Day 11 Fat Loss Challenge Update & 7 Super Fats for Fitness

Hello, fat burnin' babes worldwide! Hope this finds you in your best health.

It's Day 11 of the Kick Fat in the Ass Spring Challenge. 

We've got lots of updates and a journal entry from one of our Fat Burning Babes challenge participants.

20 mins for incredible shape

• This past week we had them focused on keeping net carbs below 30 grams. They posted their daily totals to our private page. Kim K., Susan G. and R.N. were all able to come in at or below 30g. Connie M. had starches and sugars a few nights and then left for vacation. Yesterday was to be her re-feed but we decided against as it would do nothing for her (and possibly backfire) since she isn't carb depleted. Her lifting routine is supposed to be once a week ala the Body by Science slow movement regimen. We figured this would be best with her free time being so limited. This method is incredibly powerful at 20 mins once every week-to-two-weeks. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to schedule this yet. She has been reffing athletic events and getting in a tabata and Bar Method workout here and there.

• Connie and Susan G. both had their hydrostatic body fat testing done this week which is about as accurate a reading as you can get. Connie's came in 10% LOWER  than what those crappy scales read. I highly recommend getting this done if you want the true run down on your body composition. 

• 

  Connie M.

  For Connie to reach her bodyfat goals, she needs to lose 5% bodyfat. I'd venture 1.5-2% is doable for the remainder of the challenge if she sticks to the protocol as prescribed upon returning.

• For Susan, she needs to only lose about 1% more to reach her desired 18% bodyfat.  Totally doable. If you recall, Susan

  

  Susan G.

  lifts pretty heavy 3x week. She is on her second week of five-day carb depletion with a re-feed on Sunday. She's traveling next week so I also have her doing a de-load week. And, of course, taking charcoal before meals at restaurants. Connie is also going to be doing the charcoal while on vacation. It's nearly impossible to control gluten cross contamination and sketchy oils in most restaurants.

• Susan is all about the fine-tuning and is really coming to understand nutrient timing and its biochemical impact. I love her desire to learn and be open as I know this protocol is counter to everything that's been marketed to women.

• I also have Susan breaking her fast for tomorrow's re-feed a little later in the day. There's also a modification to the usual protein shake to optimize her insulin spike. See her journal entry below from Day 8.

• R.N. had the longest carb depletion of all at 12 days! She has her first carb re-feed tomorrow and I am so proud of her. She is all in for her well-being and nothing is going to get in this woman's way.

  

  R.N.

• I have R.N. doing a complete protein fast tomorrow for her re-feed. It's gonna be a starchy, farty bonanza at her house. Lookout.
• On our weekly call this past Thursday we went over re-feeds and what to expect. Of course, it's important to accept in our minds that we'll be bloated from the glycogen surge for up to three days. It's not fat. You can't gain fat overnight. Every 1g of glycogen holds 3g of water. That's why it's so important to get that gallon of water to help you flush out the bloat.
• You also get sleepy from the awesome serotonin release. 
• You then bounce back each week tighter, more sculpted and more fat-adapted. Lather, rinse, repeat til you reach your goals.

•  Kim K. had her first carb re-feed yesterday after crushing her ten day carb depletion! One

  

  Kim K. 10lbs and 23 inches in 5 weeks

  thing Kim, Susan and R.N. report is the lack of nagging hunger once you've become fat adapted. A lot of their questions are: I'm not hungry.... should I eat? The answer now is eat when you're hungry. Don't when you're not. Why? Because they are nourishing their bodies in a biologically appropriate way. Moreover, they're caring for themselves based on what their bodies are telling them... not some arbitrary thing they think they should be doing. As Kim K. wrote on our private group forum a few days ago:

  "I didn't have any carbs today. I wasn't hungry until 3:30 and I made bacon and fried an egg in the bacon grease. I planned to eat again but really am fine. Am I better off not eating again or should I make a veggie with butter to get some carbs in?"

• High energy, steady hormones, no more nagging hunger. It's a great thing.

• Beginning today I have Kim K on a heavier lifting routine as I believe she's healthy and committed enough to take this transformation as far as she wants to go. 

• Kim K. even started a blog detailing her fitness journey and protocol-approved recipes. Check it out! I think she should write a No Fail Fat Burning cookbook.

 

Why 30g Net Carbs or Less?

Net Carbs vs Total Carbs

Although the No Fail Fat Burning for Women protocol requires no calorie counting, measuring, etc, I had them focused on <30g net carbs/day this week. The number is relatively general. Depending on activity level, sleep, menstrual cycle, stress, this number will fluctuate. I explained that who we are from a cellular level today is not who we'll be tomorrow. Our bodies are dynamic and ever-changing. This is why learning to listen to it is SO, SO, SO important to their success. A lot of times we do hear our bodies and ignore them anyway because we feel like we have to adhere to something arbitrary and external.... like calorie counts. Barf. Whatever.

Some people can have >30g of carbs and still strip fat from their frames while preserving that precious lean mass. What I wanted them to learn this week was what a ballpark 30g looks like in their daily nutrition. You'd be surprised of the carb content in some foods that could be causing a fat loss plateau.

Self-Reliance

The other thing we focused on this week was the fact that at the end of this challenge in May, I'm not going to be on speed dial to answer every question; to say "yes" or "no." My goal for all four of these amazing women is that they continue finding and knowing the answers themselves for lifetime.

It's very much the parable of give a (wo)man a fish and she eats for a day or teach a (wo)man to fish and she thrives for life.

Instead of asking me what the carb count of something is, I want them to find it for themselves.

Instead of asking me if a questionable food is going to wreak havoc on their progress, I want them to tell me why they think it may or may not.

I want them to have the tools to succeed forever and share them with others who are struggling.

A pre-requisite of being accepted into the challenge was a thorough knowledge of the No Fail Fat Burning for Women protocol from the book. I realized after some questions they had the past few days that a little refresher is in order. The first part of their weekend homework is a quick re-read and study of Chapter Two: Screw the Scale & Eat Your Ass Off. 

It's a quick-n-dirty run down of the veggies, starches, fats, and proteins that compromise the protocol and why.

The second part is that tomorrow, they digitally detox. They're going to literally unplug from all things that need a cable or WiFi; go inward with a meditation and just bask in real life vs. virtual life. I'll be doing the same.

In Her Own Words...

Susan G.

Susan G. shares some thoughts from Day 8:

I was dragging ass at the beginning of last week but I was pretty sure it wasn’t the diet. I was a little nervous about training fasted first thing in the morning on water alone- no coffee before seems scary but I did it, without a problem!

I got such a rush when I finally had my cup and Michelle's modified protein shake concoction.

There is so much comfort in knowing that I have the support of this group and Michelle’s expertise. It’s hard to modify things to your lifestyle without knowing what is important and what is modifiable.

I was trying to wait to eat until two p.m. and finally learned that when I got hungry, it was okay to eat. The weirdest thing happened afterwards:

• I started to realize I wasn’t hungry when I was busy. 

• I wasn’t hungry after my carb re-feed.  

• I wasn’t hungry when I got home from work. I tried making my lunch even higher fat and lower carb and maybe a little smaller. Still not hungry! Pretty cool. Maybe I’ll stop obsessing about when my next meal will be??

My hormones are still wacky and I got my period six days early, again! I still feel a bit bloated and nasty but looking for the big picture. Changing routines, habits, and ideas is tough but it is so worth it. I’m a bit disorganized because my world has been rocked with the new, different routine but I know this is important for body and ESPECIALLY for my brain.

Chapter Two: this weekend's homework