The Whole28.5: DAY SEVEN - First Week Fantasy!

The Whole 28 and a Half: Seven in Heaven

Only Four More to Go!

Seven Days in.
Just Twenty-Seven days to go.
It only takes Thirty Days for habits to turn into honest to goodness healthy routines. Or so I hear.

Let's take a moment to bask in the fact that we made an intense and challenging decision to reinvent our eating habits for 34 days. And for SEVEN WHOLE DAYS (I know you'll make it through tonight!), we've stuck to these decisions. Can I get a Hallelujah?! And whether we can still hear the Junk-Food-Monster-Within calling for those soft pretzels  or if that voice is a mere whisper at this point, we are strong and capable and determined. The first week is always the hardest: and it's over. Hot damn!

Tell me: What has been your biggest challenge? What was the one change you thought would be impossible, but turned out to be the easiest adjustment? 

Can you spot the tiny demon left on my desk today?

I will now introduce you to the new regular segment: "WEEK-END CONFESSION." Because I'm doing this, too, and I intend to be as real as possible with you. These confessions may sometimes be full of unicorns and butterflies! Other times, they may not. But it's all real, all written down, and all worth expressing. I suggest that YOU ALSO create your own "Week-End Confessions." It's cathartic!

Week-End Confession

Guys, I have a confession. By the time we got to Day Seven, I really...really...REALLY wanted to be able to report some kind of weight loss. Nothing crazy like, "Holy smokes, friends! I stopped eating cheese for seven days and 5 pounds magically flew off!" That's ludicrous. But, I've been engulfed in research about Whole30 and Paleo Challenges and how "so many people" report an inspiring pound or two shed in the first seven days. I wanted to be that inspirational person!
IMPORTANT NOTE: I've lived my whole life somewhat ruled by the scale. Where for so long, the number that accusingly reflected back up at my from my feet meant MORE than the way my clothes fit, how I felt mentally or energetically, or even how strong my body was. It took me a long time to learn that the scale isn't everything...but old habits die hard, and I fell right back into that pattern.
This week, I hopped onto that bad boy too many times and just saw my weight rock back and forth (as it will!), to end up right where I started this morning. And yup: I was bummed. But instead of marinating in that gross feeling, I did a little research!

While falling deep into the Clean Eating Rabbit Hole, I found this sweet point at PaleoLeap that snapped me back to reality:

"The trick is to recognize that weight loss – especially scale weight – is not a perfect measurement of health. It’s that balance of tracking weight loss without being dominated by it, or letting the scale push you into making unhealthy choices like starving yourself." 

Okay, Okay. I liked that. We all need to keep in mind that, ESPECIALLY for active people, athletes, lifters, people training for an event, or those just currently kicking ass however they can exercise-wise, weight loss is RARELY a straight line. Then it kicked me hard reiterating that many people DO have a dramatic weight loss in the first week:

"Initially, most people see a very rapid loss of 5-10 pounds in the first week."

Then fortunately, the put me at ease again:

"This is encouraging, but don’t expect it to last forever: it’s mostly water weight."

So I definitely wasn't a perfect eater before this! As mentioned, I was a little fast and loose with my dairy, alcohol, and eating out. But, I was already a rather "low-carb" eater. And they rationally explain that every gram of glucose (you know, that gets into you via those carbohydrates!) in your body holds on to 3-4 grams of water. Thus, fewer carbs, leads to losing a lot of that water weight. And finally assuaging my fear saying:

Yes, I AM still writing everything down.

"Also, it’s important to note that not everyone sees the initial “whoosh” of water weight. If you were coming off a low-carb diet before you switched to Paleo that water weight just isn’t there to disappear."

Seriously, go read this article.

Moral of the story: If pounds are already melting off: YAY! If you're chilling at the same weight: YAY! Let's try to measure progress from another angle. How ya feeling? How's your skin? How's your sleep? How are your workouts? How is your energy? How's your love life? Let us find (and this includes me) other ways to "track" the amazing changes we're making.

If you have any fun or new ideas of how you're tracking the challenge, please let me know! I'd love to feature your swell ideas. Share any questions, concerns, stories to tell,here as a comment here on the blog, or send me a message on Facebook, or email me at Rachel@RachelPinkstone.com

- Be cool, Soda Pop -

Oh, and what have I been eating? - Day Six Review

Thursday - This was a long day at work, workout at 4:30pm and shadowing On-Ramp at the Gym at 7:30pm.

Breakfast: 

4 of Scott's Egg Cups

Coffee with Almond Milk

Snack Attack:

You guessed it...a banana.

Lunch:

5oz Baked Chicken Breast

Cup of Sweet Potato Mash

1/2 a cup (it's all that was left!) Brussels Sprouts

Snack Attack:

(Definitely know that I need to fuel up a little heavier before workout days because of the following)

Another cup of coffee.

Dinner:

4 Oz of Sauteed Chicken Breast and hot sauce

1 TBSP Sour Cream

Cucumber Salad

Snack Attack:

(Got home from the gym STARVING)

hard boiled egg and some turkey sausage