Guess what! Will is done with his paleo diet experiment! He’s here for this month’s installment of The Boyfriend Chronicles to share the latest and greatest. Take it away, Will!
Hello there fit and focused friends of Fitful Focus. Welcome back to another edition of The Boyfriend Chronicles where, this month, I’ll be talking about nutmeg, trying really, really, really hard to get ripped and guilt. And by that I mean, of course, talking about my paleo diet.
For those who are not aware of some of my previous endeavors, I used to work at a radio station when I was in college where I learned the importance of back selling. So on that note, if you haven’t read my previous post about starting this paleo diet, head on over and check that out so you’re all caught up for this one.
As a quick recap for those who don’t want to give me any page views on the previous post, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to be healthier for a few months – which evolved very quickly into trying the paleo diet for three months (naturally, haha).
The diet officially ended Tuesday, March 31st, but I carried it until the Friday of that week, April 3rd. With the diet a few weeks in the rear view mirror, I am happy to say it was worth it. FREAKING HARD, but worth it. I ended the diet down 10lbs from starting, lifting heavier than ever before (on everything except bench press, arg!), and learned that the 2 o’clock feeling of being sleepy after lunch is from trying to digest a blackened chicken Panini with cheese, and not some rare sleeping disease that flares up every day after lunch.
Note from Nicole: I know, I know. He’s a good lookin’ dude. You can looky (quickly) but no touchy.
The biggest challenge for me during these past few months was really eating as much as the diet required and accepting that I was going to drop below my ideal bodyweight (which I made up in my head anyway, so I’m not sure why I was so upset when it happened #hangry). Just to give you an idea of the final meal plan, here it goes:
Banana and chia pancakes with a 350 calorie protein shake on the way to work, followed by a cup of oatmeal at 10am and an apple somewhere in there before noon. Lunch consisted of a salad with cashews, grilled chicken, and carrots with balsamic and olive oil dressing. After lunch I had another apple and some paleo cookies, which I’ll elaborate on below, followed by a banana and protein shake after the gym, dinner, and then a fruit smoothie with casein protein before bed. After all that eating, I’m pretty sure the muscles that got the strongest were those used for chewing.
Eating as much as I had to required some logistics and planning. Nicole and I quickly learned that the best way to tackle everything was to make all the food on Sunday and then freeze it or put it in the fridge until the day I needed it. At first she helped me make everything, but eventually her little chicky could fly on his own and I was able to make everything myself – which was fine… until I accidentally used nutmeg instead of cinnamon for the cookies. Aside from the fact that 2 tbsp of nutmeg costs like $200, I was so motivated to stick to my diet that I had to eat the nutmeg cookies even though they tasted like dirt. I always thought cinnamon was a strong spice, but having gone through that week, I can confidently say it’s got nothing on nutmeg (cinnamon, dooo you even lift?). Moral of the story with this one is, just because it’s the same color and consistency, does NOT mean it tastes the same. Anyway, it took some time and I left nutmeg out of the cookies for a few weeks just out of spite, but finally my taste buds returned to normal – at which point I was almost done with the diet.
The month of March was busy for Nicole and me, and the end of the month came quicker than I was expecting. And while I had been counting the days until April first since January (no, seriously), once it finally came, I had no desire to switch back… which was really not something I expected. For the duration of the diet I thought I was going to gain 10lbs on April 1st as I stuffed my face on French fries and all the foods I missed, but when the day finally came I had no interested in doing any of that. I actually felt guilty even wanting unhealthy food. Nicole got me a sugar cookie from Whole Foods as a treat, but even that took 3 days to eat. I’m not sure if it was the feeling of accomplishment that kept me from pigging the heck out or the fact that my interest in food had started to change. Even now, as things have started to move back to normal, I still think twice about everything I know is not natural or healthy – like Doritos (but seriously, why are they so tasty?).
The one thing I did miss was enjoying drinks with my friends. That first Friday after the diet was done, two good friends took me out for my first drink – and let me tell you, I am a VERY cheap date now. I distinctly remember walking into the apartment after having two beers and seeing Nicole asleep on the bed (she had a race the next day so she went to bed early) and wondering how high she would bounce if I belly flopped onto the bed next to her.
Fortunately for the both of us (maybe more for me, haha), logic came through for me in that moment and I just fell asleep like a normal human being – who had just successfully finished his first ever diet.
Results of going #paleo, blobs + half naked men – all in this month’s Boyfriend Chronicles!
Click To Tweet
Questions:
Have you ever stuck to a strict diet? How’d you do?
Cinnamon vs. Nutmeg. Who wins?
Have you ever jumped off a blob?
