90 Day SSS Plan – Cycle One reflections

I’m now on day 2 of Cycle 2 of the 90 Day SSS Plan so I thought it was about time to write an update on how I got on with Cycle 1 before it becomes a distant memory. I last wrote about this at the end of my first week on the plan when I was started to get settled into the routine of eating in the way prescribed in the plan. Cycle 1 was all about fat loss – low carb meals most of the time with plenty of protein and healthy fats. Carbohydrate featured but only in post workout meals where my plate was filled with more lean protein and carbohydrate rather than fat. Green leafy veg were prevalent in most meals and alongside three meals a day there were also two snacks.

Sounds like a lot of food, and it was but my body took a while to settle into the new routine and in the first couple of weeks I had a few hunger pangs and headaches. NOt surprising really as I was coming off the back of a two week sugar and alcohol fest called Christmas and New Year.

But by the third week my body had adjusted and I was nicely into my new routine. Batch cooking at the weekend to make sure I had food to last a few days and confident enough not to panic if my plans changed and I needed to switch things around. My fridge was always stocked with eggs, Total 0% yoghurt, spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes, chicken, lean beef mince, broccoli and kale. From that list of ingredients I could always rustle up something in a matter of minutes if I needed to. The food was tasty and filling and I enjoyed it.

I should probably be clear that I’ve only been following the dietary side of the plan and not the exercise part. People following the plan 100% were only doing high intensity interval training cardio this month. I on the other hand was still strength training alongside the HIIT and also learning to Olympic Lift. Did that affect my results? Who knows – but I know I would have been sad without weights in my life for a month so it was a risk I was prepared to take.

So after 30 days I took my weights and measures and was delighted to find that I’d lost a total of 7 inches from across my body. My weight had also decreased by 3 pounds, although I stopped caring what the scales say quite a long time ago. I took some photos which don’t show an enormous change, I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic in 4 weeks – I’ve been training like this for a while now so it’s been more a case of tweaking my diet rather than completely overhauling it. But this photo of me in ‘too tight’ jeans shows the changes pretty well I think.

I’m pretty pleased with that change in just four weeks. I didn’t stick to the plan 100% as I still had a few glasses of wine a week. I also ate meals which weren’t included in the plan but I stuck closely to the principles – i.e. carbs and protein post training, protein and fat at all other times. One of my main reasons for signing up for the plan was to learn more about nutrition and I’ve certainly done that already, so as far as I’m concerned it’s already money well spent and I’m only a third of the way through.

Interacting with Joe was always easy – he responded to any questions that I had very promptly over e-mail although I haven’t had too many questions as everything is explained very well in the plan. I sent off my stats and photos which were acknowledged by Joe the next day and five days later, as per the T&Cs my Cycle 2 plan arrived. It took me a few days to get my head around it – it’s pretty different to Cycle 1 with lots of carbohydrate on training days. Cycle 2 is focussed on building lean muscle and includes weight training for those following the exercise side of the plan as well. Since I’ve already been doing this I’m interested to see how my body responds.

It’s going to be more carbohydrate than I’ve eaten in a long time, but given how well Cycle 1 has worked for me I’m going into it with an open mind, alongside a cupboard full of rice and sweet potatoes!