the proposed outcome hasn't really lined up, but you're knocking out a lot of null crap in the process. How about dairy? Beans? Legumes? Grains? I'm pretty sure my mom even went for the blood panel at one point for hormones and allergies. Her thyroid was a bit out of whack, if I recall correctly. Ive always be curious to try that, but I'm scared of needles, so my fear outweighs my curiosity. Babbling tangent.
Anyhoo, huge hugs to you and all your readers who are struggling to figure out the "puzzle of how I work". I really do think the final result will be worth it. And 44 days sugar free is something pretty dang dope!
xo,
myla
I could read your thoughts all day long. I confess at one point up there you lost me, but then you summed it all up and I was like OH! Yeah, man totally. It's a giant process of elimination basically. Yes, needles? Not so much. I'd be curious to take those tests too but just as happy puttering away in the garage that is my body, tinkering under my hood to tune up the old engine but adjusting the types and quality of fuel and oils going in.
DeleteGood times mamma.
xox