Boot Camp:Day 1

Today is carb detox boot camp. Basically, what's going on is I'm cutting carbs to deplete the level of glycogen in stored in my body. Why would I do this? Because when there's not enough glycogen to burn, my body will use up extra fat for energy. And I have plenty of that! The idea is that once we teach the body to go find fat to burn instead, it will remember better how to do it. After week one, I'll start the macro-patterning part which is just basically eating certain things at a certain time. This will lower glycogen every couple of days (once I'm back at a good level which is what week one does) and send my body looking for fat, but before my body decides that it's starving I'll put the glycogen back. Sooo, I'm pretty much just keeping myself on my toes. More on macro-patterning later...

Here are the main rules to follow for week one:

*Only 20 active carbs per day can be consumed. The number of active carbs in a food is equal to the amount of total carbs minus the amount of dietary fiber.

*I should eat at least four times a day, having protein every time. For women, 3-4 ounces each meal. For men, 5-8.

*No pork.... remember, it's not an efficient protein.

*As far as veggies go, I can only have the following: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, mushrooms, radishes, spinach. They must be eaten with a protein. Any other veggies or fruits contain too many carbs/sugars.

*Only one serving of good fat at each meal. This can be mayonnaise, olive oil, cheese, or butter.

*Buying things that say low-carb is cheating. Those are so chemically manipulated that they're not really good for you and won't help with the cycle.

*I must eat one cup of broccoli every day. Broccoli is a good energy-producing veggie, plus it has lots of fiber to help break down the extra protein.

*I must drink at least 70 to 80 ounces of water per day. Remember, carbs hydrate the body in the absence of water and we're cutting those this week. So I'll need to make sure I'm getting an appropriate amount of water. For men, 100-130 ounces.

*Count carbs on EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth and DON'T DEVIATE from the plan!

I was a little overwhelmed at what I was reading last night, but as I'm writing it down this morning, it doesn't really look so bad. I can do this. And I have support! My friends and family are awesome! And my amazing husband has decided to do it with me! He says he'll test-drive it for a few days and see if it's something he can do. I think he's looking for something that's easy and convenient. So I'll just have to make it convenient for him to eat whatever I'm eating :-)

More to come in a few days! I'll include what I've been eating, how I feel, and what the next steps are.