The VIP Diet: January 2011

Sorry...This is a LONG one!!

Bad Scale Days: This was a VIP Tip opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Yesterday (Monday) I stepped on the bathroom scale (first thing in the morning after bathroom, sans clothing and before any food/coffee)….and most people would call this a BAD SCALE day, as it clocked me in at 4.4 lbs heavier than the day before. I chalked it up to my typical fluctuations and didn’t freak out, but I thought about all my VIP Clients who would immediately assume they had gained 4 pounds and WTF was going on??!! =)

Why didn’t I get upset too? As much as I HATE to see the number higher than my optimal weight, I knew that rationally it was NOT body fat.

Here was my reality check:
1. Even though my official cheat feeding was on Saturday (2 days prior), I did a guesstimate of my calories for that day and even with cheat(s) I calculated I was only over my maintenance calories by around 1000 calories. Knowing that there are 3500 calories in (1) pound of body fat, that took away the fear because I KNEW I hadn’t eaten an additional 14,000 calories. Man would I have been FULL! =)

2. Then I looked at body fluid levels. With each additional gram of carbs I consumed at my Cheat meal (yes, I had a fair amount of carbs with cheat…who wouldn’t??) there are roughly 3 grams of water that get attracted to and pulled in with that carb when it’s stored in my body. That process can happen over the course of 1-2 days following your cheat meal as you drink in more fluids…..Fyi ~ the water that gets stored with the carbs doesn’t magically appear from nowhere. It’s initially pulled out of your body (from digestive system and your cells) and then that water needs to be replaced from somewhere, so when you drink fluids it goes back to these sources to prevent dehydration. A natural process of the body….always striving to get back to normal.

3. Next culprit…sodium! Eating out and cheat meals are typically LOADED with sodium! Even processed (boxed, canned or packaged) foods at home can contain mass amounts of salt, but I tend to eat 99% primal when I’m not having a planned cheat meal, so I literally don’t get any processed sodium with my weekly meals… except for some sea salt which is waaaay different. So, this high level dose of processed salt affects a hormone called Aldosterone and causes the body to pull in more water…..another temporary inconvenience.

4. This one may be TMI, but also I look at my Elimination (or lack of). You are what you eat and you are what you don’t excrete! So, if you’ve not gone #2 in more than a day, then you’re literally storing the weight of those days food in your intestines and of course it’s going to show up on the scale…it doesn’t just evaporate. If you’re not going poo daily, then look at the amount of plant fiber you’re getting in your daily meals. Slim to none? Then don’t expect to have regular bathroom habits. And don’t even think of adding in stool softeners or over the counter laxatives as they just mask the problem, not fix it. Also, did you take the time to sit down and let nature take its course today or did you ignore that faint little cramping and rush off to work and then the feeling eventually passed? .

5. More food for thought….Food Intolerances. If you’re eating foods that you’re body is intolerant and/or allergic to, you’re not going to assimilate any nutrition from that meal and it will be more or less just empty calories that you’re feeding your body. Where do empty calories go? To your BUTT of course! …LOL. You’re body is all about getting fuel (vitamins, minerals and amino acids to rebuild the cells) and when these don’t come in to the blood stream with a meal then the body keeps searching for more (in the form of hunger)….so did you ever wonder why when you eat a cheat meal you’re still hungry soon after? Well, besides the fact that you probably just sent your blood sugar thru the roof and had a subsequent blood sugar crash, you’re body sensed starvation….yes, starvation as even though you put food in your mouth, the cells didn’t get anything they needed out of the food and sent it downward to sit around in your intestines for a while. A sad but interesting fact is that overweight and/or obese people are actually malnourished. Sure, they get plenty of food, but no nutrients. Argh!

6. Back to the food intolerances/allergies….how do you know if you have them? Besides some of the obvious symptoms (abdominal bloating, cramping, acid reflux, IBS, constipation, diarrhea, etc) it will show up in some people as an itch (maybe in the ears or other end), skin eruptions (acne), frequent colds/flu, mood changes, etc. If you’re observant enough, and are keeping a food journal, you can typically track which foods may be affecting you. The common ones are wheat/glutens, yeast, eggs, dairy, nuts, and soy…but it can also be a ton of others. If you want the easy way to find out, then you make an appt with a holistic doctor and have them order IgG/IgE food allergen tests and you get a cool report back in the mail with an outline of the foods you definitely should not eat and a menu of alternative foods you can eat. This method can be a little pricey though….but so is going to the doctor 2 times a year for respiratory infections, spending tons of $ on diets and weight loss products, etc.

7. What can we take home from this? I know that by the end of the week (Friday weigh in) that I’ll likely be right back down to my maintenance weight and if I’m not, then I can start to go back thru my daily food logs to make sure I’m being objective about the overall amount of calories I take in over the week. If everything for the previous week was right on track and I KNEW I had not turned 6 ounces of meat into 3 ounces due to the mind rationalizing this over time….THEN I could start to look at other factors, like female hormonal shifts (monthly changes in Progesterone can cause water retention), stress levels (the stress hormones Cortisol, Adreneline/Nor-Adrenaline promote fat storage around your abdomen), etc and if none of these seemed likely, then I’d pay more attention to my food portions the next week.

8. An important note I want to make is that IF you suspect that you are having PMS bloat or food reactions, etc. DON’T use this as an excuse to rationalize why you’re gaining weight. PMS only lasts a week, so if you’re weight is not back down then you’d better start looking elsewhere for reasons. As well as if you have known food intolerances, then DON’T eat those foods (you’ll need to do food elimination for a period of 3-6 months then re-introduce it slowly) because if you do eat them, you’ve just sabotaged any nutrients you would have gotten from any of the food from that meal….and again, guess where it’s going?? If you’re under a lot of stress, re-evaluate what changes you can make in your life to lesson them. And lastly if you have it in your mind that you are gaining muscle at the gym and muscle weighs more than fat….it is not likely. To gain 1-2 solid pounds of muscle over the course of a year is a HUGE accomplishment!! Remember that your body is always in flux…breaking down muscle and building new, so everything has to be optimal conditions for you to retain extra muscle. Not to discourage you, because it can be done but not so much under dieting conditions as you are “supposed to be” in a calorie deficit, which is not what one needs to gain muscle. The good news is that if your goal is to lose weight you can preserve the muscle you already have by eating the recommended amount of protein on your Rx at each feeding. Hurray!! =)

I hope this has been helpful…..information is just that: Information to help you make educated decisions. Use it for self-improvement or ignore it and don’t get pissed off if the scale is having a bad day.

Happy weigh ins! …..Liberty

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