My Regime, Week 1

Last week I started a new diet/exercise program based on a relatively cheap book titled "6 Weeks to a Hollywood Body" by Steve Zim. I know the title sounds a bit far-fetched, but I found out about this trainer while trying to find an inexpensive boot-camp-esque option around town to help me dive back into an exercise program.

This guy, Steve Zim, has trained baseball players, Olympic athletes, and athletic celebrities (such as my FAV Hollywood ass, Jessica Biel). His big on spot toning, which tends to be a controversial subject among trainers, and about thinking of food as fuel rather than the deliciously scrumptious morsels it really is. Obviously he'll have a hard time converting me on the second part of the program...

So here are the basics. You can do every workout without having to have access to a gym. You simply need the following tools:

• Exercise Ball (Probably the small size would be best, I have the medium and it's a bit too big for some of the more advanced moves, then again, I am only 5'2")
• Two sets of dumbells, for us ladies that's a 2lb. or 3lb. and then a 5lb.
• Ankle weights, ranging from 1lb. to 5lbs.
• An exercise mat, but a thick one, not a thin little yoga thing
• Good shoes
• A heart rate monitor (not entirely necessary, if you have the drive to push yourself, you'll probably KNOW that you're working your cardio enough)
• His book, which is about $14 on Amazon (some of the new paperback swap websites have it as well)

I spent about $100 total at Target for all of this stuff, and it's small enough it doesn't really get in the way. Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night has almost lead to death by exercise ball several times, but eventually I'll learn not to put it in the hallway before bed...

So now that we know all of the things we need, let's get to the lame stuff. The diet. Fortunately Steve sets things up in a short-term, albeit confusing manor. For the first two weeks you have to adhere to a pretty strict Zone-ish diet in order to sort of prepare yourself for the intense last four weeks of the program. Once again, the basics:

• NO simple carbs such as bread, rice, or pasta (for good measure I cut out beans too, but he doesn't clarify this which is sort of annoying)
• Stay hydrated with 8-10 glasses of water a day
• Eat at least 5 small meals everyday
• Eat within an hour of waking up, then every 2.5 to 3 hours after that, last meal should fall about 2 hours before bedtime
• Portions should include unprocessed, low-fat protein (like chicken/turkey breast, egg whites, tofu or soy products) approximately the size of your palm and a vegetable portion to accompany it (you can go kind of crazy with veggies if you want)
  
• NO high fat veggies like avocado, or high sugar veggies like carrots
• Go easy on the fruit, keep it to a cup a day
• NEVER eat less than 1000 calories a day
  

So this diet is a bit like hell, but it's only for two weeks. The goal here is to trick your ever-clever body into realizing that it can have food whenever it wants, and therefore storing fat is thing of the past. You are cutting out bad carbs for good measure, so you're body won't try to store more fat. The system requires a lot of time, discipline and tolerance from your loved ones as your blood sugar levels plumet - you'll find most things they do annoy you to no end.

Of course, unemployment or working from home would also help you a great deal, as it's hard to stay on track in the stressful unpredictable working world... Or at least I would assume.

I've finished a week of the program, so I'll give you my starting measurements, and my current.

Starting:
Weight: 123.8
Body Fat: 22.6
Biceps: 10.5, 10.5
Thighs: 21, 21.5
Waist: 29
Hips: 34.5

Current:
Weight: 120.0
Body Fat: 20.7
Biceps: 10, 10
Thighs: 21.5, 22
Waist: 28
Hips: 34.5

What a post, eh? I'll leave you alone for awhile.