You may have noticed that last week I lost 4 pounds. This is much more than I have lost each week the past few weeks.
Last week I felt really discouraged after only losing 1 pound. I was talking with my Uncle and he told me about a 6 week program he and his wife did. Well, I decided I did not want to invest that kind of money in something that I didn't know if I could do or stick to. So, I bought the 6 day program for $10 and read it on my kindle. In the book, you answer a bunch of questions and figure out what your body type is. Then you follow a meal plan based on your body.
This plan is basically a plan to kickstart your metabolism and weightloss so that you feel motivated to continue. It also puts your metabolism in the way that is optimal for fat burning.
** I read in a different book about metabolism that we burn 70% of our calories throughout the day through our metabolism and only 30% through exercise.** During the first 4 days, I only exercised 1 time and lost a pound per day. Then you look at last week.. I exercised 6 days and lost 1.
My Plan (for the first 6 days)
No dairy. No processed food. No condiments. I figured it's only 6 days, why not? The ONLY thing I had a hard time with was not being able to eat processed salad dressing. Other than that, it was a breeze. However, I quickly learned how to use my spices, herbs (I LOVE cilantro) lemon juice and vinegar and by day #3, I actually enjoyed my bowl of greens.
5-6 small meals with fruits (certain ones), lean chicken, turkey and fish and veggies. 12 glasses of water (100 ounces).
I did not follow this plan perfectly. If I had, I am sure I would have lost a lot more. However, I have learned so much going forward.
What I have changed
Last week when I only lost 1 pound, I ate watermelon every single day. The books says watermelon is a big no-no for my body type. I cut out all salt and the only sugar consumed was in the natural low-sugar fruits that I ate. I was also eating "healthy" processed meals. Through reading these books about metabolism, I realized what eating clean means and how important it is. I bought all fresh, lean meat (no red meat). (I did buy frozen fish.) I seasoned and cooked everything myself. I knew exactly what I was putting in my mouth since none of it was processed.
Remember how I also said I had been working out harder than ever before and still only lost 1 pound? Apparantly that is a big no-no too. I won't go into detail becuase the book has all the details... but basically when you exercise hard and over your target heart rate, you burn sugar, not fat. The book says stair steppers, eliticals, climbing at an incline on the treadmill, etc. do not help you burn the fat. Guess what? I was doing all of those things. So, the past 6 days I also switched to the slow, long distance exercise that the book recommends.
What now?
The book offers suggestions as to how to continue losing weight and how to slowly add in certain foods to give yourself variety. There is a 6 week program that you can purchase to continue the program. However, at this point I am not going to do that. I learned a lot this week about how to prepare my meals, what I should be eating, how frequently, etc. So, for now I am going to try to continue to eat clean by adding in some other varieties of food. Basically the only things processed the books recommends eating is oatmeal, cream of wheat and rice. Everything else should be fresh. So, this is my plan and I am going to see how I do on my own.
The past few days have been extremely stessful for me. I have found myself in a rut because of the stress and anxiety that I have had and I have unfortunately made a few poor food choices. I would like to say that the few processed and greasy snacks I have had the past few days upset my stomache every time. Low calorie popcorn even made me have an upset stomache! My stomache has been so upset that I have really realized how important it is for my health to eat clean.
