From Here On In

So I did it.

wikia.com

But am I done?

In terms of what I've got out of this Challenge, it of course depends how you measure it.

1. Stats-wise 

I lost:

• 1 kg weight
• 1 cm from waist
• no change to hips
• 0.8% body fat

I'm not going to lie.  I was a little disappointed with this.

Could it be that the black marks I accrued affected the results? (grand total: 36)

If I had been able to complete the Challenge without any black marks, would the stats look significantly different?

I'm not sure.  I mean, I didn't really accrue black marks for what I considered to be the 'major' no-nos (no grains, no sugars, no processed foods).

I would be interested in knowing how the changes people have experienced (stat-wise) relate to their Challenge performance ie. black marks, but not just # of black marks, but also what they were for, as well as the other variants, in particular, how much exercise (CrossFit) they were doing, and sleep.

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But what about another measurement of result: 

2. My appearance.

Well I think I could look a little leaner.  But, to me, the difference is minimal.  And I'm talking the difference between a week when I get to CrossFit 4 times, and a week when I only get there once..

I fully intended to put my before and after pix up here.  And I still intend to.  But I currently don't have access to the hard drive with the befores on.  I'll look at home tonight.

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And finally, 

3. How do I feel?

Honestly?  I feel pretty good.

Do I feel different though? Ummmm hard to say.

The main things that affect how I feel (physically and emotionally), are:

1. sleep

2. hormones

3. stress

4. diet & exercise

I know this.  Its a consistent thing, and always has been.  By consistent, I mean they are the variables that affect me (not that they are constants, doh).

I don't really lump diet & exercise together like it appears, clearly they are different, and they do affect me in different ways.  BUT they are equal at number 4 in my list.

I know I could do with more sleep.  This Challenge has, however, really highlighted this - recording the hours sleep I get has made me understand more clearly and directly how the amount of sleep I get relates to how I feel in the morning, for example.  Its an ongoing issue.

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Ok.  So there will be certain things that will now reappear in my diet, and I will welcome them back with open arms/mouth.

But here are some things I have learnt / things to take forward from now:

1.  I don't need grains.
2.  I do need more protein.
3.  I love fruit, veg, nuts and seeds.  <3
4.  Its easy to drink lots of water.
3.  I don't mind eggs, prepared in certain ways.
4.  I like black coffee.  [I can actually taste the coffee]

5.  The more CrossFit I do, the better I become.  [obvious perhaps, but true]
6.  The better I become, the more confident I feel, and the more confident I feel, the better I become... [and the more I enjoy it too]

7.  I need to somehow try get more sleep.

Also:

I don't need sugar.  
I don't need processed foods.

But these are things I already knew, and pretty much stuck to anyway.

To be honest, I think my diet was pretty good before the Challenge.

I don't want to bang on about it, but being veggie, for the reasons I am veggie, means that I have always been interested in food, food sourcing, food production, food processing, and how all that relates to your health (physical and mental wellbeing).  This Challenge has stimulated me into looking further into areas of this that I didn't already know about.

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So what's making a return?

Well, I will be reintroducing dairy.  This is for various reasons, including:

1. I love cheese.
2. Its a good protein source for me.
3. Weight loss is not a priority for me going forward.
[not that I want to throw in all my hard work and get fat, but it is not the main focus of my eating, training etc - I am much more concerned about general health and wellbeing]

Realistically, I'm going to drink.
I'm going to eat small amounts of dark chocolate again.
And I will be eating high GL carbs more often.

I don't intend to eat grains at all, if poss.
But at the same time, I know that this won't always be possible.  Like I've said the whole way through, this is a pragmatic choice for me.

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I can't help thinking that at least a contributing part of the lack of dramatic changes may be because, actually, I wasn't that far wrong in the first place.

That sounds pretty bold, and big-headed.  But actually, this wasn't really a big struggle.

And that itself is really quite encouraging.

It means, in my mind, that I was already on the right track.  It kind of vindicates previous choices I've made. And it generally makes me feel good to know that it shouldn't be hard to keep going.

I'll update this again in a bit.