30 days! Holy Cow!

So I made it through my first 30 days on the slow carb diet! There were definite points of frustration.

• There were two weeks where it took me 4 or 5 days to get back to my pre-cheat day weight! Other weeks it only took 2 days!
•  Extreme carb sensitivity - its hard for me to incorporate beans or lentils and not gain.
• Lack of exercise - I just wasn't feeling particularly motivated to work out. PLUS - I retain sooooo much water when I work out that my weight is never really down the next day. Frustrating!

On the flip side, there were some definite highlights.

•  I'm definitely feeling more energetic
• I can see changes in my face and body
• I'm not very hungry and my cravings are pretty manageable. 
• I feel hopeful and optimistic that I can continue this on and reach my goal weight.

But here is the best part. Are you ready for the stats??

• In 30 days I lost 19 lbs and 19 inches (waist, hips, thighs, calves, chest, neck, arms, etc)
•  In 30 days my total cholesterol dropped by exactly 100 pts! (From 236 to 136)
• In 30 days my triglycerides dropped from 193 to 97
• In 20 days my LDL (bad cholesterol) dropped from 141 to 84
• In 30 days my BMI dropped from 48.3 to 45.4

It's now day 40 and here's a quick overview of what I want to achieve in the next 20 days:

• Exercise at least 3 days each week
• Figure out how to get the cheat-day weight off more quickly
• Get my weight down to 263
• Stay on track (diet-wise) while on my business trip
• Have protein earlier in the morning (right now I'm having my first meal about 1.5-2hrs after I wake up)
• Blog at least twice a week.

A couple of quick things to note.

• I'm taking BioTrust's Leptiburn (started a couple weeks ago)
• Taking a high quality omega 3
• I drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast (eggs and lentils make me nauseous in the morning)

I'll post comparison pictures later this weekend. Here's to a great next 30 days!

A great week!

This week has been a good week in the body transformation realm! I've lost more than 3 lbs this week and have another day before the new week starts. My energy is good, my mood is pretty stable, I'm not hungry, and the weight loss is steady. Here are a few things I've focused on doing differently this week:

• Getting more sleep. Three nights this week I was in bed by 10 and slept until 6. The rest of the nights I was in bed no later than 11:30. I've been waking up before my alarm and feeling high-energy throughout the week
• Taking omega 3s. Most people are aware of the general deficiency in omega 3s in this country - they are critical for heart health and cognitive health but they also play a major role in increasing the body's fat burning capabilities.
• Reducing salt. I had been eating eggs 4 or more times a week and adding salt. I reduced the egg intake because I can't stomach them without salt. I think that helped.
• Diuretics. Ok, I confess. I've taken a water pill each day this week. But I'm ONLY doing that because its the week before my period and I'll naturally retain more water during that timeframe.
• Less Crystal Lite. I love it. It's my weakness. It's so sweet and fruity! But, I know the artificial sweetners are baaaaad news. I was having 5 or more 20 oz bottles of crystal lite every day! This week I've had no more than 2/day. I'm going to try to keep it that way. 
• Toned down my cheat day. I talked about that earlier this week but let me just say - my first two cheat days were OUT OF CONTROL. This last one was much more moderate. I think the longer I continue on this journey the less need I'll feel to go overboard on cheats.

On the down side, I've exercised less. Today is Friday and I haven't done any exercise at all since last Saturday.

All in all, however, I feel really good about my progress this week. I'm thinking about some goals for next week already including:

• Breaking in to the 260s! Woohoo!
• Exercising at least 3 times between Sunday and Saturday. 
• Keeping Crystal Lite intake minimized.
• Getting to bed by 11
• Going for at least one long walk with my dog (this is more about de-stressing than exercise)
•  Keep the cheat day in check! 

I'm coming up on the 30 day mark and I'll have a full report of weight loss, inches, and lab results. Stay tuned!

Following the Rules

This week was a little frustrating - I lost less than 1 lb!!! On the one hand, I'm wicked frustrated. On the other, I think its OK.

I'm about a week out from my period so I know I'm probably retaining some water and will until next week. I also ate WAY too much on my last cheat day and it took me a while to bounce back.

On the other hand, I did my kettlebell swings and bridges. I didn't cheat at all. I ate really clean all week and I'm having a more moderate cheat day today. Much more moderate, actually.

I can tell that I'm losing inches but I'm not checking them just yet bc its hard to tell if its accurate or maybe I'm measuring in the wrong place. Who knows. My jeans fit better and I can see my face thinning out.

A quick overview of the cheat day - I got up and worked out this morning. Sprint intervals on the treadmill. Then I had a protein shake for breakfast. I got a philly cheesesteak and fries for lunch. Oh, and ice cream. And I'm going to have pizza and onion rings for dinner. Trust me, that sounds bad, but its nothing compared to last week! We'll see what happens on the scale tomorrow!

Here's to a great week of weight loss!

Cheat Days

So, I had my second cheat day yesterday. Let me sum it up for you: UGH.

I ate too much. Seriously. I was up 5.4 lbs today! Woaaaaah! It's 1:20 in the afternoon and I'm STILL too full to eat anything! I've been trying to sip a protein shake all morning. Next weekend I need to take it a little easier.

I did, however, eat a healthy breakfast prior to the start of the cheat: 2 eggs, 1 cup spinach and 1 tomato. Unfortunately, I don't think it helped me eat any less.

I woke up today ready to start over. I got my workout in, per 4HB - 50 kettlebell swings and 45 hip thrusts. God knows I'll be sore tomorrow! I'm going some time to stretch today.

The plan today is this: finish my protein shake. Do laundry. Vacuum. Have another protein shake. Saute spinach with onions and tomato and have that with some refried black beans.

Oh, I might have my first real challenge coming up. Looks like I might be taking an impromptu business trip this week to Boston. 4 days away from home, traveling, at a conference - all that. I think I can do it if I bring some protein powder. Salad with chicken are easy. Maybe omelets from the hotel for breakfast. I'll keep you posted on that one. I should know tomorrow.

Here's to not eating so much next Saturday!

Week 2 - Day 3

I'm feeling really good! I woke up Sunday after my first cheat day feeling motivated and focused. And while I didn't break 'the food rules' directly - I did go overboard. Let's say that I was cooking bacon (organic) for the week and I ate 75% of the package. Hello water retention! So, my weight didn't budge the first day after cheat.

I was down a couple lbs today and I anticipate that tomorrow I'll be back at pre-cheat weight.

I thought it was going to be a lot harder to not eat dairy. I'm not really missing it, to be honest. And I have to say that my energy levels are way higher than they've been in years.

Today was a crazy day at work so eating was hard. For better or worse, I had a protein shake for both breakfast and lunch (not great, I know) but its low carb and 40g of whey per shake.

For dinner I got a huge salad with romaine, broccoli, tomato, two hardboiled eggs and chickpeas. Not a major eating day but not terribly out of line. Still kept my energy high and my hunger at bay.

I haven't gotten any of my workouts in. I need to do one tomorrow or Thurs. For real!

4-Hour Body: Week 1 Recap

Today marks Week 2: Day 1. I successfully completed the first week of the 4-Hour Body Protocol! Here's a quick breakdown of what I did (note - I am making significant tweaks for week 2).

Breakfast: No carb chocolate protein shake (made with water). I use the Complete Nutrition brand. It's the only one that doesn't make me gag and it mixes very well + tastes great with water.

Lunch: Salad with romaine, chickpeas or black beans, two hard boiled eggs OR chicken, broccoli, tomato, cucumbers and Mediterranean dressing.

Dinner: Same as lunch.

Supplements: None

Water: about 120 ounces. Half of which is flavored with Crystal lite. Maybe 3/4.

Cheat day: Big time. It caused gain of 3.8 lbs.

Exercise: none

Results of 6 clean days: Lost 8.4 lbs and *not lying* 11 inches. Sure, some of those inches lost were bloat from water weight, of course. Energy: high. Mood: above average.

Here's a quick snapshot of my spreadsheet* so you can see my weight/BF/measurements.

*spreadsheet template came from a guy but I can't find the link. I'll find it and edit this post.

The Best and the Worst

Hi! My name is E. I'm 29 and as of this morning I weigh 285 lbs. Unfortunately, I'm not 9 feet tall. I'm 5'5. Yeup, I'm fat. Here's me at my fattest - right at *gulp* 300 lbs. This pic is a few years old (2008).

Shit. That's awful. An eye sore, I know. Hold the insults, please. I get it. It gets worse! I have a bachelor's degree in human nutrition and I work in the wellness industry. I know, crazy, right?? I exercise regularly and I don't eat allllll that bad. I've been fat since I was born.

The lowest weight I've ever been since college was about 220. This is me then (2006).

Much better, right? I was wearing a size 14/16 at that point.

The goal? 150 lbs by November 30th 2013. Yup, seriously. It's going to be HARD AS HELL. How do I plan to do it? Following the fat loss protocol outlined by Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Body. I'm going to chronicle my progress, frustrations, setbacks and successes right here. I'll share my weight, my pictures, what I eat, when I exercise and we'll see what we can make happen! I'm totally determined to transform my life one minute at a time!

Oh, and here's a pic of me from today, for fairness. :-) I bought jeans the other day in size 20. I'm strong for a fat girl - I do regular pushups - not on my knees. That's right - I can push up 285 lbs about 50 reps each day.

I'll continue to post progress, pics (including full body) as I go through this process.