Lets just ignore the fact I've been away for a while.
While we're doing that- let's also change the idea/concept of this blog... (two birds - one blog post)
I've come to learn a lot about myself as a human being over the last year and one thing about me stands out more than others... I set unrealistic goals for myself. Trying to complete 52 challenges in 52 weeks was almost a near impossible undertaking... why? Well, not to bullet point it but;
* I didn't even have 52 challenges to do
* I would have to update the blog weekly and life has a way of not sticking to your schedule
* I was bound to get disheartened, exhausted and bored along the way
* I took a job abroad and didn't have proper internet access for the guts of a year
* Setting challenges with a deadline of 'one week' automatically limits what I can and can't do. Any 'one day' or 'two day' challenges become exempt. Same as any 'month' long challenges become neglected.
So I've decided to do a Britney Spears and reinvent myself. I'm declining to shave my head for the minute though... So with new enthusiasm and with considerable less pressure on myself, I'm coming back to begin my first MONTH challenge!!!
"Whhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttt?!" I hear you cry out. "Haven't you learned anything?!"
To answer simply...
Probably not.
So what's the new challenge? Well, I've a few friends that are well... they look like this... So I inquired as to the secret for their diet, as the idea of hitting the gym religiously day-in day-out was a completely unrealistic goal for me to set for myself, and they lead me to the work of Timothy Ferris and his book "The 4-Hour Body." I've read the first couple of chapters on weight loss and, suffice to say, I was fascinated with what was being proposed.
I took especial interest in the 'Slow-Carb Diet' which promotes 5 simple rules to GUARANTEE weight loss:
Rule 1: Avoid "white" carbohydrates (or anything that can be white). This includes potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, breaded foods, etc.
Rule 2: Eat the same few meals over and over again. For protein you eat chicken, beef, eggs. For legumes (which are vital to keep the hunger off) you can eat lentils, Lima beans, black beans, pinto beans. For greens you can eat mixed vegetables, green beans, spinach, asparagus, broccoli (seemingly most 'green' foods).
Rule 3: Don't drink calories. This is to say no 'milk' in your tea or coffee. Avoid all sugary drinks and soft drinks (diet or otherwise). Drink a lot of water.
Rule 4: Don't eat fruit.
Rule 5: Take one day off per week and go nuts. This is to say that you pick a day a week (I'm going with Friday) and you can eat WHATEVER you want, AS MUCH as you want. That means ice-cream, crisps, danish pastries, a tub of butter, fruit... whatever you want. It is more commonly know as the 'cheat' day.
You may disagree with the whole of the above and I'm sure people may provide arguments against such a diet - but having read his arguments I can't help but be intrigued so I thought I would try it out for 4 weeks - 28 days.
My challenge is to follow the diet strictly (Starting Saturday 27th - tomorrow) and to keep on this strict diet for 4 weeks. I WILL NOT be changing my workout routines while I do this- merely just sticking to the diet. I will of course be exercising (love running) but no more than usual.
My intent is to "weight-in" every morning, before breakfast, and to record it daily. I'm also going to take a photo of myself at the start of each week (I'll decide later if I want to post em!) to see if there's any visual difference. Finally I'll be taking measurements on five locations of my body: both upper arms (mid-bicep), waist (horizontal at naval), hips (widest point between naval and legs), and both legs (mid-thigh). Totaling these numbers should give me my Total Inches (TI) and this should measurably change with the diet plan. I'll chart my data here later (maybe try update in-between to see how it's going) and see if I drop weight considerably/noticeably.
In terms of completing/finishing this blog? I've decided that I'm just gonna keep it and update it with random challenges as life goes on... Meanwhile... this is 'why' on should embrace any sort of diet...
Classic TV...
