1Year4Days: 2011 Recap

Hey Folks!!!  I know you thought I had given up on the whole 50 pound weight loss journey.  But I am still here and will continue to work toward reaching my goal of losing 50 pounds.

+20lbs Dec2010

-20lbs Dec 2011

Well lets recap all the different diets and exercise programs I attempted to incorporate into my lifestyle.

1. The How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days from the book "The 4 Hour Body"
• Lost 8lbs and didn't seem like something I would consider doing continuously
2. Counting Calories
• Lost additional 4 pounds for the couple of months I focused on calorie counting.  I think this works for me, but you have to stay focused and make sure you track everything
3. Roller Skating
• I really enjoyed roller skating and think if I did this at least twice a week it would make a huge difference with losing weight and keeping the weight off.  This is something I think I could continue to do and add to my lifestyle
4. Salsa Dancing
• Salsa dancing was fun, but it requires you to have a partner.  Currently I am single, so it really doesn't fit into my lifestyle as something I can depend on doing throughout the week.  But who knows, maybe in 2012 I might find that special someone who is game for going out and doing the latin 2step!
5. Going to the Gym
• SMH...I think I went to Golds Gym maybe 3 times this year.  I know not working out is the major reason why I haven't dropped as much weight as I have hoped for.  I recognize that I am just lazy and trying to find the easy answer to losing weight and keeping it off.  
6. P90 X
• P90 X is made for someone who is already dedicated to working out on a regular basis.  For someone like me, I think it is a little to much to soon.  It is difficult to go from no exercise to 6 days a week worth of exercise(avg 60 mins per workout).  I believe I would have had better luck with 30 minute workouts 3 times a week.
• After the first month of P90X I was burn out and think I averaged 1 workout per week during second month.  The last month I didn't even do 1 workout.
7. Phentermine (appetite suppressant)
• Phentermine is appetite suppressant that can be prescribe by your doctor.  It is great if you need a little jump start to help kick those food cravings that occur when you decrease your food intake.  When I take phentermine I am to get through the day without feeling like I am starving, which usually leads to over eating.  
• I am currently only taking phentermine when I feel I need it.  This month I actually have not taken it because I no longer feel like I am starving between meals.  I rarely crave unhealthy food now and noticed that I crave healthier foods (fruit and veggies)
8. Weight Watchers(WW)
• WW worked really well for me and I am still participating in the program.  When I finally joined WW in June I had put on weight about 6 pounds and felt myself slipping back into old habits.  I lost close to 18 pounds while on WW, bringing me very close to 25 pounds total.  Unfortunately November 2011 I fell of track and let the holiday dinners and desserts get the best of me.  By the time December rolled around I had gained about 6 pounds.
• WW is great for the support and if you attend the weekly meetings will encourage you to be more accountable for what you eat.

I didn't reach my 50lb weight loss goal, but I am happy to say that this time last year I was 20lbs heavier.  When I look at my weight loss compared to my starting weight in Jan 2011 I feel pleased with the progress I have made.  

I will continue to share my weight loss journey with all of you until I reach my goal.  For my next post I will share some of the new exciting things I will be doing to help me reach my goal.  

Looking forward to a happy and healthy 2012!!!

+20lbs Dec2010

-20lbs Dec 2011

DAY 276: P90X IS NO JOKE!!!!

Hey Folks,

This past week I did really well and lost 4.4 pounds brining me to a total of 22.8 Pounds!!!  I decided to only eat my meals and not snack at all during the day.  I guess it paid off because this week has been one of my best weigh-ins at WW.

Since I only have 3 more months until the new year I have decided to buckle down and exercise.  I am going to do 90 days of the P90X "Lean" program.  You all know how much I have been avoiding doing a regular exercise routine throughout the year.  So this is a really huge challenge for me and for extra support I have recruited several friends to also do P90X for 90 days.

This was my 2nd day of P90X and I just finished the Cardio X workout. The Cardio X wasn't that bad, but I don't care for all that Yoga mess at the beginning of the Cardio workout. Yesterday I did the Core Synergistics workout, which was definitely NO Joke. All I can say is that when I was doing the Superman/Banana I felt like I was just rolling around on the floor looking like a beached whale.

If anyone would like to join the group for 90 days of P90X, please let me know and I will send you an invite to the group page I have created for us all to share our experience.

DAY 214: 20 POUNDS GONE ...Good Riddance to Yah!!!

WOOO HOOOO!!!!  Yep I finally hit 20 pounds.  It took me long enough to get there, but I am hoping I will reach 50 a lot faster now.  Since I started weight watchers in June I have lost 14 pounds.  I think losing 7 pounds a month is awesome and I hope I can maintain that momentum throughout the next couple of months.  It  would be great if I can reach my 50 pound goal before the January 2012.

I have to be honest, I haven't done much exercise for the month of July.  I still have a hard time motivating myself to go to the gym.  I am kind of disappointed in myself because I haven't been getting my "Roll Bounce" on at the skating rink.  I haven't been roller skating since June, and that is just sad.  If I did exercise I think I could have easily shed 10 pounds or more each month instead of just 7.  So I plan to get my lazy butt up and be more active this month.  I figure I can at least pull out the Wii and Dance for 1.5 hours twice a week and hit the rink on Sunday.  Who wants to hit the Rink with me?

So last time I posted here, I mentioned that I was singing at the historical Blues Alley.  I had an awesome time...the musicians were on fire, the crowd was great and I felt right at home on the stage!  Below is the audio recording of my performance...sorry no video.  But I did record a video of myself right before I left for the show just to share with you.  If you remember me being kind of blown last time I performed because I couldn't find anything to wear...well this time I found a cute sexy number to wear to the show.  Enjoy the music folks!!!

Audio recording of me singing at Blues Alley

Me the Night of the Show 

The Shoes

DAY 59: March Madness with Kettlebells and The PAGG Stack

Since I don't like going to the gym I wanted to create a workout that I could do at home.  After a little research I discovered that the Kettlebells give the best full body workout with minimal time involved.
If you've never heard of kettlebells, you aren't alone. Although this piece of strength training equipment has been around for decades, only recently has it caught the attention of mainstream athletes.  Kettlebells are bowling ball-sized cast iron weights with a single looped handle on top. Kettlebells range in weight from two pounds to over 100 pounds.  Read More here

I will make sure I post videos of some of my workout sessions!  Also since I enjoy the Wii Michael Jackson Dance Experience so much I will even post a video of me doing a couple of MJ moves ;-)  But I won't be letting you know when, so I guess you just have to keep checking back to see me hit a couple pelvis thrust along with a kick and quick spin!!!

I also decided that I need to start taking some sort of vitamin supplements.  Along with taking my "One A Day" multi-vitamin I wanted to add in some supplements that promote weight loss.  Last month I did the 30 day slow carb diet created by Tim Ferris.  Tim Ferris recommended taking a combination of Policosanol, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Green Tea Extract and Garlic.  When these four supplements are combined they have found to increase weight loss.  Instead of buying all the individual supplments I found a supplier who combined all supplments into a easy to take tablet.
The PAGG Stack is 4 supplements:  Policosanol, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Green Tea Extract and Garlic.
All of the supplements work together to increase weight loss, but each does have a specific purpose.

• Alpha-lipoic acid directs your carbohydrate intake to your muscles and liver instead of sending it to your fat cells.
• Green Tea Flavanols prevents the storage of carbohydrates in fat cells.
• Garlic extract have been shown to make fat regain more difficult.
• Policosanol has benefited Tim Ferris and his other followers with increased fat loss while taking the AGG combination.

The PAGG Stack is taken 4 times a day, 6 days a week before meals and before going to bed. 

DAY 18: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days…Wii Dance Video

Hey All!  I am still here :-) 
Last night I cheated :-/   Yes I had three slices of pizza on a non cheat day.  So I am ready for my punishment...Let me Have IT.  Well I beat myself up about it and to top it off after I finished eating the pizza that new show called "Heavy" came on.  HEAVY - A&E’s docudrama follows twenty-two individuals facing extreme life-threatening health consequences as a result of their obesity.  So no more cheating for me...I can wait for my once a week DGW cheat day.

So doing a little damage control today and decided I needed to work out.  It just so happens that today my sister was telling me how fun the new Wii Michael Jackson Experience game is.  So after work I went to buy it and got a great 45 minute workout dancing my butt off.

DAY 14: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days…2nd WEIGH IN

Let me start off by saying I was starving last night when I left my job.  I had no idea what I wanted to eat and in the past I most likely would have ordered a pizza and some wings since i didn't feel like cooking.  Well I ended up getting a gyro salad with lentils on the side.

OK so I know all of you want to know how much weight I lost this week.  Well...if you must know I only lost 1 pound.  I really thought I would have lost at least 3 pounds but only 1...I just don't like it.  Now I hate to make excuses BUT...I am going to blame the lack of pounds being lost this week on GEORGE.  Yep, it never fails every time George decides to pay me a visit the scale is NOT my friend.  I can't stand George, he is always raining on my parade. 

Tomorrow is "DGW" day and I can't wait to have some pancakes and those rolls from the restaurant Logans.

Well I want to hear some good news.  So now it is your turn to share your progress.  Who is still on the plan and how much have you lost?  What do you plan on eating on "DGW" day?

Who Is George?

What Is "DGW" day?

gyro salad with lentils

Who is George?

I first met George back when I was about 12 years old.  Before I actually met George I would hear people talk about him all the time.  A couple of my friends had actually met him before me and would act like they were sooo grown and "special" because George was now their special friend.  Well let me tell you this...sometimes I wish I never met George.  After I met him I couldn't get rid of him.  He drops by every month and some times unannounced.  He puts me in such a bad mood at times, that most folks don't want to be around me for a couple days.  He is a PAIN in my A ...well feels more like a pain in head and stomach cramps.  And then when he is around I crave all types of junk food.  I don't know if it is the junk food but for some reason my clothes fit tight and my scale is always going up when it should be going down. Damn that GEORGE...DAMN DAMN DAMN!

GOOD NEWS FLASH
Well if any of you out there know George then I have some good news for you if you are following the slow carb diet plan.  Timothy Ferris author of the 4-Hour Body states that you should ignore scale readings in the 10 days before menstruation.  He advises that since women tend to retain much more water just before their periods to treat your first weighing following your period as your "after" measurement.  I don't know about the before thing...but I do know I always retain water during my visit with George.

What is "DGW" Day?

Dieters Gone Wild...Let the eating begin!!!!  This is the one day in the week where you eat all the things you were craving for during the week.  Cupcakes...eat it; Double cheeseburger...devour it; Pizza...inhale it; Box of chocolates...pop em until you POP.  The idea is that once you stuff yourself, you won't want to think about any junk food for the rest of the week. 

BUT....

Make sure to follow these rules:

1. Make sure your first meal of the day is not a binge meal and drink a small amount of grapefruit juice before your first DGW meal.
2. Make sure all the DGW food passes through you quickly by drinking coffee or tea with caffeine.  I know this works because I can't even finish a cup of coffee in the morning without running to the toilet :-)
3. Do some funny exercise moves right before you eat and about 90 minutes after. The suggested exercise moves are air squats or wall presses for about 1 minute.
4. Get your PAGG Stack.  In The 4-Hour Body, Tim suggests that these 4 supplements are the 4 horsemen of sustained fat loss which have a huge impact when put together:
   Policosanol: 20-25mg
   Alpha-lipoic acid: 100-300mg
   Green tea flavanols: 325mg (decaffeinated)
   Garlic extract

DAY 10: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days

Hey All!  I am still here and still sticking to the diet plan.  On the "Dieters Gone Wild" day on Saturday I was surprised to find myself not very hungry and did not have all the major cravings that i had days before.  In fact I kind of forced myself to eat certain things just because I knew I wouldn't get the chance to do it until next Saturday.

The idea of doing this blog and sharing it with people I know is already starting to work its' wonders.  Saturday I was walking in the mall trying to find something to wear to my sister's Bday dinner.  As I gazed into the window of Godiva I could almost taste the chocolate on my tongue and I almost backed up to walk into the store.  But when I looked up I locked eyes with a friend and follower of this blog.  Now what are the chances of that happening right when I was ready to go buy some chocolate covered strawberries and a box of chocolate :-)  I know it was on my cheat day, but i planned on buying a box and know I wouldn't have finished them all on Saturday.  I doubt she even realized that she saved me from consuming about 3000 calories.  So thank you Tiffini for popping up when you did. 

On Sunday I had planned on going to the 12:00 Bikram class.  I was still in bed at 10:30 and felt myself wanting to skip out.  My girlfriend Akilah called and said she couldn't make the 12:00 class but was going at 6 so I said I would do the same.  Well when 6 started getting closer I started to feel lazy and thought to myself "I'll go tomorrow".  Sent a text to Akilah asking if she wanted to go tomorrow instead and she said "No, we have to go today".  My first Bikram class since 2009 and almost 50 pounds heavier was not how I remembered it in the past.  It felt horrible to bend down and feel my stomach getting in the way of me stretching.  I have always had trouble doing exercise because of my chest (I am very top heavy), but never because of my GUT.  I couldn't even lay flat on my back and feel comfortable because my butt was lifting me off the ground...SMH...I have to get this weight off.  I think I did more sitting on my mat breathing during each pose than actually doing the poses. 

Well I am going to sign off here even though I could go on for hours.

And That's All Folks!

My cheat day meal at Eatonville:  Fried chicken, mac n cheese, greens and the smallest biscuit in the world.  Yep that is a little teeny tiny biscuit next to fork.  LOL

DAY 5: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

I didn't realize just how much the carbs really make you feel full...you know that gut busting need to take a nap feeling.  I have not had that feeling despite stuffing myself with veggies.  I guess that is a good thing. 
Today I was craving pound cake and something cheesy (cheesy pizza, cheese burger or lasagna).  I was starving on my way home from work and wanted to be able to eat some good old comfort food.  I stayed true to the plan and cooked my special Goulash...basically a bunch of stuff thrown in the pot. The goulash contained:  ground turkey, onions, corn, tomatoes, string beans, peas, carrots, mushrooms and cabbage.  All the veggies were from the can except for the cabbage.  This should last me a couple days and will be packed up for my lunch tomorrow.

That's All Folks!!!

A CUP OF GOULASH!!!!

A BIG OLE POT OF GOULASH!!!!

DAY 4: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

I'm sticking to it.  Lunch for today was broccoli and ground beef...simple and easy to prepare.  Drinking my water and staying away from the carbs.  I snuck a peak at my weight today and the scale was showing me some lovely numbers.  I will do my weigh in on Friday, which is the day before my cheat day.

That's All Folks!!!!

DAY 3: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

First day going to work while on the no carb diet.  I ate what I packed up last night and drank water all day.

When I got home I went to see the movie Tron.  Halfway through the movie I ended up taking off my 3D glasses because I felt a slight headache coming on.  And guess what, it didn't make a huge difference because the 3D parts in the movie were "NOT" all that.  So save your money and go to the regular viewing of the movie.

After the movie I had dinner at Fridays.  No carbs as you can see from the photo below.  The sauce in the middle was the Jack Daniels sauce, which I know is full of sugar.  I will admit I did dip my steak a couple of times in the sauce but it really was only a "couple" of times :-)  I finished the whole plate...Oh I actually shared one of my grilled shrimps and some of my steak with a friend, so I think I did pretty well today. 

I haven't done any exercise yet, but I plan on going to Bikram yoga on sunday.

And That's All Folks!!

DAY 2: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

No carbs...doesn't this look yummy. Yeah right. But it was tasty!
Collard greens w/ smoked turkey wings, baked chicken tenderloins and mashed navy beans :-)

I have been drinking my water...but i really want to drink some diet soda.  I have also been drinking alot of unsweetened tea with lemon.

So a couple of my girlfriends have mentioned doing Bikram Yoga again.  I think I'm going to give it a Go since I really liked the hot yoga class and did wonders for my weight loss in the past.  A couple years ago I wrote about my first experience with Bikram yoga...i dug it up and decided to share with you.  Enjoy!

Posted 1/8/2008
A Good Friend of mine kept talking about this yoga class she had been taking and how I needed to go.  she had been talking about it for over a month, but I already had gym membership at Golds and didn't see why i should go someplace else when they had Yoga at Golds.  Plus i never really got into the Yoga thing.  I was trying to loose weight so always went for the Cardio type of stuff.  Well November 9th my girlfriend called me and asked again, "You should go to BikramYoga with me 2morrow morning".  I was like "You are right on time with this, I am willing to give it a shot". 

So I met her at 8:00 in the morning on Saturday.  I had no idea what I was in for, all I was told was to bring a yoga mat, towel, 2 bottles of frozen water, dress light(half naked) and be prepared to sweat!!!!  So I walk in with my friend with an open mind.  There is a  small lobby and everyone takes their shoes off when they walk in and place them into cubbies.  The aroma of Lavender is in the air.  I see alot of slim folks walking around with really skimpy outfits on.  Anywhoooo, I take my socks and shoes off, take of my sweatshirt and head to the Yoga Room. 

I walk in and this blanket of heat hits me in the face.  The room is about 110 degrees and my skin already feels moist.  I lay my mat down in the back row, sit my frozen waters beside my mat and take a seat on the floor.  Me and my friend are whispering back in forth like 2 school girls.  I notice alot of people are laying flat on there back, just basically chillen.  My friend says we are supposed to do that so that are body can warm up and get use to the air in the room.  It also helps relax you before the class starts. So the instructor walks in.  He is a very lean man with some really small tight speedo booty shorts on... Thats enough about him.  

On The very first exercise we did, I almost busted out laughing.  We had to breath in deep with are head pushed forward (people sounded like vacuum cleaners, I have never heard such deep breathing in my life) and then breath out pushing are head far back  We did this like 10 times.  15 minutes into the class I am bending down touching my toes and a water fall of sweat comes pouring down my face, blinding my site.  I peer through my lashes and noticed my legs are drenched, as if I just stepped out of the bathtub.  When I stand up straight, all the blood comes rushing back to my head and my heart is pounding as if I just ran a 100 Meter dash.  Several times I just had to stand there and breath to keep myself together.  The instructor tells us, whatever you do, "DONT LEAVE THE ROOM" just sit down and breath, but "DONT LEAVE THE ROOM".  So we are approaching about 45 mins into the class and I'm thinking "thank goodness, I am just about 'WELL DONE', and ready to be taken out of the oven".  I stretch a lil harder and hold the poses a lil longer because I know we are almost done.  Then the instructor says "Ok, that concludes the warm-up, now lets start Yoga".  My thoughts go blank, then I regain consciousness "WHAT THE F%$@, THE WARMUP".  I look over to my Girl and ask "How long is this class", she giggles and says "90 minutes".

30 minutes later I am laying flat on my back, just chillen in "Savasana" with an ice cold wet towel on my face that has been soaked in Lavender.  I am soaking wet from head to toe and feel like I just ran 10 miles in 90 degree weather.  The funny thing is, I feel GREAT!!!!!  I always love that feeling you get after an intense workout, I just usually really dislike or don't enjoy the exercises you have to do to get to that point.  But I actually liked doing those Yoga poses and I was eager to try it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke.  I signed up for the Intro Month and went back the very next Day.  After that I was hooked and going 3+ times a week.  Thats 600+ calories burned every class

THE RESULTS AFTER 4 WEEKS
After the first 4 weeks of counting calories, going to Bikram(HOT) Yoga, and writing everything down I lost 16 pounds.  The only thing I could say was "WOW, IT REALLY WORKS".  12 pounds in 4 weeks and an extra 4 pounds if you exercise.

THE RESULTS AFTER 8 WEEKS
It's January 7th and I have lost 25+ pounds.  I did not loose the 16 pounds in the 2nd 4weeks because I couldn't afford the Bikram Yoga during the Holiday Months.   That class is expensive ($150 for a unlimited month), and if you sign up you want to be able to go to class as much as possible to get your dollars worth.  So I opted out for the month  of December with all the holiday parties, time off from work, shopping for gifts ect...  I still continued to count my calories and even started taking Kukuwa Dance workout at golds gym, since I did have a membership :-)

Today(Jan 7th) I will be going back to Bikram Yoga, I miss it so much.  Every time I took that class I left feeling like I could breath so much better, the best restful sleep, tons of energy the next day, skin looking better than ever.  I just felt GOOD.  I will let you know if this euphoric feeling returns after the class. AFTER BIKRAM YOGA ON JAN 7thWow, it was sooooo Great!!!!  I was running late and rushed to get there and when I arrived, the room was packed.  I have never seen so many people in the class.  we usually only have 2 rows of people and today we had to squeeze in a third row.  The class was great and I was sooo surprised at my performance.  I have lost a little more weight since the last class I took about 3 weeks ago.  I could really tell the difference...I was hitting poses I never hit before and didn't need to take as many breaks as I used to.

DAY 1: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

HAPPY NEW YEAR and Deuces to 2010!!!!
Well this is the first day to the 30 day challenge and first day in 2011. I am going to try to stick to blogging with you folks for the whole year.

So I made sure I ate what I wanted yesterday...captain crunch cereal with milk, Taco Bell, grapefruit and soda. I think not being able to drink my diet soda and diet tea is going to be the hardest part. I know i wrote in the previous post that you could drink the diet soda and tea, but it turns out that the substitute sweetener doesn't help with the weight loss. The book 4 hour body suggests that you only consume 1 16oz diet soda a day. That really SUCKS...but so does all this extra weight. So I filled my filtered water pitcher and made sure my ice bin and ice trays were full.

My first meal in 2011 was egg whites (something I already eat on the regular), turkey sausage and two big glasses of ice cold water.

Sooo...who is joining me on this "How to loose 20 lbs. of FAT in 30 Days" challenge?

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise (4 Hour Body)

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise (4 Hour Body)

The following information is from the author of the book "The 4 Hour Body"
I will be following the rules listed below for the next 30 days. Well actually my start date will be 1/1/2011. I'm sure I will loose some weight because i know carbs do pack on the pounds. Anyways this is just the beginning. On 1/1/2011 I will list out all my goals for my weight loss journey of 2011. I just wanted to post the 30 day challenge that I will be doing in case any others wish to join me. Special thanks to my sister who purchased the 4 Hour Body book and encouraged me to join her. Hopefully she will share and post her results on my blog at the end of her 30 days.

How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise
(Written by Tim Ferriss)

It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore what I refer to as the “slow-carb diet”.

In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates

Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week

I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.

Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:

scrambled one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables


Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)


Dieters Gone Wild day food



Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables