Perhaps against my better judgement, on Monday, I will forging ahead on yet another diet regime. I'm not a good dieter; I have trouble staying with most diets because they make me feel sick.
But I'm hanging my hopes on Harley Pasternak, trainer to the stars, who claims he can get a person like me swimsuit ready in 20 days. I haven't been swimsuit ready in decades.
If you don't know him, Harley is a Canadian with a masters in nutrition and kinesiology. He started his professional career as a trainer for the Canadian military and segued into the movie business training the likes of J Lo and Halle Berry. Actually, a better question than who "has" Harley trained is who "hasn't" he trained.
Okay, so I'm not stupid. The odds of me having a bod like Jennifer Lopez is a big friggin' zero. My hope is that I merely can start looking good for Rose. I'm not looking to be a size four. A size four would make me look like a cancer patient. I want to be a healthy size 14. That's my goal.
Harley has a number of best selling books out which challenge the overweight to adopt a Five Factor diet which basically means eating five meals a day, that consist of only five ingredients and can be made in five minutes. He quite rightly recognizes that a lot of fatties don't like to shop or cook, so his recipes are dead easy and made from ingredients most of us can get at a basic grocery store.
This swimsuit diet is a bit different from his normal fare. It's basically a blenderized diet which consists of smoothies, dips and soups. The first week, you drink your calories with the exception of some veggies you eat with the dips. The next week, you introduce sensible dinners and so on. The fitness regime is pretty easy, too. He challenges you to walk 10,000 steps a day and do some light weights.
That's it.
Maybe it's too good to be true. But I'm putting my faith in Harley who seems like a nice, regular guy who just happens to be built like brick house. And unlike a lot of people who concoct diets, Harley actually has both solid nutritional and fitness creds.
I need this diet. I've been going to the gym nearly every day for a year now, and I still haven't lost more than five pounds. My BMI is still over 30 which is obese, though looking at me, you'd probably describe me as a little overweight. The chief culprit is my stress laden muffin top that simply will not go away. And go away it must.
About three months ago, the doctor put me on high blood pressure medication. I hate it. I hate the idea of it. It gave me a persistent cough which, after three months, is just now going away. But more importantly, taking blood pressure meds makes me feel like a dope and a failure. The doctor said if I lose the weight around the middle, I won't need the medication, so that is what I'm going to try to do over the next twenty days.
I don't care about the swimsuit. I'd just like to feel better and feel better about myself.
I wouldn't usually blog about this at the beginning of a diet, in case I fail spectacularly, but I heard somewhere -- maybe in a 12 step program -- that the first step is to tell somebody. So I'm telling you.
We'll see how it goes.
If you are interested in learning more about Harley's diet and exercise regime, here is a link.
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-revolution/blog?tags=swimsuit+ready+in+20+days
Wish me luck.
ok, we're your witnesses - lose that weight, drop those medications. and inspire the rest of us.
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