June 6: A Much Better Refeed

I got lots of great advice after my Refeed That Ate the World last week.  And like a wise dieter, I followed that advice. 

If you haven't been following along for my entire RFL diet, I'll give you a quick definition of refeeds.  A refeed is a period of time (for me it is 5 hours) in which you consume a large quantity of carbohydrates, regular intake of protein and fairly low fat.  The reason for this is that during a very strict diet like RFL, your leptin levels drop, wreaking havoc on your metabolism.  So basically, you are "resetting" the hormones that control your metabolism.  That is really oversimplified, and possibly a little bit incorrect, but it's my understanding of the process.  The Rapid Fat Loss diet I am following can be found here.

Tonight I made a tray of baked ziti.  I made a low fat healthy version that included fat free cottage cheese, fresh tomatoes, zucchini, mushroom, spinach, ground turkey and whole wheat pasta.  It was delicious.  To up my carb count I made homemade garlic bread, fairly light on the butter.  And later this evening, I'm having a serving of low fat frozen yogurt topped with fresh blackberries.  

It feels like a splurge, especially when my normal diet no longer includes sweets or carbs.  It's actually kind of decadent to eat them from time to time.  I feel a bit overly full, but I don't have a stomach ache like last time.  Best of all, I don't feel the guilt I felt last time.  On my last refeed, it was really more like a binge, a scary behavior I no longer indulge in.

I expect no ill effects tomorrow from the refeed.  I think the lower sugar content will help with the cravings I always have the day after.  It would really suck to start my new job and change of lifestyle while dealing with carb cravings! 

Tomorrow is Day 1 of Real World RFL.  Stay tuned...........

May 23: Day 12 and a Refeed

What is a refeed, you may be asking.  A refeed is a certain period of time in which you must consume a certain number of carbohydrates.  That magic number is calculated by using your lean body mass.  The length of time is dependant on your bodyfat percentage.  For me, today I had to consume 177 grams of carbs in five hours. However, you are to limit yourself to 50 grams of fat or less, and you also have to remember to consume your allotted amount of lean protein for the day.

Sound easy?

Not really!  Especially when you are used to existing on very low calories and and nearly non-existent carbohydrates.

We had a party at our house today for my youngest daughter's baptism.  This definitely gave me a lot of options for the refeed carbs.  See?

This is what I ate during my 5 hours of carb-driven indulgence:

At the party

1  pc of DQ ice cream cake

1 honey garlic meatball

 3 baby carrots

2 oz grilled flank steak

2 oz grilled chicken

 1 tbsp spinach dip

2 cubes pumpernickel bread

1 tsp creamy dill dip

2 Ritz and 2 Triscuit crackers

2 cubes of cheese

small scoop of Caesar salad

After the party

2 pcs Ezekiel toast

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

2 lattes with milk and sugar

Supper

6.7 oz chicken breast

1/2 piece of ice cream cake

and finally, right before the bell, I topped off my carbs with

1 tbsp of honey

If I moved, I think I would waddle.  Oh my gosh.  Wow.  That is a LOT of food.

Surprisingly, all of that, and I'm still under maintenance calories for the day, finishing up at 1740 calories.

I went over the recommended fat grams by 4 grams (yeah, I know, the ice cream cake).

Are you wondering how I kept track of all of this?  I'm going to sound obsessive.  I tucked a little notebook and pencil in the drawer of the bathroom so I could keep track of how much I was eating.  Since everything was bite sized it was easy to weigh some of the meat after everyone left so I could be precise.

I have the hiccups now.  I feel like a drunk that has over imbibed.  My poor tummy is very bloated.  Thank goodness it waited to bloat until everyone left.  And not everyone is lucky enough to have a refeed during their period.  PMS heaven.

Oh - if you're interested, I had a small omelet for breakfast with no cheese - I didn't want to use up any of my fat grams on breakfast!

Mar. 30: I Ate Ice Cream and Lived to Tell the Tale

I realized after I posted yesterday that I sounded like a neurotic woman who rules out all complex carbs.  That is definitely NOT the case.  The frightening thing I have tackled with the refeed is eating without being concerned about keeping my calories low.  Its the concept of purposely adding a piece of bread to a meal just to raise the carbs and calories.  I've spent so many months training myself to eat carefully and within a set of guidelines, it felt like hanging upside-down on a trapeze without a net. A rush, but scary because it could all go horribly wrong.

However, I indulged over the past two days and am here to tell the tale.  I ate an English Muffin that was not Ezekiel bread.  I had ice cream for dessert - heck, I had dessert, period.  I piled fruit on my plate and nibbled it all day long.  I kept the day pretty clean, for the most part, but just added a lot of "unnecessary" food.

And I learned something.  I did not magically swell up like a balloon today.  I didn't frantically crave sugar, rooting under the couch cushions for some long ago dropped piece of candy.  I didn't lay on the couch in a carbohydrate-induced state of lethargy, too slothful to brush my teeth.  I'm avoiding the scale for a few days, because apparently this can make you retain some serious water, but I woke up and felt, FINE.  I had plenty of energy today.  I didn't have any undue cravings.  I fell back into my previous tight eating habits with no issues at all.  I took a long, brisk walk with the dog without having to fight with myself to get motivated to do it.

Life went on, my friends.  Absolutely nothing bad happened from loosening the dietary reigns a little bit.

I've already decided to do this again next Sunday and Monday.  I'll keep it all within reason again, but those two days fall conveniently on Easter and my birthday.  CAKE.  I'm going to have a slice of cake!

I'll weigh in on Friday or so and let you know if this has triggered some weight loss.  Even if it didn't, I figure I'm no further behind, as long as I didn't officially gain weight from it.

Mar. 29: Something Wicked This Way Comes

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."  But it isn't Shakespeare's witches......... It's CARBS!!!

I breaking into some unknown territory over the next couple of days.  My weight loss is totally stuck.  In 2 months I have lost 5 pounds.  I am utterly frustrated.  I've recently begun not only measuring my food but weighing it.  My calories are definitely low enough that I should be losing no less than 2 pounds a week.

But I'm not.

I've begun a great consistent exercise program, so not only are my calories in deficit, I'm burning off lots of the ones I'm getting.  So again, I should be losing. 

But I'm not.

I posted a question asking for help on one of my favorite forums.  First, the brilliant ladies there suggested weighing, instead of measuring, because it is much more accurate.  So this weekend I went to Walmart and got a scale.  I wasn't terribly surprised that my serving estimates were off.  What did surprise me was that I was underfeeding myself even more than I was trying to.  What I had assumed was a 4 ounce serving of beef was actually 2.8 ounces.  My estimate of a 5 oz chicken breast was in reality, a 4 oz chicken breast.  Everything I've measured has surprised me so far.  So measuring it will be from now on.

Still, the scale is stuck and now, we've identified there is no caloric reason.  The next recommendations were a "refeed" or a "diet break."  I selected the option of a refeed.  I had to ask a bunch of silly, repetitive questions to figure out how to do it.  I'm kind of stumbling through this first day of it, feeling strangely guilty and clueless, all at the same time.

The gist of a refeed is that after a certain amount of time of strict dieting, your hormones can go awry.  One way of "resetting" your hormones is to go on a refeed and consume a lot of carbs.  For two days, I can eat carbs with abandon, while attempting to keep my protein and fat at the same numbers they have been previously.  This generally raises your calories approximately to maintenance level.  This is the way I understand the scenario.  I'm still researching, so if I discover I've given you misinformation, I will correct it, both on this post and in a new post.

So today was day one.  First let me say, I haven't really restricted carbs a whole lot.  I eat 2 pieces of Ezekiel toast for breakfast every morning without fail.  I eat tons of fruits and veggies, and I have 1-2 more servings of whole grains or potato per day.  Today, I'm trying to get my carbs up to 200 grams.  Because I have tracked everything so carefully over the past few months, this goes totally against the things I have ingrained in myself to lose weight.  It is scary to add an English muffin to dinner, even when it is a grainy, nutty, Ezekiel muffin. I honestly feel like my butt is broadening to it's former glory as I sit here typing this.

It's nearing the end of the day, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get all 200g in, but I'm giving it the old college try.  Tomorrow is day 2 of this evil plan, so I've figured out a few ways to make it a little easier and more spread out. 

I keep reminding myself of how I'm constantly telling people that one meal won't affect their results negatively.  But will two days of carbohydrate abandon drive the scale up, never to drop again?  I'll let you know, but right now, I need to have some ice cream.