Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Week 6 thoughts

Today was a stressful day. I was noticing that my old way of doing things would have been to ease the stress by self-soothing with "comfort foods" and beer. Instead I exercised and I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes. Instead of stealing energy from me, my activity re-energizes me. I am really thankful that I am doing this, that this industry exists, and that there is support for people who want to change their lives.

No Crap Diet

I started this on Tuesday: so far I feel great.

The No fail No Crap Lo Crap Diet by Sherry Catlin

The Official No Crap Lo Crap Diet

For 2 weeks follow the:
No Crap Diet
Simply put.. No crap..no sugar, no rice, potatoes, pasta, bread or processed foods. No added chemicals. But to clarify that...

NO:
Sugar..raw or processed, corn syrup, sugar substitutes
Potatoes of any kind..
Rice..
Pasta of any kind..
Breads, crackers, chips, cookies Sports Bars or processed foods ...
Any food or condiment (check your ketchup, musturd and salad dressings) that is processed with sugar or contains chemicals)
Any food that contains chemicals. (ingredients that you can’t pronounce and you don’t know what they do)
Any Soda, sports drink, juices that contain anything besides 100% fruit or vegetable juice
Any Processed cereals..containing any flour, wheat, barley, rye, oats or rice..
Any fried foods that have a coating of bread crumbs or flour.

That being said..Most foods you can eat:

YES:
ANY fruit.. (If they are dried, check to see if they are processed with sugar)
ANY vegetable except the ones noted above...
ANY meat, fish or poultry (canned tuna or other fish or meat okay if no chemicals used in processing)
ANY Bean
Eggs any way..
Any Nuts.. May be roasted and salted but no “beer nuts” or ones processed with sugar or chemicals
ANY real Cheese-avoid processed cheeses with chemicals or sugars.. Cottage cheese okay.. Check ingredients
Any Milk
Yogurt-with no sugar
Peanut butter-okay if it is the kind processed without sugar and chemicals.. Just peanuts
Coffee or tea- sweeten with honey or maple syrup.
100% fruit juices with no added sugar..(cut with water as you will want to drink more)
Wine
Condiments okay if made with no chemicals or sugar.
Butter and oil okay for cooking..

Tips:
Shop before you start..Shop the outside aisles of the store.
Get lots of easy eating fruits.. Grapes, bananas, apples, plums, oranges, clementines, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple etc.
Get lots of easy eating vegetables to have around carrots, celery, jicama, cucumber sticks.. These can be used for dips and cheese instead of crackers also..
Get nuts you like..
Think of things you can have for for breakfast.. Fruit and yogurt or smoothies.. Cottage cheese and fruit, eggs or omelets..
Think of things you can have for lunch.. Any kind of fresh salad with “yes” ingredients.. tuna, chicken, ceasar, cobb, club, nicoise (minus potatoes, croutons.)Soups, Stews, Curries, chili.. Lots of one pot a, one bowl dishes out there. Smoothies. Sandwiches made with large lettuce leaves instead of bread.
Dinner is easy..just replace your starch (rice, potatoes, pasta) with another vegetable.
Soups are great.. Most can be made from Yes ingredients..
Sweeten with a little honey or maple syrup
No eating while walking..sit down and enjoy your food.
When looking at packaged foods check the “ingredients” for “No” sugars and chemicals not the “Nutrition Facts”( “yes” foods do contain natural sugars) and that is fine.
If you think you are hungry, have something to drink first and wait 15 minutes.. We tend to interpret signs of thirst as hunger.
Move more and lift some weights.
You should lose around 8-10 pounds in two weeks, mostly around your mid-section.
Any questions.. Email or call me anytime..

After 2 weeks if you are happy with your body but appreciate the benefits of no crap.. You can move to
The Lo Crap Diet..
You can add in a “hand full” amount of “crap” a day.. Choose your favorite crap! Then keep an eye on how your body responds.

Week Five Wrap up

Wednesday I took Thea's guts and butts class - I'm not sure if my legs have ever been that sore in the next few days. I left for ECA on Thursday - unfortunately in the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go I missed my workout. I worked out at the hotel gym in the morning. On Saturday I took Keli Roberts' Body Bar class - it felt good to be in the room with fitness professionals and be able to keep up.
I had a good and productive time at ECA. Somehow I felt more like I belonged there because I am more active than the last few shows I've done there. Sherry Catlin and I had a good time talking about and experimenting with the Body Bar Flex in the off hours of the tradeshow. Lisa Wheeler taught a fantastic class with the product - I think it has a lot of potential for group ex.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Week Five Weigh In

The scale is up and working at the gym again. I weighed myself - 229 lbs. That means I've lost 9 lbs. Considering that I want to get down to around 215 to come in at 14% body fat, I need to get moving. I'm thinking of taking on a more aggressive nutrition plan - I'm going to try my esteemed colleague's (Sherry Catlin) "No Crap" diet, starting on Monday. I'll post the details then.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Thoughts midway through week five

I'll be leaving to go to the ECA convention in New York on Thursday. I hope to post on Sunday as well. I just wanted to write down some thoughts about how I am feeling. Its really interesting - I have moments of feeling like I can see and feel results and then moments where it seems like nothing has changed at all. However, I know that the way I feel is changing. The interesting thing about fitness that I'm finding is that it really is about inertia - the whole lifestyle starts to catch up and all of the sudden I'm a healthier and more vital person. However, it is not easy - especially when the inertia is sedentary. Getting things moving again is the toughest part. Also, I've been used to seeing immediate results. I think now that I have a little more body mass the results aren't as evident. I have no idea what I weigh - the scale at the gym is broken (yeah I know).
The other thing I've noticed is that the feedback that I see in the mirror is motivating. Before I was working out it really didn't phase me that I was out of shape - it just became habituated. Now I'm looking for feedback and that is a new motivating factor.
One other thought is that its not about the equipment, its about the will to work out. The cosmic joke about the whole thing is that it takes the most will to start - once you're going it just becomes a part of life. That's what's great about the Body Bar - you can buy a Body Bar for under $50 and just move with it - get a DVD or two and learn some things you can do with it and your golden. Just have to keep on moving. . .

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Week Four

Happy Super Sunday! I'm having a Super Bowl party tonight - I got a double workout in to help make up for my foreseen overindulgence. I did a great Body Bar workout first thing in the morning and went for a long bike ride afterwards. I'm sticking pretty close to my eating plan, basically limiting my carbs and focusing on whole foods. That being said, I'll be drinking beer which is loaded with carbs and empty calories. However, I discovered that Corona Light has less calories and about the same carbs as Michelob Ultra - a much tastier option in my opinion, so there's my beer of choice for Super Sunday.
I think the biggest realization this week has been that there's not really a problem in falling off - the true test is how fast you get back on the horse. I think that fitness is a lifestyle choice - and its more about how many times you come back to it rather than the once or twice when you miss a workout or make a poor nutrition choice. That's given me a lot of freedom to make mistakes. Also, when I'm not experiencing some self inflicted guilt about missing a workout, I am able to feel without bias how missing a workout makes me feel. I'm really starting to enjoy the way I feel when I workout - and even if I didn't lose a pound or an ounce of fat, I feel so much better in my body - my body feels healthier and more capable.
The workout highlight of the week was my customized Body Bar workout - I honestly don't feel like I'm missing anything by not going to the gym and using the heavy weights.