72 Days until the end of the decade, and 72 days to lose the gut challenge

Day 10

Happy Halloween, y’all. Are you doing anything special today? Do you have your specially chosen cowboy outfit carefully folded on your bedroom chair, waiting to be donned, plastic bag waiting to be filled with tons of sweets, while you make a nuisance of yourself, knocking on the doors of disgruntled owners doors? — Yip… I thought not. You’re not 12 anymore, — but here’s the challenge. Many of us have kids and THEY will be the ones bringing the bags full of sweet stuff. I can predict this because I have 3 kids who are all quite persuasive in their own way and I know from past experience that the little rascals will be munching on sugar sweets for the next week. — It’s all great fun if you’re the witch in Hansel and Gretel’s fable about the sugar house, but not if you’re on the 72-day challenge. You’re a few days away from having completed your insulin re-set. Save the sweets for the introduction of your first chat day and you’re golden.

Fast

This is the season of the “end of the year” functions. Some of the people following the Challenge, have expressed that they are worried about having to eat and drink foods that are not on the prescribed schedules. I have to admit that this caused me confusion as well in the beginning. I did not want to undo all the good work done, and I would literally arrive at the function a little pissed off that all the work had been for naught.

This doesn’t have to be the case. There are 2 ways of addressing the “feed behind enemy lines’.
If the party happens outside your prescribed feeding window, you can simply move your window along the timeline. If you’re used to eating your last meal at 6 in the evening and are worried that the finger food offered to you at 9 o’clock will be too tempting, especially if you’ve had a glass of wine, the all you do is move you are 8-hour eating window along the timeline.

Working back from 9 in the evening means that instead of starting your eating window at the usual 10am (6 less 16 on the clock), you will start your window at 1pm (1pm plus 8 hours is 9pm and you’re fine)

Feast

So we’ve looked at the WHEN to eat. Now it’s time to consider the WHAT to eat. If you have not thought about this before you get to the party, your resolve will falter, because that wine will make every little treat look like you just want to take the whole plate home and eat it in bed. (if you’re weird like me) — If you’re going to eat something, and you should, just stick to the basics.

Eat clean protein. If a waitress passes you, flaunting a plate of chicken on a stick, flag her down and enjoy. — Fish is great too. Remember that Sushi has too much rice, especially during the first 2 weeks. Also, note that Soya sauce is really not great for guys. The extra sodium will bloat you and increases estrogen production in guys. You literally get manboobs from eating soy. (Ok, I admit that the odd foray into Soya is fine, but you get the idea)
Steer away from food, you don’t know the ingredients of. Sauces can contain a lot of sugar, and you want to save your sugar allocation for that drink your eyeing.
If there are greens (celery sticks and carrots etc) — grab a hand-full and enjoy. Try to steer away from the dip if you can. Given the choice between peanut sauce and mayo, choose the mayo.
Remember that you can lean into fatty food, but you should steer away from sugary food like it’s gonna explode in your stomach.
Don’t eat deep-fried tempura style food. It may taste great, but the carbs mixed with all the fat, are a recipe for disaster in dieting.

When it comes to alcohol, know that there are many empty calories in the sugar of alcohol.

Just be aware of the calories. Have your drinks, enjoy them, but make allowance for the drinks you plan to have, by eating a little less, drinking more water (alternate a drink with a glass of water) — and remember to call an Uber if you’ve been sliding down drink after drink. — Happy days

Train

So far, you’ve had the opportunity to sample the first workout. Some friends, especially those who don’t frequent the gym, have found the exercises to be quite challenging, and I say that’s GREAT! I’m here to challenge you. Get out there, learn, lift and acquire a new skill. Yes, you will be stiff after the workout and yes, it may even be a bit sore. This is the place where you put on your big girl pants and it’s ok to pursue the hurt. This is not a spar course, where you get to walk around with a gown, sipping on warm lemon juice. Get out there, create some soreness and feel good that you did.

Phase 1 Workout 2
Dumbell Overhead Press — 8 reps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2rwvNhTOu0
Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them just outside your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Press the weight overhead until your arms are completely straight. Pause, then slowly lower the dumbbells

Barbell Deadlift 6 reps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UwO0fKukRw

Grab a barbell with an overhand grip that’s just beyond shoulder-width and hold it at arm’s length in front of your hips. Your knees should be slightly bent and chest pushed out. This is the starting position. Without changing the bend in your knees, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Pause, then raise your torso back to the starting position.

Hanging Knee Raise
10 Reps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNzJ3GuIpB8

Grab a chin-up bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. If this is too hard, set up elbow straps and hang from the bar. With your feet together and knees slightly bent, raise your hips and lift your thighs toward your chest. Stop when the top of your thighs are just above parallel to the floor, pause, and then lower your legs back to the starting position.

Body-Weight Bulgarian Split Squat
8 reps per leg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5HbD2UBjSs

Stand tall and place your hands on your hips and pull your elbows back so that your chest is up. Stand in a staggered stance with your left foot in front of your right, and place the instep of your back foot on a bench. Lower your body as far as you can, pause, then push your body back up to the starting position. Do all reps with your left foot forward, then do the same number with your right foot in front of the left

Perform A1– A5 in a circuit fashion, resting no more than 30 seconds between exercises. Perform 5 circuits, resting 3 minutes between each.

Tomorrow, I will explain the 2nd part of this Workout#2
I am aware that you are learning to get the hang of these exercises, so take your time, look to your form. Remember that strict form done with half the weight, is better than wrenching huge weights around the gym, whilst doing yourself an injury.

YOUR SCHEDULE

Don’t stress that we are not getting into all the exercises in one go. There are 4 workouts during this phase, and I urge you to familiarise yourself with them. It may be helpful to enlist the help of a trainer. Once you have all 4 workouts in front of you, talk to a trainer. You don’t need them to stand by you during every set of your workouts, but let them assist you with your form.

It’s better to spend an hour having each movement shown and explained to you, than getting it wrong from the start

Sleep

I’m going to keep talking about sleep because it’s so important. We underestimate the positive effects a good night’s sleep has on the rest of the day. I want to gift this to you. My whole life has improved because I get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis, writes Arianna Huffington, the co-founder, and editor in chief of The Huffington Post. And this has profound consequences — on our health, our job performance, our relationships, and our happiness. If you want to live a long life, you need to sleep at least 6 hours a night.

The quality of your sleep is very important and you should be in a state of REM for as long as possible.
Interrupted and poor sleep increases your CORTISOL levels, the stress hormone, which makes you fat.
Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan — although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.)
In a 2015 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night.
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that well-rested dieters lost more fat — 56% of their weight loss

If you have an iPhone, there’s a function on the clock app, where you simply move the dial to the time you go to bed, allow yourself at least 6 hours, and presto… the alarm will chime when you’ve had your 6 hours. Personally, I have become accustomed to my 6 hours with the sandman. You may need to romance him a little longer. It’s up to you.

Enjoy tonight !