28 days no chocolate challenge - the results are in

The end of my 28 days without dark chocolate and why I don't really care for it anymore

Its been 28 days now, or just over and I have to say that all said and done, it has been a good 4 weeks. To reiterate the challenge; no chocolate (dark or otherwise) for 28 days, and journal what happens. During the time, my exercise routine has stayed roughly the same and I haven't been eating very differently than the norm. For full disclosure, a few times my blood sugar was slightly low I caved and grabbed some cheesecake (another weakness to stomp out in due course). I wanted to give an idea of what has changed, or not changed this past 4 weeks, and a few of my observations from my journalling.

The key stats

Before                                                      After
Weight - 156.25 lbs                                  Weight - 148.5 lbs
Body fat - 17.1%                                      Body Fat - 15%

So, a loss of 7.75 pounds and 2.1% body fat, almost exclusively from dropping dark chocolate from my diet as a regular indulgence. Not a bad result if I do say so myself. And a further testament to the importance of diet in body composition over exercise alone.

Not me, but you get the idea. And my trousers are definitely baggier now than before

Other observations

Carbohydrate intake was the single best predictor of body-fat gain or loss the subsequent day, above fat intake (which was relatively stable anyway) and almost completely independent of exercise. But lets backtrack slightly, I work on a 4 day wave of exercise (see Scott Sonnon's work) running through; no intensity mobility work, low intensity compensatory yoga, medium intensity interval training (focussed on practicing the skill and increasing good form), and high intensity interval training (focused on maintaining the form, while increasing exertion). 90% of the time after a medium or high intensity TACFIT session, I will take two scoops of protein powder for the boost to recovery. Back to the last month. Here is an example from one of my high intensity days. First thing in the AM, I did joint mobility exercises, then I rode my bike 8 miles to an epilepsy awareness training session for work, and the 8 miles home; I then had my high-intensity 30 minutes running 6 exercises in tabata intervals. I'm sure i added in a few brief jogs and mobility drills throughout the day as well. Now, with all that exercise you might expect I would loose some weight, but you would be wrong, so very wrong. You see, while I ate healthily, I was snacking constantly throughout the day on a big box of strawberries I had bought on route to the training. Also, my post workout berries, honey and natural yoghurt (mostly paleo/primal, at least far better than conventional deserts) added to the carb load. The next day I had gained about 2 pounds, and 0.5% body fat. The weight doesn't bother me, when I begin weight training, or heavy club swinging, I will be looking to add mass, but increasing body fat while I ate so 'healthily' was disappointing. Again, the importance of moderation, and the carb load was stressed to me.

Overall, I feel more vibrant and active. Considering this has been a hectic and stressful month, and the next few weeks will be worse. But, I know now from first-hand experience that sitting to relax with a bar (or two) of dark chocolate and some TV/Xbox or whatever was only hindering me from working to maximum capacity. The more my breaks from work involve walking, mobility, or my actual workouts, the more productive I am overall. Also, the fewer carb loads I have, the less insulin I have which helps a great deal to avoid the fatigue of dropping blood sugars.

Journaling can be an extremely useful tool, if done right. Sadly I have been too busy to journal the past week (by which I mean if I have not been at Uni, on the way to Uni. working, testing participants in the lab, or some other kind of work, I had been allowed some sleep). But the little things, like how being ill affected my diet and vice versa, and how my energy improved the more I moved. Also recovery rates, and progression in workouts in terms of increased form, lower discomfort and higher reps makes progress quantifiable.

The Primal Blueprint N=1 journal

This thing was awesome, and it helped me log nearly everything pretty well. I only have two minor issues. First, it isn't designed to have specific sections for blood glucose testing, which would have been helpful. I wouldn't expect it to have, but it still doesnt make it 100% perfect for my purposes. Second, its a bit too big, so you kind of have to leave it at home and fill it in at the end of the day, which becomes a bit of a chore. I would prefer a smaller and more manageable sized journal. I'm aiming for say a5 size, and pretty thin. I'm going to devise my own, based on my own routines; including but not limited to; blood sugar testing, food diary, workout recordings (including not only reps, but perceived: technique, excursion, and discomfort). I'll maybe make it to fit into the 28 day 7x4 cycle I run, which would be pretty cool.

What's next?

To be honest, I'm not sure. But as soon as I find a new challenge, I'll post it and share the experience.
What's your challenge? What should be my next one? comment and lets see together.

Anyway, here's some minions for the T1D perspective.

Respectfully,
Sam

28 day no-chocolate challenge and back to journaling

I have a problem with chocolate. I always have. Its the only food that I can easily scoff down a massive amount of and still want more. It's like I have a black hole inside me for chocolate alone. When I began transitioning to primal eating, chocolate was a late food for the chop. For a while it went well, until I discovered that as my sweet tooth reduced, my liking of dark chocolate increased. The pseudo-addiction began again. As much as I tried to tell myself that it was an acceptable vice; in truth, it became excessive and at best could be described as a lesser of two evils compared to milk chocolate - but only just. Excessive consumption of indulgent foods is what will lead me down a bad road that I want to avoid. I had a good A1c result last week, and I want to keep it good. Plus, injecting less insulin has always been awesome. So I came to a decision after reading Mark's no-alcohol experiment and thought I'd do the same with chocolate of all kinds and see what happens.

It just tastes soooo good

I'm not after some massive fat reduction from the elimination of dark chocolate from my diet and I understand the benefits dark chocolate has to offer. I have found however, that testing myself to challenges like this useful in the past. My last challenge was to go without alcohol, and I haven't looked back. I don't want to consume a substance that impedes my training, and more importantly my training recovery. So there we are, 28 days without chocolate of any kind. Just to see what happens, or doesn't happen. At best, I have eliminated a calorie excess in the order of 500-1500 from my diet (yes, it definitely became a problem), at worst, I miss chocolate quite a bit and eat more fruit to compensate. Not a bad situation all in.

What if I fail? That dreaded will-power sapping doubt. Well, first I understand that it has been an unnecessary indulgence. Second, I need to save for a few pieces of gym equipment (med ball, paralettes and the like) and can manage to put aside a few pennies here and there if I abscond from dark chocolate. Third, I was getting a bit sick of the stuff anyway. Most importantly, I have begun journaling again.

I wanted to start journaling again for a while, however the stupidest thing stopped me. I didn't want to be honest. I knew I had indulged that day and didn't want to admit it on paper so I didn't write anything. Well, now I'm holding myself to the advise I would give to others (or maybe just think, silently, judgingly) "Get over yourself, be honest and make yourself better. You can only be better by really looking at yourself now. You don't get the changes you want by doing nothing." Though I might, no I would, swear at myself more. I need to be harsh on myself, because I want great things for myself and my family. I'm trying to not beat myself up as much, but push myself forward more - and we'll see it work together.

Here's the first few pages, I still have a few notes to add though - my aim is to fill every page. Making good notes towards my training goals and technique will enable good progression and avoidance of injury. Oh, and apologies for my terrible, terrible handwriting.

What's your challenge? what are you hoping to achieve in the next few months? If you don't have one, then I humbly suggest that you find one and push yourself to be better than ever.

Respectfully,
Sam