My weight loss is slowing down. In three weeks, I lost 7 pounds. I know I'm getting my Lady Troubles any day as I can feel my body adjusting for it. I'm hoping that's what has caused the slow down.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately on diet, nutrition and metabolism. It is true that if you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode to preserve the little energy it is getting. This means your body stops burning energy from your fat stores - which is where I want it to get fuel from (sometimes I feel like I don't have fat stores so much as fat warehouses).
I've been reading about how people train their bodies to keep pace and continue to lose weight instead of plateauing. I'd like to avoid the plateau if I could. It seems like a waste of time. A lot of bloggers I've come across seem to have managed by upping their workouts thus increasing the difference between energy in and energy out. And then some have talked about changing it up altogether by alternating workouts to keep your body guessing.
I've been on a moderately strict low cal diet eating around 1300 calories p/day. The online calculator I used asked me how much weight I wanted to lose, and 3 weeks ago I said 2 lbs p/week. I've since recognised that this is too rigorous for my body to cope with long term. So after my initial loss, I'm changing it up. I am aiming to lose 1 lb a week in order to get to my healthy BMI zone. This may take a while.
Apparently 1lb is the equivalent of 3500 calories so over a week that is a 500 calorie deficit per day (instead of the 1000 I was doing). My new goal is to create a 3500 calorie deficit per week. This will be an average of around 1700 calories per day. I'm going to observe the Zig Zag effect (cycling calories) whereby some days I'll eat under and other days I'll eat over. This should keep open lines of communication with my body rather than it shutting itself off and going into starvation mode.
Zig zagging or alternate day calorie fasting is not something I'd heard about until recently. By recommending eating more calories on alternate days with fewer on others it seems to go against most diet conventions. I like being a rebel so I'm keen to try it out.
A lot of successful dieters might not even realise they do it. They refer to cheat meals or having a day off once a week. The real challenge is maintaining appropriate balances of nutrients; not over-doing the protein/carb/fat balance; getting adequate exercise to maintain a healthy level of fitness; and ensuring the average doesn't go over.
So after eating really well for three weeks I feel ready to try this out. I've been eating better than ever before, if considerably less than what is recommended. I can't recall getting so much pleasure from salads, or not feeling deprived when I say No to the Timbits offered at work. And it will mean that I continue counting calories every day (even on the off days) to ensure when I go over it's not more than I can afford. But I REALLY enjoyed making pancakes this morning. Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries on the side. Delicioussssssss. And now on my off days I'll be able to indulge in them.
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