The Dyas Family

So, I told you about how I was able to lose 65 lbs.  I’ve created this page to capture what I’m doing to stay in shape and lose the remaining few pounds to reach my goal.

I had always been turned off by any diet that actually had a name.  South Beach, Atkins, Weight Watchers, NutriSystem all had a stigma to them that had me thinking they were gimmicky ploys to get you to buy products.  Sure, the diets themselves would work for a while, but in the long run there was something about them that made them impractical to follow. 

Being a pretty rational and analytical person, the science of food and exercise made sense to me.  Less calories in (food) combined with more calories out (exercise) would lead to weight loss.  This is pretty much the philosophy that I followed to lose the majority of my weight.  It worked wonders, and I highly encourage others to avoid the gimmick diets and focus on eating better and exercising more.

However, once I had lost a good deal of weight, I wanted to focus on two things: speeding up my metabolism and adding muscle, especially abs, to my slimmer self.  A co-worker introduced me to The Abs Diet by Men’s Health Magazine editor David Zinczenko.  At first, I was of course turned off by the fact that it was a “diet” and much worse it had a name.  However, once he started explaining the details of it, I realized it was almost entirely based on things I was already doing. 

I expected the Abs Diet to consist of a zillion crunches, tofu and chick peas.  However, it wasn’t like that at all.  It was based first and foremost on eating 12 “power foods” that were good for your body.  When I saw the list, it consisted of not only foods I didn’t mind eating, but foods I really enjoyed like: meat, black beans, cheese, oatmeal and almonds.  There was also an emphasis on smoothies which seemed like a great way for someone who’s not a big fruit fan to enjoy the health benefits fruits have to offer.  Once I saw some of the recipes provided in the diet and the catchy names they came with, I was sold.  The best part is that most of the meals consist of more calories than I was eating before (which are needed to fuel the exercise portion).  So I have the added benefit of eating more and losing more!

As someone who’s not a big fan of the cost of, crowds at, or personality types who frequent gyms, I’ve always been a bit turned off by weight lifting.  It’s never been the lifting itself, just all the things surrounding it.  What’s great about the exercises in the Abs Diet is that I can do all of them in the comfort of my home with nothing more than a treadmill, a bar bell and a dumbell.  I know I probably sound like one of those infomercial fitness gurus by now, but I truly was surprised that there was a “diet” out there that made perfect sense, was easy to follow and actually worked.  For me, it provides some structure and routine to things I already enjoyed doing anyways.

These days, this is roughly the diet and exercise routine I follow based on the Abs Diet:

Diet

• 0700: Either a fruit smoothie (fruit, yogurt, whey powder, skim milk, ice) or an egg with turkey bacon, a slice of cheese, some ground flax seed and some spinach and/or tomatoes on whole wheat bread.
• 0930: Snack of almonds and raisins or whole grain bread with all-natural peanut butter or cheese
• 1130: Typically something leftover from the previous night’s dinner or a turkey breast sandwich with cheese on whole grain bread
• 1400: Snack of a banana, fruit cup, oatmeal, mini-pretzels
• 1700: Small snack while making dinner of a few tortilla chips, mini-pretzels, whole wheat crackers, etc.
• 1800: Typicall a dinner consisting of a lean meat, a vegetable side and whole grain rice or bread.  The Abs Diet book has some great recipes I use, but I also improvise now that I’ve got a good feel for what I’m trying to accomplish.
• 2200: Before bed, I’ve started to get into the habit of drinking a chocolate casein shake.  It’s a triple-play of satisfying my sweet tooth, being low in fat and calories, and keeping me full and my metabolism working longer throughout the night.

Exercise

• Monday/Wednesday/Friday: The weight routine I described in this post.  Every few weeks, I increase the weight on the bars.  Recently, I upgraded to 20lbs. on the small one and 30lbs. on the big one.  I was shocked by the results I was seeing when I only had 15lbs. and 20lbs. respectively, so I’m hoping for big things (literally) from the new set up.
• Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday: 45 minute interval workout on treadmill:
  • 0-5 mins.: 3.5mph / 2.0 incline
  • 5-8 mins,: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 8-11 mins.: 5.0mph / 2.0 incline
  • 11-14 mins.: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 14-17 mins.: 5.5mph / 2.0 incline
  • 17-20 mins.: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 20-23 mins.: 6.0mph / 2.0 inlcine
  • 23-26 mins.: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 26-29 mins.: 6.5mph / 2.0 incline
  • 29-32 mins.: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 32-35 mins.: 7.0mph / 2.0 incline
  • 35-40 mins.: 4.0mph / 0.0 incline
  • 40-45 mins.: 3.7mph / 0.0 incline
• Interval workouts are supposed to burn calories longer after you’re done working out.  In order to pass the time more quickly, I’ve been watching two 30-minute (22 without commercials) episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” on DVD.