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| Bren |
| Lessons Learned |
| 05.24.2010 11:05:45 | |
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Hi everyone! I believe I have an interesting blog today. One that many of you might be familiar with the subject matter. My blog today is on my recent experience with the Hcg diet. Have you heard of it? If not, take a moment to look up Dr. Buff's blog. Dave has done some research, and has written about what he found out about the diet. I'd like to tell you my story involving the Hcg diet. Looking back, I wonder why I did it in the first place, rather than just stay on the plan Dave had me on. I'd have to say that I decided to do the diet because of a co-workers apparent success with the diet. I say apparent, because she is not a bodybuilder, or involved in figure, fitness, or bikini competitions. That was my first mistake. My co-worker wasn't all that overweight, just a little soft. She went on the diet, and within 14 days she had lost 15 pounds. She looked great... in clothes, anyway. I don't know how her skin reacted to losing such a large amount of weight in such a short period of time, and I don't know if her skin is sagging or not. I anxiously awaited her body comp results. I remember thinking she is going to lose alot of muscle. I can't remember exactly what her comp results were, but it was around 13 pounds of weight lost, to 2 pounds of lean muscle. So it got me thinking...what if I just dropped the fat now, at 20 weeks out, then concentrated on building muscle up after the fat is lost? I decided not to run it by Dave...that was my second mistake. I knew he would say to just stick with the plan he had laid out for me. I wanted to try this diet, to see how my body would do, so I decided to do it on my own. What was I thinking? I pay Dave to work with me, to plan all the comp prep and to help get me to where I need to be. Why did I not run this by him?
So this is my experience with the Hcg diet, and I hope it helps someone that may be considering doing this diet. I met with a doctor who did a health history, took measurements, and did a body composition. The doctor then interviewed me as to why I wanted to lose weight. I told her I wanted to do a bodybuilding competition and get very lean. As a doctor, she said she could only advocated going to 21% body fat, but that lots of people chose to continue on with the injections of Hcg to continue to get leaner than that.
I then got a supply of 14 days worth of Hcg. The program has you fat load for the first 2 days. That was a head trip for me. It was so hard to put fattening food in my mouth after I had gone so long without that kind of food. The first day, I forgot to give myself the Hcg shot in the morning, so I had an extra day of fat loading. I felt nauseous, had a stomachache like you would not believe, and diarrhea for 3 days.
The next step is the extreme low calorie phase. I would have a protein shake at 6 am, one at 9 am, a small meal of chicken breast and a handful of veggies at 3 pm and then 6 pm dinner, which was the same as lunch. The day ended with one more protein shake at 9 pm. I could have various meats, but I chose chicken, since I like it the best and am used to it.
The first 3 days, I was starving! I was lightheaded, dizzy and just didn't feel good. I was extremely fatigued. I decided to substitute beef for the chicken and my energy levels improved a bit, but not enough to work out. The first week you are not supposed to workout with weights, but since I'm preparing for the competition, the doctor said I could lift, but I would need to lift light. Part of me thought, why bother to lift light? I concentrated on lifting with lighter weight and more repetitions and really squeezing the muscle I was working. Then I got on the elliptical. Thought I was going to faint and fall right off the machine. I had zero energy. No wonder I was exhausted...I had absolutely no starchy carbs in my diet.
After the first week I called the doctor and said I was starving all day. I was used to eating a huge amount of food before...lots of fibrous veggies, and a little bit of starchy carbs along with my protein and I was very satisfied. However, on this diet, I was hungry all the time. I was given the okay to eat more protein whenever I wanted. That helped alot. I wasn't hungry anymore, but still missed my starchy carbs!
At two weeks I had lost 6 pounds, one of which was muscle. I wasn't able to workout at all, as I just felt terrible. So, two weeks, and I only worked out once. I even missed three days of work, since I felt so bad. The third week I felt a bit better, since I wasn't starving, however I just didn't have the strength I needed to lift heavy.
I was having coffee with my friend and fellow blogger, Julie, and told her how I was doing on this diet. She told me I needed the starchy carbs in my diet to be able to build muscle and that I should tell Dave what I was doing before it was too late. Before the diet, I was concerned that I may not lose the fat, now I was concerned that there may not be enough time to build muscle up! Aaaggghhh! Muscle takes time to build, and you need calories to build it. Julie explained that the cutting part of the competition prep is the easy part...I will be able to lose the fat with double cardio, but the muscle building is the hard part. All I can say, is thankfully Julie prompted me to talk with Dave about it, before I lost all hope of making the Ironman.
I had to tell Dave what I did. That was hard for me, since I really listen to what he tells me, and I follow his plan. I just don't know what got into me. I still don't know why I decided to go off the path, and follow this diet. All I know is that I was scared of not making it up onto the Ironman stage. I know that my body is slow at burning fat, and I wanted to get a step ahead so I didn't have to worry about the fat loss close to the competition date. It hit me when Dave said I was basically trying to shortcut things. At first I thought I wasn't trying a shortcut, but really thinking about it, I realize I was. I was counting on a magic pill, or in the case of this diet, a magic injection. I wanted to just jump ahead of the game. Dave had outlined a good plan of eating the right foods, in the right amounts, at the right times...and I wanted to speed it along faster. What I realized is that the diet will work, but at what cost to me? I quickly found out it was not the right way to prepare for my competition and had to go to Dave and admit that I tried something without consulting him first, and I failed. Dave was very understanding, but reinforced his quote..."There is no easy way to accomplish a hard task."
So, I needed to know how badly this hurt me. Dave did a body comp, and I have lost 13 pounds of fat, and one pound of muscle since my last comp 3 months ago. I can deal with that. What we don't know is how my metabolism has been affected. That, I will find out soon enough. Dave said I have my work cut out for me. I will need to lift heavy, and bump up my cardio to an hour daily for the next three weeks, then we will start adding time at 16 weeks out. I gotta admit I'm not looking forward to that. I love lifting weights, but HATE cardio with a passion. I know, I shouldn't say that, but it's the truth. Can't stand going nowhere fast, on a piece of gym equipment! However, it is what needs to be done, and I'll do it.
I have learned many lessons from this experience. First, I learned I need to be able to talk to Dave, my coach, about anything. It is his job to educate me on things relating to bodybuilding. It is my job to follow his advice. How can I be successful if I'm not doing the work that he has laid out before me? If I would have come to him with this Hcg diet, he would have done the research, informed me about it and I would have realized it is not for bodybuilders, and I wouldn't have gone down that path. I should have talked to him, I know that now.
Second, I learned to stop comparing myself to others. Sure my co-worker lost weight. I don't know how her skin looks though, and she is not preparing for a bodybuilding competition. Bodybuilders strive to put on as much muscle as possible, and this is not the diet for anyone wanting to do that.
Third, I learned to trust myself. Dave explained that my body is like a big Mac truck going up a hill. My metabolism is slow...just creeps along like the Mac truck. But it makes it up the hill at a consistent pace. I don't know why I thought I could change my body into a Ferrari! I'm consistently losing a pound a week. I'm beginning to get to know my body. It surprises me with the changes that are happening to it, and for that, I'm thankful. I don't need to rush the process. Improvement takes time and effort.
Now I'm back on track. I had some wonderful starchy carbs again, and had a great back workout! It's only been 12 hours and my back is SORE! Yay! It feels good to lift heavy again. Still not loving the hour of cardio, compared to 45 min...but I'll get used to it. Just somethin' that's gotta be done if I want to get to where I'm going!
A big thank you to Julie and Dave, for picking me up, turning me around, putting on my super hero cape, and getting me back on my road to the Ironman! You guys are my support and I'm so thankful for you both!
Think On It:
If you are training for an event, in my case a bodybuilding competition, you need to listen to just one person whom you trust. Find that person and follow his or her advice and forget about all the other people saying there is an easier or better way. Focus on the goal, listen to your coach, and believe in yourself that you will succeed!
Bren
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