Kick-starting things

Often when you look at diets marketed out there there’s a giant promise of things like losing a dress/pant size is a week; or 10 pounds in a couple of weeks etc. While there is a lot of gimmick and exaggeration to it, there may be some truth as well.

The claim bases itself essentially on ‘kick-starting’ things. Call it fat flush, call it fat burn call it magic… what it is, is a defined period of time to reset your body from its current habits to a dramatically different set of choices.

I’ve heard it said that it takes the body only 72 hours to break out of any habit. Well it takes the mind a lot longer, buddy! What happens therefore in 'normal people speak' is that when you do a dramatic turn around, your body and your mind are probably confused and everything starts working again as it’s supposed to, to keep up with the changes. Further, most of us do consume an inordinate amount of carbohydrates, especially vegetarians, and these kick-start weeks offer a way out of it so you quite possibly see dramatic results and feel motivated to continue.

Be aware though, a lot of it is loss of water. And once that’s gone, the real stuff starts to go. And while it might not be as fast as the initial loss, every gram of fat you lose counts. The next time you doubt it, go take a pound of butter and look at it. THAT is what has just come off your body… Woo hoo!

So here is what I followed on my ‘fat flush’ stage, which lasted about 3 weeks:

•  No grains at all
• Low GI (glycemic index) carbohydrates (Think beans and berries and vegetables as well as not terribly sweet fruit as your main carbs – so ditch bananas and mangoes and too many grapes for a bit. Think melons, peaches, nectarines and cherries. And go out and buy a fruit or vegetable for each day that you’ve never eaten before.)
• Really focus on upping your protein. Include some at every meal.
• Drink as much green tea as you can stand. For those who, like me, don’t like green tea, start with jasmine tea and make one bag in a pot that holds about 3-4 cups. Chill this in the fridge and drink glasses of the watery green tea when you’re thirsty.
• Drink double the amount of water you normally drink (the green tea counts)
• Use this time to ditch the bad habits – cut out sugar (I’m not a huge advocate of artificial sweeteners though they are in some of the products I consume – like the protein shakes. I therefore prefer to totally lay off them. But if you totally can’t then it’s your call. I’d say its better to stick to your crutch and do better overall than get hung up on too many details.)
• Ditch the alcohol

My typical day went like this:

Breakfast: Protein shake with fruit and milk/Cottage cheese with fruit and seeds sprinkled (try to rack up at least 20 grams of protein here). If you eat eggs you’re in luck… do a few whites and a whole egg. Throw in cheese and veg and eat a fruit.

Morning snack: Nuts/Cheese/Roasted beans or soy/Cottage cheese

Lunch: Salad with cheese/Tofu or Paneer steak with veg/A casserole or curry made with beans and veg/Soup fortified with cream cheese or milk or silken tofu

Mid afternoon snack: Edamame (love the stuff so I used it to stave off cravings. My advice: find something you like and eat it over and over at this point of the day. Its usually when energy dips and your will power is at its weakest)

Dinner: Same as lunch (I’d usually cook dinner and eat it for lunch the next day).

I did this for almost 4 weeks and most of my loss came in at this point. I started feeling better too and by the time I was done with it, the idea of even eating a half a slice of bread felt like such a treat that sticking to a decent regime is a breeze.

So good luck if you’re getting started.

Think happy, thin thoughts! Kiss kiss.