Last week I gave you a break from the diet stuff but I'm back to share. I lost a couple of pounds last week and another couple this week. I haven't been exercising and I wonder how big a difference it would make if I did.
I want to find this out and will implement a plan to my days next week that would factor in some kind of exercise. The problem I'm having is that there isn't enough hours in the day as it is. But perhaps taking a ten or twenty minute break from my writing sessions to do a bit of exercise will be enough. I'll let you know next week.
I wanted to talk about BCAAs (Branched chain amino acid supplements. BCAA supplements contains three of the nine human essential amino acids--L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, and L-Valine.
These are amino acids the body can't synthesize on its own so we need to get them through diet or supplements. Since they're metabolized within muscle tissue they allow a quick source of energy when the body needs it and prevents the body from cannibalizing itself on low calorie diets.
I read that if you take Branch Chain Amino Acids while fasting they help to prevent muscle breakdown and also lessens hunger pangs.
During calorie restricted diets there is a risk of muscle loss due to the body using muscle tissue for energy.
BCAAs are used by athletes and bodybuilders to help build muscle, therefore we can surmise that if BCAAs have such a positive effect on muscle growth it stands to reason that it can also preserve muscles during periods of intermittent fasting.
I have started taking BCAAs and have noticed a difference in hunger pangs. Namely, I don't get them when I take the supplements. Since I haven't had chance to test the effectiveness of BCAAs for fat loss because I did zero exercise, I can't say it makes a difference. What I will keep an eye on is my muscle weight. This way I can see whether I'm losing fat and water or muscle also.
I'll try to keep you posted on my progress with BCAAs. If you know all about these supplements and wish to share, please leave a comments for me below.
Meanwhile here is my disclaimer!
Please note that this blog post is not intended as medical advice or as encouragement to use any of these or any other supplement I may have mentioned. These are my personal experiences, thoughts, decisions, actions and results that I am sharing with you. You should not take this as gospel, but do your own research if you are interested to discover more about BCAAs or any other product I may have mentioned. And always seek medical advice from your doctor before embarking on any new eating or exercise plan.
As promised, this is my week 2 Friday check in. Technically, my diet week doesn't end until Sunday, but I'm happy with Friday check ins.
By the end of my first week on the 5:2 plan I lost 9 lbs! With only one 30 min session on my exercise bike while watching TV.
This week went well. My Monday fast was a breeze and Thursday was easy, too. It seems to be getting easier and when I come off the fast I'm finding that I'm not as crazy hungry as I thought I'd be.
In fact, controlling what I eat is so much easier now after my fast days. I can only think that the break from eating allows my blood sugar to settle, which eliminates the constant sugar cravings. I can't tell you how free from sugar addictions this make me feel.
Before starting the 5:2, I had dreadful sugar cravings which my body never coped with and I'd end up so tired I could hardly function. I haven't had, nor craved, on piece of chocolate, cake or stodgy pudding in two weeks.
Now I'm not saying I'll never eat another chocolate or slice of cake again, I'm just confident that if someone placed a delicious slice of cake in front of me, I'll have enough self-control not to dive on it before the bottom of the saucer even meets the tabletop.
I like this feeling of freedom.
Not once in two weeks have I emotional eaten. I allow myself to eat what I want as long as I'm hungry, but to tell you the truth, I haven't thought of food once unless I was hungry.
This is unheard of for me, let me tell you.
After Monday's fast, I weighed (just so I could report back to you guys) and lost...nothing! BUT my fat count went down by 2% and I lost an inch from my hips! I did start exercise again this week so perhaps the lactic acid build-up in my muscles translated to the scales as no weight change. I'll report next Friday on this week's weight loss. But so far I've lost 3% body fat this week and another inch off!
I remember a time when life was simple, weight wasn't an issue and UK size six was baggy on me. Those days are long gone! Two things happened--I can't even really blame my pregnancies because I lost all of my baby weight soon after each baby! First, I hit a patch of huge stress when our little girl was diagnosed with Leukaemia four years ago. Can you say emotional eating? Then I hit my 40s. Okay, so I'm not hugely overweight, but nothing in my wardrobe fits, and to a woman, that spells disaster.
Want to hear something funny? Recently my hubby, being the amazing, helpful man he is, offered to put away my clean laundry. Of course I protested since I hate feeling as though I'm always too busy to do the little things. He insisted, opened my wardrobe door, then slowly turned his head to pin me with his dismayed blue gaze.
"I can see why you didn't want me to hang up your washing." His hands disappeared into the wardrobe and returned with a few items of clothing. "These still have the labels on them," he said with his signature you-are-so-caught smile.
"I know," I replied, trying not to look guilty. "Those are my I-have-a-dream clothes."
Truth is I bought them when I was that size but never got around to wearing them. I do that sort of thing. Then the fat hit and I forgot I had them hanging in my wardrobe waiting for their turns to be worn.
So now I'm close to three stone over what I was when Meg got sick and every time I think I'm about to get a handle on this weight issue, something happens and the emotional eating episodes begin all over again. It doesn't help that I'm an author and sit on my butt for hours upon hours each day, only moving to grab a snack, tea or do the school run.
Exercise and healthy eating seemed to be a thing of the past until I got serious and started seeking God on my issues. Okay I admit, I ran whinging to Him. It wasn't the first time, I can tell you. Once I heard Him clearly tell me to fast two days each week. I'm used to fasting but I've never managed it without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. My longest no food fast was twenty-one days and that was definitely not on my strength. I knew I'd never be able to fast on my own--I'd tried before and lasted a sum total of two hours. Once I even forgot I was fasting and ate breakfast...end of fast. So I dismissed the Lord's advice. I know not smart.
Anyway, He is good and quick to forgive. This time when I lamented to Him, He said the same thing. Fast two days of the week. I thought it over, wondering how I was going to commit to fasting two whole days every week without faltering. Then I stumbled upon the 5:2 eating plan. What does it call for? You got it, fasting for two days per week. There are many ways you can follow the plan but I feel comfortable with the 5:2--eat normally for five days and fast for two. Some people do a 4:3, 6:1 or alternate day fasting. It's all still intermittent fasting.
Right, totally juiced, I started my fast on Monday. Since the weekends are my regular see-food diet days (for those who don't know about the see-food diet...when you see food you eat it! LOL), I relaxed and, putting the science of metabolism to work for me, began my new eating plan with a cheat day on Sunday. I ate to my heart's content all day Sunday--except when I was at church, but even then I had a couple of sweets--without stuffing myself.
Apparently, eating liberally of whatever you fancy/crave will boost you body's leptin. Leptin is the body's fat burning hormone. To take advantage of the high levels of leptin, I made Monday my fasting day. Mondays work for me cos I always feel blah after my weekend over-indulgences and naturally eat less on Mondays anyway. Yesterday was my second fast day this week and it went great because I knew I could eat whatever I wanted today! Today I feel light and focused. I don't feel the need to eat unless I'm hungry. That was one of my problems, I tended to snack so often I never had chance to get hungry. This is why I never made Paul McKenna's plan work for me.
Here's an article from The Telegraph you might find interesting: The 5:2 diet: can it help you lose weight and live longer?
In the first two days of the eating plan I lost 6 lbs! I fully expected it to land back on my hips the moment I started to eat normally again but it didn't. I've never experience that before.
So far I've lost 7 lbs in 5 days (first week hasn't ended yet) and two inches from my hips without any real exercise. I did half an hour on my exercise bike on Tuesday night but haven't managed any more exercise since then. Prayerfully, I'll get it together and add a couple of exercise DVDs next week. Do pop back next Friday for an update. I'll try to share my journey here with you each Friday on what I will call 5:2 Friday.
Meanwhile, if you've tried this eating plan or intend to, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear about your experience so far. This is my first week and it's a plan I feel I can easily live with. How do you find it for ease, convenience and freedom?
