A Four-Day Win

In the new book I'm reading, The Four-Day Win: End Your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace by Martha Beck, it all about creating a series of four-day wins. A four-day win is something you do consistently for four days. Beck gives this example of how four really is a magic number...if someone asks you if you play poker and you've played it one time you'd say, "I've played it once" but if you've played 2-3 times you'd probably say "I play sometimes" whereas if you've played 4+ times and someone asks you that same question you'd probably say "Yes, I play poker". Beck identifies 4 days as the amount of time it takes to start a habit. Obviously, you have to continue past four days to truly make something a habit but Beck says, four days helps lay the foundation. And if you think about it, there's nothing you couldn't do if you were only taking it four days at a time (she's calls this chunking your goals). If for example, your first four-day win was to exercise everyday you could probably incorporate exercise into your schedule for the next four days pretty easily. As you can see this book is all about building healthy habits...healthy habits that are formed in the mind but carried out through your day-to-day actions. It's really about making you think like a healthy, thin person.

My First Four-Win
Since I've started this blog I've notice what some of my bad eating habits are. One of which is always eating something sweet after lunch and dinner. Even if I'm full I will still want something sweet after my meal. So my first goal is this...no eating sweets right after a meal. If I still want that cookie or piece of chocolate an hour after I eat then I'll eat it but I at least have to give it an hour. Beck says the most important thing about your goal is that it has to be quantifiable. So say your goal is to eat more veggies, it can't just be "I'll eat more veggies" it has to be something like "I'll eat 3 serving of veggies each day".

As for my progress for the day, here is how it breaks down
6:00 am

•    Boot camp with participants (I participated in at least 35 minutes of it)

7:30 am

• Amazing grass with cranberry raspberry juice

9:00 am

• Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwich - It was a whole grain bagel, egg whites, turkey sausage and cheese (260 calories and really tasty considering it's from a box)
• Coffee, fat-free half&half, truvia

12:30 pm

• Red Lobster - Wood-grilled chicken and wild rice pilaf (I only finished about 70% of my meal) (around 420 calories for the amount I ate) 
• 1 of those wonderfully delicious cheese biscuits (140 cal)

2:30 pm

• Right after lunch I wanted something sweet so bad but I waited till 2:30, ate a Kellogg's FiberPlus bar and I was fine

5:30 pm

• Skinny Cow (150 cal)

6:30 pm - Working out 30 minutes with my evening boot camp class

After class I wasn't really hungry so I didn't eat but now that it's almost 10 pm I can feel myself getting hungry so I'll have an apple and call it a night. This is the second day of staying within my calories...I feel like a champ.

I Have A Choice

I know that each week it seems to be a "new strategy" but like I said before, this is all a journey and the most important thing is that I find what really works for me. So I have yet, another strategy...rather, a different mind set. With the prior attempts I felt like I was in this major food struggle. I wanted all these forbidden foods but my plan(s) didn't allow them so I felt this huge internal conflict which only caused more stress which in turn made me want to eat every more. It's weird how we make food into this huge force to be reckoned with when really, it's merely what we make it. I'm going to look at food like this from this point forward..."is this food going to take me closer or further from my goal?". If the answer is further, I need to make a better choice. My choices don't have to be dramatic or complicated they just needs to be a step in the right direction. 

Today in a nutshell

7:30 am 

• Amazing Grass (wheat grass) mixed with a Cranberry Raspberry Juice (made of 100% juice) 

8:00 am 

• Kellogg's FiberPlus bar -130 calories and 35% of your daily recommended fiber. I must say they did make we a little bloated (and gassy) but according to what I've read the bloated feeling will go away once your body adapts to the extra fiber. This bar kept we full all the way till lunch at 12:30ish
• Coffee with just a fat-free half & half     

12:00 pm

• Herbalife Aloe, Tea and Shake. I had Dani, the wonderful co-owner of D&G Nutrition, mix in a banana into my shake...super yummy

3:30 pm

• A gala apple and a piece of light string cheese (carb and protein mix)

6:30 pm

• Kashi Sandwich (300 calories and really tasty) 
• Skinny Cow Cone (150 cal)
• 10 Strawberries 

All-in-all my calories were right around 1200. This morning I also did some strength training and cardio...I feel great.

New Strategy

Ok. As you as you can see, I've kinda fallen off the wagon. But like the trooper I am, I'm back with a new game plan. Over the weekend I ate way to much and exercised way to little but I also happened to start reading a new book...UltraMetabolism by Dr. Mark Hyman. From what I've gathered so far it's all about reeducating your metabolism. The reason we need to reeducate is because most of us have poor eating and lifestyle habits which have thrown us way off track. His program essentially has 3 phases:

1. Preparation - is all about eliminating Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated fats, Junk Food, Alcohol and Caffeine. This pre-phase is intended to last 1 week. Although Dr. Hyman does give suggestions for weening yourself off coffee he thinks "cold turkey" is the best way to get off sugar (it's gonna be tough for me).
2. Phase I - Detoxify - this phase is intended to "unlock and restart" your metabolism. In this phase you are still avoiding the items from the preparation phase but you start to really incorporate whole, natural foods into your diet. This phase is 3 weeks.
3. Phase II - Rebalance and Maintain - This is what he describes as the "lifestyle phase". According to the book, at this point you have transitioned over to healthy foods, healthy living...leaving your bad habits and cravings behind.     

So this week I'll be eliminating all the food as indicated in the preparation phase. I'm nervous but I know I can make it through. Dr. Hyman gives the following suggestions for making the transition easier.

• Include protein at breakfast
• Eat something every 3-4 hours
• Eat small snacks. He suggests fruit and some nuts
• Avoid eating 2-3 hours before bed
• Avoid quick absorbing carbs like white bread and refined, processed carbs
• Pack healthy snacks to help you avoid temptation
• Plan your meals ahead of time
• 1-2 oz of 70% dark chocolate is allowed daily
• 30 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week

My Plan for Day 1 

8:00 am - Plain, Non-fat kefir and frozen blueberries

11:00 am - Chicken Salad

3:00 pm - Cantaloup and a handful of almonds

6:00 pm - lean protein and veggies

Exercise at least 30 minutes with my boot camp class

I'll check in tomorrow to let you know how things go.

Day 9

Breakfast

• Ezekiel Bread
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tablespoon Almond Butter

Lunch

• McAlister (new restaurant in town, located new Cattle Barons on Telshor) 1/2 Smoked Turkey sandwich and side greek salad
• Click here for McAlister nutrition info. The site actually gives some healthy recommendations

The rest of the afternoon was just a whole lot of snacking

• Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cone (150 calories)
• 3 Dark Chocolate Squares (50 calories per square)
• 1/2 banana (60 calories) 

Dinner was more snacking

• 2 slices sandwich turkey and a slice of cheese
• 1 tofutti cutie (140 calories)
• fat-free hot chocolate (50 calories)

I went to bed craving a smore (which I could have made) but I think I had cravings all day because I was only feeding my body empty calories so I was constantly hungry. I wasn't giving my body any sort of nutritional value, like the day before. Tomorrow, I'll try to get the most "bounce-to-the-ounce" from my calories.

Day 8

I did good today. I got some yummy Ezekiel bread (cinnamon raisin), almond butter and a 1/2 banana all of which I had for breakfast. It was so tasty plus it was really nutritious and filling (around 220 calories for it all). For lunch I stopped by D&G Nutrition (located on Solano, next to Break n Egg Restaurant) and had an herbalife shake with the other half of my banana (a banana with the pink panther is the best). My afternoon snack was fiber select wheat thins and dinner was homemade chicken and rice soup and a tofutti cutie (a tofu version of an ice cream sandwich). I was able to my calories under my 1200 allowance which is a good thing since I managed to game 2 pounds over the weekend (Friday I was 109 lbs. and this morning I'm was 111 lbs.). I'm totally back in the groove.

Day 6 & 7

Ok, weekends are my weakness. There are so many temptations. My first obstacle is that on the weekends my boyfriend and I like to eat out and enjoy our time together. My second obstacle is that Ed (the boyfriend) loves to grill on the weekends (especially now in the summer) but instead of grilling healthy chicken and veggies he's barbecuing fatty, beef ribs and juicy green chile cheese burgers (both of which are freaking amazing...he's simply awesome on the grill). But as you can imagine, it's not easy to be "good" when these types of temptations are all always available. My third weekend obstacle is the movies. I love to watch a movie in the theater over the weekend and you know movies often go with buttery popcorn and candy.

This weekend was no different from any other weekend...all the temptations presented themselves and although I wish I could say that I made good choices, I really didn't. Unfortunately, I made a number of choices that weren't conducive to my healthy living goals. I didn't totally jump off the deep end like I usually do but I still can improve. My plan for next weekend is portion control, portion control, portion control. I don't want to give up what I enjoy but I need to know that I can enjoy without over doing it.

Day 5

This morning was awesome...My friend Dani and I went on a killer run. We did intervals of jogging and sprinting. This type of exercise is awesome for calorie burning plus sprinting also helps build some awesome legs. This type of workout is a great option for when you're short on time (we only had 25 minutes).  This is definitely harder than just jogging at the same pace for 25 min.  They say Jessica Simpson did this type for workout in preparation for Dukes of Hazzard. Check out this pic for some inspiration.

Weight: 109.4
It's amazing how even little changes can make a big difference. I've lost almost 3lbs in 5 days.

I'll check in later to let you know about my diet details.  

Day 4: Check-In

8:00 am

• The fiber version wheat thins and wedge of laughing cow cheese

11:30 am

• 1 large slice dion's pizza

1:00 pm

• 1 small yogoberry frozen yogurt topped with chocolate chips and real stawberries. If you haven't already tried it, yogoberry is the best. It's my favorite healthy treat (minus the chocolate chip toping). From what I've gathered online it has about 125 calories for the yogurt itself (1 small serving) plus the calories of whatever toppings you put on it.
• Amazingly I didn't keep snacking throughout the afternoon today. I think this was mainly because I was super busy and I really didn't even have time to think of food which once again indicates I often eat out of boredom or pleasure, not even real hunger.

6:30 pm

• Grilled chicken wrap from Sonic. In terms of calories and nutritional value, I think I would have been better off with a chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun. I keep my calories to around 1250 for the day. 

My favorite new health tool. For any of you out there that have a blackberry you have to check out the Livestrong calorie counter...it's the best. It really helps me to stay on track with my calories and no matter what "new" diet comes out science proves...to lose weight, you have to put out more than you take in. The Livestrong database is huge. I rarely search a food that it doesn't have. I only paid $2.99 for it and I use it almost every day, it's so convenient. You have to have a paypal account to buy it but it's was a one time fee...it's so worth it. To download it on-to your phone go to the Blackberry application world search by category and go to Health & Wellness, it should be one of the first listings under Health & Diet.   

Day 4

Yesterday was a bit of a struggle so I've decided to focus on focus for today. When I want to over indulge I need to stop, think and have an internal conversation with myself on why. Hopefully I'll be able to talk myself out of some bad choices. I found a neat article regarding this issue on my girl, Oprah's website. It's called the "Easier Way To Dieting " by Martha Beck. Check it out. I'll check in later.

Day 3

Sugar. Sugar. Sugar. Sugar is a BIG one for me. I love cakes, cookies, candy...you name it, I probably like it. But the thing about sugar is that it goes straight to your butt, thighs or wherever else you store your weight if you don't burn it off right away through physical activity. Unless you're an elite athelete you're probably not able to use more than 10 grams of sugar at a time. Today I'm going to try to keep all my food items below 10 grams of sugar per serving (this includes fruit).

8:00 am

• Coffee, 2 creams and truvia
• Go Lean Cereal and Almond Milk - Almond milk is a great alternative to milk or even soy milk. I get unsweetened vanilla...it's super delicious and it only has 40 calories per cup. I found that Toucan's in Las Cruces has the best price on it...2 cartons for $5 

11:45 am

•  3/4 of a chicken salad sandwich on pita bread
  
• side of greek salad

1:30 pm

• 1 Nectarine
• 3 small squares of dark chocolate 
• 1 square of mint dark chocolate - This is where is starts going down hill. I know I was supposed to be monitoring my sugar today but my cravings were just insane.

2:00 pm 

• In an effort to curb my sugar cravings I have fiber wheat thins and a wedge of the laughing cow cheese but unfortunately I end up throwing down 4 chocolate kisses

5:15 pm 

• By this point my sugar cravings are through the roof and I'm counting the minutes till I can leave work and go and get an ice cream float. I had the float made with diet soda and although that does cut down on the calories it's definitely not a healthy food choice.  By this time I had used all my calories for the day and so much of it was on junk...what a bummer.
  

Although today wasn't necessarily successful--in terms of watching my sugar consumption--tomorrow's a new day. 

Day 2 Check-in

Sleep: 6 1/2 hours...I know I need more

8:30 am

• Strawberry Kefir - As I stated yesterday, kefir is a great "health food" but what I noticed with the flavored version is that it has way too much sugar...almost 23 grams per serving (I try to keep my sugar to less than 10 grams per serving). I'm much better off with my plain kefir with frozen fruit mixed in.

11:30 am

• Chick-fil-a - Grilled chicken sandwich on whole wheat and with mustard instead of mayo. I really need to start taking my lunch to work with me but for a fast food option this wasn't too bad (260 calories). 

2:00 pm

• 3 small pieces of dark chocolate with raspberries plus a square of mint dark chocolate. I love me some chocolate.

3:30 pm

• Instead of indulging in more chocolate I decided to eat a laughing cow wedge (light swiss) and some wheat thins (the fiber version). This satisfied my craving for more chocolate. 

4:00 pm

• I was doing so good until Ed's mom brought in a homemade apple pie (it was still warm). I had a small piece and savored each bite.

6 pm

• A Herbalife protein bar and a few spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia (the frozen yogurt kind) 

Day 2

Today is all about the importance of protein. Protein helps everything from your immune system to helping your muscles grow and repair. Protein, especially when paired with fiber, is great for hunger control. But when you think protein remember not all protein is created equal. You want make sure you're picking lean, nutrient-rich proteins like nuts, salmon, and low-sugar yogurt. My Plan for today is...

• Water (remember, my goals build each day...so I'll always have the goal from the day before)
• Consuming protein throughout my day 
• 30 min. of exercise
• 10 minutes of abs before bed
  

Day 1 Check-in

8:30 am - Breakfast

• frozen blueberries and plain, non-fat kefir 
• Blueberries are known as superfood. They are a great source of antioxidants and according to www.whfoods.com blueberries also good for the following
• Vision
• Protection against Macular Degeneration
• Brain
• Promotion of Gastrointestinal Health
• Protection against Colon Cancer
• Protection against Ovarian Cancer
• Healthier Elimination

• According to http://www.kefir.net/benefits.htm kefir is "easily digested, it cleanses the intestines, provides beneficial bacteria and yeast, vitamins and minerals, and complete proteins."

• Klaire Labs probiotics http://www.klaire.com/
  

I was really feeling like a cup of coffee this morning but I was able to sit back and realize I really didn't need it (or want it). When I sat back and thought about the coffee I realized that I didn't even like the kind that was available plus we didn't have cream (only the powder creamer) so I decided I would be just fine without my morning cup of joe.

11:30 am - Lunch

• 3/4 of a DG's turkey, swiss, green chile
• 1 bag baked BBQ chips
• iced tea sweetened with truvia (the mainstream brand of stevia). From what I've read stevia is so much better for you than sugar or artificial sweeteners. Stevia has zero calories. Click here for more information on Stevia.
• Coffee with two creams and stevia (I couldn't hold out any longer...I needed a caffine boost)

For the most part I did fairly good for lunch although I did eat till I was too full. Instead of eating 3/4 of my sandwich I think I would have been satisified with 1/2. I ordered a whole wheat roll verse white and I also ordered the smallest size of sandwich they have (although I do think they actually gave me a regular size instead of the mini I had ordered). The coffee...I had done so well this morning but by noon I was really craving the taste so I stopped at McDonalds--small coffee and two creams. Im noticing I do so much of my eating out of habit, not even out of true hunger. I'm really going to have to monitor my I'm eating and reconnect with eating for the right reasons. 

3:00 pm

• 3 small squares of Grizzy dark chocolate with raspberries

Although I was tempted to eat the rest of the bar I was able to stop, think and realize I can have a couple more squares tomorrow but I was not easy to practice that kind of moderation. Late in afternoon is when I usually struggle with keeping my eating check and today is no different. I dont know why but this is when my food cravings always kick in...it's not even actual hungers, it's just wanting to eat for the sake of eating.

8:00 pm

• Thanks to my dear friend Bre I had some awesome (and healthy) turkey enchiladas
• 1/2 cup of corn 
• A few chile & lime chips
• 1 square of dark chocolate

The meal was really satisfying and really tasty, and also really low in calories (considering it's enchiladas). I had put a few chips on my plate but I found myself unconsciously continuing to dig into the bag for more...Bre finally took the bag away from me (she's a good friend).

I did about an hour of interval training with my boot camp sessions. It felt so awesome to sweat and work hard. I also drank all my water--half my body weight in ounces plus a few more glasses since I was exercising. The only thing I did not complete from my goals for the day was my 10 minutes of Abs before bed...I got home too late.

Day 1

Starting weight: 112.4 (naked, first thing in the morning) I know this weight might not seem like a lot to many of you but keep in mind I'm only 4 feet 11 inches. My weight is not my biggest concern (although 108 is a weight that I feel my best at). It's just a point of measurement...a way to gauge what a healthy lifestyle will do for a persons body weight.

My energy level (AM): I feel good this morning but I usually start to drop off around noon

Hours of sleep I had: only 5 1/2...I was too excited with this blog. I'll shoot for 8 tomorrow.


My plan for today
Body

• Diet: Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. My goal for today is to drink half my body weight in ounces. I know it sounds like an easy one but my plan is build my goals on a daily basis. Tomorrow I'll add another goal but I'll also keep this hydration goal. Each day I'll add a new goal or habit so by the end of the 30 days I'll have 30 new healthy habits. Remember, this is all about a lifestyle change...and change doesn't happen overnight.
• Exercise: aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes and to do 10 minutes of abs/core before I go to bed. 

  Mind

• Be impeccable with my words. I've been reading The Four Agreements and the first agreement to "personal freedom" is to be impeccable with your words, meaning your words should be without sin to yourself or to anyone else. I will make every effort not to gossip, negatively self talk or say negative things to other people.

I'll check in later this evening to let you know how I did. I'll be posting everything I ate for the day so if I eat cupcakes you'll know about it.

My starting point

Just so you can get an idea of where I'm starting let me share with you a day in my unhealthy life. Today I got up and did a hour-long walk but then I proceeded to have chips and a relleno burrito for breakfast. For my mid-day snack I had a cold stone "like it" size ice cream. Dinner was the other half of my burrito, marshmallows, a granola bar, almonds, dried cranberries, half a quesadilla, and several servings of the following kinds of ice cream: creme brulee, cookies & cream and cherry garcia. I have been on sugar overload all day, my stomach hurts, I feel like hell and I also feel guilty for eating so bad. None of this is healthy but unfortunately this a typical weekend for me. I usually do semi good all week but the weekends are always where I struggle. Sugar is also a huge problem for me. The other day I had 4 pieces of retirement cake which was loaded with icing, several pieces of dark chocolate on top of 3 full meals...I can't even image what my calories are on days like these. As you can see, I don't often practice moderation.  But this will be the last time I talk negatively about my eating...it's in my past and it's now more important to paint a positive future. Only positive thoughts from here on out.    

The growing list of why I want to get healthy

1. When I'm healthy, I feel awesome. My clothes fit better, my skin is smoother, I have more mental clarity and I'm all-in-all more confident
2. I think health = living your best life possible
3. If I get healthy it might be contagous and inspire others to do the same
4. If I make being healthy a lifestyle I won't have to think of my weight because a healthy weight it a bi-product of healthy eating
5. I will decrease my chances of disease and illness now and for the future
6. I will have increased energy and vitality...being tired all the time sucks! I'm ready to fuel my body right and reap the energy rewards 
7. Being healthy will make me a better partner, sister, daughter, friend, employee and business owner    
8. I don't want to be a slave to food. There are times when I feel like food controls me...it should be the other way around. There is absolutely no reason why I should feel addicted to cookies, cupcakes and junk food in general. I'm the boss of my body, I just need to reclaim my authority
   

Intro

I wish I could say I had a good reason for eating ice cream and cheese-covered burritos till I'm almost sickly stuffed, but I don't. I actually know quite a bit in terms of health and what it takes to be "healthy" but I just don't apply it. I'm actually a fitness trainer...health should be my life. I preach about the importance of daily exercise and a balanced, clean diet but I've yet to apply it to my own life. Don't get me wrong, I have week-long stints where I'm as healthy as can be but unfortunetly my health streaks are always short lived. 

My goal for the next 30 days is to get to the root of my on-again, off-again health kicks and truly adopt a healthy, realistic lifestyle that I can maintain for the rest of my life. I don't exactly have all the details for how the next 30 days will go but I will be sharing my journey with you every step of the way.