From 3 days to 3 weeks

                                             


Tomorrow marks week 3 from starting this Carb Cycling/Chris and Heidi Powell inspired lifestyle change. 

I am down 6 pounds. This is definitely - at least for me - a slowly but surely experience. I am trying not to obsess over the scale, therefore didn't weigh myself again until this past Friday. My clothes are fitting more loosely so I'm trying to go just by that much of the time. 

Non-scale victories:

• I haven't bought lunch out in 3 weeks 
• I have dropped the cream and sugar from my coffee - initially I transitioned to Unsweetened Almond Milk but tried one morning without anything and actually prefer it
• My wine/cocktail intake is way down. Living in a summer community during the summers this is nothing to scoff out - cocktails are the way of life! (The Powells say get rid of all the alcohol and while I get that's an easy way to save oodles of calories, I've chosen to follow the in moderation/no booze during the work week plan. This is real life, y'all.)
• My activity level has increased and I am feeling stronger 
• I signed up for yoga and am loving getting back to it - it's been far too long. Also, planks suck.
• My water intake has quintupled.

Challenges:

• Weekends are hard. For the most part it's not hard to be smart about what I'm eating, but I find it hard to stick to the 5 meals every three hours because our days are not predictably scheduled.
• Dinner is the hardest during the week for sticking to the three hour schedule. I'm still eating several hours after my typical 3:30 pm snack and at this point I'm not sure how to shift that just given the way the evenings go.
• Our grocery bill has increased. I think that part will sort itself out, and part of that increase is because I am eating from home for every meal versus skipping breakfast and ordering lunch out. Big picture our costs are probably reduced, but the supermarket is benefiting while I sort this all out.
• The 9 minute missions are very hard for me still, especially when they are upper body focused. I've also missed them in the mornings a couple of times and find them even more difficult in the evening.
• I need to step up the shredders (cardio/strength workouts that are essentially HIIT based).

Things I've learned:

• Planning is everything. You cannot succeed at this without planning. I have been making my lunches on Sundays so that I can just grab them out of the fridge every morning.
• I have been experimenting with my breakfast - eating within 30 minutes of getting up is unappealing to me, but I now understand the importance of it. One can only do so many egg whites and veggies so I've reintroduced protein shakes. That's more my speed first thing in the morning.
• I've had a couple of high fat/heavy meals on reward days at restaurants and I've left feeling sick both times. Note to self, it's worth the $8 extra bucks for the healthier meal on the menu.
• Because of the way their plan is structured I do not feel deprived, which is why I think this is successful. Because let's face it - this is all a mental game.