30 Lbs In 3 Weeks

Is it doable?

I'm going on vacation to Park City, UT in 2 weeks. Last Sunday, I began a serious effort to drop some extra weight. I decided 30 lbs in 3 weeks. A lofty goal to be sure but a rallying cry that rolls off the tongue.

Most of this came to a head when I had to get my passport renewed a couple of weeks ago. Man, when I compared my photos of today from the photos of yesteryear, I was shocked. Shocked, I tell ya!

To be sure, I'm not overweight. In fact, when I tell people I'm going on any sort of diet they tell me I'm crazy. That I look healthy. When I say I'm looking at dropping 30 lbs., you'd think I just landed from Mars.

I did this 2 years ago before a trip back to CA. Truth be told, I wanted to look awesome so my friends would tell my ex how great I looked. My gay friends said I never looked better, my straight friends said I looked gaunt. Since it's more important to appeal to one population over the other, I'll accept gaunt vs. healthy!

The goal is not as absurd as I originally thought. In the past week, I've lost 8 lbs. From my all-time high of 184 down to 176 this morning. I was 155 in the "before" passport photo and the last time I was in CA. My friends in Utah still remember me when I was at 129 lbs. and was struggling to gain by working out, eating like a pig, and drinking high-calorie protein shakes.

Before you get up in my grill about how my method is unhealthy, I'm just going to point out that the crap I've been eating (and I'd bargain that you are eating) isn't very healthy either.

How did I do it, you ask?

• I'm starving. I'm not really hungry, but I'm starving my body on a VERY low calorie diet. This isn't sustainable, but I'm in weight loss mode now, and I'll add things back in later on.
• A cup of coffee with Splenda and half-and-half first thing in the morning.
• If I'm hungry, half of a banana.
• First meal of the day is centered around eggs (about noon). Usually two soft boiled with most of the yolks drained after cooking so I get the taste without the fat. Sometimes it is one scrambled egg with yolk and some low fat shredded cheese and chopped onions added in. I put it on a slice of 12 grain toast that I've sprayed with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." I realized that the reason I used so much butter before was because I don't like the dryness of toast so this works without compromising texture or taste.
• Next "meal" is a bag of microwave popcorn (about 2:30). I bought the kind with nothing added, and then I melt two pats worth of real butter to drizzle over it. I'm not big on the fake butter so this is a good compromise. Shake the bag to distribute the butter.
• Next meal is centered around a large tomato (about 5). I like to mix a can of albacore tuna with some mayo (full calorie Hellmann's, thank you very much) and eat half of the mixture with half the tomato sliced in wedges. The rest of the tomato is sliced into wedges and added to a lot of iceberg lettuce for a tossed salad. Add tasty dressing a little at a time. The secret here is to do the tossing! Use a coverable bowl, like tupperware, and put the top on and shake vigorously. If it still isn't to taste, add a bit more dressing. The key is not adding more than you need.
• The next "meal" (about 6:30) is usually a treat, like a single-stick popsicle if it is hot out.
• The next meal (about 8) is centered around lunch meat. Just the meat with a little bit of mayo (if it is low fat turkey) or mustard (with ham). The highlight of the meal? A big calorie-free dill pickle!
• I have eliminated sweets like cookies and doughnuts, replacing them with canned pineapple chunks in juice and mandarin oranges in juice.
• I have eliminated soda (regular and diet) and only drink water. BTW, be wary of juice which is high in calories from natural sugars.
• I'm back to walking 30 minutes a day as well so I'm getting some aerobic exercise.
• I'm taking 1000 mg Vitamin C, 1000 mg Omega 3 Fish Oil, and 150 mg Green Tea Extract capsules because someone told me these give a kick start to your metabolism.

This is what I have done and it is working. I offer this for your consideration, not really your critique.

I have a woman I've known for 2 years who has been on a diet as long as I've know her. How much weight has she lost? Zilch. The conclusion that I've reached, but she hasn't, is that her method either doesn't work or isn't sustainable.

Some of her suggestions:
• "You need to eat more." Huh? It's called a diet which means eating less.
• "You need to eat 4 servings of veggies, 3 of fruit, and 3 of protein." Um, that's more than I eat when I'm not dieting!
• "You need to drink 64 oz of water a day." Well, if three urologists and 20 kidney stones haven't encouraged me to do this, I don't think a diet will. The truth is, I've also seen studies that say this is way too much water to drink. I did switch to water from soda.

I'll keep you posted on how well I do.
*