Enough is Enough!

Just 6 weeks or so til summer. We are sick of seeing little to no results. We are going on a drastic diet. For at least the next week anyway. Six weeks seems overwhelming, so I'm going to take it one week at a time. If this week works out well, then I'll continue.

I've chosen a plan by Tracy Anderson, who trains Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. If it's good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for me! I would LOVE to lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks! I missed Sunday's menu as I didn't get to the grocery store til late afternoon, so I started on Monday's menu. So far, so good! The challenge is that it is my daughter's birthday tonight, and Mr., the baker extraordinaire, has made some amazing cupcakes. I'll do my best to resist or just have a bite or two.

Just for measure, my starting point is the same as last weigh in: 157 pounds. I'll see you next Monday with hopefully some RESULTS!

The following plan was posted last year in US Weekly

Madonna's Trainer: How to Lose 20 Pounds in 6 Weeks

Two pounds a week is the typically advised weight loss, but pro Tracy Anderson says she has worked out a way to safely shed even faster!

“It’s perfectly healthy,” the former dancer, 33, tells Us of her plan. And the results of her regime speak for themselves in the super-fit physiques of clients Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, not to mention her own transformation (the 5-foot mom dropped from 140 to 95 pounds).

“My formula works on everyone as long as they’re consistent,” says the trainer, who has a studio in L.A. She developed her signature strategy, to shape any body into a “teeny-tiny dancer type,” after testing 100 women for five years independently (because “the government isn’t going to fund seeing if you can get a Victoria’s Secret butt out of any woman!”).

The key, she says, is to constantly change the routine. Her students log six two-hour sessions weekly, dancing and hitting the Hybrid Body Reformer (a pulley-system machine available only in her studio, but not necessary to this plan). Promises Anderson, “You’ll keep the weight off!”

The Diet
This short-term diet “ensures you lose between 3 and 5 pounds a week,” says Anderson. The diet bans processed food, dairy and all spices (“They’re bloating and upset your digestive system, which causes you to store fat”), oil and sauces (“They’re just added calories”), discourages drinking alcohol or caffeine (sip 1.5 to 3 liters of water daily instead) and prescribes one serving of whole-grain carbs a day. Once you’re at your target weight, adopt a healthy but less restrictive diet.

Below are three weeks’ worth of menus. You can follow as is, or mix and match complete days’ menus to your liking.

WEEK ONE
Sunday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
Dinner - 1 cup organic pasta with ½ cup steamed spinach

Monday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain—or vanilla—nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hardboiled eggs with ½ cup each of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed spinach

Tuesday
Breakfast - 1 cup steel-cut oatmeal made with water and ½ cup fresh blueberries
Lunch - 3 oz grilled chicken breast — or fresh turkey breast (no deli meat!) — with ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 1 cup mixed berries (try raspberries, blueberries or red grapes)
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled salmon with ½ cup steamed broccoli

Wednesday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - ½ cup each of fresh spinach, beet root, tomatoes and cucumbers, with 2 tsp tahini
Snack - 1 snack cup of sugar-free Jell-O
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach

Thursday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 2 hard-boiled eggs with 4 to 5 celery sticks and 4 to 5 carrot sticks
Dinner - 1 cup penne pasta with ½ cup each of steamed spinach and chopped steamed tomatoes

Friday
Breakfast - 1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch - 3 oz fresh turkey breast with ¼ cup each of cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts and beets, plus 1 slice whole-grain bread
Snack - 1 cup fresh strawberries
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed fresh green beans

Saturday
Breakfast - 2 poached eggs with 3 slices veggie bacon
Lunch - 1 whole-grain wrap with ¼ cup of chopped avocado and ½ cup each of chopped cucumber and tomatoes
Snack - 10 to 15 red grapes
Dinner - 3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup steamed spinach

The Workout
While following this plan six times a week, use 3-pound weights, max. Anderson explains, “It’ll get you to your tiniest, tightest point without overdeveloping muscles.” Get video footage of the workout at tracyandersonmethod.com.

WEEK 1
Make a 20-minute iPod playlist and do a different cardio activity (treadmill sprints, jumping rope, running on a trampoline) for each song. Switching activities will keep any one group of muscles from bulking up. “You should be dripping sweat and taking very few breaks,” she advises.

Get crunching!

Do these three moves on a mat:
1. Lie flat on back, legs straight, then bend legs and pull to chest, feeling exertion in abs (50 reps).

2. With legs at 90-degree angle, do 50 crunches.

3. Lie with legs straight, feet apart. As you slightly lift one foot, crunch straight up and down; return foot to floor and lift the other while crunching. Do 60 times, each side.

Tone
Do 100 reps each, or 200 for moves that alternate sides:

1. With feet shoulder-width apart, hold arms out in a T and rotate palms from -facing floor to ceiling.

2. In same stance, bend one wrist and pull across body, arm straight, in a smacking motion across your body. Alternate arms.

3. Then, with arms straight behind you, palms to-gether, snap your wrists from side to side.

4. Hold a 3-pound weight above your head with elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Then lift weight straight over head. Do all reps on one side, then switch arms.

5. With weight in hand, hold one arm out in a T, bend at elbow to cover eyes, then straighten, keeping arm lifted. Do all reps on one arm; switch.

6. Do grand pliés: Stand with feet -shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out. With hands on hips and back straight, slowly bend knees until thighs are parallel to floor.

WEEKS 2–6
Increase cardio 10 minutes each week, so by week six, you’re up to 60 minutes daily, plus toning exercises.

Weigh In #12: Maintaining the Status Quo

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!

Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 0
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2

So we both stayed flat this week. A little disappointing, but I'm glad I didn't gain. I may not be losing pounds on the scale but I am noticing that my clothes fit differently (better)...so hopefully I am converting fat to muscle!

Here are the workouts I did this week:
Monday: treadmill intervals
Tuesday: treadmill/weights/abs
Wednesday: kickboxing boot-camp type class (kicked my butt!)
Thursday: took the day off, WAY sore from kickboxing
Friday: treadmill/weights/abs
Saturday: Zumba class for an HOUR - way hard but awesome
Sunday: No formal exercise, but housecleaning and outside work day long

Progress!

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 157 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2!
Total pounds lost (gained): (5)
Pounds left to lose: 27
Workouts: 5!!!


Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 234 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 2
Total pounds lost: 11
Pounds left to lose: 54
Workouts: 2

The momentum continues. I am in the habit of working out daily now and feel guilty if I don't. We are slowly changing our eating habits as well....making better choices and EATING LESS!

Hard Work, No Results

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 159 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (4)
Total pounds lost (gained): (7)
Pounds left to lose: 29
Workouts: 5!!!

Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 236 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (1)
Total pounds lost: 9
Pounds left to lose: 56
Workouts: 2

I continue to gain. I worked so hard last week - Zumba twice, did my weight lifting workout 3 days, and did cardio for the other days. It felt great. Did not do so hot with eating, however. I will not give up, however. Hopefully next week will be good news.

Back on track....

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 155.4 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (.7)
Total pounds lost (gained): (3.4)
Pounds left to lose: 25.1
Workouts: 4!!!

Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 235 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 5 pounds
Total pounds lost: 10
Pounds left to lose: 55
Workouts: 2

I know, it's showing I've gained. But I've really lost. My weight crept up to the 158-9 range, and I was too ashamed to weigh in. But I've been working out religiously over the past 3 weeks, and trying to do better with eating, and it shows - I've lost a few pounds.

So now I'm within spitting distance of my starting point. That's progress!

I am motivated to keep going. I've been doing ZUMBA classes (SO fun!), intervals on the treadmill, a weight circuit program (all at the gym at work), and at least one workout over the weekend. I keep thinking of our vacation in June and how I want to feel good in a bathing suit by then - it's totally do-able.

Trainer-to-the-Stars Jackie Warner's fitness tips

In Family Circle magazine, I read about a walk/run regiment touted by Jackie Warner, trainer to the rich-and-famous. She says this workout, which she recommends to all her clients, should be done at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes at a time, and she claims you will drop weight even if you don't change your eating habits.

The Family Circle blurb had more details, but I think it got prematurely put in the recycle bin. However, I went to Jackie's site and found this:

Jackie Warner's walk/run interval workout:

Raise ramp to maximum uphill and slow walk (almost a lunge) for 2 minutes.

Lower the ramp and run for 2 minutes.

Walk for 1 minute to catch your breath

Repeat 3 more times (equals a 20 minute session).

I tried this at the gym on Saturday, and it kicked my butt! I am not a runner, but the running was much easier than walking on the treadmill at the maximum uphill. And doing the intervals makes the time go so fast - 20 minutes was up before I knew it. I am going to keep doing this, along with my weight loss yoga DVD, and hopefully I'll see some results.

Check out Jackie's page - she listed a bunch more fitness tips here.

Weigh In #8: Who are we kidding?

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Current weight: 154.7 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (2.7)
Total pounds lost: (2.7)
Pounds left to lose: 24.7
Workouts: 3

Mr.
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 240 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (2) pounds
Total pounds lost: 5
Pounds left to lose: 60
Workouts: 0

(Mrs.) Well, I gained big time this week. I feel awful about it. My eating habits stink right now, and it seems so difficult to stop it. I did work out a few times - doing the weight loss yoga video and hitting both gyms I belong to - at work and at home. Working out felt great. I tried to stop drinking fountain coke at work by bringing big bottles of flavored seltzer. (That also worked out OK).

But, the kids got report cards on Friday, and they both did REALLY well, so we went out for ice cream, and Mr. and I partook as well. I had a huge chocolate shake, and french fries (to dip in the shake, of course!) Then, the Superbowl. I made spareribs in the Crock-Pot, and had lots of other munchies as well. Mr. took a look at my grocery list yesterday and said it was all crap. He was right.

Really, what are we thinking? Do we think that the pounds will just melt off as we sit on the couch watching football eating cheese popcorn and Oreos? Memorial Day is only 112 days away. We need to be bathing suit ready by then!

On a positive note, I did make small steps with the exercise and less fountain Coke drinking. I'm thinking I might try to make a couple of small changes each week instead of trying to drastically diet. I'm hoping that when all these small changes are added up, it will mean RESULTS.

Today I'm trying a Zumba class at work with a friend. I've never done Zumba before. I believe it is a kind of Latin dance type of exercise class. I'm sure it will look very humorous to see me try to salsa or something - a dancer I'm not. But it looks like fun and I've been wanting to try it for a while, so we'll see how that goes.

So this week, my small steps are: continuing my small steps from last week, trying the exercise classes at work (I've never done that before, I've always just used the treadmill) and just getting eggs in the morning, no breakfast meat.

Have a great week!