Its week 41 and almost August. I cant believe where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I started on this journey. It has been a good week on the scale and in the weight room. I love feeling stronger and seeing results. It really is the best motivation. I have also been doing alot of research on nutrition and how to maximize my diet for fat burning, and building muscle. For those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE fan of trainer Chris Powell. Its way past man-crush status. He is the trainer on the show Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. He has been doing weight loss and body transformations for years and has helped one client lose over 400 lbs in 2 years. Obviously he knows a little something about weight loss and fat burning. After some serious research on the Internet I was able to stumble across an article with his plan and YouTube videos. http://www.skinnybliss.com/chris-powell-diet-plan-the-carb-cycle-solution-video.html
I have been stuck on this plateau of mine for about 6 weeks and I was looking for something I could do to get off it and to burn fat. What he talks about really does make sense and really resonated with me. I have been unknowingly living on cycle 1 of the program for the past few months, so I started on cycle 2 this week. I was hoping to see something, anything on the scale. I am past the cravings and the feeling of being out of control with my diet. I have a friend who says food is fuel. That's the truth, its fuel. I'm still trying to enjoy what I eat, but that is taking a backseat to what I eat and when I eat it. I am eating every 3 hours and eating 5 times a day. It is work to make sure you have the right foods packed in a cooler so you have them with you when the timer goes off, but in the end it will be worth it and will get me to my ideal weight and shape. Sacrifice and hard work, there is no other way. So far so good! On to the numbers!
I started the week at 227.2 and really frustrated. By Monday morning I was at 230 and about to lose my mind! I started cycle 2 of the carb cycle solution on Tuesday morning. As of my weigh in this morning I was at 225.5. That's a loss of 1.7 lbs for the week. Its been one of my bigger weeks in the last 2 months. I am now down 64.5 lbs. I am hoping that I can gain some traction with this new plan and lose some more weight and fat!
The weight loss is really good for me emotionally. I know that I have been strength training and gaining muscle, but I get so tired of hearing the whole "Muscle is heavier than fat" thing. Here is the truth behind it.
FACT: Muscle IS heavier than fat.
FICTION: "Fat turns into muscle". Fat and muscle are TWO separate things, fat will never be muscle and muscle will never be fat. Ever.
FICTION: You cannot build more than 1lb of muscle a week naturally. A half pound is more realistic. I don't do steroids, so I will not be seeing 2 lbs a week of muscle gains.
FACT: You can burn 1-2 pounds of fat per week.
I have never been good at math, but I should still be able to lose 1-2 pounds of fat a week and only gain .5 lbs of muscle. So I can lose fat and gain muscle without gaining weight. Its science folks. I should still be losing weight. So YES, losing almost 2 pounds this week was really good for me emotionally. It gives me a new found focus and helps to break out of the discouragement and frustration of this plateau I have been on. It has been mentally draining, and emotionally taxing. Its amazing how a few pounds goes a long ways...
When you look at your max weight and minimum weight throughout the week, you actually lost 4.5 lbs for the week.
ReplyDeleteThe fat/muscle thing really makes sense--that you can still lose weight while gaining muscle mass. I had never had that explained to me before. I think I'll join your Chris Powell fan club.