Mayday! Extreme Makeover

[Angela]

Here's a new game I'm playing for the next six weeks!

Have you ever seen a tv show called Extreme Makeover? I have not, but I committed to a program starting today that the fitness & eating guy from that show designed for me -- a personalized 6-week makeover! Their office is right next door to me, and I often see people doing the "spa" version of this makeover, where they stay at this luxury hotel and get 6 to 7 meals a day prepared for them and a personal trainer to whip them into shape. I'm not doing that ($5,500 a week!); I am preparing my own food and acting as my own personal trainer, with the EM people guiding me.

My aim is to get lighter and improve my muscle to fat ratio and to improve my strength and agility in preparation for beach volleyball. Even more important, it is to improve my eating habits.

So, as I mentioned yesterday, no avocados for 6 weeks! No mayonaisse or ice cream, not even any soy milk or nonfat yogurt or any kind of dairy. It's a very "clean" diet, with virtually unlimited fruits and vegetables (but not all of them!), and a small amount of whole protein and carbs 6 times a day. The specific foods were worked out by my man Thurmond based on a whole bunch of factors.

Plus, he revamped my cardio workout so that it's at a lower intensity, but for longer period, 5 or 6 times a week. My weight training remains as-is. Specific foods before and after. Once a week, we review everything and adjust if necessary.

I just thought I would post this as an added structure to keep me accountable, so thanks for the space to do that!

Starting weight: 147.8.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Angela

Here's a new game I'm playing for the next six weeks!

Have you ever seen a tv show called Extreme Makeover? I have not, but I committed to a program starting today that the fitness & eating guy from that show designed for me -- a personalized 6-week makeover! Their office is right next door to me, and I often see people doing the "spa" version of this makeover, where they stay at this luxury hotel and get 6 to 7 meals a day prepared for them and a personal trainer to whip them into shape. I'm not doing that ($5,500 a week!); I am preparing my own food and acting as my own personal trainer, with the EM people guiding me.

My aim is to get lighter and improve my muscle to fat ratio and to improve my strength and agility in preparation for beach volleyball. Even more important, it is to improve my eating habits.

So, as I mentioned yesterday, no avocados for 6 weeks! No mayonaisse or ice cream, not even any soy milk or nonfat yogurt or any kind of dairy. It's a very "clean" diet, with virtually unlimited fruits and vegetables (but not all of them!), and a small amount of whole protein and carbs 6 times a day. The specific foods were worked out by my man Thurmond based on a whole bunch of factors.

Plus, he revamped my cardio workout so that it's at a lower intensity, but for longer period, 5 or 6 times a week. My weight training remains as-is. Specific foods before and after. Once a week, we review everything and adjust if necessary.

I just thought I would post this as an added structure to keep me accountable, so thanks for the space to do that!

Starting weight: 147.8.

Ha! You are starting near my goal weight!!

While I don't necessarily understand the reasoning behind some of the restictions, I do wish you the results you are looking for. I mean, I am behind you, but I am still really suspicious about this avacado thing

[carenkh]

It's so cool to see your recent awakening rippling through your life!

[Rose of Cairo]

I wish you lots of fun with it Angela!

[Angela]

Thank you all so much! I am practicing Trust, and letting go of my own resistance (avocados! ) but I'll admit it's much easier knowing it's only 45 days. I can do that. I'm told that the whole program ramps up my system so that after the hardcore period, if I were to eat the "no" stuff once in awhile, my body will deal with much more powerfully and effectively.

I just packed up three bags of basically everything in my frig and pantry for Danger Man to dispose of for me. Ai chihuahua.

Carenkh, it's so much fun to play this as a game, knowing there's no way to lose or fail! It's kind of funny, that I already feel lighter and more vital, even though I celebrated with a burger & fries "Last Supper" last night. It's all the creation of my consciousness -- it's all made up! And I am reclaiming all kinds of power.

[JimOfferman]

Originally Posted by Angela

avocados!

I cannot understand why someone would be compelled to eat those things - I would rather jump out of a plane with no parachute.

So maybe we can make a trade here? I send you some of my avocado-resistance, you send me some of your excess weight. I could use a few extra pounds

[cela]

Fantastic, Angela!

I also had a new program written up for me this morning, with longer, lower intensity cardio, in addition to my current weight training.

Now, perhaps I can gain some motivation from you, in regards to nutrition. If I could eat 'clean' for a week, I'd be thrilled. I think carenkh's attitude to coffee is very similar to my attitude to any sort of food restriction..."I really want to stop eating xyz... wait, no I don't...you can't make me!"

Must plan, plan, plan! I know that helps. Especially healthy afternoon snacks for work.

Sending lots of positive, healthy, happy vibes your way.

[Mags]

Sounds fantastic Angela - you go, girl!

[jawillie]

This sounds exciting~ I look forward to hearing of your great success!

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by JimOfferman

I cannot understand why someone would be compelled to eat those things - I would rather jump out of a plane with no parachute.

As someone who was born and raised in Texas, I'll have to expose your statement for what it really is -- blasphemy!!

Originally Posted by JimOfferman

So maybe we can make a trade here? I send you some of my avocado-resistance, you send me some of your excess weight. I could use a few extra pounds

If you still need more, you are welcome to my extra pounds.



So, how's it going so far, Angela?

[Angela]

One day down, 41 to go!

There is so much planning and food preparation involved, I am so not used to that. But I am learning how to use my slow cooker and cooking some things for the very first time, like black beans and asparagus, which I love. Oh, my goodness, Cela, you are so right about the planning -- I'm burning calories already just planning! Danger Man bought me an Igloo so I can pack up my little food packages, like for today when we go to Ikea and I will be very tempted by those little swedish meatballs!

My first hour-long workout yesterday was absurdly easy because I dropped my speed to something like 65% of my maximum vo2 heart rate blah blah blah... whatever they call it. I felt like I could go for two hours, but afterwards I was surprisingly wiped out! Had to take a nap! Very unlike me. Did Pilates in the afternoon but really didn't have much power for it.

I spoke with one of the trainers who was very encouraging, and told me that about a week in (around next Wednesday) I could expect to have a surge in my energy and well-feeling because of the food. Nice. I'm already feeling pretty good, so glad I quit my job!! It feels so good to focus on my own well-being rather than other people's. It also feels very, very odd. I could get used to it, though.

Danger Man and I noticed this morning that there is no wheat or dairy on this eating plan, something we've always meant to experiment with because we have suspected we might be sensitive. So this is a good six weeks to see how it feels to eliminate those things. I'm especially looking forward to feeling how my sinuses and joints feel with no dairy or wheat coming in.

Jim, I wouldn't change a thing about you, so you can't have my pounds, sorry. And as for avocados - yuck! I hate them too! blechh! what a disgusting thing to eat! {whimper whimper}.

Thanks for your well-wishing, everybody!

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Good luck, Angela! Sounds like you're doing fantastically so far ... I am ashamed of my relative lack of willpower. But I have no intention of ever giving up chocolate or ice-cream. ;-)

Will be very interested to see the benefits you experience after 6 weeks, do keep the forum updated on how it's going!

Best,

Ali

[Angela]

Will do, Ali. One of the first questions I asked my guy was, "how do people who have jobs do this?!?" Eating every two hours is hard. He suggests the igloo, of course, and if you can't eat in "public" on your job, to sneak away for a bathroom break for a quick meal -- these meals are pretty small, so I can see doing that, but it doesn't seem very..... well... civilized.

[Somi]

Hey Angela

well done for taking up the challange! The diet and workout plan sounds like mine. Only I live like that year round.

The only difference is that I have one day a week that I can eat whatever want. On that day I often twice my calory limit. This is meant to have a great anabolic effect and it also keeps me sane.

Just one word from me, with your weight training try keep it at a level that you actually feel the pump in the muscle and have some aches the next day, light weight training won't do much for ya. This is only if you're not already doing it. Sorry if it has been mentioned already, I didn't get round to read all the thread.

All the best

[Angela]

Thanks, Somi. I'll reevaluate after the six weeks,and maybe that one free day a week will work well for me.

I do superslow weightlifting, which is one set to failure, aiming for 8-10 reps, very slow and controlled both positive and negative, alternating lower and upper body, abs as often as possible. I've tried a lot of different systems, and this is my favorite. I've been doing 4x a week lately, but I think that's too much; I'm more sore than I think is best. I'm going to back off to 3x.

[Somi]

Good, good if you like that way of trianing it's good as you should be enjoying it

I train 6 days a week for 40 minutes as the time followed by half an hour moderate/low intesity cordio. As for weight I only train one body part a day, i do 3 to 4 (sometimes 5 depending on the part), excersices for each part and I do 4 sets for each excersice, one warm up the next three increasing.

On my off days (which is for me Sundays unless I have a photoshoot) I don't train at all. I just love those off days. I wake up in the morning go to the supermarket and do lots of food shoping, (nuts, dates, avocado, bananas, oats and some naughtier stuff too sometimes) and I literally eat the whole day, ah sunday is only a day away

I change my training system, excersises and sets and reps and intensity every 6 weeks, not to get used to them. I also try to take a week off when in off season, but at competition season I don't take any time off for 12 weeks before each comp. I'm now 5 weeks out from the Scottish Natural figure comps. If I qualify for the British that is in October...

[Keith]

No, no, you're doing it all wrong! It can't be an Extreme Makeover without invasive cosmetic surgery!

If you're doing it the natural, healthy way, it's not an Extreme Makeover.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Keith

No, no, you're doing it all wrong! It can't be an Extreme Makeover without invasive cosmetic surgery!

It is pretty extreme for me. What's being made over is my entire approach to food and cardio exercise, rather than my physical appearance.

Passing over the swedish meatball counter at IKEA today was a little excruciating, and Danger Man didn't make it any easier by showing me all the little swedish yummy treats. But they did have a cool wetsuit-material bagpack with little frozey cartridges, so I can pack up all my little mini-meals and eat ever two hours wherever I go (like jury duty next week!) -- all matching in my favorite color. That helps.

That is the most challenging thing so far -- eating every 2 hours. It's harder than you would think. Today I was at the pool at the hotel where they do the super-expensive spa version of this extreme makeover, and I asked if the chef would prepare me a mini-meal like the ones he makes for the super-rico-clientele 6 times a day. He was nice enough to comply -- a chicken breast, an apple and some brocolli for $15! Ouch. No more eating out.

[Jenny]

Originally Posted by Angela

That is the most challenging thing so far -- eating every 2 hours. It's harder than you would think.

It gets much easier. I started a similar eating plan in December 2007 and twice for about a week each time have decided it was too nit-picky and didn't take the time at home to cook and pack all my meals and ended up trying to eat the proper foods while out and about and it just didn't work. Both times I quickly realized the time of cooking and planning is well worth it as my mood and energy levels are dramatically impacted for the worst when I'm not eating every 2 1/2 hours. Still feels silly to eat that often sometimes though.

Have fun Angela!!!

[Angela]

{{bleary-eyed}}} from trying to make black beans in the slow cooker (beans count as carbs on this program, not protein!) and those suckers just would not get tender. It's like being in a bad relationship -- they kept me up all night boiling over and stubbornly would not be ready. So I got up this morning and started arguing with them again. Next time it's stovetop for those little schmucks!

As god is my witness, I will never lose sleep over man or beans again!

[m0vingon]

Oh Angela, if you're going to be cooking a lot of beans, see if you can find (borrow or buy) a pressure cooker! It's super fast for cooking beans. I've never had much success with the slow cooker for beans.

[Angela]

Thanks, M0vingon! The beans are starting to see things my way (after 7 hours of crockpot and an hour of stovetop).

I feel a little bit like a bean dominatrix.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by Angela

I feel a little bit like a bean dominatrix.

I can totally imagine you as a bean dominatrix, Angela! In black leather and whipping them mercilessly!

[uberinquisitive]

You'll see great results - I did this for 2 weeks a few months ago.

I lost my desire to eat, and found that a few bananas a day was fine for me. Shows you that psychological hunger and actual hunger are TOTALLY different. I couldn't stand eating healthy, and finally went back to normal eating.

Cool thing - I haven't gained back the weight I lost (about 12 lbs). I found that regular eating is a lot healthier and less in quantity.

[Angela]

Thanks, Uber... yeah, I can definitely detect the difference in hunger vs. emotional craving the last few days! Plus, I'm already turned off by some of the stuff I was craving just 4 days ago -- mayonnaise, for instance, doesn't even sound like food to me now. And I have found out that I love brown rice!

I got a food scale yesterday and found that my portion sizes had still been larger than what was recommended; that's probably why I was having a hard time eating 6x a day. I think I'll be more comfortable going forward using my little scale (it looks like a silver spaceship) and getting used to all the prep involved -- I've got my crockpot going most of the time now, like a little round personal chef.

Amazingly, I've lost 4.5 pounds in three days. My water percentage and muscle weight have remained constant.

[C33]

Are you talking about the Michael Thurmond makeover?

I did it years ago in California,and lost 40 pounds.

It's great and you do lose weight fast and do keep it off if you are disciplined. I regained all the weight but it was my responsibility because I stopped exercising completely.

I have dieted seriously twice since then, and followed a very strict eating plan, very close to the Extreme Makeover plan, and I did lose weight. Last time I lost weight, I lost 22 pounds in about 4 months and established my own exercise program, using Callanetics instead of strentgth training, which I don't like and tends to make me bulk. It was the best combination of exercise and diet for me.

Now, I am not very proud of myself because I have gained a lot of weight back, but I want to encourage you in your makeover. It's really about mind over matter, and once you see the result it's so motivating.

Good luck!

[Angela]

Originally Posted by C33

Are you talking about the Michael Thurmond makeover?

Yes! Boy, you don't have to wait for results. It hasn't even been a week yet and I already feel really good and have dropped some tonnage -- and my water % and muscle weight has slightly increased.

The best thing is that my blood sugar is getting regulated. It's really hard to force myself to eat every two hours or so -- even a small meal, but my energy has been really smooth and clean. I've been feeling so good, I've even been adding a second hour-long walk at the end of the day, this one along the beach with Danger Man, which is nice for our relationship.

I would like to continue eating this way after the six weeks is over, but occasionally adding back in things I love, like avocado and pasta. So far I haven't felt deprived; maybe I'm just too busy shopping, cooking and chopping to feel any cravings.

[Angela]

Okay, 7 pounds removed in 9 days. Muscle and water both increasing incrementally each day and fat decreasing. I'm not supposed to measure on a daily basis -- it's against the law! -- but I enjoy the game of seeing how each day's food and activity affect the numbers. Uh-oh, OCD!

Feeling very, very good. Maybe better than ever in one way -- my energy level is purring and humming along throughout the day, no slumps or spikes. I have been going to bed each night feeling like I'll be asleep before my head hits the pillow. Nice.

Overcoming the life-long problem of: fear of eating my own cooking!

[Angela]

So, six weeks have passed and I have:

* lost 11.2 pounds
* gone down 4 percentage points of body fat
* gained 1.8 pounds of muscle
* size 10 to size 6
* abs are beginning to assert themselves!
* beat my sugar addiction
* taken my metabolism through the roof, which shows up in my cardio workout as needing to go much faster to reach the same target heartbeat rate (was 3.6 mph, now 4.1 mph) and in my eating as burning through a tremendously increased number of calories. I am eating and eating and eating, and still losing fat. Yay!
* figured out how to feel pretty damned good, based on what I eat.

I re-upped for another month.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Very nice. I'll have some of what you're having . I'd love to get back to a size 10!

Originally Posted by Angela

So, six weeks have passed and I have:

* lost 11.2 pounds
* gone down 4 percentage points of body fat
* gained 1.8 pounds of muscle
* size 10 to size 6
* abs are beginning to assert themselves!
* beat my sugar addiction
* taken my metabolism through the roof, which shows up in my workout as needing to go much faster to reach the same target heartbeat rate (was 3.6 mph, now 4.1 mph) and in my eating as burning through a tremendously increased number of calories. I am eating and eating and eating, and still losing fat. Yay!
* figured out how to feel pretty damned good, based on what I eat.

I re-upped for another month.