Today was a lot more even keel for both Michelle and me. We have been learning bits and pieces over the course of the week about what this program is supposed to be about, and it's pretty interesting. My friend Mary left a comment on the last post about when we return to the "real" world... will we still want to exist on 1200 calories and exercise all the time now that we know we can do it? (Well, for me the answer is %*&$&% No!!! haha)
Apparently, what this program is based on (weight-loss wise, at least) is changing our bodies patterns of blood sugar levels. Fitpath (the company that puts on our program, Mountain Trek) believes that to lose or keep a stable weight, we should never go to bed on a high blood sugar level. They say that when we eat, our blood sugar rises, and when we exercise, our blood sugar drops or levels out. (I hope I am getting this all correct...I have only the most miniscule knowledge of nutrition/biology so I'm bound to get details wrong!)
So, they have us eating pretty substantial breakfasts right when we wake up, having snacks and a lunch throughout the day, and eating dinner at five pm. After that we do at least 40 minutes of cardio/strength training, but no more food.
Anyway, they say it takes the average person three or four weeks, sometimes much longer to convert their bodies to being hungriest in the morning and less hungry in the evenings. The INTENSITY of this program is designed to catapult our systems into that pattern, so when we go back to the real world and start eating a normal amount of calories again, we will have already trained our bodies to want most of our food in the morning and just a small bit at night. And they strongly encourage us to work out AFTER dinner on most days.
They say if we continue to follow this pattern MOST of the time...not every day, just as a general rule, our weights/body fat percentages will be right on target. And they really emphasize "nourishing our indulgences" as well...coffee, alcohol, dessert, whatever...as long as we follow the general pattern.
It is interesting because we have been SO STARVING this entire week, and not hungry when we wake up, because in our normal lives Michelle and I both eat late at night and eat late...if any...breakfasts. But today we both woke up starving...FAMISHED, actually... and neither of us was very hungry at dinner. So we were told that our bodies had, on day 5, made the "shift".
Interesting, huh? So back to Mary's question...will we continue this "pattern" when we get home and start eating normal food again? I don't know.
All I know is on Saturday, I am going to eat a cheeseburger. And I can't wait.
(I'd love to hear any questions/comments...it's all kind of fascinating, right? And we'll be back today with our normal post)
Off to evening cardio class! Sheesh!
2 comments:
Greetings to all...
I am one of the other guests on the trip -- my name is Fran. Michelle and Rebekka told us about the blog and asked us to post.
I read the whole blog and pretty impressed at how well it captured all the different things we did thus far this week.
Given the family is reading this -- I will share that when I happen to be hiking within ear shot of Michelle and Rebekka on the trails -- all their cool conversations were about family and food. Great stories about Owen and how smart and funny she is ... and she is blessed with a good ear for music and a great pallete.
Its been pretty great to have two people on the trip who are always very very upbeat and positive -- even when they were hurtin'
One more day to go and tomorrow is suppossed to be the hardest hike. It will be a major accomplishment to finish.
Don't worry about your girls - the guides here are really good and their top priority is everyone's health.
Take care all
Fran
P.S. Rebekka can easily have another career as an African dance instructor.
yeah for interesting posts! so, from a RD to be who is taught to live and breathe research based information, I don't know what to think about the whole blood sugar levels thing. I do think that most people consume most of their calories at night so following this plan would probably lead to an overall decrease in caloric intake. Also, waking up famished is probably better than being famished at night because there are lots of healthy and fast ways to eat breakfast (as opposed to dinner which takes a little more time and planning to make balanced and healthy) and most people make the best (healthiest) decision early in the day.
anyway, do i believe in the blood sugar philosophy? I don't know, but I do believe in people eating balanced meals and exercising. I also LOVE that they support appropriate amounts of indulging. Really, there is no way you guys can maintain exactly what you are doing this week simply because you don't have a mountain in your backyard and, thanks to work and responsibilities, there isn't usually time in the day for multiple workouts. However, you are learning important stuff about what you are capable of and exposure to new ways of thinking/living will only expand your life perspective in general.....mwah!
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