Time to Hit the Reset Button!

Some of you may have been aware of my little experiment where I was basically eating whatever I wanted. If you weren’t…just go read the previous post and you’ll get caught up. Anyway…the experiment is officially over with predictable results. I GOT FATTER!!!

I mean…seriously…what did I expect was going to happen? I’ve been preaching forever that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet…and I think I’ve proven that pretty clearly. So here are some additional details as well as some observations and results:

DETAILS

•  The “Experiment” was a little over 5 weeks in the making. Basically it started Feb 20^th when we left for Antigua, and my last hurrah was yesterday.
• I stayed within my eating window (12pm to 8pm), and did have 2 low carb/low calorie days a week…so basically it was just 5 days a week I ate like junk.
• Typical meals were pizza hut, wings and fries, burgers, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there were some healthy meals in there for sure, but a whole lot of junk too. I drank a lot of sodas, probably had a root beer float 10x over the last few weeks, and ate brownies and cookies quite a bit.
• I continued to work out 5 days a week.

RESULTS

• I gained a little over 1% body fat. Meaning I’m into the double digits…sitting right at about 10.7%. BOOOOOOO!!!!!
• I gained a ½ inch in my waist…and I can visibly notice that my love handles have grown. Some of the cut lines around my lower abs and oblique’s have disappeared. Overall, I’ve got a much softer and fluffier look J
• I did however get stronger! I am now squatting more and bench/dumbbell pressing more than I ever have…so that is encouraging. My arm and chest each grew ¼ inch. I was a little surprised my legs didn’t get any bigger, but at least I’m definitely getting stronger.

OBSERVATIONS

• For the IIFYM plan (see previous post) to work, you actually have to really track your macros. I didn’t do that…I just ate what I wanted. I also have a hard time believing that IIFYM is an incredibly effective way to maintain body composition if you are really taking it to the extreme.
• Energy level suffered on some workouts due to the lack of “clean fuel” I was burning. Pizza the night before didn’t really make for a strong feeling the next day…although, again, I did get stronger overall.
• Results are predictable. Eat crap, get fat.

Method to the Madness?

Now it’s time to come clean on some of my motivations for doing this experiment. I started Intermittent Fasting about a year ago. I had incredible results, moving from 11.25% body fat all the way down to 9.25% within just a few months. After seeing such great progress I started eating liberally more often…although I was still eating pretty clean the majority of the time. I ended up maintaining body fat around 9.5% for most of the year comfortably. Over the last several months, I’ve maintained the 9.5% to 9.7%, but haven’t really been able to make any progress because I kept on cheating…eating stuff I know will prevent me from getting down under 9%. However, even when I had a trip to Antigua planned, I wasn’t able to discipline myself to eating clean the few weeks leading up to the trip. I had something I call “Diet Creep.” That is when you cheat with food regularly, and all kinds of bad foods creep into your routine. I couldn’t seem to kick it…so I figured it was time to flip the switch and try something new. One of my ideas was to do this whole eat whatever I want thing and make myself sick of eating junk. Well…as I sit here today I think it worked. I am SICK AND TIRED of eating the junk…and today is the start of my attempt  to eat clean and finally hit my goal of getting down into the 8% range.

I believe that if I can maintain clean eating for the next 2 months, I’ll be able to reach my goal. I’m going to continue the Intermittent Fasting and Calorie Cycling, but I’m going to make better food choices. I will continue to keep a huge high calorie meal right after my Saturday leg workouts, but that needs to be the only time I get crazy with food. Other than that…I’m going to attempt to pass on the sweets, the sodas, etc, etc. Hopefully I’ll be able to report some good results in a few weeks! Time to hit the reset button and get to work!

Scripture for the Day:

Proverbs 31:10-12  "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life."

I've got an excellent wife! If you have one, praise the Lord for her! It also might not hurt to tell her that she is a Proverbs 31 wife and you appreciate and love her...just a thought :)