biggest loser challenge update

This week, I brought it. -3.2 pounds. Yes! I’m in second place right now, but I’m in it to win it. 😉

doing it military style

My workplace recently started a weightloss competition that we’ve coined The Biggest Loser Challenge. Each ‘set’ will proceed in four week intervals with weigh-ins once a week on Fridays at noon; each participant may lose weight following whatever eating and/or exercise program of his or her choosing. At the beginning of each new cycle, $10 is collected by each participant; at the end of the cycle, the Pot o’ Cash is collected by the person who has lost the largest percentage of body weight (we thought this might be more fair than going strictly by pounds).

There are seven of us this cycle. We started on Friday, October 11. Four days down and three to go until weigh-in. For the past four days I have simply eaten less than usual and made better dietary choices. For the next three days though, it’s on. Really on. I’ll be eating ‘military style’ tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. I hope that my efforts pay off on the scale on Friday!

I have my doubts as to whether the Military Diet is an actual, um, Military Diet. It’s said that this diet is followed by those in the military who must make weight, and must do so quickly. I’ve heard that this is a myth; however, via my research I’ve learned that this diet is sometimes prescribed by doctors for obese patients to lose weight quickly before surgery.

If you look at the menu… that seems kinda strange. I mean, hotdogs and vanilla ice cream? Really?

Alas… it does work, although I’m not sure why or how. Some sources claim the combination of foods trigger some kind of chemical reaction that causes you to lose weight quickly. Other sources say that the quick loss is simply attributed to the fact that this is a very low calorie diet. I tend to believe the latter, but I’m not scientist. I completed one three-day session during the summer and lost 6 1/2 pounds. Surprisingly, once I returned to my normal diet, I kept it off… that is, until I went buckwild and ate everything in sight for a few weeks. But that’s not the diet’s fault. It’s my fault for being a ravenous, indulgent beast. But that’s OK. It happens.

Refer to this link to find out how to eat in the good ol’ Military Style fashion:

http://www.heartnsoul.com/cardiac_diet_2.htm

Yeah… it doesn’t look like a lot of fun, does it? But that’s cool. I can hang for three days.

If you google this diet, various sources recommend against using substitutions for the best results. However, my past experience with losing 6 1/2 pounds in three days has made me confident that it is okay to substitute here and there and still achieve fantastic results. I plan to substitute Greek yogurt in place of the ice cream, for one. I’m not sure that I’ll be consuming the beef franks on Day Two. I like hotdogs just fine, on a bun or wrapped in a crescent roll a la ‘pigs in a blanket’ style… but to eat them just plain sounds a little nausea-inducing. I will have a hard enough time eating the tuna plain that I don’t know if I can do it with beef franks, too. I might sub that out for some lean protein like a 93/7 hamburger patty or chicken breast.

I have to admit I’m dreading this… it’s bland and boring! But I’ll do it, do it well… in hopes of becoming this week’s Biggest Loser.