Who wants to #getcut?

Jan. 5, 2016

Whew, it's been 2 days since the GetCut Program at Pat's Gym has ended. I am at a loss, something is missing. I had grown accustomed to getting up and meeting my workout buddies 6 days a week early in the morning before work. I had created a pretty seamless routine in preparing my meals for the day and planning my eating schedule.

     Now, if you have been intrigued by my journey through this program and have started the Jan group or are thinking of trying it out. I feel that there are a few things that you must know about the program that are not in the plan. These things may not be true for everyone, but at least the 4 of us in my group, we seemed to share a lot of them.

1. Water. Pat tells you that if you can't drink 100 oz of water a day then how can you be fully committed to be the best you can be. This may seem like a lot of water to some, but its only a little over 3-32oz nalgenes. While in this program you should get yourself a water bottle that can hold 32oz, it will help you keep track of your water intake. I injested 5-6 nalgenes a day. Thats almost 200oz! If you want to test this little water theory out while in this program be prepared to be slow, more fatigued, and overall lacking energy. I had only 100oz of water one day, and i learned my lesson.

2. Constipation. Yes you heard me correctly. Nobody tells you about this. When you are weighing yourself everyday at the exact same time, cutting calories, and fasting for 19 hours and the numbers go up on the scale. You almost lose your mind. You know that you are following the rules, but you haven't had a bowel movement in 4 days. So you know what the cause of your "gain" is, the question is how do i take a shit?!  Don't worry, i am hear to give you some suggestions and i hope by sharing this you can get on top of the issue before it starts to mess with your head.
       Spinach- it's low in calories and when you put it in your blender with some protein powder as a drink or a part of your smoothie, you can get in 6-8 cups. This however will not work very long, a week maybe.
       Smooth Move tea- has a pleasant taste and you drink it at night which helps because you will be hungry and this will suppress those cravings. The main ingredient in the tea is Senna leaf-which is a natural laxative. Like most things you cannot take this daily as you will become tolerant to it. So once a week should work.
       Psyllium Husk Powder- used as a tea. I personally did not use this but another woman in our group did and it worked great. I imagine it worked the same way the Senna Leaf does in the Smooth Move.
       Acacia Fiber-this is a fine powder that you mix in water. it is not the most pleasing to the eye as it is looks like muddy water when all mixed, but it has no taste. This a milder form of fiber and can be used 3x a day to provide a more regular schedule.
       In the evenings you have your 60-90 min cardio, i suggest to do some running. The movement will help jostle things around.

Going into this program my intent wasn't to lose much weight, I wanted to look lean and "getcut". I wanted to build a better strength base and test my mental toughness. Removing alcohol from my diet wasn't hard because I don't drink in the first place. But removing carbs was difficult. I am an endurance athlete and much of my energy source to fuel my long runs come from carbs 4:1 ratio to protein. So to go to a mostly protein diet was probably the hardest for me personally.
You will notice that all the pain you are putting your body through in the workouts that you expect to be sore, but when you wake up the next day you aren't really. Since you are fueling with high protein within a short window of working out you are repairing your muscles faster and more efficiently.

I think there is alot to be said about training with a group. i know that my teammates relied on me and i needed them to push me as well. If i had chosen to do the program but on my own i don't think i would have had the results that i did. This may be better for some due to time schedule or prior commitments. But you really get to know these people and you see them suffer and grow in possibly more ways than their other friends have. I think this is true about the gym as a whole. you share something with these people who understand what you are going through and will be there to push you further.

Last words: you will be tired, you will be hungry. You will get stronger physically and mentally. They say it takes 3 days to get past a craving and its true. You have it easy this time. We had to do this during Christmas and New Years! So have a plan.
When you get off of work for the day, go home and pack your lunch and snacks in containers for the next day. Weigh your food for accurate calorie count. Keep a food journal. If you don't have a scale, go buy one. Towards the end of the program you will be able to eyeball portion sizes because they will be ingrained in your mind.

Find portable snacks. Hard boiled eggs are low in calories(70) with 7g of protein. They are easy to throw in a bag. The Free range smoked turkey deli meat from the Co-op was a life saver!(90cal for 6oz and 20g protein) Remember when choosing dairy, choose full fat! Cottage cheese and whole fat greek yogurt plain are great breakfast choices if you can't go home to make breakfast after your workout. Meat bars. This sounds gross, but they indeed are not. Created with a Paleo diet in mind they are packed with protein and little carbs. they are portable and not loaded with calories.

Many of the bars, teas, and specialty items can be found at the Willy St Co-op and Whole Foods. The Cave Man bar you can find at the Suppz store by Trek East. As in any program you should be eating clean. Focused on organic and try to get the most protein/carb ratio while still low in calories.

I lost 6 lbs total in 35. Good Luck from the December GetCut participants!