Ryan's progress update:
His weight dropped from 188.4 lbs to 177.4 lbs!!
His body fat dropped from 17.1% to 14.8%!!
Interview!!
Here is an interview with the Hubby at the end of his first run through the Body Fuel System:
-Yes.
How?
- I was surprised at the positives and negatives that I didn't anticipate.
On the positive side, I was really surprised how well the five meals a day actually fit into my schedule and how eating small meals throughout the day prevented me from getting hungry even though I was having smaller meals. Eating smaller frequent meals helped keep my energy levels up while making sure I never felt full and tired like I do after big meals.
On the negative side - I guess you could say its a positive - I learned something about myself: I was surprised how much I rely - used to rely - on junk food and sweets to improve my mood. When I was having a bad day I'd eat chocolate, something fried or fast food to kind of take my mind off of my bad mood. Without that crutch its a little big harder to induce a mood swing sometimes but working out at the gym almost always improves my mood - so if I can just make it to our evening gym workout I'll be fine.
Going back to the beginning of the system, how did you feel at the end of the first day?
- I was a little worried going into the first day that I was going to hate the meals and that I was going to be really hungry but I was surprised by the end of the first day that none of the meals were terrible, they simply range from tolerable to actually pretty good. I was especially apprehensive about the green smoothie but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
How did you feel at the end of the first week?
- My concerns at the end of the first week were that I wasn't doing it right because I dropped almost 7 pounds in the first week and that seemed a little bit fast to me. So I figured we may need to make an adjustment to my portion sizes. I was definitely pretty irritable at the end of the first week because I remained hungry even after having a meal but we made adjustments and the next week was much better.
* Interviewer's note: It took a few days for me to notice Ryan was eating the women's portion sizes for protein and adjustments were made accordingly! The Fuel System states that 1 serving of meat is based on your fist size - generally 4-6 oz for women and 5-7 oz for men - I eat 5 oz and Ryan gets 7 oz.
What was your impression of the fuel system at the end of the second week.
- The end of week 2 was much better. I was even more surprised at some of the meals that were much more than tolerable - they were good. Somewhere in the first or second week it became readily apparent how often people offer me free food: free desserts, free junk food, people want to take me out for junk food, donuts showing up in the break room, candy bowls, people literally leaving food on my desk that I ended up giving away. That's probably the hardest thing of everything - more than working out and eating five meals a day - telling people who are trying to be nice to you "No".
How were you doing by week 3?
- Week 3 I feel like I stunted my progress a bit by having more than one cheat meal in a row. We hung out with a lot of friends and family and its even harder to say no to home-cooked meals and drinks with really good friends when everyone is in a celebratory mood. But after it was over, I felt like I could still get back on track with the rest of the week. Even though I stunted my progress, it wasn't all completely lost.
Did following the Fuel System affect your workouts?
- Indirectly, yes. Before the Fuel System it always kind of bugged me how my current workout schedule only hit every muscle group once per week and once I got on the fuel system I felt like since I was putting all this effort into it, I wanted to double my efforts at the gym as well and hit each muscle group twice in one week. I didn't quite pull that off by the end but I did increase how often I went to the gym nonetheless.
Are there recipes from the Fuel System that you want to eat again?
- Oh, absolutely. Most of the red meat and turkey heavy recipes I found especially delicious and wouldn't mind eating those even if I wasn't on a meal plan.
Did you like the breakfast options?
- I'm a bacon and eggs kind of guy so I definitely liked the bacon and egg breakfasts. It was hard to get excited about some of the other recipes but they did their job of keeping me from being hungry until it was time for the smoothie so they work just fine.
What did you think of the smoothies?
- As a person that has always looked at V8 in disgust, I was very surprised to discover that - while not something I would ever crave - the smoothies went down pretty easily. Some of them even felt a little refreshing.
What were the biggest changes between what you used to eat compared with what you ate on the Fuel System?
- Before I started the fuel system I already made progress cutting certain things out of my diet such as soda and fast-food. But something I definitely missed during the System was bread and dairy products - specifically cheese. There was a lot of times in the past when I would not even crave sweets or desserts after a meal as long as it was replete with bread and/or cheese.
What was the hardest thing about the fuel plan?
- Dealing with cravings or finding substitutes for cravings. The few substitutes I tried for certain cravings never worked to completely sate me so I might continue to look for something that fits within the same type of diet but that is a way to satisfy or eliminate the cravings.
Is there anything you learned from the Fuel System that you plan to keep doing?
- I really like the five meal a day concept specifically with a smoothie as a second meal. It keeps my energy levels consistent throughout the day which is a great plus at work. Even though I have a great fondness for breads and cheese, I'm starting to mentally associate those things with changes in my energy levels, so, while not avoiding them completely, I will try to minimize their role in my meals.
Did things get easier as your progressed through the fuel system?
- Yes and no. The five meals got easier because I learned to fear them less and enjoy them more but turning down free food offered to me and dealing with cravings is still something I have to deal with.
What did you like best about the body fuel system?
- Results. I've never seen results this fast with any other thing I've tried. Even after the first week I still saw continuing improvements in the following weeks using the right portion sizes.
Was there anything you found particularly challenging about the Fuel System?
- It's hard to explain to friends and co-workers what you're doing. A lot of them automatically assume that you're trying to lose weight simply because you thought you were fat. They have a hard time understanding why you'd want to do this and it becomes annoying to try to explain it over and over again.
Well, why would you want to do something like this?
- I like the idea of getting in better shape, looking better, and just improving my health and hopefully my longevity. But mostly I did it to support my wife. I think she found it a lot easier with someone going through these things with her.
How did your body change while you followed the Fuel System?
- I didn't realize much change in myself at all but other started to comment. My wife started making comments first about how I was getting skinnier but most people expect their wives to say that. It wasn't until other people started to comment that it really started to sink in - like my mom and the lady that cuts my hair commented. I noticed that my gut started to shrink and I went down a notch on my belt.
Would you recommend the Fuel System?
- Yes, but only to people that I think have the will-power and self-discipline to stick to it.
Do you plan to continue the Fuel System?
- Yes. I like the results.
Ryan's final thought: Whenever possible use a non-transparent or non-translucent container for the smoothie - you'll have a lot less questions to answer and less jokes to pretend to laugh at!
Progress Photos!!
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