We had free pizza at work and you all know my soft spot for free food.
The good part is that I felt like crap the rest of the day so I will probably be more likely to resist next time, the bad part is that my indulgence kicked me out of fat burning and restarted the 3-day counter to get back into fat burning.
Food log:
6 am: Oatmeal (M)
9 am: Premixed Vanilla Shake (M)
11:30 am: Blueberry shake (M)
12 pm: 2 slices of pizza hut pizza (sausage, peppers, onions)
3 pm: Chocolate pudding (M)
6 pm: Parmesan Cheese Puffs (M)
9 pm: Chicken and wild rice soup (M)
As you can see, I tried to anticipate my temptation and pre-load with some proteins a half hour before the pizza. It kind of worked as I used to eat four pieces and today only had two.
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Ole and Drew, when is a good time to call you? I will set up a three way call with each of you and with my mom so that she can explain the program and I can learn from her. I think if you both did it as a competition of sorts, that you would be increasing your likelihood of success.
For those of you who do not need to be on the program as clients, the health coach opportunity is really a great opportunity to earn some extra cash. As an example, my mom has been at it for a few years now and is earning an extra 6k a month and growing. If anyone is interested in this side of the business, I can also set up a three way call. Just let me know.
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Outie until tomorrow,
TheJ
16 comments:
I'm definitely interested, and I think a healthy competition between Drew and I is a good idea. I should be around this weekend for the most part, so call me then.
My biggest question at this point is the cost to start and maintain this program.
Sounds good, will give you a ring.
It works out to about $10/day. Less initially as they have some good promotions going on right now. Not bad if you consider that this is almost all you need to spend on food (plus your lean and green).
Am I the only one that finds this a bit strange? No offense, Jae, but you gain 5 pounds and suddenly you're pitching this stuff like Billy Mays. What qualifies you or any of us to be a health coach (other than my sister)? You can buy this stuff online, what's the benefit of buying it from a salesman (health coach)?
Ahh, some good old fashioned optimism from Eric. Usually that would be my forte! I definitely hear you though. Some people however just need someone to talk about their food and get them to pay more attention to what they are eating. I don't buy into the whole fat burning phase stuff necessarily but if it gets people to stop stuffing their faces, sounds good to me. There should definitely be a rule that free food is allowed though.
Just so you guys don't think I'm just diving into a program without knowing anything, here are some facts for you...
1. This is a Medifast program, which has been around for about as long as we have.
2. This is a version of a "keto" diet. Basically you force your body to use fat as energy instead of carbs. That is why the first 2-3 days are the hardest, because you are in the transition phase. Once your body enters "ketosis" (and you will know it, ie. testing with strips, distict smell to urine), your body will now use fat as energy because carb levels are too low. Muscle mass is spared due to high protein intake.
I did a quick 2 week version of a keto diet last year and lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks. Plus, my strength actually increased, showing muscle loss was minimized.
My biggest thing is convenience, which is why I like this. All I have to do is eat the food...the rest takes care of it self.
I looked at all of this and I just do not think that I could actually do a diet like this. My job involves too many dinners out and nights of drinking. I just think that I would keep having to start over. I just need to eat less and exercise.
Yeah I was feeling a little gross a few months back and I just switched from eating potato chips to eating pretzels and that made a big difference. I don't know if I lost any weight but I felt a lot better. Snacking is the killer. I like hearing about people's progress and I would love to see everyone looking svelte for Alex's wedding.
Few things to note regarding your "facts" Bryan:
1. Ketosis is by no means a desirable state for the body, and is in fact quite dangerous. Your brain needs glucose to function; denying it for too long can cause serious health problems.
2. Your body will burn whatever is readily available, so while it will turn to fats first because they are broken down more quickly, muscle will take a hit unless you eat enough fat to counter your energy requirements (which is not healthy either - only 20-35% of your total caloric intake should come from fats, and less than 10% should come from saturated fat).
3. Last I heard you exercise regularly. It is absolutely insane to exercise without glycogen stores and/or not replenish them afterwards. The only possible way this makes sense is if you were literally obese and a couch potato.
Furthermore, weight loss is based on calories out v. calories in, and nothing more. In a given day, 45-65% of calories should come from carbs, 20-35% from fat, and 0.8g of protein per lb. of body weight (more if you exercise, up to 1.8g). Protein and carbs contain 4 cal per gram, and fat contributes 9 cal/g. Of course you should opt for whole grains and lean protein and "good" fats, but the percentages remain. A healthy weight loss goal for someone who isn't morbidly obese is 1-2 lbs. per week, which is the equivalent of a 500-1000 reduction in calories per day (via more expenditure or less consumption, or both).
Let me explain the keto diet I was on a little more so people don't think I'm a nut.
1. I was doing a cyclical keto diet. It was basically 5.5 days on and 1.5 days off. Starting on Sunday, carb free all week. By the time Friday rolls around, you should have had a good 3 days in ketosis, but your glycogen stores are gone. The last 1/2 of Friday and all Saturday...game on with the carbs. The theory is that your body will now use these carbs to restore glycogen stores, and glycogen stores only, instead of storing them as fat like when your body gets a constant supply of carbs.
Exercise performance will go down the toilet if your glycogen stores are depleted, and you will risk losing muscle (or at the very least be unable to gain any). And any excess calories ultimately lead to weight gain, doesn't matter where they come from.
Even aside from the ketosis, Medifast programs are seriouly restrictive (typically 800-1200 calories per day), which is about enough to make your metabolism go into hibernation. They can be appropriate for people with a real substantial amount of weight to lose, but are otherwise unsafe and will likely lead to weight gain later due to the slowing metabolism.
You guys are young and healthy... you'd be better off just making smarter choices and practicing portion control. Especially if you exercise - you'd do more harm than good by restricing any macronutrient.
Lots of comments today, I'm glad. Eric, you're probably not the only one. Just the only one that said it. My qualifications for "pitching this stuff" are relatively few. However, that does not reduce the effectiveness of the program. The results speak for themselves. Moreover, most people already know what they are supposed to do to be healthy, they just don't do it. The role of the health coach is more of a coach and less of a doctor. If you have the ability to help people and believe in the program, you are qualified. This program works well into peoples lifestyles and helps them to get healthy and stay healthy. As Adam said, most people cannot do it on their own. That's why our country is as fat as it is.
Amanda was actually the first person that came to mind when I was thinking of who would make a good health coach. Not only does she have the great background in health and fitness, but she has the desire to help people at the same time.
Amanda, here are the percentages for the dutch chocolate shake: Fat 8.6%, Carbs 49%, Protein 42%. Not far off from your prescribed optimum. Also, when you say that Medifast is only for people with serious amounts of weight to lose, how much are you talking? Keep in mind that over 30% of the country is obese.
Can't believe I missed this opportunity.
I think Eric might find it interesting that salesmen and saleswomen do not make good health coaches. One of the top coaches for TSFL owned his own construction business. He lost about 35-40 pounds on the program and people noticed and kept asking him how he lost the weight, so he started coaching. Many people are praying for something that will work because they have tried everything. This stuff, as you call it, is endorsed by John Hopkins Univ and is simply healthy fast food. It can be purchased on line (same price as through TSFL) but Medifast (parent corporation) found out that people who have the support of a personal coach to mentor them onto the program and into transition and who will teach them habits of health to make this a lifestyle change are much more successful. They now offer everyone who orders online a FREE coach and then assign one of the TSFL coaches to support them. Interestingly, they spend millions on advertising Medifast. Since they do not have to advertise TSFL because health coaches do word of mouth marketing, they take those millions and pay the coaches. The client never pays an extra penny for this support.
By the way, that construction guy has been a coach 7 years and earns over $100,000.00 / month.
The wellness industry is a $130 billion dollar industry. Not surprisingly, the fast food industry is also $130 billion dollar industry. Jae and Jenny have always been health conscious and Jae has seen my struggles for years with maintaining a healthy weight. They also are willing to study and let me teach them how to be good coaches. I couldn't be happier that they are joining our team to Get America Healthy!
Yesterday I ate a bacon egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast followed it up with a cheeseburger and french fies for lunch topped it off with pizza for dinner.
Today I am going to run and eat a heathly lunch to make up for it.
Making money sounds like a good thing though, I just do not think I can eat such a strict food plan.
I was proud of you, Nick. Until, you said you were going to run.
You should be smarter than that.
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