Today marks the completion on my first week on the diet: 2 days of detox (phase 1) and 5 days on phase 2, during which I'm allowed only very specific foods tailored according to my blood results and absolutely no added fat whatsoever.
I've got another 8 days worth of phase 2 before I can enter phase 3, a more relaxed phase during which I will be able to introduce more foods and in bigger quantities, as well as a cheat meal a week!
For the sake of the experiment, I thought it'd be good to do a little stop check to see where we were at the half way point so I weighed myself and took all my measurements again this morning and here are the results:
Weight: -1.2kg (2.6lbs)
Waist: -4cm
Hips: -1cm
Thighs: -1cm
Now some of you might say, "is that all?", but remember that I'm only doing this as an experiment, I don't really need to lose weight as I'm already at the lower end of a healthy BMI so I can't be expected to shed lots and lots of pounds. From talking to other Metabolic Balance coaches, some people who are truly overweight can lose quite a bit more.
Also, I normally view a weight loss of 1lb a week totally reasonable so 2.6lbs is pretty good I think. Remember that this isn't a crash diet, this program isn't your bog standard "drop down two dress sizes in a week" kind of thing.
The most amazing thing about the results were the stats on my scales. My scales measure not just your weight but also your body fat percentage, your metabolic rate, your visceral fat, your level of hydration, your muscle mass and more. After taking my readings I had to look at them for a while to comprehend it all because at first it didn't make sense or didn't seem possible. My weight had dropped by a bit and so my BMI, normal, my hydration level and muscle mass were pretty unchanged, but my metabolic rate was higher and my body fat had reduced dramatically.
It's common when you diet for your metabolism to slow down, hence why people yo-yo - you starve yourself, your metabolism slows down, you get bored with the diet, go back to eating "like a normal person", as one of my clients told me recently, but then you put weight on because your body doesn't burn quite as many calories. Not fair? Maybe not but your body is trying to protect itself in case you decide to starve again...
So, often on diets your metabolism slows down but here my metabolism is higher than it was, my body is becoming more efficient at burning calories. Isn't that cool? And I didn't even exercise one bit (you're not allowed on phase 2).
What really floored me was my body fat though and at first I thought I had got it wrong or that perhaps my scales needed recalibrating but no, my body fat percentage went from 26.5% (i.e., between ideal and average for a woman of my age) to 18%3 (lean). 18.3%?!! That's mad, in the space of a week my body fat percentage has dropped by 8.2%! My visceral fat has also gone from 2.5 to 1.
That pretty much means that this seemingly measly 1.2kg or 2.6lbs that I lost is pure fat.
In a week it's pretty incredible I think, especially considering I haven't had to drink disgusting shakes or fast or exercise.
I can't wait to see what happens at the end of next week, bring on the next 8 days!
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