My Journey: Week 12

My weight loss has been slowing down significantly over the last two weeks. Yes, I am still losing, but not at the rate I was. I have been reading Chris Powell's book "losing it" because I am following his carb cycling plan. Chris Powell recommends a "slingshot" week during the 4th, 8th, 12th (etc..) weeks of the program. Basically, you follow the plan for 3 weeks, then go off the plan for 1 (but not entirely off, you're upping your carbs and calories a bit for a week). Going off the plan for this long terrifies me, which is why after being on the plan for 9 weeks I had not yet done a slingshot week. The slingshot is designed to prevent the dreaded "dieters plateau", which is pretty much where I am at. Just like your body adapts to workouts (and you stop building muscle/losing weight) your body also adapts to its diet (diet being whatever it is your are putting in your body, not a "restriction" on what you can consume). Given that I have been doing this for 9 weeks, it is quite plausible that my body has adapted to this diet. It is likely that my metabolism has slowed, thus slowing my weight loss. So, I decided to try the slingshot week....er....half week. 

On Thursday night I ate dinner at Taco Bell, which by the way, did not taste NEARLY as good as my turkey tacos. An hour after eating I went to the gym and had the WORST heartburn. No seriously, absolute worst. I will never eat at Taco Bell again. I weighed in on Friday at 258.8. I ate lunch yesterday at Panda Express and had orange chicken, mandarin chicken, and a small amount of chow mein. While this successfully upped my carbs and calories, it made my stomach feel awful. Never eating at Panda Express again either. I went almost 6 hours without eating yesterday, which is a BIG no no. That allows my metabolism to go into starvation mode, which is exactly what I do NOT want to happen. I didn't have anything with me that I could eat, was not able to go home, and did not want to eat out again. So instead I ate at 9 when I got home (another no no). Needless to say, I have been quite successful in going off the plan. I am eating one big meal today, and loading up on carbs tomorrow (spaghetti maybe?? I dunno...) and then back to the plan on Monday. I am actually really excited to get back to the plan. Eating carbs, sugar, and greasy food just feels foreign, and it makes me feel like crap. 

I weighed in this morning at 261.8, but I know I am retaining water, and I have been eating like crap. Usually I would be highly discouraged about this, but I couldn't care less right now. I know that this weekend may set me back 3-5lbs but I am hoping the resulting weight loss will more than make up for it. I guess this is sort of my trial slingshot - we'll see if it works!