Hannah flew home for the winter right before Christmas. Worst day ever. I went home to Colorado a few days later. I was able to spend the holidays with my family and then drive back up to Rexburg with my little brother. Winter semester started for the college and we were back at it with work, starting a new year with new goals. Work is going really well and we are picking up new business, learning more and sharpening our skills as marketers. So this year has been good so far. I want to tell you a little about one of my goals, a new years resolution, you could say.
Every year, thousands of people make a goal to get in shape, lose weight and be healthy, and usually that lasts a month or two. I have been one of those people many times. Over the last 4 years I have been able to go home for winter for my off track when I was still in school. I would have nothing to do, so I would exercise and my mom made good healthy meals. I would lose a little weight each winter, but then come back up to school for spring and fall and just like a typical college student, I would eat out, I was "too busy" to exercise regularly and I just didn't care. Well that occurred even after college while being here in Rexburg. It was easy to not exercise and even easier to eat unhealthy. I never really had a real motivator. Well I found a motivator that has helped me lead to other motivators.
I am getting married April 11th and I do not want to look like a chunky piece of work. I want to fit into a suit, I want to look good for Hannah and I want to feel good! So I started the New Year on a 4 week diet. It is called The Fast Metabolism Diet. It is a book. This book covers and explains the reasoning behind the diet. It is not only to lose weight, but to help reset your metabolism so that your body will do a better job of breaking down the future food you eat. This book provides a 3 phase program.
Phase 1: Monday, Tuesday (grains, fruit, veggies, protein)
Phase 2: Wednesday, Thursday (veggies and protein)
Phase 3: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. (protein, veggie, fruit, grain, healthy fat)
You had breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner spaced out every three hours. So you are constantly eating. The worst days were phase two, you need grain to sustain but those are the days I would lose more weight too.
So along with these meal plans there was food to avoid: We could never have any dairy, bananas or grapes. If we had grain it has to be brown rice or brown rice pasta. We could have lentils on weekends. No sauces, just spices for cooking. No cooking with butter or any type of oil. No ice berg lettuce and no whole wheat or any form of flour.The bread we bought was flour free, sprouted grain bread. Had to be refrigerated. Anyway...
I did this diet with Jodi and Ashley and Hannah did it at home with her Parents. During the diet it was hard because you feel like you just eat the same thing, chicken and veggies, but I noticed my attitude change over the 4 weeks. Of course I still whined and wanted junk food or pizza but I noticed that I was thankful for the food I was able to eat because it was giving me the energy I needed to stay active. I would exercise 1 hour a day a well, a mix of cardio and some form of weight training. I didn't care over time about the taste or longing for specific meals, I just wanted energy and needed it.
I started this diet at my all time high for weight. I weighed in at 236 at Christmas. THAT IS HORRIBLE! I weighed more than my dad not that he is fat or anything, it just seemed weird to me. I had fluctuated over the last couple of years but have always had this belly and not only was it annoying and still is but it wasn't healthy.
So I finished the 4 week diet on Super Bowl weekend. Good timing huh? I spent it in bear lake with friends. The day we left for the weekend I weighted 215 pounds. I had lost 21 pounds. I was stoked! I felt good, I now enjoy going to the gym and I like seeing results. Well the purpose of this diet was to help you reboot the metabolism so that if you eat junk it will work a little better. It was a funny situation. This past weekend in bear lake, I was presented with the chance to eat whatever I wanted. So I did. But I noticed something. Yeah the food was good, but I didn't feel that good afterwards. I knew that this would happen, my stomach would get upset, but I didn't feel good because I felt guilty. And I paid for it. After the weekend I am back to 219. We had always planned to celebrate ending the diet at Pizza Pie Cafe but sitting their eating, all iI thought about was the weight I would gain from it.
I know that I will still eat normal food once in a while, but this diet has become more than a diet for me, I want to change my lifestyle. Along with eating whole good foods, I want to continue to exercise and focus on portion control. Ask my wallet, my grocery store visit last night was expensive because I bought fresh fruit, veggies and special pasta and meat. I found myself looking at the ingredients of everything I bought, I NEVER DID THAT BEFORE. But I want to feel good, I want to look good and I want to live a healthy life. Hannah was and still is my main motivator, but seeing results and feeling guilty for eating junk food is another one. I want to continue to live healthy. I do not want to call it a diet, I want to call it a lifestyle change.
Help me and remind me as I continue. I know there will be days I want to down a burrito from Taco Bell, and those days will happen, but I want to make them far fewer than they used to be. Eating healthy is not hard, it just takes time, time I didn't think I had, but that was because I was being selfish with my time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to restart and get healthy. It is very meticulous but worth it. I will not keep the same exact diet to the T but will continue to eat the foods suggested in an order that I find comfortable. I weight 219 today and my goal is to get to between 200 and 205 before my wedding. Help me, motivate me and please don't tempt me with junk food or eating out. haha.
I can't believe I just wrote about eating healthy and exercising. It feels good!
Curtis
How i looked at in November/December:
I dont want my shirts to stick out any more.
Stay tuned for pictures in April at the wedding. Hopefully I make it!
