What Motivates You?

(double click collage to enlarge...)

The final part of my conversation with Andy involved any tips or advice he may have for fellow boot campers to which his response was "Everyone must figure out what motivates them. Once you figure that out, keep that as your focus."

Andy's initial motivation to pull himself out of bed and join boot campers in Carmel Valley came in the form of a silent auction bid. Andy was attending a charity event put on by the City of Hope. The event was winding down and he hadn't yet bid on any of the items for auction. He looked through the selection of Wine, Golf and various other sports packages and came across Deanne's donation: Forever Fit Boot Camp Session and Nutrition Counseling (that had been collected by fellow boot camper, Debbie Dveris). It looked interesting and he realized that this might just be what he needed to get himself going. (Or as he put it..."I needed somebody to kick me in the butt!"--enter Deanne, ahem.)  Andy did win the bid and this is where our story begins...

In  the previous year Andy had taken a month long trip to Asia which was the catalyst for gaining 15 pounds of extra unwanted weight. Upon his return, he had tried his usual routine of increased activity and paying a bit more attention to his diet but nothing seemed to be working.

After winning the bid, he began working with Deanne. He started a week after the Fall session started and became a regular at each 6 a.m. workout. This was huge for Andy since he works from home and could really sleep as late as he wanted each day. Somewhere he found what motivated him and each day that he would get up and go work out...he started to feel new energy for the rest of his day. He took Deanne's nutrition tips and menus as a guide and continued with the two boot camp workouts each week. Without adding any other workouts to his schedule, within 9 weeks he was able to lose 14 pounds and 3% body fat!!

The new lower number on the scale and the improved body comp are not the only benefits that Andy has felt with this new change.  As a consequence,  he has noticed increased energy, agility and cardio capability that he appreciates with his active lifestyle. Andy loves to ski and skiing has been a part of his life for years.


But after putting on the extra weight Andy noticed on his annual ski trip that even buckling his boots got him winded and everything seemed to be such a struggle. By contrast, just recently he took a ski trip to Mammoth where he quickly recognized the difference he felt skiing at his new fitness level. Everything feels easier and he even finds himself now on his "off days" going into his workout room and doing pull ups and chin ups etc. just because he can. Perhaps he used the same reasoning when joining a group mud run in Del Mar....do it 'cuz you can:)

Andy adds a lot of life to the 6 a.m. boot camps...maybe you should consider pulling yourself out of bed to come join him...you never know where it might take you....As for Andy he is on a plane headed to Austria and Amsterdam for an extended European Ski Vaca:)

Week 3 - The Stomach Flu...Blah!

Hi everyone. Thanks for being patient with me this week while I battled this nasty stomach flu. Starting to feel back to normal and looking forward to getting back to my healthy eating plan. Let me know what meal ideas you have been trying this week. Emma provided us with a great smoothie that she created.

My planning day was never more important as it was this past Saturday. Because I had planned out our dinners for the week and did my shopping before I got sick, my husband was able to get a healthy dinner on the table every night for the kids. Every week I am reminded of just how important this planning time is to the success of our healthy eating. I know it is the main reason why I and so many others have had success so far. One person mentioned that this program is making her think about food more than ever. Remember, if you are trying to figure out what you are going to eat when you are hungry, it's too late! If you do your planning and prep on the weekend, you won't have to figure it out in the moment. You will know exactly what you are going to have everyday for every meal. If it feels overwhelming to you to figure out what exactly you will eat for the next 7 days, then just plan for the next 4 days. It just means you will have to carve out two planning times during the week instead of one. I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. Making choices when we are hungry is a bad idea when you are trying to change your body comp. Our willpower will often disappoint us and our cravings will usually conquer. Make it easier on yourself by knowing on Sunday what you plan to eat on Wednesday. It may not sound like fun but that's not the idea here. The idea is success and to get you to your goals once and for all. After all, you have your Cheat Day to have fun.

That brings me to my next point. Make sure you "earn" your Cheat Day. How do you earn it? By following days 1-6 very closely. If you do follow the plan closely, you won't feel guilty taking that Cheat Day. If you feel guilty, it may be because you've already cheated quite a few times during the week. And remember, the cheat day is not a binge. It's a day to have a little of those foods that you've said no to all week long. It's a day off from eggs or egg whites for breakfast ;)

Now that I'm feeling better and cooking dinner again, it occurred to me that the very best time to do prep for future meals is while you are already in the kitchen cooking. You're already making a mess and you are already in "cooking mode" which will make you more efficient. For example, I marinated my flank steak last night while I was cooking our spaghetti dinner. But, if you don't do your planning at the beginning of the week, you won't have anything to prep for the future.

Hope you're having a healthy and active week. I look forward to hearing what's working for you!

What is your best tip so far?

As I head into week 3 of the rapid fat loss program, I am challenged with keeping it interesting. It was easy for the first 2 weeks as my husband was out of town and I just kept repeating my easy meals. Keeping it simple paid off. I've lost 4.4 pounds in 2 weeks. My cravings are still in check and my energy is high.

I plan to mix up my meals a little this week. If you are looking for some new interesting things to do with your protein and vegetables, I will have a couple new recipes that you can add to your packet.

So here's a recap of week 2 from me. I would love to hear from you. Give your fellow campers your one or two best tips for making this plan successful. The posts are full of great ideas so far. Let's keep it going!
1. making one of the vegetable soups on Sunday for the rest of the week saved me so many times. I would come home hungry and in the past grab something quick and processed. The soup takes about 45 seconds to heat up. Have it with a little protein and you'll be set for a couple hours. The water content and high fiber in the soups make them very satisfying and I give them a 10/10 on the "FF" scale (fullness factor)
2. I did a little more prep yesterday for the upcoming week than I did the first 2 weeks. With the hubby back in town, I wanted the dinners to be a little nicer, so here's what I did yesterday. It took me about an hour after I did my plan and my shopping. I made a batch of the broccoli soup (should last me through Friday). I marinated my Bourbon Flank Steak (this is a recipe I will hand out this week). I hard boiled a half dozen eggs for quick breakfasts or snacks. I soaked and cooked enough lentils for at least 4 days. In the morning I had the Vegetable Quiche Cups for breakfast and froze the remaining cups for quick breakfasts this week. I had some good tunes on in the kitchen and had a good time getting organized.
3. Over the past week and a half, I found myself eating out 4 times for dinner (3 planned, one not planned). Now for obvious reasons, I recommend eating out on your Cheat Day so you can really enjoy the restaurant food as it's intended (high calorie and not healthy), but all days that I happened to eat out last week were my low or medium carb days. I'm happy to report that while it's not as much fun, it is possible to stick to the rules of the plan at all the restaurants I attended. Here's what I had:
A. Red Robin - Hamburger protein style (large lettuce leaves and no bun) with salsa for dipping and side dinner salad
B. Rubios - Roasted Vegetable and Mixed Green Salad with Chicken (new on the menu). I ordered extra chicken because I thought they were a little stingy with their protein serving. They charged me an extra $2.50 but worth it. I think they created this option after the new law forced them to display the calories of all their meals - WOW! What an eye opener. Do my kids really need a bean and cheese burrito that is almost 800 calories????
C. Smashburger - now this one was not that fun but like I said, still do-able. Promised the family smashburger last night so I had mine protein style with no fries.

Hey did I mention that I have my parents on this plan too? Trying to keep them healthy so they live a long life! I saw my dad on Saturday after he had been on the plan for a week. Here's what he said, "Your mom keeps telling me that today is my cheat day but I don't really see anyone that I want to cheat with." Thanks for keeping it light dad! Have a great week everyone. Can't wait to hear from you.

FoodViews

Balsamic Pork with Baby Spinach

(Deanne's Balsamic Chicken recipe with pork instead and minus the Quinoa...it was day 4)

As I sat down to eat my lunch today, I thought it looked so delish and then after tasting it I thought, "I have got to tell Deanne or somebody about how yummy this is!" Thus...introducing "FoodViews" on our blog.

If you make a Forever Fit meal (doesn't have to be one of the recipes) but it does have to fit legally [to steal a WW term] into our 4-2-1--my name for the new food plan...snap a pic. Email it to me or you can text it to me and I will get it on the blog. Let me know what it is and anything else you would like to share about it.

I am wanting to promote healthy food talk...nothing like what was happening early Thursday morning at boot camp. ahem, Greg!!

So...let us see what's on your plate...allenkath06@gmail.com.

And happy day "5" to many of you...my oatmeal was divine this morning!! (just not as pretty as lunch)...but I did mix in pumpkin and protein powder...mmm!

Comment Away....!!

So...Michelle (via Deanne) sent this is in...apparently blogger requires you to be logged into a "google account" in order to comment. 
1. Go to google and click on the upper right hand corner "sign in". 
2. Set up an account if you don't already have one.
3. In the future, sign in to google before coming to the blog...it'll make it easier /possible to comment.
Please let me know if you still have problems. (allenkath06@gmail.com)
Thanks! Kathlleen

Hey there,

I actually typed up a comment to post but cant get it do it!  It has a "Comment as:" field and you have to select a profile.  I tried Google Account but that didn't work.  What am I doing wrong?  Below is what I'd written.

Thanks,

Michelle

Hey everyone! I'm on Day 3 of the rapid fat loss plan.  Man, I really get to see just how few veggies I've been eating the last few months!!  Feel good about getting those back in my system a lot more.  Yesterday after a great workout in the evening, had dinner but then was craving a snack later on while watching TV.  This is a long time issue for me!  Well, I ended up eating a lot of dry roasted peanuts!!  I guess better it isn't goldfish crackers or candy but the calorie intake probably wasn't great.  The spaghetti dinner of putting a great turkey and veggie filled sauce over more veggies didn't sound very exciting, esp. to my husband, but I said to him as we were eating it, it doesn't really matter what's under the sauce, pasta or veggies, because it is the sauce that makes the meal! So, why not have the better for you veggies!!  That was a nice finding for me. 

I find I am missing eating fruit like blueberries or apples.  I will look forward to that on my medium carb days or cheat day.

I really enjoyed Deanne's favorite snack of plain greek yogurt w/PB and vanilla protein powder.  What I REALLY couldn't enjoy was the cottage cheese, Better N' PB and chocolate protein powder.  EWWWWWW!!! Sorry D, I tried.  At least there are other options. : )  BTW, you can also get Better N' Peanut Butter at Sprouts food stores too.  There's one in Carmel Mtn Ranch.

Finally, regarding workouts, to mix things up and add to my wonderful boot camps, I've signed up for some of the Groupon or Buy With Me offers for workouts like at a dance place where I will try a hip hop cardio class.  I also took a Zumba class at my local gym.  And, the kicker is playing Dance Central on our XBox 360 Kinect!!  So much fun and a great way to get some cardio in without the monotony of a cardio machine!!  I highly recommend doing something fun like that at least once a week whatever that is for you - hiking, dancing, etc.

Would love to see what everyone elses thoughts are!! - Michelle

My Cheat Day

Well yesterday was my much anticipated cheat day. Honestly, i woke up wanting to eat what I had been eating all week. I felt great. I was having success. My cravings were gone. Why would I mess with things? But, staying true to the process, I knew I needed to relax and eat a few things that I had stayed away from earlier in the week both for psychological and physiological reasons. My husband was out of town, so I didn't really have anything going on over the weekend. That made the Cheat Day a little unexciting. I think next weekend will be better and I will enjoy it more since I have a party to go to Saturday night.

I started out the morning by walking to Starbucks with my daughter and her friend. I ordered the egg, sausage and english muffin sandwich (because that's not what I would usually order). It was ok but not sure I enjoyed it that much more then my egg white scrambles. I had pasta at lunch. I thought I would really enjoy it, but it was just ok. I did pick up a 60% dark chocolate bar at the grocery store. Now that I enjoyed with a glass of milk! I had no desire to eat the whole thing so I split it with my kids and probably ate about 2oz. It was plenty.

What did I learn?
1. I don't think I need to force it.
2. I think I would have enjoyed the day just as much if I had kept the meals similar to what I had been eating and just add the chocolate bar.
3. Geeze, I wish all weekends were this easy. Why, when I could eat anything I wanted, did I not really want anything? INTERESTING!!!
4. I was really anxious this morning to get back at it though so that's a good sign.
5. I had unbelievable energy at bootcamp this morning which some of you experienced first hand. Was that because of the Cheat Day, the gorgeous weather, the kick-off of a new session, so many fun people at the workout? Probably all of the above.

I have a feeling when my weekends are a little more sociable, my cheat days will look a little more like cheat days. Sorry to disappoint. It really wasn't all that exciting.

Are You on the 10 Week Rapid Fat Loss Plan?

I'd like to use the blog this week to answer questions. Bootcampers will be using the next day or 2 to get organized for the nutrition plan. Please let me know what questions you have so far.