it might actually work...

ok, so i did the BOD POD again this past saturday. i have to admit that i got very upset from the results, even though i did make improvements. it wasn't as good as i expected, it actually wasn't even as good as my trainer expected, but it was an improvement, so i guess i have to be happy about that. it just sucks cause i feel like i've worked my ass off for so long, so i expected something drastic, but nope. so i was pissed, a little down, and very aggrivated and mopy. nick of course went into it thinking that he was going to have horrible results and ended up being much better than he expected, so i was proud of him....but i won't lie, i was a little angry too. not with him, just with the process because i have been watching what i eat sooooo much better than him, and he ended up doing better than me....very discouraging. i ended up losing 3.6 lbs of body fat, then gaining 2.5 lbs of lean mass. my trainer said he expected me to lose more around 5 lbs body fat, and gain about 4 lbs lean mass just because of how much my body has toned up and how much better my endurance has gotten. so, he used those 2 things to try and make me feel better. and its true...when i first started there i couldn't even make it 1/4 mile without stopping to catch my breath, but now i can go for a mile + and not have to stop at all. and i def have toned up because i've dropped 4-6 pants sizes. so i know everything i'm doing is ultimately working, i just pay too much attention to #s as opposed to full results.
but now it has motivated me enough to suck it up and push for the next step to try and lose the weight - Paleo Challenge. its a challenge our gym is doing starting this past saturday and it lasts through april 25th, when the BOD POD guy comes back again. everyone that wants to do it has to put $10 into the pot, and whoever wins gets the pot of $ plus a free month at the gym. i told my trainer i'm gonna win it. to determine who wins we all had to do the BOD POD this past weekend, and then we have to do it again on april 25th, and whoever has lost the most % of body fat wins - kinda like the biggest loser. well, i have PLENTY of body fat to lose, so i'm determined to win it.
so what is a Paleo diet? its basically eating like a caveman - anything you can hunt, catch, gather is fair game....anything processed, dairy, or any grains/carbs is out. you can eat carbs as long as its the carbs in any fruit/veggies, but thats it. basically you can eat as much of the veggies/fruit as you want - unlimited, and then you portion the right amount of lean meat, and then you also have to eat some sort of fat (ie, nuts, avocado, oils, etc).
at first i was very worried that there was no way i could go without some sort of grains/carbs, but i'm on day 4 and i've been ok so far. and i'm even surprised at the amount of energy i still have, because they say that if you're not used to this type of diet you typically lose alot of energy at first because your body is adjusting to not having the heavy carbs as energy, so you have to make sure you eat enough fruits/veggies to replenish it. AND i've already started losing weight! they told me that with this diet you drop weight really fast because people don't realize how much fat eating a lot of carbs can cause, but now i believe them. i was 215 on saturday when i was weighed in the bod pod, and this morning i was 208.4 - granted, i know some of that is water weight also, but still, i'm at the lowest i've ever been since i started working out - so obviously its working.
but, there are 2 things that are a downfall:
1- OMG, eating all this healthy stuff is very expensive! you go through so much more food because you have to eat so much of it to get in the right amount of calories and stay energized. but, nick and i have talked about it and decided that its worth it and we'll do whatever we have to do to make it work. so we're shifting money around to make sure we put enough aside for the extra grocery bills, even if it means we don't get to do/get something *extra* for ourselves. health is first, and if this is what it takes to be healthy, then so be it.
2- i suck at cooking - and i mean i SUCK at cooking. i can follow recipes, but typically it either doesn't turn out right or the recipe just ends up not being in our taste pallet. so, when you are limited to the things you can eat, AND all the extras (ketchup, dressings, mayo, cheese, etc) - cooking sucks even more! apparently we can use marinades because its such a small amount that gets absorbed that its ok, and we can use olive oil/vinegar/etc too, but still the food just doesn't seem right. so i'm not gonna lie, there are times that i have to play mind over body just to get something down, but so far i've been ok. i'm trying new things and having to figure out ways to make it more appealing.
now, nick isn't doing the challenge, so it makes it a little harder because we still have all those "extra" things around the kitchen that i can't have....but, he is eating better than he was before, so it makes it a little easier because we have mass amounts of fruits and veggies EVERYWHERE. i told him the other day that i was amazed at how different our fridge was when you opened it now compared to a year ago....sooooo much healthier than before.
so, i'm hoping this is the next big push to get me on my way to losing more weight. its gonna suck, and its gonna be expensive, but thats what i have to do if i really want to reach my goal. i just have to suck it up for a month...and then hope that by the end of the month my eating habits will be accustomed to this so that i don't go back to my old ways.