4 Hour Body-Skinny for NYC Check In Time

This week has been so much better than last week. First of all, I was able to work out 4 times and I was able to follow the diet plan. I had a fabulous Cheat Day on Mother’s Day. We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I enjoyed the biscuits, the hash brown casserole, the jam, the juice, the ketchup—everything! I was full on breakfast, but five hours later I had some amazing brie cheese, Dubliner Cheddar, delicious pear, and then my Darling Teen and Darling Hubby made me a fabulous pasta dinner which they’d chosen from the Disney Cookbook. I was so full by the time I finished eating that there wasn’t room for the dessert my Darling Teen had planned to make us. But I’ll eat that tomorrow for my next Cheat Day.

Cheat Day makes this diet easier to follow. I won’t lie. I live for Cheat Day.

I did the Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred program this week. I am up to Level 2!! It’s a tough workout, but I like it better than the Level 1 workout. I think it uses more muscle groups and burns more calories, too. And I’m in a hurry for results so I’m glad I can puff my way through this tough workout. I also went to Zumba class two times. I was so happy to see all my Zumba classmates and to see that none of them had incurred major damage due to the April 27 tornadoes.

This week I tried a new recipe using a Moroccan rub. The rub was great, but a bit too salty, so I’ll try it again with less salt. It called for kosher salt, cinnamon, all spice, cardamon, coriander, white pepper, ginger. Once I fine tune the recipe, I’ll post it on this blog. I rubbed this onto pork tenderloin, then grilled the tenderloin. I also made Mediterranean meatballs using a Turkish spice from Penzey’s spices. They were delicious. I served them with a canellini bean salad and roasted cauliflower. Yum!! We also had steak this week. Today I plan to serve up chicken with the leftover Moroccan rub along with more bean salad and veggies.

I’m feeling pretty good about the results I’m achieving thus far. I have a pair of skinny shorts I’d bought five years ago when I was ahem skinny, and I’m trying them on once a week to see how they are fitting. I couldn’t pull them over my hips before we went to Disney World in March. Now I can pull them over my hips. My goal is to be able to wear them this summer and have them fit comfortably, not tight, but just right. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, here are my stats for the week:

Waist: down .5 inches

Hips: down .5 inches

Bicep: same

Upper Right Thigh: same

Upper Left Thigh: same

Total Inches Lost this Week: 1

Total Inches Lost to Date: 9.5

I’m sooooo happy to see a downward trend in the hip and navel area. This is the toughest place to lose. I don’t expect to see much downward movement in the thigh and bicep areas. They are about as skinny as they were when I was at my best size 5 years ago. So now I’ll see losses where I want to see them the most!

So how are you doing with your weight loss and get healthy goals? Are you sticking to your plan? Are you seeing results?

4 Hour Body: Tornado Survivor's Guide

On Wednesday, April 27, my area was hit with 21 tornado warnings over a 16 hour period. We lost power at 4:30PM. No lights, no cooking, no sound other than a small transistor radio which kept us informed about the NEXT tornado band's approach. I had been on a pretty good roll with 4 Hour Body diet and exercise in place. However, the 4 Hour Body was the least of my concerns on that day. We had cake for dinner. The next day we grilled all the meat and had meat for lunch and dinner. We also had cookies, cheese, tortillas, bread, you name it. Frankly, who cares? The thing about the 4 Hour Body is that it doesn't really offer much in the way of comfort food when one, well, needs comfort. We were spared. You can read about my experiences here and here.

After we cleaned out the fridge and threw out about $600 plus of food, we drove to Nashville to ride the rest of the week. We had no Internet or cell phone service and a sick kid so we felt it best to go to a place with power. We arrived at our friends' house and were immediately surrounded by good cheer (read LOTS of wine) and fabulous southern comfort food. My friend loves to make full, hot breakfasts. We had bacon, quiche, pancakes and hash browns two days in a row. We ate ribs, grilled bbq chicken, steak, corn casserole, chocolate bomb cakes, amazing banana bread. The 4 Hour Body went out the window. We didn't care. We were alive.

See diets don't matter when one is in survivor mode. One eats what one has and that's that. I was also unable to exercise which impacted me as well. However, I did a lot of running around because of the tornadoes and I believe my adrenaline was pumping a lot. I didn't  notice any weight going around the middle, but honestly? I didn't care. On Monday we left our friends and went to a hotel in Franklin, Tennessee. I began to make small changes again. My lunch was healthy and followed the plan as did dinner (but I admit I did eat the roll that came with the Cobb Salad). The next day we had McDonalds for breakfast. I ate an Egg McMuffin and I enjoyed the hash browns, too. When we got home, we had to clean the fridges with hot water, etc., then I went to the store. I immediately implemented the 4 Hour Body plan, but I am not going to lie: wine consumption was still higher than allowed by the plan.

I haven't been able to exercise yet because the YMCA is offering hot showers to those who still have no power. I did go for a walk with darling hubby on Wednesday. I wore workout clothes yesterday, but didn't work out. Today? I hope to go for a walk again.

I did notice that my jeans, the smaller ones, fit just fine yesterday and my stomach is not bloated at all. I'm happy about that for sure! My hope when I measured this morning was to see no UP on the numbers. I was pleasantly surprised! I lost another inch and a half. None off my hips or navel area, but that's okay. At least I didn't increase due to all that yummy comfort food.

So without further ado, here are my stats:

Total inches lost this Week: 1.5
Total inches lost to Date: 8.5

I hope to be more on plan and get the belly flab down -- that is the hardest place for me to lose weight and usually the last. I'm just very grateful that I didn't gain despite all the yummy food I indulged in eating.

I hope you are all doing great on your plans! Check in and let me know if you're still on track for getting Skinny for NYC this summer!