Holy Crap! I Gained Five Pounds This Weekend.

On Friday I weighed 159 pounds, my lowest in years. This morning I was back up to 164. What happened?

Luckily, I’m not freaking out. I expected it. Not only have I been hitting the gym harder than I ever have, I have also been sticking to an extremely strict diet over the last two weeks. Inspired by Timothy Ferriss, I have been trying out his “Slow Carb Diet” from The 4-Hour Body, which can be broken down into five rules:

• Rule #1: Avoid white carbohydrates

• Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

• Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

• Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit

• Rule #5: Take one day off per week

Obviously there is much more to the diet than just those five basic tenants. I’ll spend some time soon going over more specifics. Today I want to discuss Rule #5 because Saturday was my cheat day and now I’m seeing the consequences.

Ferriss writes:

“I recommend Saturdays as your Dieters Gone Wilde (DGW) day… dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat-loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate doesn’t downshift from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat.”

That’s good because let’s be honest, there just isn’t anyway we cannot eat crap in the south. Everything is fried and we are surrounded by amazing barbeque and seafood everywhere we go. To not eat in the south is to live a miserable life.

I didn’t take just Saturday off. I took off a full 24 hours. It started Friday night with at Village Idiot Pizza where Elizabeth and I shared a small pizza. I drank two Bud Light Limes. Still hungry, we then went to Casa Linda Mexican restaurant for chips, salsa and cheese dip. There I had a Dos Equis draft.

On Saturday morning Elizabeth and I went to the All Locals Farmers Market in Columbia where I ate a homemade blueberry donut. For lunch I ate a full plate of barbeque from Palmetto Pig. As you can see, despite my cheat day, I stayed away from most of the carbs. No mac and cheese or hushpuppies. I did, however, drink three glasses of sweet tea and eat one piece of fried chicken.

For dinner we had a few Sunday school class folks over to the house where we served a Cold Stone Creamery red velvet/strawberry ice cream cake. I ate one slice and drank three glasses of pinot noir. By the time the Sunday school folks left, my 24 hours of cheating was over and I ate two barbeque chicken breasts for dinner.

It was a mighty fine cheat day. I did not work out, but I did cut the grass and clean up the yard for an hour in the 100-degree heat on Saturday. That has to count for something.

But a five pound weight gain for one day of enjoyment? GEEZ!!!

Ferriss says not to worry. In a section titled “Holy Festivus, I gained eight pounds after my cheat day! Did I undo all of my progress?” Ferriss says “No, not at all.” He continues “It’s common for even a 120-pound female to gain up to eight punds of water weight after 24 hours of increased carbohydrate intake. Larger males can gain 10 – 20 pounds. Expect MASSIVE weight fluctuations after cheat day. Relax. It will disappear over the next 48 hours.”

Well, let’s hope so.

Speaking of health and fitness, a big CONGRATULATIONS to my friend David All who ran his first marathon this weekend.