I realize this doesn’t follow the traditional line of our blog but this has been a big part of my recent day to day routine and I really wanted to share it with the web.
In late December of last year I decided to climb on to the Wii Fit and have myself a quick body test to see how much Holiday dinners had affected my weight. I weighted in at 225.9 the heaviest I had ever been. At once I decided that I had to figure out a way to drop some weight and get back to the fit good looking dude I was 10 years ago. So i went online to look for guides and have found (and am following) 2 which appeared great and easy. A little bit of diet and a little bit of exercise:
Vegan before 6
I originally found this diet on Digg but can’t seem to find the link again, if I do, I’ll make sure to update this post. The idea is as straight forward as possible. Eat fully vegan (no animal products, no refined sugars) before 6pm. This sounds counter-intuitive as people need the most energy to carry out daily tasks and after six there’s not much left to do but watch some Hulu and hit the hay. On the other hand it really makes you conscious of the things that are going into your mouth during the day, and really controls snacking. For someone like me who frequently works from home, next to a fully stocked kitchen this has been a big plus. By making you eat Vegan, the diet eliminates pretty much everything fried, milk based, or super processed, and leaves you with fruits, salads, and Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Eggplant marinara sauce. You will definitely have to get creative with this one if you cook at home. Places like Fresh Mart near Plaza Las Americas, or Whole Foods if you’re in the states, really help you get along and are great places to meet like-minded people.
If you eat out, everything from Subway up, has Vegan options, just remember to take off the cheese. Also drink tons of water, I got a Brita Water pitcher that has really helped.
Now, the great part about this diet is that it’s vegan before six, so after six all bets are off. So you’ve been dreaming about a New York Strip all day? Go right ahead! Huge burger? Knock yourself out!
The best part is that by mixing both you get many of the benefits of eating healthier in general, while still eating the necessary amounts of protein and fats that many vegans have to look for alternatively. Also since you can eat anything after six, dining out is no trouble, and since everything is fair game after six, temptation is always just a couple of hours away.
Hundredpushups.com
I love this site with a capital L. As the name implies the goal of this program is to get you to do 100 pushups in a row. Although it seems like a daunting and incredible task (at least it did to me at the beginning) the program tells you exactly what to do to achieve the goal literally step by step. First you have to do an exhaustion test to determine where to start in the program, beyond that you just follow easy to read charts pushup by pushup, set by set, day by day and week by week, until eventually you do the full 100. I’m up to Week 5 day 3 therefore just one week away from the final goal. I’ll be sure to update this post when I make it. Again the link is Hundredpushups.com.
Conclusion
The general experience has been up and down based on my fidelity to both plans. I’ve been tracking my weight loss daily using the Wii Fit as it is the best, easiest way for me to do it and slaps me in the face with 3lbs of weight gain whenever I cheat and rewards me with weight loss whenever I follow through. It also keeps all your daily data points in a nice chart so you can literally see where you started and where you are now. Being at 225.9 (226, my highest) in late December I’m currently at 212.2 in late February. It’s not the quickest of weight loss programs but I never said it was. What it is, is easy to follow and evidently effective.
