After spending 10 days in the Bahamas with my wife, I returned home some 10 pounds heavier than when I left. Other than walking and swimming, no exercise was done. The Paleo diet I was on was put on pause and a lot of fatty foods were consumed. I feel extremely guilty and because of this, I’m attempting to lose those 10 pounds in just 5 days.
Just how do I plan to accomplish this? Through dieting and exercising of course. But I’m also following a popular fasting strategy that people say has given them great results. Check out the components of my strategy below.
Weight Loss Challenge Strategy
- Morning Kettlebell Workouts – Over the course of the work week (Monday – Friday) I’ll be performing various kettlebell workouts in a 20-minute session. These will most likely be workouts I’ve already discussed on this blog.
- Paleo Diet and Intermittent Fasting – For the majority of 2018 I’ve been following the Paleo diet, also called the caveman diet. It allows me to enjoy some of the foods I love while cutting down on carbs. I’m throwing in a new wrinkle this week with intermittment fasting. This means I’ll only eat within an 8 hour period a day. The mornings will be extremely difficult since I won’t eat until 2pm.
- Evening Exercise Bike Routine – After dinner, I plan to hop on the exercise bike for 30 minutes with a low-to-medium resistance.
Are my expectations realistic? I’m not sure. At the very worst, some sort of weight loss should be achieved. I’m definitely eager to continue to reach the goal of my optimal body weight.
The next sections serve as a template for how I’ll document my activities during this challenge throughout each day. It might get a little a bit repetitive, but should provide some insights for others looking to lose weight!
Morning Weigh-In and Kettlebell Workout
Each morning will start with recording my weight on the scale. Currently, I’m roughly 10 pounds heavier than my low during this weight loss journey.
There is a certain psychological effect that I felt when learning that I crossed back over the 200 lb. threshold. I didn’t expect to ever be above that weight again, given how hard I’ve worked on losing weight. I figured that all the swimming and walking would balance out my bad eating in the Bahamas. Of course, that wasn’t the case!
Kettlebell Swing, Push-up and Sit-up Workout
This morning’s kettlebell workout began around 7:30 am. It was basically the same as the high-intensity kettlebell workout that was posted several months ago.
I tweaked it a little bit from the original workout which consisted of 20 Russian Kettlebell Swings followed by 10 push-ups. Then, that set would be repeated 10 times. The new variant alternated between 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups after the swings.
During the sit-ups, I held the kettlebell by the handle at chest level. The extra weight added to each sit-up makes it slightly more challenging than a regular sit-up. Although I think push-ups are a little more difficult, alternating between the two is better for my focus and motivation.
Breakfast & Lunch
My intermittent fasting schedule permits me to eat from 2 pm to 10 pm. Therefore I’ve compressed breakfast and lunch into one break for eating right at 2 pm. Below are the food and drink that I consumed during this particular break.
Piña Colada Shake
Piña Colada shake
No alcohol in this shake! Before fasting, I would have shakes like these first thing in the morning. Now, I have to wait until mid-afternoon. It’s tough, but water is allowed during fasting so that helps.
My wife found this recipe earlier this year and it is delicious! It’s dairy-free as it uses coconut milk for the base. It’s not difficult at all to make. We use 18-ounce bottles for our portions which makes it a meal in itself.
Garden Salad
Right after drinking the shake is when I made the salad which will be very much the same each day. As you can see in the photo, there are approximately 7 ounces of various components for the salad. Ingredients include spring mix lettuce, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese, almond flour crackers, prosciutto, craisins, and olive oil vinaigrette.
For the strict Paleo dieter, cheese is off-limits. However, my wife and I aren’t super strict since we are also fasting and exercising. Dairy is often considered a grey area for Paleo if you’re following the loose guidelines.
Snack
M&M’s definitely aren’t Paleo, but I limited the amount to what you see. It’s a combination of regular and peanut M&M’s. I wouldn’t normally have these as a snack, but there is some leftover candy from the wedding that we are trying to get rid of.
Dinner
After finishing the workday, it was time to prepare dinner. Tonight’s selection is the delicious Egg Roll in a Bowl. We added some of our own ingredients into the mix to make it a little more filling and ate around 7:30pm.
Core Ingredients
- Scallions (green onions)
- Sesame Oil
- Coleslaw Mix
- Grated Ginger
- Coconut Aminos
- Salt & Pepper
Our Additions & Substitutes
- Ground Sirloin
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Scrambled Eggs
- Bacon
Making the changes to the core recipe gives it some more flavor too. It is one of our favorite Paleo meals and something we look forward to. Couple it with some organic cider and you can’t go wrong!
Evening Bike Exercising & Dessert
When dinner had digested, I got on the stationary exercise bike for about 30 minutes. I like to keep the resistance to a medium setting. Usually, I just leave it on 4.
If you’re keeping track of time, getting on the bike happens anywhere from 8:30 pm to 9:15 pm. That gives me just enough time for dessert before my 10 pm fasting cut-off.
Dessert
The last meal of the day is dessert. Usually, it is consumed between 9:30 pm and 9:55 pm. Tonight it was closer to 9:50 pm. I think the dessert will remain the same for the entire week. Part of it is Paleo while the other isn’t!
Since it is the holidays we’re allowing ourselves to have a small glass of eggnog each. Not just any eggnog. Hood eggnog! The best there is!
Not to go completely off the rails on the diet, my wife made these almond butter Reese’s cups which are a great substitute for the real thing. They are low on calories and help satiate the sweet tooth.
Wrapping Up Day 1
It certainly wasn’t easy starting this challenge. Exercising, fasting, and eliminating those junk foods that I indulged in on my honeymoon is no easy task. At the end of the day, however, I feel accomplished. Only 4 more days to go!
