The Kat Files

Happy Friday, dear reader! I am currently in Week #4 of the Fast Burn Challenge, and Dr. Ian’s words rang true for me at the start of this week. On Monday morning, I weighed in at 155.5 pounds. I lost another 2.5 pounds with a total loss of 6 pounds since I started the Fast Burn Challenge on 19 April. I am both proud and delighted with my progress, especially since this week’s weigh-in followed Mother’s Day weekend. My hubby and I took my parents out to lunch at Perrin’s Restaurant to celebrate my momma, and I am happy to report that I chose my meal wisely and absolutely enjoyed it. I ordered a Grilled Shrimp Wrap with Sweet Potato Fries. I ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner. Except for this meal, I followed all my guidelines outlined for that day. Planning ahead is the key!

Kudos to Me for…

• meeting my daily water intake goal.
• meeting my TRF 14:10 goal.
• continuing to eat more veggies.
• meeting my daily exercise goals.
• prepping most of my meals and snacks for the week.
• choosing wisely when eating at a restaurant.

One of my favorite meals to eat is a veggie plate with a cup of brown rice. This veggie plate had sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts that I air fried. I sautéed the mushrooms and spinach in olive oil with minced garlic. For the brown rice, I buy a package of Minute Brown Rice that contains two microwaveable cups. Since I do not really enjoy cooking, this is one of the easiest, quickest, and tastiest meals to prepare.

Challenges

So far, I have NOT encountered any challenges this week. On Sunday, I created my weekly schedule which included attending the 8th Grade Graduation at my school on Wednesday night. Next, I scheduled all of my exercise for the week. Then, I planned all of my meals. Afterwards, I made my Burner Smoothies. I already had prepared food in the freezer from last week thanks to my sweet hubby, who also grilled me some carrots and broccoli. It is also terrific that three of the seven days called for plant-based meals. I happen to love salads, so prepping for this week was pretty easy. Again, planning is the key!

My Fast Burn journey continues to not only be exciting, but also enlightening. I am learning new ways to challenge myself physically through exercise. I am learning new ways to properly fuel my body. I am ultimately learning how to transition into a healthier way of living. Furthermore, I am not missing the sugar, processed foods, or that pregnant whale feeling that comes from overeating. Better choices make for a better me. Happiness!

“To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep the mind strong and clear.” ~ Buddha

Happy Friday, dear reader! I am currently in Week #3 of the Fast Burn Challenge, and I am continuing to do well with my diet and fitness goals. On Monday morning, I weighed in at 158 pounds. Although I did not lose any additional weight in Week 2, I did maintain my weight loss from Week 1. I would be remiss if I did not mention that I was a little bit disappointed.

Thankfully on Tuesday, Dr. Ian posted a live video session on the Fast Burn Challenge Facebook page addressing the rate of weight loss. This is what he had to say, “Good weight loss is considered to be anywhere from 1 to 1.5 pounds a week, on average. What does that mean? That means that you may lose 3 pounds one week, 0 pounds the next week, 1 pound the following week, 2 pounds the next week. Your numbers are going to vary from week to week. Most people do not lose consistently for all kinds of reasons. But, we’re taking the average. The average of what you should go for is 1 to 1.5 pounds per week. So, if you look at a four-week average of your weight loss, and it says you lost between 4 and 6 pounds in a month, that is considered to be very good weight loss.” Once I heard that information, I felt much better.

Kudos to Me for…

• meeting my daily water intake goal.
• trying the Honey Glazed Chicken. Delish!
• continuing to eat more veggies.
• meeting my daily exercise goals.
• eating mindfully at my crawfish boil.
• making wise breakfast/lunch choices during Teacher Appreciation Week.

This past Saturday, my hubby boiled crawfish with all the fixins. I had one tray of crawfish with a potato, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and a piece of sausage. I drank a cup of water before eating and throughout the meal. While I enjoyed my mudbugs immensely, they were salty and had a lingering effect of sodium overload on my body. Mercifully, it was temporary.

Challenges

• Making poor eating decisions due to poor planning and emotions.
• Making the time to plan meals for the upcoming week.
• Changing my TRF to 14:10.

Well, this week I made a poor decision concerning dinner on Monday night. I had prepared salmon for dinner, but did not have time to eat it before my evening activity. When my activity was over, I ate a quick snack (string cheese and 10 pretzels) before riding my bike. I felt it was too late to eat my salmon and veggies, so instead I ate two Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts with a glass of milk. I should have drunk a Burner Smoothie before my activity. Then, on Tuesday afternoon after having a funky day and feeling blue, I consumed six donut holes. Ugh! Of course, it made me feel worse, not better. I need to feel my feelings not eat them.

This past weekend I ran out of time and did not plan my meals for Week 3 as carefully as I did for Week 2. I am definitely a work in progress in this area. Fortunately, I had the staples I needed for my meals and snacks, and my hubby cooked the Honey Glazed Chicken on Sunday. I also prepped my Burner Smoothies for the week. In addition, this happens to be Teacher Appreciation Week, and the Home and School Association provided breakfast and lunch every day. I have been SUPER good all week and only ate the healthy offerings. NO desserts! I made sure to avoid the boardroom and any foods that would tempt me. Out of sight, out of mind!

Lastly, I was supposed to change my IF schedule from 12:12 to 14:10. This means a 14-hour fasting window and a 10-hour feeding window. I was successful Monday-Wednesday, but not Thursday or this morning. Because of my work schedule yesterday and today, I needed to adhere to the 12:12 IF schedule. I should not have any issues on Saturday and Sunday with following TRF 14:10.

In general, I physically and mentally feel better. I continue to do my best which looks different each day. Adding more exercise to my daily walking routine has been nice, and I now look forward to riding my bike throughout the week. I keep reminding myself to enjoy the journey which I am not doing alone. Dr. Ian has created a fabulous community page on Facebook where he gives us lots of tips, support, and encouragement, and we (the challengers) can encourage and support one another. And for that, I am grateful. Happiness!

“At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could today, and that is good enough.” ~ Lori Deschene

Happy Friday, dear reader! I am currently in Week #2 of the Fast Burn Challenge, and I am holding my own. On Monday morning, I weighed in at 158 pounds. I lost 3.5 pounds in the first week of the challenge. Go, me! As I mentioned last week, I will be happy if I shed 10 pounds by the end of the nine weeks. Becoming a healthier version of me is what I am striving for over the course of the next two months.

Kudos to Me for…

• meeting my daily water intake goal.
• adding ground flaxseed to smoothies and oatmeal.
• meeting my TRF 12:12 goal.
• trying the Tender Baked Pork Chops. YUM!
• continuing to eat more veggies.
• meeting my daily exercise goals.
• prepping most of my meals and snacks for the week.
• choosing wisely when eating at a restaurant.

My hubby bought me some Mason Jars at the grocery store, so I could prep my smoothies for the week. I made a couple of extra smoothies for my friend Julia who I work with at school. It took me about an hour to prepare the Burner Smoothies on Sunday morning; however, it was a game changer and made life easier for me this week. Since my husband enjoys cooking more than I do, he cooked the pork chops for our Sunday dinner. I also asked him to grill a bunch of turkey burgers for me. He used a turkey burger recipe from Dr. Ian’s The Clean 20 book. This was great because I got a dinner and a lunch out of them, fed my youngest son, and froze a few for future weeks.

Challenges

• Drinking a cup of water before lunch during the work week.
• Situations that interfere with eating schedule or menu.
• Making the time to plan meals for the upcoming week.

I think I need to write a note (drink cup of water FIRST) and attach it to my lunch, so I do not forget to consume a cup of water before eating my lunch. I have forgotten EVERY day this week. This is weird to me since I have not forgotten once to consume the cup of water before breakfast or dinner.

I had an unexpected situation crop up at work on Monday morning that required me changing my breakfast at the last minute and caused my snack times to be slightly off throughout the day. Thankfully, I had an extra Burner Smoothie in the fridge to save me some time and get me to work earlier than anticipated. I also had to remind myself to be flexible. In addition, my mother-in-law cooks dinner for my family on Fridays. I found out Wednesday evening that she was making hamburgers (beef) this Friday, so I swapped Thursday’s and Friday’s lunch choices because I originally had a turkey burger on the menu for Friday’s lunch.

As for meal planning, I did better than the previous week and wrote everything out. However, I did not do it prior to my husband grocery shopping, and I discovered after the fact that I needed ground flaxseed for this week. Lucky for me, he had another errand to run near the grocery store, so he swung by and picked it up for me. Kudos to Barry, Sr. for being so kind!

Overall, I am doing pretty well. There is a learning curve when doing anything new for the first time. I must be patient with myself, flexible when life happens, and appreciate the journey. I want this experience to be enjoyable not stressful. It is not about being perfect. It is about showing up and doing my best. Happiness!

“Regardless of how big or small, savor and appreciate your victories. When you build the excitement that comes with success, you build momentum to keep going and achieve results.” ~ Ian K. Smith, M. D., Mind Over Weight

Happy Friday, dear reader! Each Friday for the next nine weeks, I will update my progress on the Fast Burn Challenge which is a plan outlined in Fast Burn: The Power of Negative Energy Balance by Dr. Ian K. Smith. This new plan includes intermittant fasting, clean eating, and exercises. I have completed four days on the Fast Burn Challenge, and I am feeling pretty good about my progress, so far.

On Monday morning, I weighed in at 161.5 pounds. I would love to lose at least 10 pounds; however, my goals for this challenge are to try intermittent fasting, create weekly meal plans that incorporate clean eating, and maintain a regular fitness regimen. Basically, I am striving to be a healthier version of me. I have been following the food plan pretty well with the exception of eating a handful of pork rinds on both Tuesday afternoon AND Wednesday afternoon. Also, for lunch on Wednesday, I ate 15 Lay’s Sour Cream & Onion potato chips with my sandwich. Not good, but also not the end of the world.

Kudos to Me for…

• meeting my daily water intake goal.
• meeting my TRF 12:12 goal.
• making The Burner Smoothie. Twice!
• continuing to eat more veggies.
• meeting my daily exercise goals.

Challenges

• Eating two hours after waking up.
• Drinking a cup of water before each meal.
• Preparing meals during the week.

I am not too concerned about not being able to wait two hours to eat after waking up. The only three days that I cannot follow this guideline is on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings because I have carpool duty and need to be at school by 7:00. I do not want to eat my breakfast in the car or at school, so my plan is to drink the Burner Smoothie for breakfast on those three mornings about 1 1/2 hours after waking up. I can follow this guideline and eat something different on the other four mornings.

Drinking a cup of water before each meal will eventually become a habit. I do not anticipate this being a challenge for very long. Since Monday, I have only forgotten twice.

Preparing meals during the week is time-consuming. It would be better for me to meal prep for the work week over the weekend for a couple of hours than to meal prep each evening for a couple of hours. Creating a weekly meal plan is great; however, it needs to go hand in hand with meal prepping. When I go to the grocery store this weekend, I will buy some mason jars to make a week’s worth of the Burner Smoothie.

I know it has only been four days, dear reader, but I feel like I am off to a terrific start. I am energized, optimistic, and excited. Happiness!

“The more you move, the easier it is to keep moving. Maintain the momentum.”     ~ James Clear

Today is the big day, dear reader! For the next nine weeks, I will be participating in the Fast Burn Challenge with Dr. Ian K. Smith, Shelly, and thousands of other participants. We will be following Smith’s program outlined in his newest book, Fast Burn: The Power of Negative Balance. I will be intermittent fasting for not just one month, but for two months. I will be starting with the 12:12 method (TRF or time-restricted feeding) which means I will be fasting for 12 hours and then have a 12 hour feeding window. There are additional guidelines I will be following along with intemittent fasting.

I have purchased all of my food, planned meals for the week, scheduled my fitness goals, taken my body measurements, and weighed myself. Now, I simply have to make the effort, have a good attitude, and enjoy the journey. It is not just about losing weight. It is about getting healthy again, feeling better, and boosting my confidence.

I am eager to interact with the other participants, try some new recipes, and get back into shape. I am also hoping I will be able to get back to running again. I will update my progress weekly on Fridays with a series called Fast Burn Friday. It will be another way to hold myself accountable. Let the Fast Burn Challenge begin! Happiness!

“The more confident you are in the ability to succeed, the more motivated you will be to stick to your plan and ultimately reach your goals.” ~ Ian K. Smith, M. D.