Early last year I lost 20lbs and had implemented my NEW "healthy lifestyle". I finally figured out what worked best for MY body. I knew what I needed to eat, how often I needed to workout and what combination of workouts worked best in order for me to maintain. THEN winter happened! Not only did I start eating poorly I worked out maybe once per week and well of course....the return of the 20lbs! I swore when I lost it in 2012 that would be the LAST time and promised myself if I noticed a scale increase of 5lbs I would shut it down....but here I am 20lbs up AGAIN! The start of 2013 was NO BUENO! I have tried so many times to get back my mojo but I just couldn't find it. I searched. Hellllloooo MOJO...where are you??!!?? It took a while but I FINALLY found my MOJO! and right in time for the summer! Another one of my main motivators is my Mom. Lately I've been using her as the model for my Stella & Dot business and friends have asked how she stays looking so FABULOUS because well Mom does have it going on! Her response is always..."I live a healthy lifestyle". Mom enjoys a cheat here are there but most of the time she focuses on a healthy diet and she sees her trainer 2x per week and does cardio 2x per week. Staying slim does NOT just come naturally for her...MOM WORKS! With an example like THAT how can I continue to let myself go??!!??
So HERE IS THE PLAN....and I am sharing because YOU are now my accountability partners in this! No turning back now that I have blogged about it. YIKES!!!
I started working out with a personal trainer for 2 sessions per week. He recommended I try Dr. Ian Smith's SHRED Diet because he had several clients who have done well on it. Needless to say I bought the book immediately and started on Monday 5/13. The SHRED Diet promises I will lose 4 inches and 2 sizes in 6 weeks! THAT will have me in a good place for the 4th of July. In addition to the trainer I am doing cardio and yoga on the other days for Operation No Mo Muffin!
I will check back with an update after Week 1.
Here is some info on the SHRED and what will be my next 6 weeks obsession!
SHRED explained
SHRED consists of six
easy-to-follow cycles that take the body through different routines from week
to week. Both meals and exercise suggestions are provided for each cycle.
1.
Prime: This beginning cycle prepares you for the
rest of the plan, focusing on meal spacing, proper snacking techniques and
suppressing hunger without consuming too many calories.
2.
Challenge: This part of the plan is all about boosting
your confidence and showing dieters that despite past failures or plans that
didn't work, they actually have what it takes to succeed.
3.
Transformation: This is the toughest week, but also where
most shredders start truly noticing a difference, many dropping a clothing
size.
4.
Ascend: This week you'll be combining knowledge and
skills learned in the first three weeks to keep you motivated and moving
forward.
5.
Cleanse: The focus of this stage is to enhance your
liver’s ability to detoxify your blood.
6.
Explode: This cycle is meant to take you into your
new life with the knowledge and skills you’ve developed. The variety in the
types and quantity of food and beverages keeps you moving along from one day to
the next.
Many people will need to do more than one
cycle of SHRED to achieve their goals, but Smith assures us that this is
completely expected. Once you do the cycle once, you can customize it based on
what you need. “In order to make SHRED work best for you, it’s important during
the first cycle that you keep brief notes as you go through the weeks,” he
advises. “You should be recording what you find difficult about the week, what
you find easy and ultimately how much you lose during that seven-day period.”
If you haven’t reached your goal, Smith says
you can simply start right back into another cycle doing the weeks in a
different order than you did the first cycle.
Who is it for?
SHRED can work for anyone who wants to lose
weight, no matter how much you want to lose. “It’s best suited for anyone who
needs to lose weight and is serious about doing so. Whether you’re trying to
lose 15 pounds or over 100 pounds, SHRED can work,” Smith tells us.
The program is also easy to follow, even for
those with dietary restrictions such as diabetics, vegans, vegetarians and many
others with medical conditions such as gluten allergy. “The program, while
being specific in what you eat each meal, also gives you great flexibility to
make substitutions that work for your dietary preference or medical
restrictions,” explains Smith. “SHRED is also great for families, because the
food is regular and inexpensive, and something that appeals to both children
and adults.”
What you eat while you SHRED
First of all, you eat a lot while you SHRED:
four meals (or meal replacements) and three snacks a day. But don't worry about
buying pricey supplements or hard-to-find items. What you eat on the SHRED plan
is affordable, regular food that can be purchased at any grocery store. The
plan is also portable, says Smith, meaning you can follow the SHRED diet
anywhere, whether it’s in an airport, at a ball game, in a restaurant or on
vacation. “The way the meals are constructed and the substitutions that are
allowed make it easy to stay on the plan when away from home,” he explains.
“The other aspect of the program that people love is that they don’t go hungry.
So many diets are restrictive, not just in food choices, but in quantities, but
SHRED calls for four meals and three snacks, which means you can eat all day
and there simply isn’t time to get hungry.”
Diet confusion
Varying your food
choices, which Smith calls “diet confusion,” is another important aspect of the
SHRED diet. Keeping your body guessing is thought to help increase your
metabolism and keep your body off-kilter, Smith explains. “SHRED aims to
introduce a variety of foods to your body in the hopes of decreasing your
chances of food boredom and increasing your chances of increased metabolism.”
Meal spacing
Rather than just being
concerned with what you
put in your mouth, SHRED also puts the focus on when you’re eating, which Smith says is an important
factor when it comes to weight loss. “Research has continuously shown that
spacing out your meals and snacks in a regular manner can be extremely
advantageous to weight loss,” he explains. “Many of us have extremely irregular
and unhealthy eating schedules, but SHRED can get you on a routine that will
not only help you lose weight, but prevent you from having those intense bouts
of hunger between meals.”
Getting
started with SHRED
Smith shares some tips to help those who are
just starting SHRED.
Look at your week’s
meal in advance: Planning ahead will help you avoid the panic of figuring
out what you want to eat and where you’re going to get it. Make a grocery list
for each week so that you’re organized and not distracted.
Find a support network: Find someone at
home, work, church, wherever, who wants to SHRED with you. Being accountable to
yourself and someone else can make a real difference.
Start slowly: If you’re someone who
has been quite sedentary and not doing a lot of exercise, start the physical
activity portion of the program in a gradual manner so you don't get
overwhelmed. If a particular day calls for 30 minutes of physical activity,
instead of doing it all at once, you can break it up into two 15-minute
segments.
Keep a journal of what
you eat: Though the book gives specific directions on what you
should be eating, keeping a personal journal of the food you eat and the times
you eat them can make a big difference.