Years ago, when I was wanting to start my 50th "diet" I remember being like most people, Googling or looking up different "quick fix" diets that would help me lose the weight. It wasn't that I wanted it to be easy, but I think many of us want that Jump Start and want to see the 5-10lb loss like is shown on biggest loser. I read an article about a diet called the Up Day Down Day Diet. I read through it and I thought their strict concept was somewhat ridiculous, but could see how it was effective. I even tried it and failed miserably. Let me tell you about it.
The Up Day Down Day Diet consists of very little work as far as counting, measuring, and etc. Its concept is based around eating 500 calories one day, (Your Down Day) and then eating "normal" the next day (Your Up Day).
Please let me throw in the referee flag in here and say please don't do this above "diet". 500 calories is not enough to sustain anyone and you can do more harm than good to your body, especially if you try and maintain that over a long period of time. One day of eating 500 calories will likely not mess up your metabolism, but it makes you REALLY hungry and then next day when you are supposed to eat "normal", you will find yourself binging on Reese cups because you know you aren't going to get to basically eat the next day.
I tell you about this diet that I read and tried because I think it can help show a valid point however. I now do my own Up Day Down Day lifestyle, although not as strict as above. I call it a numbers game. I realize that for some people, they have issues that effect them being able to lose weight, or health issues that totally disprove my theories, but counting calories are proven time and time again. I will be the first to tell you that you can't just eat fat all the time and count the calories and be "healthy". You may still lose some weight, but in the long term, you are setting yourself up with cholesterol and heart problems. You can't just only focus on calories, but if you are wanting to make a change, its a great place to start. Start meaning a push off, not a place to move into and stay forever. After you get comfortable in counting and are familiar with most of the foods you eat, then you can start looking at other things like carbs or fats, or sodium or fiber. All of these are important, but if you are anything like me, if its too much, or too overwhelming at the beginning, I am likely to talk myself right out of it.
For those who may not know, here is a quick beginner lesson on calories.
3500 calories is 1 lb of fat and There are 7 days in a week.
If you decrease your calories intake by 500 calories a day, then at the end of the week (500x7=3500), you "should" lose a lb. If you increase your exercise by 500 calories a day then you can lose 2lbs a week. Its not full proof and there will be weeks that you will see the scale only move to .04, however stick with it. In a week or two from then, (being consistent), you will likely see a 2-3lb drop. Its like the body has to catch up or something. At least this is how my body works.Overall, it accounts for 1-2lbs a week.
Where am I going with all of this ?
(Sometimes I have so much fluttering around in my head wanting to share I can get a little off track. Stay with me here, we haven't even really got to the point I am working towards.Thanks for being patient with my scatteredbrained-ness)
I have learned over the last few 10 months or so that the days count, but its really overall long term that balances everything out. You can eat awesome on Monday and terrible the rest of the week and its not going to do you much good if your goal is to lose weight. Its about being consistent.
My "goal" is 1200 calories if I am not doing any extra exercise, however, if I come in after work and only want a bowl of cereal and I am at 900-1000 calories for the day, I don't stress out. The next day I can eat more like 1500 calories and it feels like a treat. So whereas I do not support the above very restrictive 500 calorie down day, I do support the "balance" of not eating the same mundane number every day.
Say you have a get together with friends and your foodie nature takes over (like mine does) and you eat 2100 calories for the day, when your goal is 1200. Gasp! How dare you! :) Don't you know that one day of eating higher isn't going to cause you to gain weight. (physical fat, not water weight, that's a whole other terrible thing that makes weight loss difficult).It actually might and can boost your metabolism. It's keeping your body guessing at what you are doing. If it can't figure out what you are doing, then its harder to plateau. If I have a higher day, then the next day I try to eat a little less and balance things out. It seems to work well for me, as it lets me have some flexibility while staying consistent. I know the concept seems like oxymorons but as long as you hit the same goal at the end of the week, you are being consistent.
My goal for this week is still water (drank way too much soda over the weekend and the sodium has me up a 1/2 pound) , but to also make a conscious choice to take stairs, park farther away from places, be more active with my children and keep moving. I don't necessarily have to get in a 60 minute workout in the gym, but anything is better than plopping myself on the couch in front of the TV.
Stick with it, consistency is the key to making any change!
Xo
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