A pound of butter is FOUR of these sticks.

I’ve completed the first three weeks of my Fit Challenge. This week I lost one pound, bringing my three week total to 9 lbs. I was disappointed in the apparent drop, but Gina at Outdoor Fitness Adventure Club reminded me what one pound of butter looks and feels like.

The photo to the right shows 1/4 lb of butter. So yeah, I lost four of those this week. Nothing to sneeze at.

I’m also at least 50% of the way toward my Fit Challenge weight loss goal. I say “at least” because I haven’t accounted for any increase in muscle mass.

I do have some observations about Tim Ferriss’ slow-carb diet. As I enter the fourth week I’ve had my first strong cravings for food that’s not on my plan. Yes, there’s a free day, and that’s made sticking to the plan the other six days much easier. My free day is Saturday, and here on Monday I’m already wishing for something besides meat, veggies and legumes. Not necessarily something sweet, just something different. Thankfully my brilliant girlfriend suggested chewing gum. It was one of those “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” moments. Chewing gum has been a real help.

The other challenge this week was the flu. I’ve been sick for the past 3.5 days, and for whatever reason, my resolve wasn’t sharp. I have kept to the plan, but just didn’t feel like it. Might also have something to do with being unable to workout (thanks for nothing, fever).

What am I eating?

Tim Ferriss describes the slow-carb diet in his book The Four-Hour Body. Basically, there’s no dairy, no fruit and no bread. There is protein, nutrition-dense vegetables and legumes (for calories) with every meal. And one day a week you go “wild” and eat whatever you want.

Most of my shopping I do at Trader Joes, supplemented by trips to Costco for huge packages of Foster Farms skinless, boneless chicken breast.

Breakfast consists of Trader Joe’s cage-free egg whites and one organic brown egg, spinach (usually) or sometimes other veggies leftover from last night’s dinner, and either lentils or black beans.

Egg whites with one organic brown egg, french green beans and roasted peppers, and lentils.

It’s a little “weird” to me to eat veggies at breakfast (besides spinach, which I love and can eat in an omelet anytime). As Ferriss concedes, breakfast becomes a little more like lunch on this diet, but it’s still good. Sometimes I miss my oatmeal, and I probably will add that into the mix once I reach a maintenance weight.

A salad at Chipotle fits the plan perfectly.

Lunch is usually heated up from a previous dinner. I grill all my meat, and usually will grill three or four chicken breasts at once, refrigerate them, then either eat them cold or nuke them for a few minutes in the microwave. So on days where I have time to assemble my own lunch, it may consist of veggies, lentils or beans, and a chicken breast. Sometimes I swap that for lentils, tuna and fresh spinach with a little Trader Joe’s fat-free basalmic dressing.

But often I don’t have time to pull it together, or just want a little change of pace. So I hit Chipotle and get a salad with black beans, steak, salsa, corn salsa and guacamole. Note that  I didn’t use the dressing that you see in this photo. The salsa does the trick.

A typical dinner includes protein, veggies and legumes.

Dinner is much the same. Either chicken breast, salmon or lean steak (grilled, thank you) with lentils or black beans and some sort of veggies. I like the packages of brocolli at Trader Joe’s because you can just pop them in the microwave for a couple minutes and they come out great. If I’m feeling more ambitious, I might toss some asparagus with a little onion, garlic and red chili flakes and a bit of extra virgin olive oil to dress it all up.

That’s it. It’s pretty simple, although I can get creative with the preparation when the meals start feeling boring. There is no calorie counting. Eat as much as you want of these ingredients. I feel pretty full most of the time.

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1. Fit Challenge Week 2 Results Two weeks ago I began a “Fit Challenge” at San...

The first four days I stuck to the detox plan (all described in this post, with a photo of the detox soup). The first Saturday I went wild, per my plan. Sunday I started Ferriss’s plan, which has protein, legumes and veggies with every meal, and no fruit allowed except on my free day.

At the end of the first week I had lost 4 lbs, and now after two full weeks I’ve lost a total of 8 lbs. It’s coming off a little faster than ideal, but what’s really interesting is that I don’t get hungry. I’m eating well, and feeling satisfied.

I’m also moving in some new ways. I’ve incorporated Pilates into my weekly routine. It’s a challenge for me, since my limbs  – especially my hips — are pretty inflexible. But I’m enjoying it. This, plus boot camp, hikes and the occasional run is keeping me on my toes.

Gina and Elaine at OFAC have been a great source of knowledge and encouragement, as has my girlfriend (who is doing this with me). We keep each other motivated and on track during the week.

The results? After two weeks, I’ve lost 44% of my target weight. Week three will be a telling test.

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2010 was a banner year for fitness, personally. I had set a goal to hike the entire John Muir Trail — plus some — and backpacked over 230 miles in three weeks, culminated by summiting Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. In my training for this, I climbed many major peaks in Southern California, even starting a website devoted to covering the trails around Los Angeles and Orange County. I published a training guide used by many to prepare for Mt. Whitney, called the Six Pack of Peaks.

I accomplished it all, and when I returned from the JMT, I was promptly swamped with work. I immersed myself in work, and though I still walk, hike and run, I’ve been woefully inconsistent about it.

And so my girlfriend and I have joined Richard and Elaine Gjonovich’s Fit Challenge at San Clemente’s Outdoor Fitness Adventure Club. I did one of these challenges a couple years ago and it really helped me get back on track with exercise and healthy eating. Now after a busy winter, it’s time to come out of my work-induced hibernation and kickstart my health again.

The Fit Challenge is a five-week program designed to help you get a jump on your fitness goals. It begins with a body composition assessment and nutrion plan. The first 3-5 days you follow a “detox” nutrition plan — no caffeine, no sugar, no processed foods or crap. Lots of “detox soup,” chicken breast, brown rice and mint tea.

My plan is to follow this until I exhaust my current pot of soup (probably 3-4 days) then switch to Tim Ferris‘ “Slow-Carb” plan as outlined in The Four Hour Body (lots of protein, veggies and legumes… and one “free day” to eat whatever the hell I want).

My current clothed weight is 233 lbs, with a 24% body fat. My goal? 215 lbs  and 18% body fat in five weeks. I’ll post again on March 12th with the results.

I realize this post is a departure from my oft-erratic subject matter, but I wanted to throw the gauntlet down. If any of you wants to join me in my crusade for personal health and fitness, drop me a line and we can encourage each other along the way.

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