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Originally Posted by funchy  And how practical is their advice? |
As practical as you are willing to practice it. When I first heard how strict my diet would be for 6 weeks, I gulped hard. No bread, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no burgers, no yogurt, no packaged foods at all ... well, you get the picture. For me, 6 or 7 times a day, 2 oz of whole lean protein (eggwhites, chicken breast, tuna, like that) and 4 oz certain carbs like oatmeal, apples, beans & legumes (they count as carbs although they contain lots of protein), brown rice, and I strongarmed them into letting me have my couscous -- the one luxury indulgence. I hated oatmeal, but I've learned to love it. As much as you want of vegetables and some fruit. I get to have some salt each day because I had low-ish blood pressure, and they added in some olive oil or pesto each day plus added more carbs about mid-point because I was burning through the carbs so quickly.
It was really difficult at first to eat so much food -- it was WAY more food than I was used to eating.
And the exercise took somethin' somethin' at first, too. I had been used to doing 30 minutes of interval cardio 5 or 6 times a week, and they switched me to 60 minutes of much lower intensity, flat-rate walking. At first it just felt funny because the intensity was so low to keep me within the target heart rate that I didn't believe it would work. I didn't even break a sweat. But I lost 7 pounds in the first 7 days. It wasn't water weight, because I was monitoring that and also drinking far more water than I had been, and I think a good chunk of it was fat because the little fat pads on my hips were suddenly noticeably smaller.
At intervals of a week or so, I would suddenly be STARVING and simultaneously would have to walk dramatically faster to get my heart rate to my target, and my coach celebrated those times because it meant that my metabolism had had a breakthrough. He would encourage me to eat more carbs! Yay! Or if I felt like it was an emergency, like if I go light-headed and sweaty, to just go ahead and eat something with a lot of calories like a cheeseburger. That happened twice during the six weeks hardcore period. The rest of the time it was relatively easy to stick to the plan, knowing that it was only 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks, the diet relaxed quite a bit but is substantially cleaner now than before I started, and the exercise is the same -- but I think I may be overdoing it a bit now. I've had to learn to listen to my body's need for rest and to deliberately take days off. It's hard though, cuz now I'm an endorphin junkie.
It's not easy to find an hour for cardio almost every day, and then add on another hour for strength training 3 times a week. And it does take a great deal of preparation and discipline to eat clean. And it's totally worth it for me; it's a lifestyle I'm enjoying. My body is just so powerful and gorgeous now; I'm head over heels in love with how I feel and look. I wish I'd done this when I was in my 20's!