Nothing in life is free (not even free days)

Posted on February 7, 2015

I completed my first DietBet program about a month ago. I participated in the 6 month Transformation program and met every single DietBet challenge. I discovered a couple of things along the way.

First, weekends are NOT your friend. I would find that it was more difficult to stay on track during the weekend, and so I had to push even harder not to gain back what I lost during the weekend. I also had to give up a few things. For instance, I love going to the movies, but my wife and I would always buy a giant Icee, and a candy bar, popcorn, or nachos. It was difficult at first to not order that giant Icee, but I decided water was a better choice.

Second, water is a must! For a long time, I've primarily drank water all the time except for a cup or two of coffee each day, but I didn't realize how important it was to drink a lot of water. Water is crucial if you really want to lose weight! I now drink 120 - 140 ounces of water a day, and sometimes I'm still thirsty for more.

Third, I learned about "Carb Cycling". I had never heard of it until someone mentioned it during my first Transformation program, but I looked online and also purchased the book, and soon found it helps significantly.

Finally, I discoverd that the old saying "Nothing in life is free.", also holds true for dieting. Let's face it...food can be an addiction just like other things in life, but the difference is you can't give up food completely like you have to do other addictions. As a result, I discovered that any time I would do a "free day" where you could eat somewhat forbidden foods, then it would be difficult to get back on track, so I had to be real careful during the first Transformation. When the first Transformation ended, I decided that I'd take a couple months off to focus on building muscle, and to eat some of the things I had not eaten during the first Transformation (especially, since the first Transformation ran during Thanksgiving and Christmas and I refused to eat those bad foods). Well, I soon decided that was a big mistake, because I spent several weeks eating lots of junk food, because my body (really my mind) felt that I needed it and had missed it so bad. As a result, I gained about 7 pounds back in about two and a half weeks. I started feeling sluggish and some of the smaller shirts I had been able to get into were now starting to feel a little tight, and I hated that feeling.

That's when I decided to convert my garage into a gym and sign up for a new Transformation program. The good news is that I'm in a "Transition to Retirement" program and only work 3 days a week, so that allows me to be able to really focus on losing fat and building muscle during my 4 days a week off.

I'm happy to say I'm back on track and starting to drop that weight I regained, and I'm determined that "Free Days" are a thing of the past. Let's face it...if we want to get this weight off, then we have to make a life change and stick to it.

Good luck to all of you! We can do it! I proved it during the last transformation, and we'll all prove it together during this one!

Comment Now!

Cali

03/01/2015 6:22PM

Great blog! Going to look up carb cycling and have a glass of water. I definitely don't drink enough fluids, so you inspired me to do better.

Chris V likes this comment.

Chris V

02/26/2015 5:48AM

Not at all. We can do this if we stay focused. Thanks Michigan!

02/20/2015 7:42AM

Hi Chris, great blog. I'm also carb-cycling. For me, 1 dinner out or 1 free meal per week works . A year a go cut down on food was difficult and work out easy, now is the opposite. In any case, thanks for you blog!

Chris V likes this comment.

Chris V

Thanks Su!

Eric R.

02/07/2015 8:44AM

Great tips, nice blog!

anon-f8189439-64c1-4b13-85f0-72ac236738ab@1eaf3caf-763d-4d5f-b8da-ce9942ccb4c9.anon and Chris V like this comment.

Grammar Queen

02/07/2015 8:34AM

Chris (and others) - do you keep a food journal? I find that an absolute must. It keeps me mindful every day of my calorie intake for the day, and makes me stop and think twice about having too much fill-in-the-blank, knowing I have to log it. I use Myfitnesspal, although there are plenty of programs out there which are just as good. Also, it helps me that I have no "forbidden" foods. I can allow myself a little of something high-calorie or high-carb and build it into my intake for the day. This helps me prevent feelings of being deprived. Just a tiny sliver of that lemon meringue pie or chocolate cake only has 100 or so calories, and doesn't do in my calorie count. Good luck to you and everyone else. You CAN do it!

Chris V and anon-f8189439-64c1-4b13-85f0-72ac236738ab@1eaf3caf-763d-4d5f-b8da-ce9942ccb4c9.anon like this comment.

Grammar Queen

P.S. If anyone else uses Myfitnesspal - please friend me. I'm GrammarNazi1. The more people we have keeping tabs on us, the better off we are. ;-)

Chris V

Thanks GQ! I am on Myfitnesspal, but don't use it regularly. I'll look at it closer and friend you. Typically, I use a spreadsheet I created for high carb days and low carbs days based on what it said I should have in the Carb Cycling book. Thanks again!