Day 34: F*** the MF'ing SCALE

Okay, for those of you that don't know me that well I have to apologize for the curse words in the subject. . .but when I get hostile I only say the f bomb. It's strange, but there seem to be no other words that describe my hostility.

So the head lady in charge at our Crossfit gym has asked us to write our thoughts down. . .what was hard. . .what was easy? And I'm ready!!

First of all, in 31 days (my last body fat test was on 10/2 and my most recent one was yesterday on 11/2) I lost

WAIT FOR IT. . WAIT FOR IT

SEVEN pounds and gained FOUR lbs of muscle. . ..I know . . .I'm still smiling

When the body fat man told me I cried and we fist bumped. . .he said he hadn't seen results like that in a LONG time in 30 days! In ten minutes those body fat results have changed my life. . .(dramatic yes but VERY true). So here goes

What the Future Looks Like

1. I am sticking with strict paleo. Black coffee and all. I can NOT believe that I was able to accomplish that kind of weight loss and muscle gain in thirty days

2. I did NOT measure ANY FOOD. At first I started off thinking I had to do zone/paleo in order to lose weight but as time went on it was harder to do so I just stopped. I thought about it as an experiment to see how my body responded to eating without measuring.

Now for some of you this is no big deal but because I lost the majority of my weight on weight watchers I thought and believed (until yesterday) that I would ALWAYS have to measure my food to see weight loss. BOY was I wrong

3. I am going to do blow out cheat meals once every 30 days. My next one will be at the CFPT social where I will consume large quantities of alcohol.

Last night I had (and no I'm not ashamed to say it) chicken fingers, tator tots, 1/2 a beer and a slice of red velvet cheesecake. And the fat girl in me - loved every moment of it

4. I will remain strict. Meaning my idea and philosophy on cheats has totally changed. Once a week I'm going to have something that is paleo but not necessarily an ideal food - like baked sweet potato fries I make at home or flax seed crackers. Again, things I can make at home that are nutritionally good for me but shouldn't be regular occurences.

Again, a lightbulb moment for me was redefining what a cheat is.




Lessons Learned
1. I wasn't disciplined before. I'd have greek yogurt every other day, some honey, and a diet coke on a regular basis. Those things are NOT paleo. Period. End of story. Those things are not cheats, they just are doing a very amended version of Paleo that is not going to result in results. Period

I didn't believe that before.

I couldn't understand how those things that were seemingly 'healthy' could really be allowing the weight to hang on to my body. Boy was I wrong

2. The scale is a mutherf'ing LIAR.  . .During this challenge (about week two or three) I got REALLY discouraged. Although the scale had moved about 5 lbs in the first week in week two or three it went back up a few pounds.

I was FRUSTRATED. I allowed myself and my mood about the challenge to be dictated by that stupid f'ing scale.Well no more scale - NO MORE. You will never dictate my mood or short change my progress in the gym.

You will NEVER tell me what % of my body is muscle and what % is fat. If I relied on you I would think this challenge was a bust and that I had only lost 2 pounds.

So for that scale - you MUST DIE. . ..(On Friday we will be holding a scale sledgehammer smashing at my Crossfit - ALL ARE WELCOME) =)

3. Diet Coke is a helluva drug (please see Dave Chappelle's impersonation of Rick James if you have no idea what I'm talking about). I learned form one of my super smart friends (shout out to my almost doctor friend CJ) that even though diet coke has no calories, the way you're body treats the fake sugar is the same way it treats real sugar. . .so it prepares itself like it's going to eat sugar, stopping fat burning, and still spiking your insulin.

This was a WAKEUP call for me. by Diet Coke -we'll see each other in heaven (with the starbucks, tator tot restaurant and frosting bar)! That's right - frosting bar

4. You have to find what works for you. Lisa Bond at Crossfit (who has started a womans only bootcamp - http://buckheadfit.com/) told me after reading one of my blog posts that you have to find what works for you and experiment.

I think I was feeling like shit for some time because I wasn't eating enough. So I started mixing it up and my energy shot through the roof.

5. You can travel and do Paleo
-Period. No excuses

So here's what has worked for me (I completely acknowledge that this won't work for everyone but I wanted to share some things that have helped a TON)

1. I cook large quantities of food once, maybe twice a week.
-Pick whatever day you have time and cook everything. . .breakfast, lunch and dinner for the week.
-It not only saves time during the week but the thought and obsessing over food and what we're going to eat that most of us do is gone

2. Switch it up! What Lisa told me was so right on. I got crazy and started to think. What if I'm not eating enough? Why not add a serving of nuts a day? Why am I still scared of fat? Why am I only eating this or that? Why not incorporate some more of this or that and see what happens?

It's about experimenting and figuring out what works

3. Take your scale and put it in the dumpster. That crap is ridiculous. (Yes, Rachel May that means you)!

4. If you're really interested in getting your body fat tested and knowing some real answers about your body visit Bali.

http://www.bodyfattest.com/calendar/index.php?calendar_id=9

Because who doesn't want to fist bump with Bali? =)