And the Results Are In...

So- I had my big weigh in this morning! I'm pleased to say that the damage was not as bad as I had imagined. I have gained 2 pounds since my last weigh in 7 weeks ago at the end of my first bootcamp. The BAD part is- I was supposed to have dropped 7 pounds in that time period, so technically I'm 9 pounds from where I should be. Make sense? Relief that I hadn't gained 20 pounds was probably my biggest emotion but I also felt a sense of disapointment that I'm not where I had hoped to be.
BUT I'm going to use this check in as a "reality check". Now I know where I'm at weight wise and I know what I need to do to reach my goals. I feel like I have all the knowledge & tools to loose weight- I just need to put them to work.
My trainer Jessica and I discussed some of my struggles- and I think the number one thing for me is going back to food journaling. I had gotten really lax about this, I would usually journal Monday thru Wednesday and then once Thursday hit, I knew I was being bad with eating and drinking so I'd stop writing it down. Or I'd write down my food till lunch and then leave my journal at work & never finish the day. So- I'm going back to being really good about the journal, including EVERYTHING I eat (even just a bite), keeping it with me all the time, setting daily calorie goals and overall just being accountable for all the food I'm putting in my body.
I also talked to Jessica about doing a cleanse to jumpstart my body back to healthy eating. She warned me away from anything intense like the Master Cleanse (for any of you who remember when I did that a few years ago- I lasted 5 days & was an EMOTIONAL wreck- people need food!). But she did reccomend the following week long cleanse:
Day 1: Cut out all Sugar, Dairy & Caffeine. A little bit of whole grains is good but eat mostly veggies, fruit and some lean protein (either wild salmon or organic free range chicken). Eat NOTHING processed or fake. Drink lots of water & herbal or green tea.
Day 2: Today cut the meat. Eat veggies, fruit & whole grain. Continue with water & tea.
Day 3. JUICE DAY! Eat, or rather drink, all of your calories today. If you have a juicer, make your own juice from veggies including beets, carrots, collard greens, kale & apples. You can also purchase freshly squeezed veggie juices from a juice shop, just make sure they don't have anything added to them. Farmers Market in San Diego has a guy that sells a "Greens" juice which would be perfect for this.
Day 4: Continue with the juice & add in fruit. NO other food groups.
Day 5: Continue with the juice & fruit & add in veggies. Steam them or eat raw- you don't want to put oils or fats into your system.
Day 6: Bring back whole grains. Have a piece or two of a sprouted grain bread (like Ezekial brand) or some sweet potatoes.
Day 7: Add back small portions of meat or protein.
That completes the cleanse- and of course after that you should continue to eat well to maintain your results & good health.
I really want to try it, just trying to find a spot on the calendar when I have a week free of "eating commitments". Jessica recommended scheduling the juice day on a "rest" day from working out- otherwise you can feel free to continue exercise.
And the one bright spot in my appointment this morning is that I have lost more body fat- I'm down from 21.9% to 20% which makes me happy- I think I'm almost to the ATHLETE range. Wow, never thought I'd say that. It was funny actually, last night a girl came up to me at bootcamp and said "Have you always been a runner? You're really good." I wished my high school P.E. Teacher Ms Reynolds could have been there- I was always the one at the back of the pack WALKING the last lap of the mile :) Believe me, if I can be a "runner" I'm pretty sure anyone can!
XO
Chel
PS. Happy almost Friday. Looking forward to Julia's annual Christmas festivites tonight!