In my last post, I shared that while I was losing pounds, I was gaining fat, which WAS NOT THE POINT! So after a couple of days of panic attacks and crying sessions, I consulted a trainer I had been working with for months and my doctor.
Less than three weeks later, I was losing weight and fat, gaining muscle, which are all my goals. It is not fun, and it is not easy. However, if I want to be healthy and not deal with “you need to lose weight,” “you are at risk of diabetes,” and general feelings of being confident about my body, I have to put the work in.
Here, I will share the first two weeks, which are the hardest to adjust to any new strict regime/diet plan.
The goals were:
1,650 daily calories
Protein: 153 - 169 g
Carbs: 93 - 109 g
Fat: 62 - 69 g
Walk 10,000 steps a day
2 to 4 days a week of strength training for about an hour
When I shared my daily entries of My Fitness Pal with Dino, he was very impressed, and I was proud. I was also annoyed by how much protein and how few carbs I had to deal with.
“Welcome to the life of an athlete!” Dino said. But I am not an athlete! I am just a millennial who was never taught body positivity and grew up in the toxic 90s and 2000s! But it is working, and I am meeting goals.
Meanwhile, my doctor said to keep in mind that my time in Thailand was intense. I had come back, and it was about two months later, she is not too surprised that fat had been gained. When I told her I am following Dino’s strict diet and workout plan, she said that it sounds like a good plan and, “Just keep going. You are amazing!! You are working so hard.” With the approval of the doctor, guidance of a trainer that I trust, I went moving forward.
So, how did I accomplish the goals?
>The first thing for me was to have protein powder shakes for breakfast. I doubled the scoops of protein powders so I would get 50 to 60 grams.
I experimented and used milk. It suggested adding some veggies. I had spinach that would expire if not used soon. I added that in.
It was not pleasant. Plus, damn milk: A cup of non-fat milk had 12 grams of carbs! Bastards! I only get 109 grams a day, and carbs creep up fast!
I tried without spinach next. Better, but the carbs were annoying. It made me nervous, and you don’t need that first thing in the morning.
I used cold water next: much better.
I used non-fat Greek yogurt: also good plus gave me extra protein
Along with the yogurt, I’d add half a cup of berries (has some carbs but not a lot) OR some peanut butter (added protein and some fat).
>The other thing I did was go through my chocolate stash. I had a bag of baking chocolate chips and two tablespoons tended to be 30 grams.
We had come back from Paris and stocked up on some Lindt chocolate squares and Côte d’Or. I put 30 grams of those in bags.
Now I knew exactly what 30 grams plus its carbs, sugar, fat, and calorie intake.
If you can, try to get the most natural chocolates you can. You can see the more natural, the better, from this chart alone:
>Of course, I need vegetables! So, I researched what the most carbs vs least carb-dense veggies are, what I liked most, and stocked up.
>10k steps a day were crucial as Dino, my trainer and coach explained. It makes sure I did indeed move throughout the day.
I learned if I went walking in the morning, listening to a podcast for 60 to 90 minutes, I made it to 7-8,000 steps. It beats the summer heat, and I get more than half way through the step goals. By the end of the day, I would walk the last 2-3k steps even from working from home, going to the kitchen, to the bedroom, etc.
Other times, if I knew I wanted to get a book from the library, go to the grocery store, I would plan to go walking and plan the routes. I learned the library is 2.5 miles away, and a round trip can be roughly 13k steps, etc.
>3 times a week, I did strength training using bands, got a gym membership, or a free week when I had to travel.
Optional: I love boxing, so I do a week-long membership when in town to 9Round to my friends or at my mom’s. Dino explained that these are always nice to do, but not as important. Group exercises tend not to improve muscle mass. But it made me happy to do so; I did it. After all, the strength training plus the fitness classes will help grow muscles, which will burn fat and increase metabolic rate, so win-win.
Then I saw my own body change and here are the real numbers:
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.