Week 2 of Diet
Here I am , kicking off the second week of my 12-week diet, and I am motivated as ever. (I just finished up an intense leg day after half of an Endorush. So I’m sure that helps with my positivity:)) My clients are on board, I’ve got the support of my parents and my boyfriend, so that alone helps more than anything. Hopefully, this is a long stretch, but hopefully this will be a wake up call for my boyfriend to start on his path to a healthier lifestyle. He has been the HARDEST person to EVER come into my life to motivate to have just a simple desire to take care of his body. Seems like that alone would give me the disadvantage in this little competition, but strangely it gets me to eat even more cleanly, and work out even harder. I blame that on the arrogant satisfaction I get from being MUCH better than him at something. Again, there’s that competitive edge that drives me; like I spoke about in my last post.
I’m not going to chart out exactly what I’ve been eating in ANY of these posts. That is far too tedious of a task than I feel like putting my effort into. That I can blame on the lack of carbs:) I was what you could call a physically-dependent carb-a-holic before this point. Making the switch to a much lower carbohydrate diet was, and still is, one of the hardest adventures I have ever taken. As a disclaimer, I DO NOT AGREE WITH LOW-CARB DIETS. I love my brain, I love to write (obviously), and I love my constant creativity in all areas of my life. My brain needs carbs, plain and simple. Of course my body needs them, but I am so focused on constantly thinking, and creating that I need my carbs. I am also super active, and so is my job. I need to fuel myself. So, a low-carb is not for me. Just the right kinds of carbs. A variety of carbs. Out with the white bread pizza that will only just drops me in the end! Ha! Sounds like my last boyfriend. So delicious, but only good in small doses.
With that said, (not the boyfriend comment) this is a LOWER carb diet than what I was doing, not zero or low carb. I was eating far too many carbs to get to my desired body fat percentage. I’m still eating oatmeal, I’m eating sweet potatoes, fruit, many vegetables, whole wheat bread, and even chocolate. I just had to learn the meaning of the age-old phrase "everything in moderation." I could live and be perfectly happy eating only cereal, bread, and all things starchy and delicious. Other than the fact that it would keep my weight up higher; it would keep me away from getting other nutrients that I would be depriving myself of. By only feeding my brain a gratuitous amount of glucose. And let’s not forget that alcohol is made from grain, and in some cases potatoes. And I get PLENTY of that. Too much glucose=fat, to put it simply. Your body stores what you don’t use. And I am apparently not using all of my empty-calorie, white bread carbs.
Vegetables are a carbohydrate. Packed with fiber. Fiber is a carbohydrate. I didn’t really eat vegetables before this. My mother had to count my green beans to my age as I was growing up…even up to the point I was 20 before I left the house. I even had the fantastic idea to throw my uneaten vegetables in the pantry "for Alf to eat." Which ended up quite sour, as my mother had to watch my consumption much more closely after she found the black turds on the floor.
Vegetables. I think they’re gross. I think they’re reprehensible. I think they should be bad for me so I don’t have to eat them. But alas, they are those must-eat super foods. Packed with nutrients so densely to the brim that I have NO excuse to not eat them. I hate every chew, every carress of their green skin across my vegetable-sensitive tongue; but now I switch variety up so much that I have no time to complain. Plus, the prospect of having a square of 72% cocoa "Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint" reward once a day puts everything into perspective. Do well, get rewarded. Who said you couldn’t teach an old dog with VERY bad vegetable habits new tricks.
Now, let’s prentend, you, the potential reader of this, are a priest. We are divided by that screen where I confess my most awful of sins. Got the image in your mind? Good. Now, father, I have a confession. I drank saki on Friday. I had every intention of stopping that habit for 3 months, but failed in the first week. I have decided however, not to let this get me down, father. I was drinking, binge-drinking, 3 days a week. This is an improvement. I am taking the "What About Bob" idea of baby steps, and incorporating that into my plan. I can’t go from black to white. I’ve got to travel from the black area down the grey path to get to the white. I’ll make it, but it’s going to take a while. Believe me, it’s a LONG walk. So please be patient with me, and realize that I am trying.
Phew, got it off my chest. Nobody’s fitness is perfect. We all need our escapes, our "rock" as one of my trainers said to me today, to keep us sane; to keep us motivated. Just like with my chocolate, we need to give ourselves a break once in a while. To have a release without guilt, to excite us for the following day of perfection, and that next cheat day that we have scheduled to come. Not only is it for our sanity, but the actual shock of this suprising addition, and extra calories kicks our metabolism back into first gear. So as I’m trying to slow this alcohol consumption down, I am going to keep positive and realize that a couple drinks will not hurt my waistline, my liver, or my journey for a better me.
January 12, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Good luck in Week 2. Entering mine as well.