HOLY, HOLY BLOAT

Credits: Memegenerator

Week 1 Down!

We survived the first seven days of the program!

(Out of 84, but why let semantics get in the way of a happy dance?)

The biggest change that I've seen, besides my newfound hatred for brothless broccoli soup (attempts), is the removal of bloat. 

Honestly, I'm not joking, but I looked at one of my friends doing the program this morning (here's looking at you, Nucci), and did. not. recognize. her.

There I was, blowing my hair dry after the 7am class and I heard her distinctive voice. But when I looked around, I couldn't spot her. It took 10 whole seconds before I recognized her and realized she was talking to me. 

It's only been a week. Siete dias. Sept jours. You get my drift.

Okay, maybe a tiny bit of that was the blurriness from having dragged my lifeless body out of a crazy workout, but seriously, I didn't know it was her. I'm not being dramatic, but if that doesn't make you a believer that sugar and alcohol, the 2 main things we're cutting out in this first phase, are the main causes of bloat, I don't know what will.

Sugar is actually the #1 inflammatory food source and I've never believed in this more than I do now. I dropped 6 lbs within the first week and my face, arms and tummy have all shed some of the classic bloat that I was carrying for the longest time. None of this weight lost is actual fat loss (yet), but it comes entirely from removing inflammatory food groups from my diet. Processed, caloric-dense convenience foods, as our trainer Alex calls them, have been forcibly eliminated to give way to real, nutrient-dense foods, and the difference is STARK.

I couldn't put it in words any better than Alex does, so here's what he said to that:

"You can expect to see a reduction in inflammation. As the inflammatory food groups have been removed, you may notice clothes fitting differently even within the first week. THIS IS NOT FAT LOSS - it is a reduction of inflammation. However, by reducing the inflammation and allowing the body to work properly, your fat loss efforts are significantly improved.

You may lose 1-2kg on the scales. This is the depletion of muscle glycogen (carbs) and water. This is again very advantageous to overall fat loss, but the initial shock weight loss on scales is not fat loss. Remember this when your hippie friends promote juice cleanses and how they lost X weight in X days..."

In any case, even if it's strictly water loss, I sure am happy to be seeing the angular side of my jawline again. Gimme a Chi, gimme a Sel, what do you get?