Dr. Bernstein Diet

October was filled with a ton of activities and events. But this is mainly going to be my experience and thoughts on being on the Dr. Bernstein Diet.

The Dr. B diet is essentially a weight loss program where you reduce your calorie intake and your body uses energy stored in your fat cells. Basically, your body doesn't have enough calories so it'll take from the stored energy from the fat cells. 

On the diet, I was allowed to have TWO servings only from 4 groups: fruits (1 serving = 1 fruit), veggies (240g veggies = 1 serving), protein (100g of protein = 1 serving) and carbs (1 slice of bread = 1 serving). I was basically eating around 900ish calories a day. That meant no working out. No running. No basketball. You couple this with Vitamin B12 injectables, and you follow a strict meal plan. And when I say strict, I mean, stricter than a nun in a covenant, nahmsayin'? Not only were the portions strict, but you had to purchase specific brands. And it even tells you the kind of fruit and veggies you could eat! (Pineapples, carrots and bananas were NOT allowed)

Now, my friend used to work in the Dr. B clinic, so she knew the ins and outs of this diet. 3 of us did it, and thank God for that support group, because I would have caved SO FAST. This was by far the most physically challenging thing I have ever done. But I felt like I was off-track for far too long. And I guess I needed something drastic..

Let me break down for you what I would have during the day:

Breakfast:1 piece of toast, 1 tablespoon of strawberry sugar free jam
Morning Snack: 1/2 apple
Lunch: 240g of veggies and 100grams of protein (normally chicken breast)
Afternoon Snack: 1/2 apple. 1 piece of bread. 1 piece of Laughing Cow Low Fat Cheese
Dinner: egg white omelette (this was my protein), 240g of veggies
Evening Snack: 1 orange, 1 cup of jello.

Jello was my freakin' saviour. Seriously. It curbed my sweet cravings after dinner.

Anyway, we planned on doing the diet for 14 days, but by the 10th day, I already reached my goal weight so I started to slowly incorporate "normal" food into my diet. Bowl of All-Bran cereal for breakfast, real eggs and more carbs so I actually had energy to work out. All in all, I lost 7lbs in 10 days.

Now I know it's not "healthy" but I did feel good afterwards because I realized that my body is capable of losing that weight. I hit a plateau for so long, that I thought my body couldn't lose anymore weight. But now that I know I can, I just gotta stick with it.

I found after the diet, my body rejected (and I mean, rejected) the awesome stuff. I had stomach aches after a slice of pizza, headaches after half a donut, and I was full after 6 pieces of gyoza and about 3 pieces of deep fried tofu. When I know I'm going to a restaurant, I have to plan exactly what I am going to eat so I make sure I don't get a stomach ache. Sigh. I suppose it's a good thing.. But I'm kind of sad that I can't really enjoy these types of food anymore!

The last couple of days, I've had some "cheat meals," also known as, meals I don't cook at home. Regardless if it's steamed dumplings or soup, if I don't make it at home, I consider that a cheat.

The boyf and I are celebrating our 3 year anniversary, starting off with brunch on Sunday. Plus a late Friendsgiving dinner, aaaand a few birthdays in between... Now, I really hope I don't gain back all I lost. But I think if majority of my week is made up of healthy eats, I can give myself room here and there to live a little ;)

And next week, I'm also going to a personal training session to hopefully get out of this rut I've been having in the gym. I'm hoping now that I'm eating normal again, I don't gain more than 2lbs...  That's the goal! So whoever is reading this, wish me luck! Not just in keeping my weight goal, but making sure I do this in a healthy way.

Now someone pass me some digestive tea...

Until next blogpost!

~chatterbox

The good type of scary

In the span of 2 months, I started a fitness challenge, help plan out a massive basketball and volleyball tryout in our region, made it on the Western Canada Women's Basketball team, and found a new job. Yeah, it's been quite the ride. 

With all of these things happening, it's been overwhelming, and part of me really wants to just hide in the corner by myself with my fanfiction and ignore the world. I think what's really making me feel nervous is the start of a new job (and possibly my career) on Monday.  I officially resigned last week, and it's been really hard to say goodbye to the place I've been at for almost 3 years. I owe a lot to my boss for taking a chance on me, a fresh-out-SFU-graduate. 

I honestly hate change. Okay, hate is a strong word, but it's a definite strong dislike. I like being comfortable and having a good routine. But God has a plan for me, and I have to trust in that and believe in myself. It's officially my last day tomorrow, and I think there might be a few tears... #realtalk

One week out until our basketball/volleyball tournament in Oregon. What I've noticed is that I'm very, very tough on myself. I know that they say, "your biggest critic is yourself," but I find that I treat myself unfairly - especially when it comes to playing basketball. Perhaps I expect more of myself. Or maybe I compare myself too much with other people. But it could be the fact that it's Shark Week right now... Hmm.

But honestly, I feel very blessed to have a group of people in my life that will remind me to be confident in myself. With all of the events happening in my life, a lot of emotions have been coming at me, left, right and centre, and I forget sometimes to just breathe.  So shoutouts to my people. Thanks for keeping this girl sane. 

And in a couple of weeks, me and bf will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary! I don't know how he puts up with me, but hey, I ain't complaining. I'm not big on PDA, but.. I am definitely lucky. 

SIGH. Here we go. Some big scary changes... But the good type of scary. 

Till next time,

~chatterbox