Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Before/during/continuing photos!



Starting out Primal (January 13th):





Eight Weeks In:




12 Weeks Completed:







I think it might be time to get more fitted clothes, so we can really see the progress (if it continues), or maybe I can just still wear the shirt until it falls off.

  Anyway, not any major differences, I don't think, but my trainer says I've lost fat, but other fat has "re-shifted" and can make other areas of your body look bigger than before. 

Re-shifted?! How the heck is that fair, I'd like to know! At least I have (tiny) muscles now. So we're going to get through Easter Week, and then I'm going to tinker with diet and exercise again. 

Tom and I have several personal friends who have been Primal for a few years now, and all of them have said that you really should have one day a week where you eat cheat foods. It helps with metabolism, emotional balance, and other good stuff. We didn't want to take this approach at first since we thought it would have to lead to weight gain, but the longer we are (attempt to be) Primal, and the more dead-ends I seem to hit, we are thinking of having Saturdays be our cheat days. 

The only question is: what does a cheat day consist of?  Do all of the meals have cheat ingredients, do you just pick on meal and really enjoy it, or do you still stay Primal for meals but throw in a dessert or two? 

(my blog is rebelling today and centering all my paragraphs. ugh)

Then, there is the fall-out, I suppose. I seem to be doing better with recovering from cheat-snacks... no major issues to speak of. The kids do much better now. Except Veronica, who still gets all moody and depressed, so we're really more strict with her. And even Tom is healing. So I don't know that cheats would really hurt anybody. 

However, we're still on the fence (although, almost falling off-ha) so if you have some insights into whether or not to cheat, please let me know. Please know I am not looking to be the perfect Primalist. Just trying to strike a balance that makes the family happy while still healthy.

25 comments:

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  2. I say don't cheat until you reach the health/weight/fitness levels you want to be at in life.

    Disclaimer: This comment comes from someone who had a few bites of chocolate torte and cheesecake after lunch today.

    Let your kids cheat. I don't want to toss around the "fair" word, but I do think kids should enjoy treats more often than us adults. After all, adult life kinda sucks compared to being a kid, so let them enjoy it while it last. I say that, but obviously I wouldn't let them eat the stuff I know to be total CRAP. I am advocating for treats that are made with real foods and not highly processed hydrogenated junk oils. Think of the difference between a fresh baked cheesecake versus a packaged Little Debbie's snack. I use to eat lots of Oatmeal Creme Pies, but now I realize what they have in them, and it is borderline scary. If their blood sugar is under control and their weight is under control, I say don't let loose but don't hang on too tightly.

    My mom went on a "health" food craze when I was a kid (NOT PALEO!). I had to eat tasteless rice cakes (GROSS) and other weird stuff. I quickly bought a bike and started riding it to Taco Bell.

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    1. Thanks, Jared!

      I've been told though that cheating actually helps aid weightloss, which is why I'm considering it. I'll have to find the info on it.

      Yes, I agree about the kids. Definitely not processed food though. I'm excited for the Summer where I'll actually have more time to work on baked goods and cheat foods for them.

      Love your line about the bike. I don't blame you. lol

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  3. You're looking great! Keep up the good work. :)

    (And I agree with Jared ^^)

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  4. I have been Primal for over a year now. I am about 6 ft tall and in the first three months I lost 38 lbs, from 220 lbs to 182 lbs. I cheated every Saturday during this time. I would go all out and cheat every meal, eating entire pizzas and quarts of ice cream. I would gain up to 7 lbs in a 24 hour period, but then I would lose more than that over the next week by being very strict, including no fruit. As my weight dropped, I felt more like I wanted to exercise and less like eating bad food. Grains stopped tasting good and bothered my digestion more. Over time, I have completely eliminated wheat, corn, and potatoes. My Saturday cheat day usually consists of homemade ice cream or cheesecake (with an almond meal crust instead of graham crackers). My weight is stable, my bloodwork is good, and I enjoy my food regularly. It helps that cooking is one of my hobbies.

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    1. How interesting! Though, I do have to say this is in line with those I've known who have actually GP and have dropped and then maintained weight loss.

      Somebody made a comment about why this works this way... I'll have to go dig it up.

      Thanks for the input!

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    2. It was me, I think. When I was telling you that it is ok to cheat every now and then I mentioned that during a cheat that you will gain weight really quick, but that it will shed quite quickly (a day or two). There are a lot of things going on, but probably the most important is glycogen and water storage. Most cheat meals tend to be either high in carbs, high in sodium, or both. High carb meals will spike insulin, thus causing your muscles to be topped off (fully saturated) with glycogen. For every gram of glycogen stored, there is an additional 2-4 grams of water that is stored with it. Regarding the sodium, well everybody knows that ingesting large amounts of sodium will cause you to retain water. So, almost all of the weight gained is in the form of retained water.

      It is also true that if you eat enough during your cheat that you will put on a little bit of fat, but it is quite minimal compared to the water weight. The reason is that it takes 3500 calories of energy to add one pound of adipose tissue (fat). So, let's say that you normally burn 3000 calories every day. On your cheat day you eat 4500 calories (a 50% increase). As you can see, the most that you can gain in adipose tissue is less than half a pound (0.43 pounds, to be exact). Further, this is assuming that your glycogen stores are already completely full, which probably is not the case. So, if after a cheat day you put on 3 pounds, more than likely only about 0.10-0.43 pounds of that will actually be in the form of fat (not enough for most scales to even register). Also, since you're eating primal 80-90% of the rest of the week, your insulin and leptin sensitivity is awesome, so whatever fat you do put on will be gone just as quickly as it came (i.e. the body realizes it didn't need to store the fat).

      As you can see, a cheat day isn't going to screw up your progress because the actual fat that is stored (if any) is so minimal compared to the 2-3 pounds being shed week in and week out. Also, as I have mentioned before, the benefits to both metabolism and mental stability far outweigh any detriments.

      Now, you did ask about how extensive a cheat day really is, whether it meant a cheat meal for every meal, or just a few sweets here and there, etc. Essentially, it really is up to you. However, most people go into it thinking that they are going to binge on twinkies and bonbons all day, only to find that they barely cheat at all. The fact is that even though you have cravings for these foods every now and again, since you've been eating clean for so long, those foods end up tasting like crap when you actually get the chance to eat them on your cheat day. Further, some people feel guilty after their first cheat, thus precluding them from eating more cheats. Then there is how the foods actually make you feel.

      The fact is that the extent of a cheat day can only be determined by you.

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    3. P.S. Looking good. You can definitely see that you're making great progress.

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    4. Thank you :) How do you know so freakin' much?!

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    5. Haha! You should see me talk about politics, economics, music theory, etc.

      I am one of those guys that whenever he doesn't know something he cannot rest until he learns the crap out of it. The good part about that is that you tend to know a lot about a variety of things, the bad part is that you never truly master one particular thing. Usually I settle for having a respectable or above average proficiency.

      It also helps that I only work 6 months out of the year, allowing me plenty of time to read and test the practical application of things.

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  5. I didn't cheat for the first six months as I was seeing awesome progress and didn't want it to stop once it slowed. I started cheating a little more. I try to avoid wheat as much as possible but I do have pizza once in a while now. I say do what is good for you. If you don't need to cheat then don't. If you do it. it will help keep your sanity in my opinion.

    My favorite cheat is usually wings and fresh cut fries at the wing stop. If i could just get them to fry in lard life would be good.

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    1. Thanks for sharing :)

      I think we'll just try out the once-a-week cheat, and see how that works. The good thing about food diets is that you can constantly change it. lol

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  6. As a woman who has an *extremely* difficult time losing weight, I would be very careful how you cheat. I've finally realized that I can't cheat with donuts or any other refined grain because I'll be addicted and unable to get back on the wagon the next day. My cheats now are paleo cakes and desserts. It's funny, but I've noticed it is the grains that cause the biggest problem, not the sweets. The "paleo" desserts have lots of honey or syrup, but they don't cause the same issues. Still, I have to be very careful and I make Sunday the cheat day.

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    1. True, true. When I cheat I still try to find the gluten-free stuff, since I seem to have the most trouble with that. I look forward to cheesecake mostly. lol

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  7. The greatest benefit to cheating is increased awareness about how food affects you, and which foods have the greatest effects. A regular cheat day will be educational, and you will gradually become picky about how you cheat. That once irresistable food will seem a bit disgusting or remind you of digestive discomfort. You will work hard not to "waste" your cheat days on food that causes buyer's remorse.

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    1. Yes, I think you're right. I used to crave french fries, but now I really don't think about them. I think they'd be too pasty.

      I mainly want cheesecake. Every once in a while I still miss tortilla chips. YUM

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  8. I have always believed in the cheats to throw your metabolism into a tailspin. However, I've never really scheduled a cheat day. It usually ends up being a weekend, but i let life dictate my cheats. Sometimes I go a few weeks without cheating at all. It's amazing how your body no longer desire your old way of eating. Sometimes eating that way drives the point home. I know my next cheat will be Easter Sunday as we're going to a brunch that cost $125 per person. I plan on having bread, pastries, potatoes, champaigne, and any thing else that looks good, but all in moderation. To me cheating isn't eating a whole pizza or a full quart of ice cream, it's having a slice or two and a scoop. Life's too short and results prove that your body will thank you.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah :) I tried on some new dresses (for Easter) and nothing fits right, I was so dejected. But these comments have helped :)

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  10. Cheating has never worked for me to aid weightloss. In fact, when I was six months into a Primal lifestyle, I began occasionally incorporating denser carbs and sweetened treats. My weightloss not only stalled, but it took over 30 days of a completely clean lifestyle to get things moving again. Now, I am back to losing 1-2lbs/week and I'm not going to mess with success.
    If you *are* going to cheat, I strongly suggest staying gluten free. I think the cycle of introduction and elimination of gluten into your system can really wreck havoc on your digestive system and who knows what else. Just my $0.02

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    1. Were you primarily in a ketogenic state when you were losing weight (i.e. were you eating less than about 80 grams of carbs per day)? Also, how much sleep were you getting? Were there any large changes to total weekly caloric intake?

      There are a lot of reasons that weight loss would stop, however, having a cheat here and there while maintaining a calorie deficit and eating primal the other 80% of the time isn't typically one of them. Then again, everybody is different.

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    2. I believe that here and there is different than a planned once a week. I still have a cheat here and there (maybe once a month or every three weeks for a special holiday or birthday party). Yes, I was primarily ketogenic while losing the bulk of my weight (60lbs so far - the first 40 at least were LCKD). No large changes to caloric intake. My body does not handle sugar or starchy carbs well and shuts down. Everyone *is* different, but I also believe that you cannot go wrong eating as clean as possible whereas deliberately introducing gut damaging foods for weightloss is an objectively bad idea.

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    3. I totally get what you are saying, Kori. I probably could do the same with cheating once or twice a month, and I may do that instead. We'll see.

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    4. But I think there is something to be said for the emotional side of food. Not that we should eat just for emotional reasons, but if a group is going out for ice-cream, I dont' want to be left out, and feel isolated, because they said "well, it's not Primal, so she won't want to go."

      I guess it's really a balancing act most days.

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