Ever since I was a 7th grader, I have worried about my weight. I have done many diets from Weight Watchers, to shake-based diets, to hard core exercise diets, to low carb diets, and even at a very low point of my life, starvation (don't ever do it, it messes up your body for YEARS after...and could kill you).
While I have had small success with Weight Watchers, and even great success with my sister-in-laws protein supplement program, I have always been skeptical when I see a diet claim that you can lose up to 8 pounds in just 5 days. I've been on enough diets to know (at least I thought) that it is pretty much impossible for you to lose that much weight, and still eat, in that short amount of time...unless you're on the Biggest Loser and have your diet planned out for you AND you're working out 8 hours a day AND you have 100+ pounds to lose. I only have a little under 30 that I want to lose. Surely, that would not happen for me. Even as I picked up Cinch! at Barnes and Noble, and even as I paid for the book, brought it home, read it, went grocery shopping for it, and started last Thursday, I knew that I would not come anywhere close to losing 8 pounds. The claim that the author makes is that you will lose UP TO 8 pounds if you follow the diet EXACTLY as she lays it out for the 5 food-5 day detox. I figured I may lose 3-5.
When I stepped on the scale after the first day, I had already lost 3 pounds. I have gone for months at a time where I have exercised and eaten "healthy" and haven't lost but one or two pounds. After the second day, I was down another 1.8 pounds. I thought, "This is nuts."
I continued to read the book, and I know from my reading that after I stop this detox that the weight loss will go much slower, that this is just a jump start to the 25 day diet, to get you motivated to stick with it.
Now that I've completed the 5 day-5 food detox I am 8.6lbs lighter!!! Yeah, that's right. Me the skeptic actually lost MORE than what the claim was. I am so excited, and I am so motivated to continue working on this diet. Today, I was able to branch out and make a different meal with different food (Chocolate Oatmeal!!!) and it was so good.
Last night, I went to a friend's house for a 4th of July meal, and brought my own food. (I warned her in advance that I was going to do that.) Even though there were chips, hot dogs, grilled chicken, brownies, and strawberry pie, I can honestly say that I was not tempted by any of it. I had eaten at 4 before I went to their house, and was still full by the time everyone started eating around 6:30. Even at 8:00 when I was supposed to have my last "meal" of the day, I wasn't that hungry.
If you're thinking, man, I need to try that! I will tell you right now that it is difficult. It is hard to eat the same 5 foods for 5 days. You probably will get sick of raspberries and yogurt by the end of the 5 days, and at points throughout, you may crave other food or you may feel hungry. The main thing I will say is stick it out.
Over the next 5 days, I picked out 4 different meals from the 100 recipes in the book. On the 10th, I'll weigh again. My goal is to lose just 1 pound over these next 5 days.
So here are the stats so far:
Starting weight: 163.4
Today's weight: 154.8
Next goal: 153.8
That sounds like an incredible, and incredibly hard, program! I'm tempted to look into it.
ReplyDeleteI had used a website called sparkpeople last summer, and went from 185 to 150 over the course of about 6 months. But now I'm back up to 162 again. I started slacking during the holidays and haven't gotten back on track.
I'm interested to follow your journey, and I'm so proud of you!! Keep it up!!! :)
I am trying to lose weight after my second baby & it seems to be more difficult than after my first baby. I am sure I gained too much weight. Are the meals on this diet easy to make?
ReplyDeleteFar greater than the appeal of weight loss (which isn't appealing to me, personally, as I'm well underweight) is the idea of eating real food. Much of what is at the grocery store these days is what I've heard called "edible food-like substance." And while our taste buds are fooled, our bodies are not.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in getting into this stuff when Michelle finishes the "diet" portion and enters the "maintenance" phase. (In the meantime, I'm trying to finish off the processed foods we have in the house and make increasingly better choices.) I've felt blah for half of my life (since I started having to drink diet sodas and use more artificial sweeteners). Vitamins make no difference, and I've just started thinking that I'm "getting older." But now I have hope (and a personal testimony from Michelle) that I can feel better just by eating better. Not fewer calories. Just better.
(By the way, I covered my eyes when you mentioned your weight. I know I've essentially entered into the women's dressing room by following this blog, but I'll try not to be obnoxious about it.)
Thanks, Emily!
ReplyDeleteThe five days was definitely tough, but I think the rest of the diet is going to be fairly easy, There are lots of recipes to choose from, so I won't get bored with the eating. Plus, she breaks down how to put the different parts of the diet together if you're ever out to eat at a restaurant.
The recipes are very easy to make...at least the ones that I've tried.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Covered your eyes. I don't care, though, really.
ReplyDelete