DGW-1

Dieters Gone Wild. It's what Tim Ferriss refers to the planned "binge" day as. The DGW is intended to cause a caloric spike, which prevents a regression in your metabolic rate. It also serves as a way to stay on track during the week because any little (or big) cravings you have for something sweet or something raunchy (depending on who you are) can wait till the DGW day.

I woke up in the morning looking forward to pancakes. Then, halfway through my plate, I couldn't take another bite. My sweetened coffee with half & half gave me a headache. My quick nap turned into 3 hours and when the guilt from a lazy day off started to wear at me, I put my ass in gear.

Lots of laundry.. and I decided to plan for dinner. I drove to the Chichester Country Store for yogurt (Stonyfield is the best and I wanted the probiotics). The smell of the homemade donuts got the best of me, and being my first DGW day, I decided to go for it. I was sick within 5 minutes of consuming most of the 2nd donut. But I had to press forward.

For dinner, I made a single serving pizza for myself and for my mom. Broccoli and tomatoes on top, nothing out of the ordinary - just a regular, somewhat healthy homemade pizza. It was OK. For dessert, vegan whacky cake from the Depression era. Normally I can eat the whole pan. Last night I had to force myself to stomach 2 large cupcakes.

I was glad when the night was over. But before I went to bed, I did force myself to put down that yogurt. Otherwise it would have gone to waste.

The other intention of the DGW day is to remind you that the food on the slow-carb diet is really not all that bad - in fact, my body agrees with it quite a lot.

Eating lunch right now - chili made from scratch. This batch is not as good as last week's but it's not bad either. Tonight I start my triathlon training. Glad to be moving again and looking for another loss this Saturday.

Still enjoying my cold showers...

I'm a LOSER!!!

Woke up a bit late this morning but my friend was patiently waiting for me. The third friend was a no-show. Hmm..

This morning I weighed in at 4.6 pounds lighter than last Saturday. That's 4.6 pounds LOST in ONE week!

My total inches decreased by 3.25 inches! Again, the measurements cover hip, waist, right and left arm, and right and left leg.

Tomorrow is my 'off' day, meaning I am not just allowed to, but supposed to eat whatever and however much I want. I am very much looking forward to compiling my list. I'm not really having any cravings, and the diet is not nearly as boring as Tim says it is (either that or my life is really absorbing the simplicity).

That's all folks! Picture will come at the end of February. I'm really looking forward to updating the photo so I feel less like a moof.

Also, I want to point out that I didn't exercise this week. This weight loss and inches lost were solely from diet alone. I'm starting my triathlon training on Monday. We'll see what kind of changes next week shows!

Till then - take a cold shower!

On Cold Therapy

I've been taking cold showers every day this week (except one day, which I spent 2.5 hours of shoveling out my neighbor's car in 15 degree temps).

This morning I did not take a cold shower for personal reasons and I have been sweating my ass off at work all morning.

Here's what I'm thinking:

The point of cold therapy is to cool your body temperature so that your body has to produce heat (and therefore use energy, boosting your metabolism). I have been cooling my body temperature every morning for the last 5 days, except this morning. Since my body has become naturally very efficient at creating body heat, my hot shower this morning actually caused my temp to kick into overdrive.

I'm thinking that when you're warm because you're dressed in a thousand layers, you're actually allowing your metabolism to slow down. It's an interesting theory and I suggest, if you're struggling to stay warm this winter, to experiment with a little cold therapy. Don't give up when you get out of your first cold shower feeling cold (duh). It takes a day or two to kick in. I drive to work without a jacket. I clean off my car without a jacket. It was 10 degrees this morning when I started my car in a t-shirt. It felt like 30 to me. Granted, I wasn't out there long, but I think there's something to this. In fact, I know there is.

Try some cold therapy and get back to me.

Give yourself permission to succeed.

Let me guess: you've tried every diet under the sun and you're still fat, eh?

You're talking to the wrong person.

The one thing you haven't done yet is given yourself permission to succeed. Truth is, no one will succeed if you are looking for ways to fail. No one will succeed if success isn't what you're after.

I owe you an update (if anyone is actually reading this).

Slow-carb diet is going very smoothly. I had to add black beans to my egg white concoction for breakfast because I was getting to hungry. I think I need to now start adding salsa to the breakfast for flavor, but other than that it holds me over and it's 'not bad'. I hate that term. And yes, I know hate is a strong word. It's my blog. Get over it.

Even my cold showers are something I look forward to. I don't stay in long - just long enough till I'm actually cold, not just shocked. At first, it's a shock, then I get used to it for a split second, then my body starts to shiver. When I get out I feel more awake than I do after the world's best cup of coffee. So I like it.

Stay tuned this Saturday for an update on my total inches & weight. Like I said, come hell or high water, there will be a change for the positive (which means a negative difference, otherwise I will have gained).

On tonight's menu: chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions.
On deck: stuffed green peppers with quinoa and bison -YUMMMMMM.

Thanks for reading. :)

Day One

This morning marked the official beginning of Katy's 4HB. I had a hard time sleeping last night as if it were the night before the first day of first grade (I was a nerd back then, and still am).

This morning I woke up at 6 AM and took a FIVE MINUTE COLD SHOWER! Invigorating. I am still cold from it but that's a damn good thing because I'm triggering my metabolism to kick into overdrive.

For breakfast, eggs & turkey bacon (although I wish I had remembered the carrots I set aside to juice). The breakfast lacked some legumes and it also lacked veggies. It was better than a bagel though. I also drank my coffee black with cinnamon! Tasty till the last drop. Then when I had a mouthful of crud, I nearly vomited. Life goes on.

Just finished my delicious and nutritious lunch that I prepared yesterday - chili loaded with beans and lentils and grass-fed beef. I would have used bison but I was limited to my shopping locale yesterday so beef it was. Yummy!

I will probably have chicken stir fry for din din tonight and I feel inclined to test out the kettlebell swings Tim keeps going on and on about. I will eventually start training for my triathlon season again but this month I'm focusing on losing body fat and feeling more in control of my body.

I'm looking forward to the first 'weigh-in' on Saturday. Come hell or high water, I will see an improvement in my total inches and weight.

Plus I picked out the prize for the 'winner' of our 4HB trio. The winner of the biggest percentage lost gets a little Moleskine journal - one page dedicated to each day so she can keep track of her progress on a daily basis. It's not a food journal, as we're not journaling. It's just big enough to keep little notes.

Mine looks something like this:

5-min cold shower
black coffee w/cin
need more veggies at breakfast
great lunch

Thanks for reading!

This is the Day

I was at work one morning when the idea hit me to start a research project, where I would read and attempt to follow all of the diet books in the store so I could write one book as a guide for consumers. After I had written down the first 23 titles that came my direction, I was introduced to The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss.

Turns out he's already done that research project.

Thank you Hannah Dale for recommending it, and thank you Borders Rewards +; I bought the book at 40% off the list price.

This man is brilliant.

As an Exercise Physiologist myself, the book was both intellectually stimulating and motivating. It reminded me that not only do I know shit, I know a lot of shit. And it's time that I apply it.

Two of my friends joined me in my efforts to make a solid difference in our bodies, and this morning we gathered at 8 am to take 'before' pictures and measure 5 areas of our bodies to get our 'total inches'.

Every week we'll re-measure, and every month we'll take photos to track our changes. And in the meantime, we'll be working hard to follow Tim's advice to lose fat and gain muscle.

He's got a website: www.fourhourbody.com. And he's also on Facebook. But I'm using my blog to make my efforts conscious. I am taking the bold action of posting this very unflattering photo of myself on my blog for everyone to see. This is the first time I've ever wished for no readers.

Here goes!

Wish me luck. The official diet starts Monday because I'm not prepared to start till then. Have you ever done something you weren't prepared for, knowing that you weren't prepared? It's hard to succeed - and I am determined to succeed.

Starting Monday, I will be eating nothing white (no sugars, nothing with flour, no potatoes, nothing 'enriched').
Starting Monday, I will eat no fruit. (Read the book for the explanation).
Starting Monday, I will eat lots of protein and lots of legumes and LOTS of veggies.
And starting Monday, I will get one day off each week to eat whatever and however much I want (including fruit, sushi, pasta, Nutella, donuts, etc).

I will keep updating my blog and I will update my photo every month. I will update my measurements every week.

Today, my total inches were 148.25 and my weight was 155 lbs. This is the heaviest I've ever been and I feel disgusting. This is part of the process: make it conscious. Here it is!!! Everyone read it and weep! I know I did!

Please post comments to the blog. And stay tuned.....

Thanks for reading and also for not judging.. This was much harder than I thought it would be.

Under the Weather

A lot of die-hard runners and endurance athletes struggle with taking days off when their bodies really need to. It's so hard to miss a crucial training day. I understand. Right now I'm so far from fit that my crucial training days are in the distant future. But I'm here to tell you now that if you're feeling under the weather, you'll be doing more good than harm by taking a rest day - let your body catch up with itself. Training is brutal on your body - that's the whole point of it. While runners are typically healthier than non-runners, it does actually dampen your immune system. Don't push through it. It's more than OK to take a day or two - or sometimes a whole week - depends on how sick you are - to recover.

Today I am feeling very under the weather. I am not sick, and I am also not in denial. I just don't feel well. I know what I need to do to get over it and so I'm working toward it. Today, though, I won't be exercising. I felt the need to write about it because I figured I could also jump on the opportunity to debunk the myth of missing a training day...

But please, I'm curious.. tell me what it is that you did today to get some exercise. Didn't do anything? It's not too late. Walk up and down your stairs for 10 minutes. That will get the heart pumping. Ten minutes is better than nothing. That is, unless you are validly under the weather.