It's been over two weeks after I completed my first round of Healthpointe, so what's life like after Healthpointe? Somehow it's simultaneously the same and different.
During the program I made a conscious decision to stick to the program almost religiously even to the point of not eating out with friends. In fact I only ate out twice with friends over the course of the six week program and when I did I chose food that generally adhered to the program as closely as possible. I had only one cheat day which was my Chinese New Year's celebration and I'm very sure I didn't over indulge. And overall it paid off! I managed to shed 7 kg in six weeks which is a very respectable amount of weight loss over a six week period.
After the program I've found that life has continued on pretty much as usual. I don't feel restricted in my food choices, eating out is not a problem, I eat my carbs and have even indulged in the occasional fast food options. My weight has maintained within a 1 kg threshold of what it was at the end of the Healthpointe program, I was hoping for it to stay stead y at 69.5 kg but I believe that 70.5 kg is probably the actual end weight with 69.5 kg being a variance from my actual end weight. However at the same time it isn't all life as usual after Healthpointe. I've noticed I've made both conscious and unconscious changes in my eating decisions and habits. I believe it is these small changes that will enable me to maintain my weight in the long-term.
One conscious decision is I try and do one protein day at the start of each week. Protein days are difficult as you're not eating a lot and honestly carbs are way more effective in satisfying my hunger. The idea of protein days is to ensure that my metabolism is not slowing down. I like that idea and have found it to be a very effective tool in maintaining my weight from week to week. Other conscious choices I've made is to try and have a Healthpointe dinner more often than not. If I'm lazy or eating out I won't bother with the Healthpointe style dinner but if I'm at home, usually on the weekdays, I'll make an effort to have a Healthpointe dinner. I also have a Healthpointe breakfast but I was already doing something similar prior to starting Healthpointe so I'm not counting my breakfast as it is essentially unchanged.
Unconscious decisions I've made are things I've just noticed over time. Things such as portion control, I'm much better at controlling my portions and if I don't feel full using better foods to fill me up such as lettuce or a protein snack. I drink water far more often to the point of feeling thirsty if I don't have a drink at least once an hour, I always keep a glass full nearby for whenever I need a sip. My snacking habits have changed dramatically. I still nibble on the occasional biscuit, chocolate, etc. But I don't have any cravings for them at all. In fact if I snack on too many unhealthy foods I start to crave something a bit better such as a high protein cheese or good quality yogurt.
So Healthpointe has been a great program for me to go through as it has retrained my metabolism, introduced new eating habits and educated me a little more about maintaining my health. Of course it's early days yet so I'll have to see if all this continues to be maintained. But so far so good!
I will continue to update this blog with my thoughts on Healthpointe and on health in general plus I will be doing a second round of Healthpointe in a bid to reach my goal weight of 62 kg!
