So it’s been a week since I decided to start Dr. Ian Smith’s 4 Day Diet. I’ve completed two modules, resisted a whole lot of temptation, and successfully started the plan.

I told myself during these first two phases that I would follow the plan as strictly as I possibly could. Afterall, the beginning is the kick-start, sets the tone, and would get me into the right mindset.

The first four days (detox) consisted mostly of fruits, green veggies, brown rice, beans, legumes, and a little bit of yogurt and eggs. I never realized how great of an option (and how filling) beans were. I made a fabulous bean salad drizzled with some balsamic vinegar and lemon juice that was scrumptious and kept me full all afternoon.

The second set of four days (transition) was similar food-wise to the Detox days, but started to add back some more food. Colored veggies, proteins, even two snacks a day from a huge list in the back of the book (ranging from cottage cheese to a sweet potato to 1/2 cup fro yo etc).

I noticed the first day of detox was the hardest day all week. My body wasn’t used to no sugar (aside from the sugar in fruit) so I felt a bit sluggish, which I anticipated.

But after day one, I was bursting with energy. Read More »

You know how you can rub a lamp and a genie will come out and grant you three awesome wishes (I mean, in theory)? Well, according to some people, if you rub a staple shoved into the “upper cartilage of [your] left pinna” — the visible part of the ear — three times a day, you won’t want candy and you’ll lose weight.

I’m serious.

Acupuncture has been around for a while, but this type of acupuncture has recently become more popular with lazy people who would rather get foreign objects stapled into their body then move around and eat more vegetables. Ear Stapling is connected to the idea that piercing the upper ear cartilage, “provides constant stimulation for the vagus or pneumogastric nerve, a very lengthy (the word vagus means wandering) nerve that supplies motor and sensory information from the mouth and larynx down to the large intestine and colon“.

Even though some people swear it works, one can really prove anything scientific when it comes to the practice of Ear Stapling. Maybe it’s real. Maybe it’s the Dumbo’s Feather affect. Whatever the case, if you’re asking someone to shove a staple through your ear to lose weight…you’ve got more to worry about than a propensity for donuts.

I mean…leave your ears alone, lift some weights, and cook more stir-frys. Honestly, friends…it’s not that hard.