Are You Asking For a Challenge?!

Have you noticed the cruddy job market? I have. With a Master's in Public Health but no real experience outside of the classroom and my internship, it's even more difficult. Companies expect me to want to get paid for my education, which while nice is not what I expect. I realize that I have limited experience and only require an entry-level position and room to grow.

Now you're stopping me, "Hark, what's the deal? We're on a blog about being fat and how we don't want to be that anymore!"

To that I say: My career goals involve telling people to not be fat. If I can't practice what I preach, what does that say about myself and my ability to understand healthy lifestyles?

Also, another interesting career prospect, The United States Public Health Corps has a height/weight requirement. I imagine for similar reasons as outlined above. At my height, a person needs to weigh about 180 pounds. Considering I'm 246 (about I haven't weighed myself in a while, but I seem slimmer than when I weighed myself last), this can easily be achieved by the end of the year because of math.

52 weeks in a year X 1.5lbs a week = 78lbs lost

Considering my new classes of Weight Training, Walking for Weight Loss, and Fundamentals of Nutrition, I might even be able to get it done even more quickly. I've never put down a set goal for my weight, and I feel that this may help me achieve said goal more easily. I've never really held myself accountable for my health. Here's a set goal and timeline, and I'll give myself some sort of reward at the end. Every time I lose a pound, two dollars will go into a savings account. Barring financial crisis, this will be untouched until I hit my target.

So here's a challenge to my fellow Fatnicians: Determine a target weight for the next some amount of time. It can be six months, a year, or even at the end of your current diet. Put it down, make yourself accountable, plan a reward.

Carb Nite Solution: Carb Nite

I'm at the tail-end of my first "Carb Nite."  When someone first starts the CNS (Carb Nite Solution), they go for almost 10 whole days of eating under 30 grams of carbohydrates a day.  At the end of the 10th day, Kiefer tells them to go all-out on carbs.

It's really weird that he has been able to tell me exactly how I would feel each step of the way on the diet.  And, as he foretold, I feel stuffed even though I didn't eat more tonight than I used to on a regular night.  Also, I have this warm and fuzzy feeling all over my body, like I've crawled into a fleece-lined sleeping bag for a nice nap.  The only difference is that I've been feeling this way while I'm awake!  Right now, it's a love/hate feeling.  I love the warm and fuzzy feeling, but I hate the overstuffed feeling that I have as well.

As for the previous 9 full days on CNS, it started out pretty roughly.  I barely got in under 30 grams of carbs the first day, the second day I barely ate any carbs because of not knowing what was safe, and the third day was fine because I was eating some carbs but not too many, but I had some pretty severe hunger pains while my body tried to persuade me into eating more carb-rich foods.  Days four through seven left me with a cloudy mind, but I was still able to function pretty normally.  After that, I settled into the diet and felt comfortable with what I was eating.  

Now, I'm simply curious to see what tomorrow is going to feel like!

Review of The Carb Nite Solution

I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical about this program when I was told about it.  I'm an active member of a message forum that has a thread dedicated to fitness and nutrition, and I usually follow the advice of one of the gurus on this forum.  His name is Cormac, and you've heard me mention him before.  He is practically a genius when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, and he practices what he preaches.  

So when Cormac started talking up The Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer, after only talking about the greatness that is Mark Sisson, I was hesitant to listen.  I had it locked in my mind that carbohydrates were pretty bad, and it was best to keep them under 100 grams a day, but the overall nutrition in my diet was the thing I needed to focus on.  

Kiefer's solution, however, is to focus almost solely on the carbohydrates and to keep them under 30 grams a day.  This is mostly acceptable to somebody so deep in the paleo-dieting world, until you find out that he also wants you to pig out (literally) one night a week.  For one night, every single week, you load as many carbs into your system as possible.  Cormac said that there was a lot of science behind it as to why it worked, but I had trouble believing him.  That was until he started talking about his overweight friend that was on it, and how much weight he had been losing with it.  He actually said, "It's funny to see the weight almost melting right off of him."

I decided to check it out for myself.  I went to the website, and started reading every little piece of information I could about it to see what Kiefer had to say for himself.  Naturally, the information on the website doesn't give away too much as to how it works or why it works, because Kiefer is selling his book that details the diet.  I took the plunge and bought it anyway, going in with an open mind ready to see what the guy had to say for himself.

What I liked about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist.  This means that every single part of the book is explained with science as to why it works.
• There are so many references and citations to back up what he's saying that it is hard to refute it.
• The idea behind the plan in the book is simple, and following the diet he lays out is not a hard one.
• He explains and forewarns of EVERY thing that will happen to your body when you go on this diet.  The good, along with the bad, are laid out on the table.
• He explains that this plan is not a lifestyle-diet, like The Primal Blueprint, Weight Watchers, Atkins, or any of the others, but it is a power-diet.  This diet is meant for fat-loss, not weight-loss, and is only intended for up to 6 months of use at a time.
• The last part of the book has a layout of meal plans, recommended foods, and other things that will help you succeed on this diet.  It is all very detailed.

What I didn't like about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist (yes, I did list that twice).  This means that there are a LOT of details and science facts in this book to explain why it works.  I'm taking college level biology classes right now and some of it was still over my head.  I considered it to be a necessary evil.
• I don't agree with some of the recommendations on the plan.  One major disagreement that I had was pertaining to exercise.  He doesn't actually recommend it, but says that it can be helpful.  He states that under any circumstance, no cardio should be performed while on this diet.  
• It almost sounds too good to be true.

Overall, I was impressed with the book and the diet detailed out in it.  I think the website looks a little shady, and that it might scare off some potential customers/clients.  I ended up paying $19.99 USD for an electronic version of the book that was instantly available to me, and I think it was worth it.

At the time of this writing, I am on day seven of the diet.  The first couple of days were harder than these last few, but the book has prepared me for all of that.  I can't say for sure whether or not this will actually work as I have spent so little time on it so far.  However, I am fairly confident that this will be effective for me.

After only seven days in to the diet, I am already noticing changes in my body.  That's crazy to me.

You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Step 3: Get in some Exercise

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to give out some details for what I'm doing to kick the weight I put on from the holidays.  It's all going to be simple stuff that should get me (and you, if you do the same) back on track!

Step 3: Get in some Exercise

We're all nearly a week into our New Year's Resolutions.  I say all of us, because I don't know of many people who don't make the resolution each year to lose weight or get in shape.  Hopefully by this point the short detox period and the changes in your diet are making you feel better and you're possibly already losing weight!

The third step in the weight-loss plan involves getting physically active.  I still stick with the Mark Sisson, Primal Blueprint idea of hanging on to the basics:

•  Try to spend at least 20 minutes a day doing low-level cardiovascular exercise.  This means just going for a walk, housework, or anything that gets you moving.  You don't have to break a sweat, but make sure it isn't anything too low that it doesn't even count.  The idea here is to get moving.
• Do some strength training 2-3 times a week.  If time is a factor for you, stick to the basic muscle groups of the chest, back, and legs.  All of the other stuff will naturally follow.  You don't have to have a gym membership either, as push-ups, pull-ups, planks, and squats can all be performed in the comfort of your living room.
• Once a week, have an all out cardio session that last for no more than 10 minutes.  You want to be at 50-75% of your maximum heart rate.

You would be surprised how easily these tasks can be accomplished.  Go for a short walk every day, or park at the back of the parking lot when you go to a store.  Do some yoga, stretching, or tai-chi in your living room.  If you really want to, go to the gym and sweat it out there.  The important thing is not where you do it, but that you do it at all.

Quick Update from Andy

I'm using this as a final excuse to delay going to the gym, so while you are enjoying reading this, also put some shame on me for not being where I need to be.

I just finished reading a new book called the Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer.  After a couple of months of talking it up by a friend and how awesome it was, I decided to look into it and see what the idea and concepts of it are.  I'll write a review about it later, but I just want to throw out there that I think the author is really on to something here and I'm going to give it a shot.

The past few months, like most of you know, have been a struggle for me with diet and exercise.  I fluctuate from taking excellent care of myself to not taking care of myself at all.  I like myself better when I take care of me, but it's really easy to just not.

I've got two things keeping me motivated to get things done.  The first is that I'll be running in the Tough Mudder again this year, providing I don't have to drive more than 6 hours to get to it.  The second thing is that I'm finally putting myself back out there with women.  It's been just Madix and I for the last year and a half, and frankly, I need someone to talk to and someone to care about me in an affectionate kind of way.  Yeah, I know how it sounds, but since I'm delaying the inevitable, I might as well be brutally honest.

That's all I have for today.  Thanks for sticking with me.

-Andy

Step 2: Change the Diet

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to give out some details for what I'm doing to kick the weight I put on from the holidays.  It's all going to be simple stuff that should get me (and you, if you do the same) back on track!

Step 2: Change the Diet

It's New Year's Day.  Drink some coffee and clear up that hangover, if you've got one.  For me personally, I didn't do any partying last night.  Instead, I put my son to bed at 9:00 p.m. and started watching episodes of the Classic Doctor Who series on Netflix (and I have decided that Tom Baker is now one of my most favorite Doctors).  I didn't even know that I was in a new year until a friend sent me a text message 15 minutes after midnight!

The next step in the weight-loss plan will be changing up what constitutes as "normal" in our everyday diets.  Getting rid of the bread and sugary sweets will be a must.  Meats and veggies from here on out.  

Most people think that the beginning of a new year means wiping the dust off last year's resolution and reclaiming it as something new.  This also means our local gyms will be flooded and healthy foods will start to fly off the shelves at the supermarket.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you really needed that asparagus for your dinner tonight or had planned on using the treadmill today.  What I'm suggesting though, is not to drive directly to the gym, but to get our affairs in order at home first.  What good is it going to do if we work out for an hour and then go home and eat a whole pizza?