I’ve been rather candid about our desire/attempts to eat healthy. I wouldn’t say anything has changed with respect to our desire, but something big has changed with respect to our motivation. Money is now on the line. A lot of it. Buckle up.
What lit the fire on our laziness? Remember that health ministry I was talking about?! Yeah… them.
When we applied to the not-insurance program, we were accepted with 1 caveat. Scott and I are both overweight according to their guidelines. We both have to pay an extra $80/month and see a nutritionist. If we aren’t where we need to be in a year (or absolutely making progress), the ministry reserves the right to cancel our policy.
So we have to pay an extra $160 a month because Scott and I are fat? Attention is now set to Laser.
I have so many reactions to that. The first is… what fun things could $160/month buy me?! A LOT! A lot of things could be bought for $160 – like Starbucks and clothes and days at museums. That’s big bucks in our world these days.
I’m also mortified. How did Scott and I end up at fat camp? We’ve always been “athletic”. I was a recruited college athlete (granted… it was shot put and hammer throw…. we aren’t known for being a petite bunch) and Scott, well you don’t get to where he was by being anything but super fit.
I know how it happened. His body was used to military-level activity and didn’t adjust to the years of inactivity and big meals. Me? I come by it honestly. The side of the family I look most like…. I call it like I see it… they’re not an attractive bunch. (Before I catch double flack for pointing out the obvious, it’s my dad’s side.) We may have ox-strong old Scandinavian blood but we absolutely missed out on the “pretty Viking” genes (ditto for good strong teeth genes). In addition to ugly, no one carries the extra weight well. (I was up front with Scott about this before we married. He knew. My personality is just that incredible.)
As we waited to be contacted by our new nutritionist (which will happen after the policy starts on 01 September), it should shock exactly no one that we’ve taken matters into our own hands.
Scott ‘invented’ a new eating lifestyle.
I was wholly skeptical. But after a couple of weeks, it seemed to be working. I started researching. It turns out, he ‘invented’ a technique that’s been around for… awhile. The Spartans did it… so that’s what? 2000+ years old? Good for you, Babe. Nice work.
Like so many of our choices, it’s controversial. I really don’t mean to march to the beat of my own drummer, it just sort of happens.
It’s called the Warrior diet. I’ve been doing it a little over 3 weeks. Scott’s been doing it 5 weeks. He’s down 15 pounds (about a steady 3 pounds per week) and I’m down 10 pounds. I’ll say this, it’s certainly super easy to follow. We don’t go through blood sugar spikes throughout the day and we’re not hangry (something that usually affects Scott on the regular). I think we found a system that works for us for now.
There is a catch.
It’s a fasting/feasting plan. You fast for 20 hours a day and have a 4-hour eating window. The window should open in the evening. You want to eat and generally be heading to bed within a few hours. As I understand it, the bulk of digestion should happen while you’re asleep (taking advantage of the body’s natural tendency to want to relax after eating – hence food coma).
We get our full caloric intake during the window. For me, that’s about 1500 calories a day give or take (although I don’t count them every night). I eat until I’m full. Then I don’t eat again until the next day.
The very first thing you’re inclined to say is, “But breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Am I right?! Ok, here’s the thing. I’m not convinced that our “experts” have actually nailed that down as much as they claim. It seems to me there remain a lot of outstanding questions about what is “best” or even “good” or even “cancer causing”. I love science. I don’t love incomplete science paraded around as fact. Are eggs/whole wheat/night shades good for you or not, damn it?!
I’ve also been walking or running about 4 miles a day as well. Yesterday was 7. Today was 3. I love that I know I’m burning fat on those trips because I haven’t eaten in the last 16 hours. That motivates me to push myself. Scott works out every weekday morning at 5 am.
Surely some people are going to be inclined to educate me. That’s fine. I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to defend myself. I’m willing to listen with an open mind as long as it’s an interesting conversation. For now, I really like this. So does Scott. It’s working and we feel good. Here’s to not having to pay an extra $160/month by April 2018. That’s my goal.
We made a replica of the little house we had in Bogota:
Making our patch materpiece:
Poor Grandpa Mike:
Making a marble run:
With a big assist from big brother:
The kids got to go to a fly-in with their cousin Leo. This was cause for 2 days of celebrating leading up to the big event. They also turned themselves into fighter jets. Fun.
