My Metabolism Kickstart

The stuff

A couple of weeks ago I decided to order the Jillian Michaels BODY REVOLUTION workout program.  I know, I know.  I already have the P90X2 and they are similar in concept, however I was having a hard time fitting in 60+ minutes of a DVD workout AND also my training runs for the 5K on the same day.  Plus, once I got into phase 2 of the P90X2 the workouts were really hard and I was getting frustrated with them.  I think next time I give that program a try I will do phase 1 longer and also make sure I am not training for a 5K PR at the same time!  So I am putting that program aside for the time being and will bust it out sometime in the future.

The Jillian Michaels program seemed a better fit for me- the workouts are only 30 minutes long!  Short, sweet and to the point which should pair much easier with my running.  So far I have done workouts 1 and 2 and I enjoyed both.  The moves are simple to follow and you just go from one exercise to the next without any sort of break.  She uses the science of Metabolic Training to burn calories and fat effectively and combines all 10 of these techniques:  circuit training, high intensity interval training, peripheral heart action, body weight/functional core-based training, plyometrics, super setting, combo/hybrid lifts, continuous burn, rotation calendar and fast results in the shortest time possible.  Bring it on!

The program also includes an eating plan with easy to follow recipes.  I decided to do the "7 day kick start your metabolism" just to see if I could do it.  The basic idea is to detoxify my body and get rid of all the unhealthy aspects of my diet.  I am not a soda drinker and I rarely drink alcohol so those two were easy to eliminate.  I was still allowed 400 mg of caffeine a day so I could have my coffee- sweet!  Other things NOT allowed during the 7 days- fruit, flour, grains, sugar and only 1 serving of low-fat dairy per day. 

Breakfast- eggs, onions, lox and spinach

Jillian created 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 snacks and 3 dinners allowed and we could mix and match however we wanted.  We were to eat every 4 hours or so and also we had to eat in that order:  breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.  It is a very good thing that I love eggs, avocados and seafood!  I am not too picky so that helped because for the most part during these 7 days you will eat vegetables, yogurt, chicken, steak, eggs, fish and tomatoes- lots and lots of tomatoes! 

Huge lunch salad- I could never eat it all before my stomach was full.  A whole red pepper, 1 cup broccoli (steamed), 1/2 cup tomato, 2 cups lettuce, 1 hard boiled egg and 3 oz tuna plus 2 TBS low fat dressing.

Day 1 was actually pretty easy, my energy was a bit low but that is what happens when you suddenly drop to eating only 1200 calories per day!  Day 2 was a bit tricky- I had an 8 mile run to do first thing in the morning and I wasn't too keen on eating scrambled eggs, tomatoes and avocado before running!  So I cheated a little and ate a cliff bar -figuring I would burn it all out of my system anyways on my run.  That afternoon I ended up with a slight headache (can you say withdrawal??)  and still had an 8pm soccer game to play before I ate dinner.  So I cheated again by adding a banana into my snack of plain Greek yogurt and pecans! 



Dinner- 4 oz steak, 1 cup spinach, 1 plum tomato, greek olives, red onion topped with
2 tsp olive oil and 2 tsp balsamic vinegar.

I didn't get too many headaches and overall my body felt good during the detox.  I was pretty hungry all the time but I felt really healthy eating so many veggies!  I was also really thirsty all of the time and drank about a gallon of iced tea each day.  Mostly I missed oatmeal and bananas- and of course something sweet- because each meal was so savory. 

I decided to call it quits with 6 days instead of 7.  On Monday I stopped feeling so blah by the end of the day and my cravings had subsided.  Plus the thought of eating a piece of bread was too tempting!  So today (Wednesday) I started the Fat Burning meal plan which has a ton of variety.  The plan is still 1200 calories daily so I may eat bigger portions on days that I do my longer runs or feel low energy.  Each day there is a 250 calorie breakfast, a 400 calorie lunch, a 150 calorie snack and a 400 calorie dinner and again there are planned out meals in her program.  There are 10 breakfasts, 15 lunches, 10 snacks and 15 dinners to mix and match and the recipes are simple to make. 

Best oatmeal EVER!  Apples, walnuts, almond milk, maple syrup and cinnamon= yum.

This morning I had the best bowl of oatmeal in the world, and I enjoyed every single bite!  Funny how just 6 days without something makes you appreciate it so much.  I will do my weekly weigh in on Thursdays now, since that is when I started the program.  And I very likely will be upping my calorie intake for the next couple of days- need to find some energy to run 2 half marathons back-to-back!!

What do you guys think of eating only 1200 calories a day?  Is it enough?  I am thinking that as long as the calories are healthy and nutritious that will be enough on most days.  I am trying to get rid of these last 15 pounds that just keep hanging around, so hopefully this will do the trick.