So when I met with Maeli yesterday I asked her what everyone else has been asking me. Why is it that I'm allowed to have carbs on maintenance but other people have been told they can't? Here is what she told me. If you deprive your body of carbs for a long period of time and then suddenly down a muffin or a bagel or a plate of pasta...your body won't know what the hell to do with it and go into shock in a way. It will store it and you will gain weight because it doesn't know what else to do with it. However, if you VERY slowly start to work carbs like whole wheat bread back into your diet over the course of maintenance, your body can adjust more easily. And then after you're done with maintenance...if you eat a muffin or bagel (though they're still not the healthiest options mind you), your body will handle it the way its meant to and won't go all crazy on you.
So my first week of maintenance I was only allowed carbs at breakfast. It had to be 100% whole wheat bread and the kind I had was Sara Lee's 45 calorie-a-slice bread. So I got 2 slices for my morning carbohydrate. Now for my second week, I've been able to have that same serving with lunch. So I can have sandwiches, which is nice. Next week for my third week, IF I want to...I can then add them in with my dinner, though I don't have to. She said if my body feels too heavy or it's just too much, to just not have it with that third meal. But this way, my body is being retrained how to eat properly without throwing it into shock when I finally re-introduce carbs. Because lets face it...who wants to live their whole life with ZERO carbs. Not me, thank you very much!
So Maeli did another pinch test yesterday and my body fat % is exactly where it was a week ago which is great news. She was impressed that I didn't have more of a problem with weight gain on my vacation. So yay me for not gaining body fat! My first day back home I did a steak day just to kinda cleanse myself after my vacation before jumping back into my 6 meal a day/exercise plan. For those of you wondering what the hell a steak day is...I basically had a protein shake for breakfast, one for lunch and then as much steak as I wanted for dinner with a big apple. It was pretty good! And I didn't weigh myself this morning, as promised, so I am not even worrying about whether or not it reset my weight a bit or even made me gain. I don't care. I feel great today and have already had my cottage cheese/fruit and done my 40 mins on the elliptical and taken down our Christmas tree! So my scale can kiss my ass (sorry mom haha).
I have another week and a half of maintenance left then I think I may just jump right back into another cycle and try to lose another 20 lbs. Taking a week off to just relax on my diet sounds enticing, but I know if I do that, I'll have less will power to get back into the 500 calorie thing all over again and I still have a long way to go.
So here I go to make me some carbs! YAY!
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