The Diet

So my fabulous friend, Wanda, is getting married in May. Exactly 72 days from today - not that I am counting or anything... Why is this important? Because it is in L.A., as in California. My friend has a show on TV, she knows Hollywood people. These people I speak of are going to be at her wedding. YIKES!

I also have a coworker that has been on a super strict diet for a couple of months now, and he swears by it. I must admit that he looks fantastic. His wife also looks amazing. I had to get the information on how to make this work for me.

Step one: get the book.
I went to Amazon.com and got the 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. Said book is 594 pages long. I am dead serious. I just about fell over when I got mine. I was so relieved when i read this:

quoting from the book:

RULE #1. THINK OF THIS BOOK AS A BUFFET.
Do not read this book from start to finish.
Most people won’t need more than 150 pages to reinvent themselves. Browse the table of
contents, pick the chapters that are most relevant, and discard the rest … for now. Pick one
appearance goal and one performance goal to start.
The only mandatory sections are “Fundamentals” and “Ground Zero.”

Whew. I don't have to go hunting for my reading glasses.

Step two: find supplements.
They call them PAGG, here they are:

Policosanol: 20–25 mg
Alpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some people experience
acid reflux symptoms with more than 100 mg)
Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg
Garlic extract: 200 mg

This is way harder to find than it should be...BUT, if you ask the experts at Sun Harvest - they do it for you! YAY!

Step three: shop for diet food.
DIET FOOD? Don't panic. This is the easy part. Take a look at your options:

Proteins
*Egg whites with 1–2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic, 2–5 whole eggs, including yolks)
*Chicken breast or thigh
*Beef (preferably grass-fed)
*Fish
*Pork

Legumes
*Lentils (also called “dal” or “daal”)
*Black beans
*Pinto beans
*Red beans
*Soybeans

Vegetables
*Spinach
*Mixed vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or any other cruciferous vegetables)
*Sauerkraut, kimchee
*Asparagus
*Peas
*Broccoli
*Green beans

You get to eat as much as you like of the above food items, but you have to keep it simple.

I went to Sam's Club and got canned goods for these: green beans, asparagus, peas, black beans, and salmon. I decided to eat fish and try chicken to make it easier on me for the demand in protein. I got boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 lbs) package, frozen salmon patties, frozen edamame, 18 count eggs (organic), fresh spinach, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, tomatoes. I had uncooked beans and lentils at home, so I was set!

Step four: preparing the food.
I would say this is the hard part, but I love cooking! I spent all day in the kitchen preparing the meat and legumes.

My way: Being raised vegetarian, I am no expert in preparing meat - so thank you google! I ended up making my own marinade but I did learn that chicken will cook for 40 mins at 400º.

Eldahg Chicken Marinade: Soy Sauce, Balsamic Vinegar, crushed pepper flakes, garlic salt, onion flakes, and pepper (fresh ground). Amounts are based on preference of flavor, so this will never be exactly the same for me... next time I am going to add some thyme and whatever other spices I come across in my spice cabinet. :)

I put the chicken (after I cleaned it and took all the fatty pieces off - yuck) in a big bowl and added the marinade, let it sit for a few minutes (about 20) lined my glass baking dish with foil, drizzled oil on bottom of it and put the chicken in there. The amount of chicken I bought was enough for two batches of these, luckliy I do own two dishes. They fit side my side in the oven - so I saved time.

The beans I put in the crock pot in the morning so they would be done in the late afternoon. i don't have measurements for these....sorry! The lentils were stove top - I put carrots, tomatoes, chopped onion, celery, salt and pepper and cooked for a few hours.

Having everything done, I divided in portions that are suitable for me. Piece of cake!

Step five: getting it done.
I actually started this diet on the 13th of March - Sunday. It is Thursday the 17th - my 5th day in. This is the schedule I have been on:

Meals are approximately four hours apart.

6:30 A.M.—AGG - Breakfast
10:30 A.M.— AGG - Lunch
2:30 P.M.—Smaller second lunch
5:00–7:00 P.M.—Something active - I do bootcamp or walking
7:00 P.M.—AGG - Dinner
8:30 A.M.—Glass of red wine every other day
9:30 P.M.—PAGG and Bedtime

I have noticed I am NEVER hungry and have unlimited amounts of energy and I am motivated to do more and am overall happier.

Wish me luck! I will blog more later!

Eldahg