I'm now officially no longer doing LighterLife, and I've started The Body Coach's 90 Day SSS. If that's not progress then I don't know what is!
I've spent the week transitioning from one plan to the next, and as a result while I've not exactly been 100% well behaved with food I still managed to lose half a pound so clearly something's been working! I'm sure I've mentioned it in the past but I believe that my head has a lot to do with the results I achieve on the scales / with a measuring tape, and since making the decision to formally end LighterLife and move on to the 90 Day SSS I've been more driven than ever and filled with so much positivity that I'm really not surprised that it's reflected in my body. Over the last fortnight I've dropped 2 inches off my waist too, so I'd say that having another challenge on the horizon and taking the first steps towards it has been nothing but advantageous for me.
Even taking into account the stagnation over the last few months, I'm so pleased that I stuck to LighterLife for so long. I know I've faced some criticism now and again for even doing a VLCD in the first place, but looking at how far I've come it's pretty difficult to argue that it was a bad decision for me. I've noticed how much it has changed me for the better this week while planning my first week of meals on Cycle 1. In the past, even contemplating organising meal and fitness plans was enough to send me barrelling towards the bakery section of Waitrose in a total panic, fully convinced that I would fail spectacularly. However, having survived such a punishing and restrictive diet for so long I know I have more than enough willpower to follow this one through, and thanks to the counselling my anxiety attack about the food aspect was short and swiftly swept away by a resolve to succeed.
(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.instagram.com)
LighterLife has helped me more than I can really express, and for that I'll always be extraordinarily grateful. It may not be for everyone, and everyone's entitled to their opinion about it, but as far as I'm concerned I can't recommend it enough. Obviously it depends entirely upon what you're aiming for, but I couldn't be happier with what I've achieved and how far it's enabled me to come both physically and mentally.
I'm not going to lie, planning the 90 Day SSS this week has been extremely difficult.
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.buzzfeed.com)
I've never done anything like this before, and reading through the enormous pack was so overwhelming that it took several days to even pluck up the courage to print it all out. I'm stabbing in the dark with a lot of this, hence why I'm sticking to my decision to try and follow it as closely as possible. I don't understand a lot of the science - or this whole macronutrient counting thing - at the moment so while I get to grips with it I'm going to do exactly as instructed. This includes taking the insane list of supplements recommended and having protein shakes when advised. Admittedly, I've had more people contact me this week to tell me not to have the shakes over people that encouraged it, and even though - if I'm being totally honest - I fall down in the 'not have them' camp, for now I'm going to try it out. If anything it boils down to the fact that I've paid and committed to a new plan, and I don't want to cut them out then assess my results in a month's time only to find I could have achieved more if I'd followed the plan properly. Only time will tell, but I think that it's worth a shot.
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.buzzfeed.com)
At the moment I'm only 2 days into the programme, but the supplements and BCAA powders are already making me a little uncomfortable. I've cut out artificial foods - and in particular ones that have an ingredients list of pure chemicals - for years, and the thought of having drinks that are fluorescent in colour and full of ingredients I can't even pronounce freaks me out enormously. I've sucked it up for the last 2 days but I have no idea if I'm going to be able to keep this up for the entire 4 weeks.
One thing I didn't really appreciate when I signed up for the plan was just how expensive it would be. I suppose if you're adventurous in the kitchen then you'd already have a lot of the spices, herbs and condiments, but as I'm both the worst cook in the world and the most boring, I had none of them. Just restocking the cupboards seems to have cost a fortune, and that's before taking into consideration the frankly enormous portions of fresh food. Apparently my plan has been tailored to take into account being low-calorie for so long, but even so these portions sizes are ridiculous. To put this into perspective, a 3-egg omelette and 165g raw spinach doesn't even come close to fitting on a large dinner plate. It's insane! I've only finished one meal so far, and even then I was so full I felt sick. I'm hoping that I'll get used to it over the next week or so, but if not I'm going to have to email my coach and try to find a solution. I don't understand how people cope with this amount of food!
Basically, I'm still finding my feet at the moment. I'm struggling a lot mainly because I'm not having much success with my meals (read: most of them have been inedible). I can't work out if it's because I'm a truly rubbish cook or because I haven't found the right meals for me yet, but we'll see! Nearly everything I've made smelt amazing but tasted vile! Cooking in coconut oil has been a challenge: I've used the 1 cal sprays since I was a teenager, and now hate cooking with oil with a passion. I know this particular one isn't bad for me, but I really can't stomach the greasy texture it produces. Also, most of my meals include lacto-free cheese, and while it's a revelation not to be in total agony after eating a small portion, I haven't eaten cheese in so long that I now no longer like the taste. Obviously it's going to take a while to establish what works for me, but I hope it gets better than the last few days!
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.buzzfeed.com)
Next week I should have these teething problems out of the way and have a better idea of how the plan's progressing. For now, though, I'm feeling extremely positive, and although it's not all plain sailing I know I can push through and it'll be worth it in the end. Fingers crossed anyway!
No comments:
Post a Comment