I’ve decided to call these oversharing chronicles “It’s all about the science” because that is truly the essence of my trainer Ian’s approach. This is not about willpower, deprivation, or hard-core gym-rat behavior. This is simply about zeroing in on the absolute most efficient way to get results (in my case, reducing my body fat from its current 29% to a healthier 22% – I’ve gained 15 pounds in the last year as a result of the demon menopause – and this happens to so many women!! Hence my oversharing.)
Ian corroborates many of the views of Tim Ferriss, fellow Princetonian and proponent of “The 4-Hour Workweek,” “The 4-Hour Body” and general life-hacker strategies to save time and maximize outcome. Specifically what we’re implementing right now is the concept of very low-carb, low-sugar diet 6 days a week, and then a once-a-week “re-feed” to reset metabolism. I’ve done the South Beach diet before, which includes the low-carb and low-sugar aspect but not the re-feeding – and the big difference here is the weekly system reset. I’m now on day 5 of the 6, and just as with South Beach I’m starting to feel like I have a LOT more energy without the added sugar.
I haven’t done anything smart like stock the kitchen with the right foods – so my current behavior looks like this:
- get really hungry
- get my husband to make coffee while I run to Panera and get breakfast “power sandwiches” with egg, spinach, avocado, cheddar and tomato
- remove the bread on mine, even though it is warm and tantalizing and smells incredibly good
- have coffee + half & half, and the insides of the sandwich
- feel very virtuous and surprisingly full.
Repeat similar behavior a few hours later, and occasionally have some carrots with almond butter, chicken with greens (oh! there’s frozen chicken in the freezer, excellent), cheese, nuts, yogurt, or a smoothie. More on that later…I don’t truly have my dietary act together yet, but I can feel that the huge reduction in sugar intake is definitely improving my energy level: this morning I ran all the way to the top of the giant hill in our neighborhood for the first time without stopping.
2 Responses to It’s all about the science (oversharing #2): I ran to the top without stopping.