Did She Just Say 4 Day Diet?

I hate diets. I do. I don’t believe in them. I think diets just lead to breaking diets which leads to eating a whole lot of pizza and then feeling guilty about it. And I don’t think anyone should feel guilty for indulging in the deliciousness that is pizza every now and then.

So imagine my own surprise when I found myself buying a copy of Dr. Ian Smith’s new “diet” The Four Day Diet last week.

Fact is, these past two years, I have been in a constant fight with my weight. It goes up 5 pounds it goes down 4 it goes up 3 it goes down 1. It fluctuates more than Christina Aguilera’s voice on any given song. I can’t seem to successfully lose and keep off these last couple of pounds. Even though I do eat pretty healthy. Even though I workout 5-6 days a week. Even though I know the importance of complex carbs. And lots of veggies. And fiber. Oh boy do I know about fiber. I’ve read it all – I know the spiels.

So after realizing that complaining about the lack of results doesn’t do me any good and just makes those around me more miserable, I decided that I wanted to do something to give my body (and my metabolism) the real kick in the ass that it needs. Something to get back on track, clean my act up a bit to start seeing progress again. I know it’s cliché to start some sort of weight loss resolution in January, but here it goes. I’m trying it out. And blogging about it for you here.

The 4 Day Diet drew me in because it seems simple. And it’s just that- only 4 days. Well, 4 days at a time. There are 7 modules each lasting for only 4 days. Surely I can stick to something for 4 days! It works out perfectly: just when you get sick of eating one way you switch it up.

The 4-day modules are:

Induction (detox/cleansing)

Transition (to reintroduce all food groups)

Protein Stretch (to avoid plateaus)

Smooth (when you can have some formerly forbidden foods like pizza and French fries)

Push (the sprint just before the final stretch, back to a stricter eating plan)

Pace (a comfortable module for you to catch your breath)

Vigorous (the final module to lose those last few pounds)

The whole point of the program is to work on specific tools to build a lasting weight loss. The diet is based on clean whole foods (no calorie counting) and changes up your food and workout routines to keep your body guessing. And unlike most weight loss programs, the first 7 chapters are dedicated to getting your mind in the right place.

So here I go again… I’ll be updating every week as I move through the various modules. Hopefully I can help you (and me!) to get motivated, get inspired, and to share your own trials, tribulations and sucess stories as well.