Things I learned from the FitFluential DietBet

1.  Losing 6.2 lbs can be incredibly hard when you're doing it just by eating better and exercising.  Oh wait a minute, make that hardly exercising because my back was so horrible for 2 of the 4 weeks I did the DietBet!  Ha ha.

2.  I need a better scale.  Through this experience I learned what a POS my little white scale is.

3.  Tracking weight is too stressful for me.  A few days ago I reached my goal weight and then yesterday on final weigh-in morning I was up a whole pound!  What?  My dumb scale doesn't do decimal places so for all I know it could have just been a small fluctuation but thankfully we had 48 hrs to submit our final weigh in and this morning I was back down again so all was good.  I didn't like tracking my weight so carefully because really, 0.2 lbs shouldn't matter to anyone!

4.  DietBet is a neat concept and works as a great kick in the pants.  I signed up because I needed an incentive to make better eating choices and I liked having the financial incentive to carry me along at the beginning.

5.  How to cut most processed foods out of my diet.  There's no denying it, I have always loved treats - chips, crackers, candy, fast food.  We've never eaten much processed food in the way of meals but I will admit to processed snacks for sure.  During the past month my strategy was to cut out all processed foods and start eating only whole foods, fresh foods and natural foods.  I didn't necessarily cut out fats as long as they were natural fats and eaten in moderation.  I also cut down on unnecessary carbs and the whole thing has worked great.

6.  Healthy food CAN be delicious!  My biggest beef with eating healthier is that I miss some of that flavour that salt and fat add to things.  In the past month, I've learned how to find that flavour and jazz up proteins just by pairing with yummy vegetable and spice combinations.

7.  I learned some new recipes!  I posted about some of the yummy snacks I discovered but I also came across some real winner dinners too.  Delicious leek, feta and flaxseed stuffed portobello mushrooms; coconut lime chicken; avocado chicken salad and all kinds of fresh herb pestos for fish and chicken.  Even my husband asked if I could make these recipes again.

8.  In the end, my crappy scale said I lost 7 lbs so thats a nice treat.  I sent away my photos and all has been verified so now we wait to see what the final payout is.  Kinda neat, I get to win twice!  I lost some pounds and I get some money!

9.  I don't think I'm meant to lose much more weight.  When I joined I figured, "Sure, I could do to lose about 5 lbs".  Now that it's done I realize, it was very hard work and so I just don't think I'm meant to weigh much less than I do now.  I think for me the better focus is to work on getting stronger and therefore, likely heavier in the process!

10.  Junk might not be worth as much to me anymore.  I definitely allowed myself some treats and splurges throughout the month but as the weeks went on those pieces of chocolate and handfuls of chips just didn't taste quite as good as I remembered.  I could suddenly really taste and feel the grease in everything.  Will I cut out chips and burgers forever?  Hell no, I have to be realistic!  But has the intensity of my cravings changed?  I wouldn't be surprised if it has...

11.  Not sure I notice much difference visually but I definitely feel the difference.  No more bloat, no more heavy tummy after meals.  Oh yeah and my jeans are all fitting a little looser now!

Weigh-in: January 21, 2013

Weigh-out: February 28, 2013

So all in all the DietBet was a cool experiment.  I don't think I'll do it again because I think it would be too hard to lose another 5 lbs.  I definitely got out of it what I was hoping for and that was to get in the habit of making better food choices.  I'm kind of excited to see how much $$ I'll get out of this but the reality is I'll probably go spend my winnings on a nice juicy burger and fries.  Yum.