The Plan

Have you ever seen those ads that boast that someone has lost 20lbs in 2 weeks or 8lbs in 8 days? I've always thought they were either a) outright lying or b) misrepresentations due to the fact that the dieter was 300lbs+ to begin with an so the first 10-20lbs are just water weight anyway. Either way I have never believed this kind of outcome would work with a more average woman, and I imagine pigs would fly before this would ever work on me.

Although not identical to this average Canadian woman, I'm pretty close to it. 

Height wise we're neck and neck. She's 5'3 and I'm pushing 5'4.

Weight wise we're a little further apart, but not by much. I'm hovering around 140lbs and she's a little heavier at 153lbs but we're close - a little too close for my liking actually.

And because of this I've decided to try a little experiment. Well, this and the fact that I'm extremely unhappy with my body these days. Although I may not have as much to lose as others out there, there's definitely more junk in the trunk then there was before having children and it's time for it to go.

So this blog is going to be - you guessed it - ANOTHER diet and fitness blog - and the only things that make this one special, you know, apart from the fact that it's about moi, is that a) it will be an experiment and b) it will only last 30 days. That's 30 days where I'm going to be completely open and honest about what I'm eating, thinking, feeling and doing with the high hopes that on the 30th day pigs will fly and I will have actually lost a ton of weight and will be fitting into a size 2. 

Kind of like my own version of the last 10lbs bootcamp only without the personal trainer and televised embarrassment.

Instead, I will be starting off my fitness plan by committing to doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred (which has been sitting, unopened, in a drawer since last Christmas) and I will be loosely following Tosca Reno's guide to clean eating because oh my god - have you seen that woman? She looks good.

I will also be posting pictures - before and afters if you will - of my weight loss journey starting tonight. 

The "before" pictures will be of my current "topoli" self, which is the inspiration for this blog. Topoli, as I have often been lovingly told by my Persian husband means "cute little fat thing" - yep, that about sums me up right now.

The "after" pictures will, in theory - be my head on Tosca Reno's body. But yes, let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we?

So since this blog is all about being completely and utterly honest in order to start to make some healthy changes in my life, I figure I should start with what my diet currently looks like.

I would say that it used to be 80% healthy, 20% sugar, however recently the percentages have been a bit off. I generally start the morning off with a bowl of cereal - usually 1/2 multigrain Cheerios and 1/2 Kashi go Lean crunch with skim milk and occasionally will eat a banana along with that. 

It's rare for me to snack in the morning, I'm usually out and about with the kids, but if I happen to be close to a Starbucks and my husband isn't around then I'm likely to whip in for a Chai latte and a piece of chocolate chip banana bread. 

Lunch is usually pretty healthy, but high-fat. My staple is two slices of whole what toast topped with feta cheese and avocado and then an apple on the side. Even though cheese and avocado are both high in fat, I envision them as "good fats" and I don't see myself giving them up totally anytime soon.

It's the afternoon though that usually gets me. Once Aila is down for her second nap and Kian is watching his afternoon dose of Diego or Dora, that's when I have a bit of me time which generally includes something sweet. And lately that something sweet has been a full cup of chocolate chips - yep, you heard that right. I will often poor an entire cup of chocolate chips and eat them in one sitting - washed down with a gingerale. 

I'm a complete and utter sugar addict. 

Dinner is always very healthy thanks to my mother in law who currently lives with us and cooks organic, healthy meals each night - staples are chicken, rice and veggies and salmon, rice and veggies with a few varieties of each throughout the week. My portion sizes could probably use a bit of work here, I'll admit. 

And then once the kids are in bed, it's sugar rush part-deux and I'll often have a bowl of ice-cream, more chocolate chips, a few cookies - whatever is in the kitchen as long as it fills the sweet requirement. 

No wonder my 11 month old is still waking up every two hours in the night - she's probably wired on chocolate breast milk 

Okay, so those are the dirty details and these are the changes that I'm going to focus on over the next thirty days:

 - 6 smaller meals a day - all of them with protein and veggies/fruit

- Oatmeal with ground flax and almonds for breakfast

- 1 slice of toast at lunch and a very small portion of rice at night 

- Snacks of nuts, dried fruit, cut up veggies with hummus, fresh fruit, boiled eggs, salads

- Lots of water - since I am starting from scratch here, I am going to aim for 4 glasses per day to start and try increasing that over time. 

- Absolutely no processed sugar for the 30 days. 

- 30 minutes of the Jillian Michaels DVD per day, after dinner, with any other exercise throughout the week as a bonus.

There are other things I can do, I know, and if I can get through these 30 days successfully, then I'll start adding some of them in, but this is a good start for me. 

If you've made it this far then I have a favor to ask and that's for encouragement. Accountability is a good thing in this kind of situation and if I know I have people that are going to be checking in and monitoring my progress I think I'll be more likely to stick with it. In theory that makes sense, right?

Before pictures coming soon and the 30 day countdown starts Monday, October 18th.

Wish me luck :)