I've had many people ask how I've lost the weight. Basically, I've been following a modified "Abs Diet" plan. The Abs Diet is a regimen that includes whole grain breads, non fat dairy products, whey protein, eggs, green leafy vegetables, oatmeal, almonds, lean meats, beans and legumes, natural peanut butter, and berries. I eat other things as well, but these make up the 12 power foods that have made up the bulk of my diet. I have also allowed myself to cheat a bit, that's why I say a "modified" version of the diet plan.
Another key for me has been 30 minutes of daily exercise at least 5 to 7 days a week. That may seem like a lot, but really, it's probably the most important part. It's important to supercharge your metabolism, and daily exercise is so important. I initially started with cardio workouts every day, and about 3 weeks into the program, started adding weight training every other day as well.
Also spacing meals every 2 to 3 hours is very important, so your metabolism is in high gear all day long. Basically, I'd have snacks between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, and one snack before bed. Yes, eating before bedtime is important, as long as you eat the right foods.
Another recommendation of the Abs Diet is to eat as many grams of protein per day as your current weight. While my protein intake was never that high, I easily increased it to 120g to 150g per day. Ideally, I wanted to strive for a 40/30/30 blend of carbs, protein, and fat, which is also suggested by the "Zone Diet" as well.
And finally, another key to my success was a daily log of all food eaten, and a daily log of exercise. To this end, I used the Calorie King software which is one of the best that I've seen. It has a database of 50000 food items, with a plethora of restaurants as well. It was very important for me to log everything everyday, and I think was a huge reason for my success.
My final 14-week average of nutrient intake was 46% carbs, 28% protein, and 26% fat. My average caloric intake over the 14 weeks was about 1600 calories per day, and my average exercise burn per day was about 225 calories.
Add a little bit of hard work, will power, determination, and the competitive spirit in me, and I was able to drop 33 lbs during the competition, and now down 37 lbs total, or about 18% of my body weight. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it too. Trust me, push yourself beyond your limits and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish!
Below is a chart of my weight loss over the previous 4 months. Nice, steady, downward curve, just where it should be. In other words, I don't feel that I've lost the weight too fast or too slow, just right.
And, here is an image during my final weigh in for the contest. I thought I'd better grab a shot of myself on the scale, just in case someone at work didn't believe me. Ha. I threw my work ID badge in there just to prove these really are my feet.
And, if anyone is interested, here is a PDF file of my food and exercise log. It's about 1.5 mb, but does list my daily food intake, meal-by-meal, over the course of the nearly 4 months of the contest. About 95% of the food entries are real, and the remaining items were substitutes as necessary. Also, items were usually combined to make a frozen smoothie for breakfast, and occasionally for snacks.
Bottom line, if you're trying to lose weight, get up off the couch and do it. Change your eating habits, get some daily exercise, keep a journal, and you'll be losing weight in no time. The final point for me, this is a lifestyle change. It's not really a diet plan per se, but a paradigm shift of how I eat and ultimately live.
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