Category Archives: Diet
Slow Carb Diet Update
So I’ve now done just under 4 weeks of the slow carb diet prescribed by the 4 hour body. As I said before, I put a primal twist on the meals during the week and didn’t indulge in beans, but instead ate nuts.
I’ve definitely seen results. I’ve lost about an inch off my waist and everything is looking leaner. A LOT leaner. I’ve overall felt pretty good and have really enjoy having the one day to binge. It makes the very restricted diet during the week easier to tolerate.
Of course during my vacation next week, I won’t be following the diet AT ALL, BUT I do plan to go back on it as soon as I get back. In the 4 hour body, he gives tips to minimize the damage you do on cheat days. I may try to use some of them during the vacation. We will see though.
The only downside to this diet for me was the little bit of “low carb flu” that I’ve felt on and off on Fridays. This was the first week that I really didn’t feel it at all (which is good because today I’m not indulging in my usual binge since the vacation is so close!)
I definitely recommend this diet if you are looking to get off the last little bit of fat!
Dieting – Cheating and when to let go
I found an interesting post on The Great Fitness Experiment about cheat days and whether or not they work. In my opinion, there isn’t a simple “yes” or “no” answer to this. It just depends on the person.
I think the most important part of any diet is just to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you should maintain a healthy diet. 20% of the time you should indulge. However you choose to break it down just make sure you stick to the 80/20 rule.
Here are the two most common ways people follow this rule:
1. Daily mini cheats. 80% of the food you eat each day is healthy while 20% is an indulgence. This works if you can be satisfied (and make yourself stop eating) after one cookie for dessert. Portion control is key here.
2. Cheat days. During the average week, you eat well for 6 days with 1 day where you eat anything and everything in sight. This works if you are like me and seem to have no shut off mechanism once you start eating bad food. (Even feeling like I’m going to barf sometimes doesn’t stop me from stuffing more food in my mouth.)
Either way you choose to do it, daily mini cheats or once a week binges, just make sure that 80% of the time you are sticking to a healthy diet!!!
Another dieting dilemma…when do you just say screw it to your diet and enjoy life?
There is also no easy answer to this question. It all depends. I’m sure that answer makes you so happy! HA!
For me, vacations, holidays and other big celebrations are all times to just forget about my diet and eat whatever I want. BUT that is only IF I’m going to be stressed out about trying to eat well OR I’m going to be missing out on something I only can get at that specific time or place.
Like when we go to California for Ryan’s bday. I’m going to eat whatever I want the entire time I’m there. We just don’t have the wonderful Mexican food that they have in Southern California here in Boston. AND I’m going to also eat a HUGE cinnamon roll from this diner in Cali since it is the best cinnamon roll in the ENTIRE WORLD!
Warm ooey gooey-ness!
BUT since I know that in about two weeks I will be eating bad food for 4 days, I had to make a tough decision about this weekend when my mom visits. (YAY! For a visit from Mom) I had to decide whether or not I was going to stick to my routine of only one cheat day per week. And I decided that yes, I will.
There are so many good restaurants here that I can easily eat Primally at…so I really have no excuse to not eat well every day but Saturday. Anytime I can stick to my diet without spending too much time stressing out or feeling like I’m missing out, I will.
Living life doesn’t always have to mean cheating on your diet. BUT there are also times when you do just need to say screw it and enjoy!
“Just because it’s in a box doesn’t mean it’s not healthy”
Uhm yes it probably does.
Sorry Women’s Health Magazine, but I don’t really agree with your list of “The 125 Best Packaged Foods For Women.”
First off, the “Sweets and Treats.” I love ice cream, but no matter how “low-fat” or “sugar-free” it is, IT ISN’T HEALTHY! Sorry. Save your ice cream for your cheat day and go all out with the full-fat, full-sugar kind.
Secondly, “Cereal and Breads.” No matter how “enriched” a cereal is, it is still just sugary carbs. Eat some fruit or vegetables if you want the vitamins and minerals in your breakfast cereal. And bread…let’s not even get started on bread. You think you are eating whole grains? Take a look at the ingredient list. Strike two Women’s Health Magazine. I’m still looking for the healthy packaged foods.
The third category on the list is “Pasta and Rice.” Even Women’s Health couldn’t make up an excuse as to why packaged rice and pasta is good for you. That is why the list is hidden on the side. Enough said.
This is the first category in which I found something I would actually use! Olive oil! But right after seeing the olive oil, I saw Canola oil. I don’t care how many Omega-3s you put into it, IT STILL ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!! CANOLA OIL BAD – END OF STORY! On to the next category.
“Snacks, Crackers and Chips.” So I’m not even going to comment on the crackers and chips. But I was excited to see nuts in this category. Of course they are all flavored or probably cooked in canola oil so I wouldn’t touch them…BUT plain nuts in a package WOULD be good!
Ok…really….”Frozen Meals!?!” I don’t care if the label says “Organic” or “All Natural,” there are still a bazillion other ingredients that are put into that meal to make it taste good? If you want a truly healthy frozen meal, make a meal yourself and freeze it. Otherwise, stick to the fresh stuff. Please.
“Drinks”…..Uhm…drink water? That is a healthy drink. Why isn’t it on the list? Maybe because water isn’t a sugary drink and sugary drinks seem to be the only thing on the magazine’s list.
The next category on their list is “Soups.” I’m sure a couple of these could be decent. Please just read the ingredient list before you purchase them.
So this category worries me a bit…”Fruits and Veggies.” I definitely consume a lot of plain, frozen vegetables and fruits, but the “fruits and veggies” that Women’s Health decide to include on this list…well they look very “if-y.” Fresh is definitely best. And if you get a bag of packaged fruits or vegetables make sure that the fruit or vegetable is the ONLY ingredient on the list.
“Dairy” is the next category on the list. Eggs are good. Added omega-3s are good. But other than the eggs on the list, avoid everything else. Seriously, the rest is crap. If you are going to eat cheese, get the full-fat less processed stuff. And those fake spreadable butter things…death in a dish.
They included chicken nuggets in their “Meat and Seafood” category. Oh…my…god….How are those healthy? Really…please explain. The only redeeming food in this category is potentially the Great Range Bison Pot Roast. My only question is, what is added to it?
So yea…if you pretty much avoid every food listed on Women’s Health Magazine’s 125 Best Packaged Foods, you will probably be following a fairly healthy diet.
Food Hangover
So today I have a major food hangover. YEP a major food hangover.
Major food baby last night.
Yesterday I ate:
At home:
Half a large pizza
Half a large bag of salt and pepper potato chips
Half a bag of chocolate covered pretzels
Bowling Alley:
2 Cherry Vanilla Coke alcoholic beverages
1 shot – Buttery nipple
Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
French Fries
Cheesecake Factory:
Buffalo Blasts
Crab dip
Nachos
Fried Mac and Cheese
One very large slice of Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake
Everything comes to at minimum 5,000 calories on the day. I mean the cheesecake alone was over 1,000 and between the 1/2 bag of chips and pretzels I got easily another 2,000.
Looking at all the nutritional information about what I ate yesterday is actually kind of scary. People eat some of the things I ate yesterday on a regular basis. I’m not trying to say they shouldn’t enjoy these foods, but they should at least fully understand what they are enjoying!
Anyway, I’m glad to be back to the grind of healthy eating for the next few days. I’m looking forward to my strict diet of meat, vegetables and nuts.
Stepping off the Scale
Scales can seem mean.
So with the slow carb diet in the 4 hour body, you are supposed to do one cheat day each week where you pretty much eat everything and anything you want.
WHICH IS AWESOME!
BUT the one hard part for me is not getting down on myself when I step on the scale tomorrow and see that I’ve gained about 10lbs from water weight (yes it is very possible for a 120lbs woman to gain 10lbs of water weight from one day of bad eating).
Usually when I see massive gains from cheat days, I freak out even though I know 90% of that is probably water weight. That number on the scale sometimes even governs how I feel that day about how I look.
Sometimes you just curse it or cry.
And it is just plain stupid that one silly little number that can vary up to 10lbs should govern how I feel I look.
I know I’m not the only woman who does this, but I think it is something that has really hurt my dieting in the past. I get so focused on reaching a number that I lose sight of what my true goals are. I look at day-to-day fluctuations instead of weighing only once in a while to sort of get a feeling for where I’m at.
I mean if I just wanted to lose weight then the number on the scale should be of utmost importance. BUT I DON’T. I don’t want to end up 110lbs again with no muscle and be “skinny-fat.” I want to maintain the wonderful muscle I have now and just lose fat – I want to change my body composition.
Since I just want to change my body composition, the number on the scale may never change OR may even go up! Muscle does weigh more than fat!
So I’m challenging myself and every woman out there who focuses too much on the number she sees on the scale – STEP OFF THE SCALE NOW!
“Models and Mortals”
So I love watching repeats of Sex and the City on TV. I don’t have to focus on them because I’ve now seen them all, but they are also ALWAYS entertaining. The episode I caught last night really grabbed my attention. It was called “Models and Mortals.” It discussed women having to measure up to the beauty of models, a beauty that didn’t seem attainable (which after my post about body image was really fascinating to me).
At one point Miranda, Charlotte, Carrie and Samantha were all sitting around eating and discussing what they hated about their bodies. Of course Samantha said she liked everything about her body (GO SAM! I’d love to be able to include a comment right now about how she lifts weights in the show…but….at least they show her at the gym in a few episodes…).
Carrie’s monologue then says something along the lines of “How can three otherwise rational women be made so self-conscious and insecure just because they looked at a model?”
My question is why does this happen?
What is it about models that makes us feel so insecure about ourselves and seek out the latest and quickest fad diet? Is there a way to stop it?
I think there is….it’s called living a healthy lifestyle 80% of the time – eating well, sleeping enough, exercising and PLAYING! Of course I included sleeping enough in there when I definitely haven’t been BUT it is a huge part of healthy living! If you live a healthy life (with cheat days of course!) you will feel better about yourself in general…at least I’ve found this helps.
When I know I’m eating well and lifting heavy, I’m more confident in how I look because my body feels good. It feels like everything is working in harmony. Of course, sleep also helps…partly because if you get enough sleep, you have less of the stress hormone, cortisol (which can hinder you from losing weight) and partly because if you get enough sleep, you have the energy to get a truly good lift in. As Fitbomb repeated says in his blog…if you don’t get enough sleep there may not even be any point in working out at all!
And now you may be wondering about why I said PLAY. Because play is active and another form of exercise? Yes! But also because you relieve stress when you play. This summer get out in the sun! Go run some sprints. Go swing on a swing. Go paddle boarding! Find something active and outside that you love to do and get those endorphins going! While I love weight training and think it is probably one of the best thing you can do for your body, playing is right up there! So don’t skip your lift but maybe play instead of doing cardio today! 🙂
As my sister loves to quote from Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
No Coffee :-(
I NEED CAFFEINE RIGHT NOW!!!! BUT I can’t drink coffee black, and I’m trying this new slow carb diet from the 4 hour body, which doesn’t allow you to really indulge in artificial sweeteners.
No more than 16 oz a day of diet, artificially sweetened anything!
Yep, Splenda and such can have a negative effect on fat loss. I didn’t believe it at first. I mean how can something without calories keep you from losing fat? I mean I know losing fat isn’t simply about calories in vs. calories out and is affected by the quality of calories you eat, BUT STILL! I WANT MY MORNING CAFFE VANILLA LIGHT FRAP!
But no! I will exhibit some self-control, which is difficult when I haven’t gotten much sleep and was up at 4:30 a.m. again. I just keep reminding myself that I can have a Frap on Saturday since on the 4 hour body diet you are allowed one cheat day each week! YAY for Saturday! Just another reason to look forward to the weekend!
On a different note, box squats are really really good. What a great way to increase the amount you can squat! Yesterday the man bicep group did them. It is really tough sitting down past parallel, pausing and then standing back up with the weight on your back. Candy and I managed to do box squats with 165lbs. Not too shabby! 🙂
Today we will be doing the Filthy 50, which is always a tough one. You try to complete all of the reps and exercises as quickly as possible.
Filthy 50:
50 Box jumps
50 Jumping Pull ups
50 KB swings
50 Walking Lunges
50 Knees to Elbows
50 Push Press (45lbs)
50 Back Extensions
50 Wall Ball
50 Burpees
50 Double Unders
Give it a try!
Why do Cheat Days seem like a better idea BEFORE you do them?
I don’t think it is possible to ever get used to waking up at 4:30 a.m. Humans weren’t meant to be up before the sun! And to make matters worse today, my stomach isn’t feeling too hot…Chinese food, chips, dips, cupcakes, ice cream, burritos, bread and candy all make for a nice little stomach ache.
A cheat weekend sounded like such a good idea on Friday…and today…well today I’m paying the price. Usually I only do a day, but for some reason I just let myself go all weekend. A nice little relaxing weekend with no stress – no stress even about what I was eating.
Why do we want to cheat on our healthy diets? Why does junk food sound so good when it really just makes us feel super crappy?
Today, I don’t remember how good any of the food tastes – all I can think about is how bloated I feel and how irritated my stomach is. All I can think about is how bloated my abs look and how much I set myself back (and my abs were just starting to look so wonderful!!! :-)).
So really, why do we cheat? I mean sticking to my healthy diet really isn’t painful – actually the reason I chose to do it, aside from health reasons, is because it is so easy to stick to on a day-to-day basis. I mean I’ve done low-fat, low carb diets. And I get why I can’t stick to them. But a diet full of flavorful foods that just requires you not eat processed crap? That should be easy! I mean dark chocolate is even allowed occasionally!
Yet sometimes I just crave certain foods. I mean sometimes I just want those bad for me carbs that I can’t have everyday. And so I eat them, never remembering or thinking about how crappy I’ll feel afterwards.
And then the day after I cheat, I swear I’ll never cheat again, but a few weeks down the road, my pain is forgotten, and I’m again giving into temptation. WHY!?! SERIOUSLY….WHY!?!
I guess if you need to cheat, the only reason to cheat would be to enjoy life and to then reaffirm your dedication to the healthy lifestyle you maintain at least 80% of the time. As most people who’ve been successfully eating healthily for any length of time will tell you – the 80/20 rule is key.
Anyway, here is my usual day after promise, “I will never cheat again….ok so at least not until Ryan’s birthday on September 13th!” Back to eating healthy!
Man Bicep 