No Sugar? No Grains?

Back in April I was doing fine with my weight loss challenge... or so I thought. I've lost about 3 kilos on the diet and exercise but even though I was training as if I was about to compete in a marathon, the kilos (or pounds) wouldn't go away as one would expect. I got comments such as "You are gaining muscle, that's why you don't see much change in the scales" and the, oh, so typical, "Maybe you have heavy bones"... heavy bones???????

In May I also got a surgical procedure to remove a couple of lumps, so doctor said I should stop my walks and training for at least 10 days to 15 days in order for the stiches not to come loose... so I stayed away from my daily training and walks but continued with the same diet.

Nice close-up of one of the "stitches"

During the pause period, some of the weight lost came back... of course, even though I was eating healthy and according to the plan (you can check my weekly reports here and on Instagram)... After the two weeks pause I began to exercise again and got back to where I have left it but again the weight wouldn't go away with the same combination of diet + exercise, which got me thinking and as I had a doctor appointment in the beginnings of June I've decided to ask my doctor, and oh, my, was this enlightening!

I consider myself a smart, well-read, well-fed person. I'm very active, especially now that I left the "office life" to try and improve my life. I have always had a interest on health and nutrition even though sometimes what I eat does not always reflect what I know is best for me, I do know the difference between good and bad food. 

Most diets out there focus on cutting calories and the simple math of ‘calorie in, calorie out’ instead of changing the kinds of foods you eat and getting people to really exercise. That is, focusing less on calories, more food quality, and activity. 

After telling the doctor about my predicament, he suggested to try something new, he suggested me to go "No sugar, No grains" for a month (#NSNG). He said that this could help me balance my hormones and help not only with the weight loss but also with some allergies I had recently, so I went home and begin my investigation into the "NSNG" eating style.

I read a lot and came across a book called "Fitness Confidential" written by Vinnie Tortorich, trainer for the stars in Hollywood, that got me to listen to his podcasts and reading more books written by the nutritionists trainers and doctors that Vinnie interviews in his shows. His approach is to simply say, “don't eat foods with sugar or that are made from grains.”

http://vinnietortorich.com/fitness-confidential/

I've also read about the Whole30 program which estates that certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it and challenges you to go a full 30 days stripping them from your diet. The main claim they do that caught my attention strongly is their talk about the hormonal disbalance caused by what we eat, so after listening to Vinnie and reading about Whole30 I decided to go for it and try it myself.

I didn't go for the Whole30 approach, I still have a glass or two of wine on the weekends and some dairy in my meals, thought it is full fat and if possible grass fed but I have cut out all sugar and grains for three weeks now and went into what is called a "ketogenic" type of diet.

And I'm loving it.

Yes, it is incredibly difficult to adhere to a NSNG diet, especially if you are the only one in the house doing it but once you get on track, the improvements you'll feel and see in your body and mind are incredible. After a week I could feel a significant difference in how I felt mentally and physically. I wasn't bloated anymore and after the first three days craving sugar (yeap, like a drug addict) I was just fine.

On the physical side I'm not bloated anymore, I feel lighter, my muscle tone has improved and my exercise endurance as well. My allergies are all gone (nope, I'm not having my usual cetirizin pill a day and I'm just fine), my skin is looking great, no more chin acne but a healthy radiant glow according to my DH. And I've lost weight... oh, yeah... I haven't check the scales yet (I'm not supposed to until the 30 days are over) but my clothes are fitting loose and well again and I have a lot of energy all day long.

On the mental side I don't feel sluggish, the surplus of energy is doing wonders to my productivity and also for my mood.

Just after a workout

And with a bit of production...

So far all is going well. After the 30 days are over I'll get a blood check up to make sure everything is good and if it is (which I'm pretty sure it is anyways) I can see this becoming a habit not an exception. I don't say I will never eat a muffin again in my life, of course I will, but sure as hell I will be cutting out any unnecessary processed sugars and grains whenever I can. By all means, visit Vinnie Tortorich web page and/or listen to his podcasts...