I Went Down To The Crossroads- Phase 3 - Weigh In

 Not that one!

 Or that one either.

 Ok, maybe that one.

Long time no see. Sorry I've been away. Things have been crazy with work, life and school. Meaning every time I've wanted to sit down and write out a post something happened. Over all the diet has been fine. I feel like we've been doing well on Phase 3 but I guess but I'm starting to get a little worried that I may have hit a road block. We are starting back on Phase 1 as the book recommends Monday so I felt like today would be a good day to weigh in. Sadly I have to report that I've lost an entire 4 tenths of a pound. Yes, down an entire 0.4 lbs. Which means my Day 15 weight towards the end of Phase 2 was 238.8 and my weight at the end of Phase 3 is 238.4. Ouch. So... final numbers of Phase 1, 2 and 3.

Starting weight: 254.4    (6 lbs off my heaviest of 260)

Lost in Phase 1: 13.8
Lost in Phase 2: 1.8
Lost in Phase 3: 0.4

Grand Total: 16lbs in 51 Days

For an average of about 2.2 lbs per week and a surprising noticeable drop off between the 3 Phases. Nearly a stalemate on the last two.

So... what does this mean. Here are a few thoughts.

1. I did not exercise in Phase 1 or Phase 2. Thus I was willing to accept the low amount of weight loss in Phase 2. Phase 1 was a cleanse with a lot of water weight lost.

2. I did exercise everyday on Phase 3 except one. Both Lucy and I have been doing the P90x videos. So such a small amount of loss is concerning. We've rarely made it though an entire hour workout, but they are pretty intense and I believe you have to work up to it.

3. P90x includes a lot of muscle training, muscle weighs more than fat, leaving the possibility that the number of the scale could be deceiving. You can lose fat over all, but either gain or not lose weight on the scale. The question is did I do enough weight training in Phase 3 to distort the numbers that dramatically?

4. I've often heard that don't worry so much about the scale, you'll know if your losing fat and getting into shape based on how your clothes fit and how you feel overall. So good news is I do feel my clothes fit a little better and I do feel better. Lucy bought some jeans the other day and dropped a few sizes, but she has not weighed. I actually convinced her to weigh next Friday because her schedule has been off this past week.

5. In the past on a diet such as Weight Watchers, I was aware of what I was eating, but this time I've been very aware of what I'm eating in regards to other items and the time in which I'm eating it. So we stick to the no fruit after 2 and have only had carbs for dinner a few times. And a very low amount of carbs at that.

6. 

7. Work has been a bear lately, leaving to skipped and delayed meals, as well as a much lower water intake throughout the day.

8. Green tea has all but disappeared from the diet. We did very good having a cup with each meal during Phase 1 but it just faded away in 2 & 3.

So, with that info I'm unwilling to say that The 17 Day Diet is a bust. There were obviously things we did not follow as well as we could have and these are not the fault of the diet. But I will say that the lack of weight loss over the last two phases with the restricted diet alone should cause concern. And the extreme lack of loss in Phase 3 with daily exercise and the restricted diet combined leave me perplexed. Especially when I've seen a better per week average weight loss on a diet such as WW with a much more open menu. Now, the book states that you do Phases 1, 2 and 3. Then if you haven't lost what you wish, do all three Phases in order again. But, my issue with this is if the majority of loss on average seems to occur in Phase 1 only, then am I not just on a low carb diet for 17 days followed by 34 days of watching my diet until I can do another 17 days of low carb? I'm unconvinced that the metabolic confusion works at all.

As of now Lucy and I plan on returning to Phase 1 Monday. With the added exercise from P90x I'm not sure if Phase 1 will provide enough carbs to keep up that level of workout, but we'll just play that by ear. The other option, try something else I guess. I will say that I am unwilling to continue on a diet that is pretty darn restrictive and not get any results. Especially when I can get the same or better results on something less restrictive.


Looking forward to everyone's feedback. Might have reached a crossroads here.

Lucy - Day 39, Phase 3

Another weigh-in today...only lost .4, but that's to be expected. The book tells you that by Phase 3, you won't lose a lot since you're adding in some carbs. I've also been doing P90X with Ted, so I could be building some muscle. In any case, I didn't GAIN anything. And I'm feeling pretty good; except for the achiness.

I was talking with some co-workers today, and we were considering doing the 3-mile Race for the Cure in May. I happen to be leaving for vacation the day of the race, but I have agreed to particiapte in the training, even if I can't be in the race. Luckily, you have the option of walking or running, in ehich case, I would SO be walking! I've never been a runner, and have some respiratory issues that might make it difficult. Nobody wants to be that person that passes out and has to have the ambulance come revive you. That's just embarrassing. But, if they'll have me, maybe I can train to walk the 3 miles.

Looks like our last day on Phase 3 is March 24. I think Ted's already got plans for a slice of pepperoni pizza that weekend...with a large salad, of course. And we'll still be exercising, so that slice will come right off in no time! I have to admit that I'm looking forward to that slice myself. But we're not going to go crazy. Forcing yourself to have veggies and/or salad with every meal is touch, but I've definitely seen the results and benefits. So knowing that it's vital to keep that mindset is important.

Exercising is taking a lot of time away from our puppies, laundry, household duties, and for Ted, studying. We're trying to make up for those things in other ways like putting a load of clothes on in the morning so they're ready to hit the dryer in the evening (thank goodness my washer has a timer!), one of us working on dinner while the other one showers after workouts, once of us cooking while the other one does dishes, etc. It's tough, but we've always found that we get things done faster and more efficiently when we work together and do different tasks. I don't know how single folks do it, but only having to cook for 1 is harder than anything I've ever done!

How are you guys doing in the getting-it-all-done department?

Lucy - Day 2, Phase 3 - Oh, My Aching Body

After my week of jury duty with no exercise, I started getting back into it last Saturday. I started with a stretching workout from Ted's P90X series, which was a great way to jump-start my muscles.

Sunday was Jillian Michaels' ab workout. I couldn't even laugh yesterday without being in pain. But it's a good pain.

Monday morning, I started with Jillian's metabolism booster workout. Only got about 15 minutes in. Boo, I know. So, I decided to work out with Ted last night doing arms and shoulders on P90X. What a great workout! It was an hour long, and we both kept each other motivated. I had a hard time lifting my arms this morning to brush my hair, but it's all good.

I had every intention of getting up this morning and doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred video, but I have to admit, I'm wiped out! Ted and I are doing her yoga video tonight, so I'm still covered.

We're trying to make sure we get enough protein while doing some weight training while also watching protein intake based on the diet. I think next week, we'll take a look at each workout per day, and plan our menu.

Speaking of food, the 2nd day on Phase 3 includes whole wheat and high fiber cereal with almond milk (better WITH food...not really very good drinking it alone), whole wheat spaghetti with butternut squash meat sauce & salad, and crock-pot chuck roat with pureed cauliflower for dinner. We're avoiding fruit today since there's cereal and pasta involved.

Planning menus has become much more of a family meeting than just me putting them together. We talk about what we have in the fridge, freezer and pantry so we don't have to buy extra. Ted actually came up with most of the dinner ideas and a couple lunch ideas for this week. We also planned on cooking several meals, or at least pieces of meals, at one time to save time and money later, and make sure we have the time for workouts.

Yes, it's taken up our lives. But we both feel better, are losing weight, and are attempting to make this a lifestyle, not just something we do for 51 days.

By the way...Ted, I'm so proud of you for sticking to this diet with me, and for deciding on your own when it was right for you to exercise. We're making changes that are giving us longevity...together.

X - Day 1

Ok, I've finally started. Finally started exercising. I've already discussed that it's not my first love. Lucy is.

Overall with exercising it's just really hard to first: get motivated, second: find the time to keep it up and third: not stop when the results don't appear as quickly as I would like. But we all have to stop somewhere and if Ruth's comment on my "I Hate Sweating" post isn't enough to get you off the couch, then nothing will. Thank you for that Ruth.

The 17 Day Diet book recommends 17 min a day of walking to start then up you level of activity from there. I've decided that if I'm going to really do this, I need to go a little further. Bring on the P90X. I mentioned awhile back that I had started P90X many months ago. I made it though 60 days of the Lean program before giving up. Why? I actually gained weight. Now X will put muscle on you, no doubt. Muscle weighs more than fat, thus the scale can be deceiving. But you should be able to definitely tell when you lose fat. What did I do wrong? Be very careful of protein shakes. Not all shakes are the same. Some contain creatine and it will pack weight on you faster than Krispy Kreme. After every workout I would drink a protein shake to help with muscle recovery and lessen soreness. In that case, it worked. But I really believe it helped sabotage my weight loss. I heard this from other people as well. I was buying the big container from Wal-Mart (and I hate Wal-Mart) mainly due to the fact that you got a five gallon bucket of the stuff for 12 bucks. Then when I was done I could use the container to mix tile grout in. So, the moral is if you wish to partake in a protein shake find something without Creatine. The Biggest Loser makes a shake powder that is low in cals and fat. Shakeology might also be a good place to look.

Now, back to my workout. P90X is a six/seven day workout. Six days on and one day off, or you can do the stretch video on day seven. It rotates between weight training and cardio. Each session is about one hour long. The first 15 min is warm up, the last 10 is cool down and the in-between is two sets of reps. I've often found the warm up too slow, so I've decided to use the treadmill to warm up until the specific muscle stretches begin. If you are working chest and back that day, you need to warm up those muscle groups. I'll also shorten the cool down. I know they are both important to help keep you from sustaining and injury, but I also have to find a way to trim some time off the workout.

Today I got through the first session of reps before having to stop. I'm a "passer-outer" and it doesn't take much for me to hit the floor. I'm like one of those fainting goats. So when I got so light headed that I had to pull the ole put your head between your knees routine I knew it was time to call it. But it was better than the last time when I passed out in the Verizon store.

How will this affect my 17 Day Diet? I don't think it will skew my numbers dramatically. The exercise is called for on 17 Day and the diets of X and 17DD Cycle 3 are not that different.

Today is Day 1 and I plan to get in 60 days before we go to the beach in May.

What type of exercising is everyone out there doing? Running, walking, gym, treadmill, weight training, kung fu, tabata, jujitsu, krav maga, yoga?

Lucy - Day 15, Phase 2

Yes, I've been on jury duty. And what an experience! Before I get started with my diet thoughts, let me say that I don't ever want to do that again. It's a great life experience, but it interrupted my entire life, planted roots in my mind every waking moment (and some sleeping ones), and was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. On the flip side, I'm glad I did it at the age I am now, and not when I was in my 20's. I think my life experience made me more of an asset as a juror.

Moving on...

Ted's right, the environment was extremely controlled. How's that?

First, I'm used to drinking almost 60 oz. of water a day, which means I have to pee about every 20-30 minutes. That's tough to do when you get a break every 1.5 hours. I don't think the Judge would have appreciated me raising my hand constantly to ask if we could take a recess.

Second, I couldn't eat as often as I was used to. Yes we took breaks, but they were unorganized, and made it hard to snack.

Third: I usually take all my snacks and lunch to work and put them in my personal fridge. No such fridge in the Jury Deliberation Room. One day, I ate at the courthouse cafeteria...spinach salad. Not too bad. The other days, I took my lunch and packed my bag with cold packs. Worked pretty well.

There were days I didn't get to eat all my snacks, and by the time I got home, I was ready to throw a dog and on the grill! Don't worry, all 3 kids are in tact. But I was crazy hungry when I got home. I could have eaten 3 or 4 containers of yogurt, a Power Cookie, and several handfuls of almonds. I really tried not to...I tried to have something I was allowed and drink more water.

Now, for my weigh-in: I lost another 1.2 pounds! That's a total of 9.8 pounds in 32 days! I'm pretty happy with almost 10 pounds. Ted says I look thinner, and I notice it a bit. I wasn't able to exercise this week, and by the time I got home, I was so mentally exhausted, working out was the furthest thing from my mind. My plan for tomorrow is to sleep in a little, work out, clean up, and watch movies all day. Oh, come on...it's supposed to rain all weekend! Ok, I'll do some reading, too. Happy now?

Tell us how you're doing. Seeing other people's successes is so motivating!

Ted - Phase 2 - Day 15 - Weigh In

OK, I know I said I was only going to weigh every 17 days. But day 17 of Phase 2 landed on a Sunday and as I discussed in the previous post, weighing in on a Monday is a very bad idea for me. So I checked in a little early since Friday is usually a good day and we start Phase 3 Monday.

How did I do? Ok, lost about 2 lbs more and over all I'm now down about 15/16 give or take a 1/10 I think.

I will say I'm not disappointed, 2 pounds in 2 weeks is what I was expecting. Bring us back to the universal one pound/one week equilibrium. I did not expect the higher number I lost in Phase 1 to continue, so I was prepared for it.

Could I have done better? Absolutely. First off I haven't been exercising. This is something I have to get going. I simply will not be successful long term with out working in some exercise. Second, my work situation over the last two weeks has been problematic and stressful. Leading to days where I skipped lunch, skipped snacks, ate too late, didn't hardly drink water and green tea was non existent. It's just really messed with my daily schedule. So, I can't blame the diet for any lack of loss, I simply didn't do a very good job following it as I should.

More thoughts later.

To Weigh or Not To Weigh...

 
Actually, that's not really what the Prince of Denmark had in mind, but you get my point. When to weigh, and how often? The first part is easy. Always weigh first thing in the morning, before breakfast. I'm convinced that the human body on average fluctuates an average of 5 lbs a day. Everything thing from water retention to every meal you had working it's way through your system will add at least 5 lbs at the end of the day. So, don't jump on the scale at 10pm after a pasta dinner. That was the easy part... now the second part is more difficult to answer.

I believe the answer to the second question can only come from the individual. You know your body best and I bet most people can just tell you based on how they feel if they should weigh on any given day. I've been here before and tried it many different ways. What I've noticed is if I weigh too much, and the scale doesn't drop I get discouraged. Discouragement is the death nail to a diet. Of all the things that go on around us, food advertisments, co-workers offering cupcakes, the convience of the drive thru. I don't believe anything is as difficult to overcome as even the hint of discouragement. Exercise, eat right for days and weeks, then jump on the scale and you see no change. It's the recipe for knocking back an Extra Value Meal, with a chocolate milk chaser. My best defense against the evil that is discouragement is ignorance. Yes, seems dumb, I know. I know that my body for the most part loses weight slowly. I know that when I lose it's not obvious on my frame. And I know that it will take quite sometime to get to a point where I really start to see a noticeable difference. It's the way I'm biologically wired. It's possible to go a week and lose 4 lbs and the next week not lose one. If I make sure to only weigh at larger increments I lessen the risk of being caught in one of those stalemate weeks. Yes, this diet says you can lose a good bit quickly, but I believe that fast weight loss is only likely to happen in Phase 1. Instinct tells me that during Phases 2 and 3 weight loss will come at a much slower Weight Watchers like level of maybe a pound or two per week, tops. I'm prepared for it and I've decided to weigh at the end of each 17 days at the most. Not knowing on the bad weeks helps for knowing on the good weeks.

There is a sweet spot here, weigh too early and you run the risk of not losing like you had hoped, wait too long and you run a risk of not noticing that an adjustment needs to take place. Valuable time will go by with no change in your weight when you might could have made a change earlier to correct it. The balance is up to you. Trust your body, you know it better than you think. Just because some chart or formula says today is a day you must weigh, don't do it if you feel waiting a day is better. The encouragement of a well timed weigh in can work wonders for long term weight loss. Me? I'll never weigh on a Monday. I know that my schedule on the weekends doesn't offer up a good Monday morning pound estimate. Friday, Friday is a good call. You've had the week to get it right and knowing before the weekend is a good thing. Reduces the risk for multiple chip bag feasts on a Saturday afternoon watching a Jersey Shore marathon on MTV. (Shame on you, not for the chips, but for the choice in television programming)

Now I will say that once you've lost the weight you'd like and you move on the Phase 4 then it's probably a good idea to weigh often, keep track of where you are and you're less likely to gain it all back. But that's down the road, after we rid the world of the time suck that is the The Real Housewives of Wherever.

Continue on - Day 12 - Phase 2

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Lucy is serving Jury Duty and I've just been busy with work and school. Not much to report on the diet, nothing new during the last week of Phase 2. Honestly I had to look at the calender and count to see what day I was on. I won't say it's been easier than Phase 1, although the addition of a few carbs, shellfish, beans and beef have given us a few new options. But making full use of them is problematic since you can only eat the carbs every other day, plus we are trying to make sure we don't have them for dinner. This is an issue and I'm working on a post now concerning dinner in America. This is an issue and I can see it will continue to be one. We've run into an issue several times lately where dinner time comes along and we have very very limited options on what to eat. But like I said, more on this later.

I'm unsure if I've lost a single additional pound since starting Phase 2. We know my exercise issues, and I do promise to start soon. I'm not seeing anything new in my body, I don't feel smaller, but we'll see how it goes.

I still owe you guys a post regarding my thoughts on weighing... gotta finish that one.

How is it going for everyone?