Don't get me wrong. I am not a proponent of not working out. In fact, the way you workout also influences your outcome, but my experience has taught me that you can do all of the working out in the world - even the working smarter, not harder working out - but it's a futile effort without the right nutrition.
And I am not here to rail on whatever nutrition anyone else is doing. I'm over that. I have learned through my own experience, and that of some of my friends, that one size does not always fit all. I'm here to share my own journey.
If you have read any of my previous posts, then you know that JP and I went Paleo starting on January 2nd. I also previously wrote about some of my initial success with it. Since Jenna turned 1 yesterday, I thought I would report on the overall success.
Since going Paleo, I have lost thhe following:
From my bust: 1.75 inches
From my waist (proper): 4.5 inches
From the largest part of my stomach (below my belly button, where I have carried fat from the baby): 2.25 inches
From my hips: 1.5 inches
From my rear (around the largest part of my glutes): 2 inches
From my right thigh: 1.25 inches
From my left thigh: 1.25 inches
Since 1/2/12 (a month and a half - 49 days to be exact) I have lost a total of 14.5 inches from my body. Pretty impressive.
A note about scale weight: it is just not an accurate reflection of health. Period. I know I have also said this before, and then kind of gotten caught up in the mass fitness hysteria, but I am back to being rational again. I have lost scale weight through all of this. Over 10 pounds, actually. And I am now below my pre-pregnancy weight. I would be lying if I said this didn't make me happy. It does. But I also realize that, if I am putting on muscle, then the scale weight will not always correspond with the inches lost. It doesn't now. And, although I now have more muscle than I ever have before, my scale weight is the factor of the traditional BMI calculations (don't get me started on what a joke this is) that puts me at .01 points from being in the obese range. Sure, I need to lose more body fat - and I don't have a beach ready body for sure - but I am not obese. We all know people who are skinny fat - cardio hounds or people who have lost weight through diet with no exercise, who are in a smaller pants size, but are nowhere close to being in shape. I'm not railing against that either, just so everyone knows. I am just saying that is not what I want for me.
So. The experience I am sharing here - after having done the traditional bodybuilding macronutrient eating, then the caloric deficit eating, and finally moving to the Paleo style eating - is that nutrition makes all of the difference in the world. A part of this is being more intentional with my workout and cardio style - I have shortened my weight lifting sessions, hitting it hard and fast and then slowed down my cardio, wearing a chest band and keeping my heart rate between 100 and 125. But I truly believe that the change in diet has made the biggest difference.
Also, since my energy level is steady now, rather than the up and down I experienced, even with whole oats and Ezekiel bread in my diet, I have cut out all stimulant pre-workout supplements, and am slowly phasing out all supplementation (save for a post-workout protein scoop). I have actually seen an increase in muscle mass since I started doing this. All of this goes against conventional wisdom, I know. And my friend, Justin, has been preaching it to me for the past 2 years. As with anything else in life, my own personal experience is the best teacher.
I wanted to give my total loss to date - from 4/9/11, my first measurements post baby:
Neck: -0.75in
Bust: -4.75in
Waist (proper): -6.75in
Waist (thickest): -7in
Hips: -5.5in
Glutes: -6.25in
Thigh - right: -3.75in
Thigh - left: -4in
Arm - right: -1.25in
Arm - left: -1.25in
Scale (from 4/9/11): -25.6 pounds
Scale (from 2/16/11 - day before I had Jenna): -69.4 (before you get all excited - this included the baby + water weight)
I was thinking about changing the name of my blog, especially since Jenna is now a year old. After this post, I realize the name is still perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment