We are back at it. I was excited to get back into the diet and back into crossfit after a week vacation. You may be wondering how I did during my week off the diet. Well, I didn’t do great. I didn’t really hesitate to have any of the foods that are restricted on this diet. I think the issue for me was that I knew I only had a week to enjoy everything that I had missed. So, I went a little more overboard than I should have, but didn’t completely mess myself up. I think/hope that when I come off of this for a longer time (when I hit my final goals) it will be different knowing I don’t have to jam it all into one week, and knowing I wont be back on the diet again so soon.
One thing I did learn though, while eating my breads and sugary foods for that week, was that they didn’t satisfy me the way I had hoped/expected. There’s a Mexican restaurant we go to every time we’re in Hilton Head, it was one of the things I was most looking forward to cheating with. I was pretty disappointed this year. I’m not sure if my tastes have changed that much, maybe their food has changed, or maybe I really just like the experience of the restaurant (being by the water, outside, with my family) more than the actual food. After eating there, it was the first time in a while that I had that all to familiar disgustingly stuffed feeling. This is something I definitely love NOT experiencing while on this diet. We had burgers one night. I had a roll and ketchup. Again, it wasn’t that great, not like I had thought it would/should be. Not everything was a complete disappointment. I did enjoy the pizza, ice cream, and occasional beer, but other than that the other sugars and grains weren’t that great.
So what did I learn from all of this? That strong yearning or craving I sometimes have for bread or sugar, won’t be satisfied even if I give in. I would most likely be disappointed in the food, and then more so in myself. Avoiding that awful feeling that comes with over eating breads and sugar is worth sacrificing those foods for.
I started my vacation at 208 lbs., I ended at 213 lbs. After 1 week back on the diet I’m back down to 208 lbs. Getting back into the diet was a little difficult but not nearly as hard as it was the first time around. For those of you just starting the diet for the first time, I know its hard, you probably feel awful. Hopefully by the time you read this, some of that has passed. Just know it gets so much better. You’ll start to feel better than you have in a long time. It never really gets easy, there is always the occasional desire for a sugary snack but you have the strength to do this. Thanks for reading.
-Dr. Mark