My brand new baby blog was born today! Since my blog is newborn, and therefore very immature and fragile, I hope that all you readers out there will be as kind and compassionate as possible with my new baby. I will apologize in advance for all typo's that will probably appear on a daily basis even after diligent editing and proofreading. I say diligent, but brief and spotty is probably more like it.
I began blogging on Facebook at the beginning of this week, unsure of whether or not I'd be able to find the time and the topics each day to make a blog happen. What I discovered was that I am FULL of hot air and could probably blog all day long if I didn't have other places to be and work to do. Luckily for you, I have several other occupations, so you will only have to put up with one blog per day.
The impetus to begin blogging this week was my return to the Zone Diet after quite a few months of experimenting with other eating plans. Since only my friends on Facebook saw this original post, I will recap here.
Back in November, about three weeks before Thanksgiving, I noticed a few extra pounds had crept onto my rather small frame. Of course this was not a disaster of epic proportion. But as you have possibly discovered from my bio, I am a fitness professional, teaching about eight classes per week right now. I feel very strongly about being a role model. When people come to my classes or bootcamp, I feel that I am representing the class. If I look like a bloated, lumpy, middle-aged mother, how many women are going to get in line to sign up for my classes? But anyway, I wanted to drop those extra pounds BEFORE Thanksgiving, when I knew I would be chowing down with abandon on all kinds of usually forbidden items like pecan pie, corn souffle, stuffing, etc.
In the past few years, I had used the Zone diet to maintain a weight that I was fairly happy with. But as we are all wont to do, I got comfortable and let things slide, no longer carefully measuring portions, weighing protein, etc. So last November, I decided to shake things up by trying a new plan. I started by reading The Four Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. In this book, he details a diet called the Slow Carb Diet. At first, I did lose a few pounds on this diet, which includes a weekly cheat day during which you are encouraged to pig out on those normally forbidden foods. I quickly plateaued at a weight that was not particularly impressive.
The next experiment was The Paleo Challenge. During the month of January, I ate NO sugar and NO grains whatsoever. I almost lasted the full thirty days, but not quite. I had lost NO weight during this thirty day period so I was completely disgusted and disheartened. Of course, I had substituted massive amounts of roasted cashews for the sweet treats.
February rolled around and I was still about three pounds over my previously considered "top" weight. You may be thinking that this is a whole lot of angst over a very small amount of weight. Possibly true. But as I have mentioned, I am a small woman, just about 5 foot 2 inches, with a small frame. Three pounds looks like at least ten pounds on me! So I moved on to Intermittent Fasting. I was not up for fasting for a full 24 hour span, so I experimented with skipping breakfast and reducing my meals to lunch, dinner, and sometimes an evening snack. I attempted not to replace the missing calories later in the day, but for whatever reason, again my weight would not budge.
Now it is March and my husband asks me nicely if I would go back to the Zone Diet with him. He has been my husband for 20 years and my partner in crime for almost as long, if you could call these endeavors criminal. And the good news? After 24 hours of carefully measuring and balancing my meals with the proper amounts of protein, fat, and carbs, I immediately lost a pound. In the following two days, I kept that pound off, although I haven't yet gone down any further. But my body is clearly changing: I can already see increased definition in my arms and upper body, my face looks slightly thinner, my abs are showing again, and I am feeling fantastic.
I am experiencing one of the major hallmarks of the Zone Diet, which is an even, steady energy which lasts all day long. I haven't taken a nap all week! I have been hungry between meals and I have not felt even remotely full all week. But this is a plus! Any diet that claims you can lose weight without feeling hunger is probably a hoax. Moderate hunger, without dizziness or weakness, is your friend.
I will not benefit in any way from the sale of any Zone Diet books or products, so I have absolutely no stake in promoting Dr. Barry Sears and his diet. However, I will continue to post daily updates, including what I am eating, cooking, thinking, and feeling. I hope that many of you out there struggling with your own dieting dilemmas will benefit from these posts. I will also try to answer questions, if I can! If not, I will point you to the books and sources of information that I hope will help.
Happy birthday, baby blog! Blow out your candles!
I began blogging on Facebook at the beginning of this week, unsure of whether or not I'd be able to find the time and the topics each day to make a blog happen. What I discovered was that I am FULL of hot air and could probably blog all day long if I didn't have other places to be and work to do. Luckily for you, I have several other occupations, so you will only have to put up with one blog per day.
The impetus to begin blogging this week was my return to the Zone Diet after quite a few months of experimenting with other eating plans. Since only my friends on Facebook saw this original post, I will recap here.
Back in November, about three weeks before Thanksgiving, I noticed a few extra pounds had crept onto my rather small frame. Of course this was not a disaster of epic proportion. But as you have possibly discovered from my bio, I am a fitness professional, teaching about eight classes per week right now. I feel very strongly about being a role model. When people come to my classes or bootcamp, I feel that I am representing the class. If I look like a bloated, lumpy, middle-aged mother, how many women are going to get in line to sign up for my classes? But anyway, I wanted to drop those extra pounds BEFORE Thanksgiving, when I knew I would be chowing down with abandon on all kinds of usually forbidden items like pecan pie, corn souffle, stuffing, etc.
In the past few years, I had used the Zone diet to maintain a weight that I was fairly happy with. But as we are all wont to do, I got comfortable and let things slide, no longer carefully measuring portions, weighing protein, etc. So last November, I decided to shake things up by trying a new plan. I started by reading The Four Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. In this book, he details a diet called the Slow Carb Diet. At first, I did lose a few pounds on this diet, which includes a weekly cheat day during which you are encouraged to pig out on those normally forbidden foods. I quickly plateaued at a weight that was not particularly impressive.
The next experiment was The Paleo Challenge. During the month of January, I ate NO sugar and NO grains whatsoever. I almost lasted the full thirty days, but not quite. I had lost NO weight during this thirty day period so I was completely disgusted and disheartened. Of course, I had substituted massive amounts of roasted cashews for the sweet treats.
February rolled around and I was still about three pounds over my previously considered "top" weight. You may be thinking that this is a whole lot of angst over a very small amount of weight. Possibly true. But as I have mentioned, I am a small woman, just about 5 foot 2 inches, with a small frame. Three pounds looks like at least ten pounds on me! So I moved on to Intermittent Fasting. I was not up for fasting for a full 24 hour span, so I experimented with skipping breakfast and reducing my meals to lunch, dinner, and sometimes an evening snack. I attempted not to replace the missing calories later in the day, but for whatever reason, again my weight would not budge.
Now it is March and my husband asks me nicely if I would go back to the Zone Diet with him. He has been my husband for 20 years and my partner in crime for almost as long, if you could call these endeavors criminal. And the good news? After 24 hours of carefully measuring and balancing my meals with the proper amounts of protein, fat, and carbs, I immediately lost a pound. In the following two days, I kept that pound off, although I haven't yet gone down any further. But my body is clearly changing: I can already see increased definition in my arms and upper body, my face looks slightly thinner, my abs are showing again, and I am feeling fantastic.
I am experiencing one of the major hallmarks of the Zone Diet, which is an even, steady energy which lasts all day long. I haven't taken a nap all week! I have been hungry between meals and I have not felt even remotely full all week. But this is a plus! Any diet that claims you can lose weight without feeling hunger is probably a hoax. Moderate hunger, without dizziness or weakness, is your friend.
I will not benefit in any way from the sale of any Zone Diet books or products, so I have absolutely no stake in promoting Dr. Barry Sears and his diet. However, I will continue to post daily updates, including what I am eating, cooking, thinking, and feeling. I hope that many of you out there struggling with your own dieting dilemmas will benefit from these posts. I will also try to answer questions, if I can! If not, I will point you to the books and sources of information that I hope will help.
Happy birthday, baby blog! Blow out your candles!
Comments
Post a Comment
Please share your helpful questions and comments here! Thanks for being part of this balanced community!