Slimming down

Happy New Year!

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to exciting things in 2012.  We are officially under the 4-month mark until the wedding, and my progress towards buff-bridedom isn't going as quickly as I'd hoped.  In an effort to curb my poor eating habits and jump-start weight loss, I'm going to do a 7-day diet plan.  I looked around and found a couple that seemed interesting.

One was the 7-day Slim Down plan from the girls at Tone It Up.  It gets a lot of praise online, but from what I can tell, it's not for me.  It's fundamentally a no-carb diet (with the exception of a lot of fruit) in small meals scattered through the day.  Some blogs I came across have complaints that users felt really tired and constantly hungry while doing this diet.  Well of course they did - they're eating fruit without a healthy fat and/or protein to accompany!  Fruit is good for you, sure, but it can spike your blood sugar, making you feel hungry.  For people trying to shed pounds and limit caloric intake, this is incredibly difficult.  Also, it's my opinion that low-carb is not maintainable (by me) and I cannot continue to train without giving my body sufficient fuel.  Plus, (and I hate to nit-pick but it's just rampant) their blog is riddled with grammatical errors.  They list three very different recipes for their "protein pancakes" and don't seem to offer much in the way of educating their clients.  I'm not sure what a "certified nutritional coach" is, but my certified nutritionist/dietician (PhD) makes different arguments than the ones these two girls make.  So, I'm going to pass.  (Also, $150?  Seriously?)

So, I'm looking more for a set menu of items that are different than I normally resort to, and something that appears to be sustainable and enjoyable.  I settled on this one.  It's designed to help you lose 15 pounds in 6 weeks, but I anticipate seeing results within the seven days.  Even if it's only 2 pounds, it's movement.  Because I work out with a trainer (strength training) and get regular exercise (dancing, running), I must keep my body fueled with the right types of food.  I've read through the meal plan and I like its diversity and accessibility.  It's a reasonable plan, so I look forward to giving it a shot and sticking with it.  Of course, it's going to require a lot of preparation and commitment, but I need to buckle down and do it.  No excuses.

Here goes nothing.  Wish me luck!