Day 16 of 25

In case you've been living under a rock, the Lakers made it to the Finals and will be playing against the Celtics - hence the change in blog colors :)

I'm currently sitting in bed writing this post with an ice cold glass of milk and red velvet cake. Yes, it's a Cheat Day, so this is perfectly allowed on the XFLD program. And, yes, I'm savoring every bite.

I've come to realize that Cheat Days are cock teases. There are no restrictions on these days. You can eat WHATEVER you want, but what you don't know is that your stomach can no longer pack in what it used to. I spend most of the previous cycle dreaming of what I'm going to eat on my Cheat Day. So you can imagine my disappointment when Cheat Day is finally here and I can only eat half of what I wanted to eat. Sometimes, I can't even eat what I want because it gives me a stomach ache - I think my body is basically rejecting crappy food at this point. 

Today's indulgences consisted of:

Brunch @ IHOP: International Passport with Swedish pancakes, a side of hash browns, and o.j.

Post-Work Out Meal: Lasagna and Albertson's Honey Chicken Wings (fresh from the Deli!)

Dinner @ Masa: Bacon & Mushroom thin crust pizza, French Fries, and Lotsa Meat Deep Dish Pizza

As you can see, even though I may not be able to eat everything I want, I definitely try my best to pack in as much as I can. To top it off, I started my day with Butterfinger fun size bars and had it as my dessert after dinner. My post-dessert snack is the cake...although I've only eaten a fourth of it and probably won't finish it.

The XFLD program has a Cheat Day built into each cycle in order to have this hormone (leptin) kick in and get the fat burning process jump started at the beginning of each cycle. Regardless of whether this is actually the case or not, it definitely helps motivate me during the cycle. As I'm swallowing 90 BCAA pills on a Fast Day, or doing a second workout session for the day, all I'm thinking about is what I'm going to indulge in once Cheat Day gets here. I spend so much time planning and thinking about that day, that I hardly realize I've completed another cycle. This Cheat Day marks the beginning of the Fourth Cycle, which means I only have one more cycle to go after this!

I'm not sure I'm going to hit my weight goal at the end of this, but I have lost some weight and my body measurements have already slimmed down more than I expected. All this working out has definitely made me a little stronger (I'm able to do dumbbell rows at 25lbs on each arm for a couple of reps...something I would have never thought possible before) and I think my body looks different in a good way - but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me since I've been living in the gym the past couple of weeks.

Tomorrow (actually today since it's past midnight ) is Fast Day - ugh! The first part of the day isn't so bad, but once the afternoon hits, I get pretty sick of eating pills all day and the crankiness comes out. I just want to get to bed as fast as possible so that I can wake up and start the Shake Day. We're trying something different for this Fast Day though - working out after work instead of before. I'm hoping this will turn the crankiness into fatigue.

Anyways...only 9 more days to go! Looking forward to finishing the program on a strong note :)

P.S. I'm planning to try on the bridesmaids dress this coming Saturday (a.k.a. Cheat Day = First Day of Last Cycle)! Hopefully, it'll zip up all the way...stay tuned!