30 Day Fast Food Diet Challenge - Day 20

The summer weather is here. Are you disappointed with your weight? Did you expect to see a difference by now? You may not have found the miracle you’d been hoping for, but you can still lose weight before the summer really heats up.

There are 10 more days left to this fast food diet challenge. I’m feeling terrific. I just completed a 4 hour hike, in 90° weather. I loved it. I enjoy the warmer weather. Each summer, I look forward to this. Since losing weight, I want challenges like this. They’re things I couldn’t do in the past. At one time, I had to struggle to be able to do it. I wanted this in my life. I knew I had to work hard for it, and the more I pushed, the more fit I got. The fitter I got, the more weight I lost.

But there’s a food and activity balance.

Think about how much and what you eat, and how active you are. Do you think you should be losing weight? There was a time, I exercised all day and I couldn’t lose a pound. I exercised so much, I’d end up starved, and go home making up for what I didn‘t eat all day and more. I thought exercise was the answer to weight loss, but not with the way I ended up eating. Then, I tried eating less, while still exercising excessively. With hours spent at the gym and being on a good diet, I lost a lot of weight and looked terrific, but I wasn’t satisfied and I was miserable. I gained back all that weight. I struggled to find the right balance between exercise and how much to eat. Too much exercise is not good. It puts more stress on the body, and it stops doing its job of burning fat. We can actually put our bodies into a fat storing mode, when we exercise too much, and we don‘t eat enough consistently throughout the day to support our activities. The more active you are, the more you need to eat, because if you don’t, you’ll end up breaking down your muscle for fuel. You need to spare your muscle, because it’s actually what the body needs, to burn fat. The way to spare muscle tissue, is to eat 5-6 smaller portioned meals and snacks per day. On your more active days, bump up your calories some more.

Testing what works.

I never count calories, but I have a good memory of what works well and what doesn’t. On a day like today, I started out with a few calories(140 calorie dark chocolate granola bar), and at the midpoint of the hike, I made sure I ate just enough to fuel my return. Then, I like to eat something more substantial about 30-45 minutes after the hikes completion. I prefer to take a bit of a rest, relax, maybe change my boots, and talk to fellow hikers. Then, it’s time to go eat. A burrito always hits the spot! Pizza would work too(smiles). Then, probably a dessert(smiles). This is after 4 hours of hiking in 90°. This is not the menu of someone who went on a 40 minute walk. But after 4 hours, I can eat what I want, feel terrific, and be in fat burning mode. So, you need to see where you’re at with food, in relation to what you’re doing that day. If you want to turn yourself into a hiker, you’ll be able to eat a bit more, but you still need to know your limits. Eat more than what you’re burning, and you’re still going to store fat. But also be aware, eat too little, and you’ll store fat. When you get this equation right, you’ll be amazed. You’ll say to yourself, “I can’t believe how much I eat, and the fats melting off of me.”

What can you do to make a difference quick?

You may not have had the right balance to lose weight, but you can make some changes today that will help. Have you been following the menu and getting exercise? Are you eating the fruits and vegetables? This isn’t the toughest diet to follow at all. It cleans up most dreadful diets, and it leaves in foods most people can live with. By doing the walking and eating the right amounts each day, you will lose weight quite easily. But, you need to be patient, stop looking for instant results, and you need to follow it. You can’t wonder why something didn’t work, if you never followed it. Do it each day, and you’re going to see a quick difference in how your clothes fit and in how you feel.

Today’s menu:

* 1 dark chocolate granola bar(140 calories) w/ some diet coke - I had this about 1 hour before the hike
* My midway through hike lunch break:
- 4 turkey & Swiss wraps(wrap a slice of turkey into a slice of Swiss cheese)
- Oatmeal cream pie(160 calories)
- 2 chocolate chip cookie(80 calories each)
- Diet coke
* 45 minutes after hike completion:
- 5 tortilla chips and hot salsa
- Grilled beef burrito(about 45 minutes after the hike)
- Diet coke
* On the drive back home, I stopped at Starbucks. I had ½ an apple fritter
* My last snack before I went to bed early, the rest of the apple fritter

See also:

- 30 Day Fast Food Diet Challenge - Day 19

- Weight Loss Series: An Introduction to The 30 Day Shake Weight with Mini Stair Stepper Weight Loss Challenge Phase 1 - Day 46

- Shake Weight: Legit or Scam?