How I Lost 4 Pounds in 3 Days

Let me share with you what I did in order to lose pounds quickly. It may seem like crash dieting (which, depending on the person, is possible), but in my case, it didn't feel like crash dieting because I still needed to watch what I eat afterward.

If you're interested in dropping a few pounds before an event or a trip, you can try doing what I did: Military Diet.

No, military exercises are not needed, although the diet encourages exercise of any form. In my case, since I am really really really busy nowadays, which is also one of the reasons why I gained weight, I didn't have time to do formal workouts but I still tried to move around.

It sounds like crash dieting in a way that your calorie intake will lessen. But unlike other diets, it does give you the nutrients that you need.

This week was my second round of Military Diet. During the first week, I followed it religiously. But I got hungry all the time, so for my second round this week, I decided to modify it according to my needs.

I repeat: This is a MODIFIED version of the original Military Diet, allowing for afternoon snacks.

First, here's the menu for the original Military Diet, which I followed to a tee last week:

Image from Vicki Tuell on Pinterest

I began my diet on a Monday, and I was 60 kilos then (ouch). On Thursday morning, after completing the diet, I was only 58 kilos. I lost 2 kilos or 4.4 pounds.

Another vital component of the diet is that on the days following it, you should not exceed 1500 calories a day.

This week, I slightly modified the diet and allowed some snacking in the afternoon. I also replaced some foods into more filling ones (e.g. saltine crackers to whole wheat bread). Here are photos of (almost) everything that I ate during the 3-day diet:

Green Eggs and Ham! And Red Rice!

And homemade oatmeal cookies. And fish. And native chicken. And lots of fruits and vegetables.

That's what I have been eating these past days. (Of course, except the green eggs and ham. But I'll get to the green eggs part later.)

I know I promised to make a followup post for Finance Friday today. You see, last week, I talked about the secret key to wealth. It is not my mostly read post so far, but it garnered some of the widest and meaningful reactions in social media. It is also one of my most widely shared posts. And that's great! This is because it means that a lot of us are becoming more aware (or more concerned) of our actions and how it can affect us in the long-term.

Then, I promised that this week, I will talk about the tips that one can use to utilize the power of that "secret key." But I've been churning out one heavy post after the other this week, and I can't manage the weight anymore! I really need to write something light muna!

Monday - School Blues
Wednesday - Priest vs. Single Mom
Thursday - Bad Influence

So, again, let's talk about something light for a change? What about our diet change? Hee hee.

Since the beginning of this month, we have begun eradicating processed foods from our diet. It is a hard change since we all have been using processed foods since, well, birth. What fueled it is my parents' 11-day diet plan. They consulted this clinic, had a complete body analysis, and received a specific diet plan good for 11 days. Of course, damay-damay na. And I'm so happy because my Balik-Alindog program was "naudlot" and I can finally continue it without the temptations around!

I'll talk about our specific diet changes in a future post (I need to compile more photos first). For now, here are some of the "major" changes we've done:

Any household with a toddler would know how important cookies are. Please tell me you're agreeing with me!

Oplan Balik Alindog - Updates

Hi! Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was uneventful, but I did spend my Sunday eating as much as I could eat.

You see, I just unofficially declared Sunday my cheat day. Yes, I'm serious about losing weight, but I still love eating! (There must be something done about this.)

Before you get the idea that I'm making an update because I've already lost weight, well, I don't think I already have. Ang hirap! When you plan to diet and exercise with a toddler around, it's so hard! Or at least in my case.

So that you gain a bit of an idea as to how my weight loss journey has progressed so far, let me tell you the story through photos.

On good days, I'm able to exercise while Yuri is still asleep...

At first, I tried my old style of exercising (a lot of running in place and jumping jacks, basically cardio). Brings back memories of my summer days during high school when I faithfully exercised!

It would be nice to have a thigh-gap...

I also tried the 7-minute exercise app on Android, and, man, was I out of breath. I'm seriously out of shape!

Post-exercise selfie

However, I recently found out that exercises like this strengthen the body but do not affect our metabolism. I also noticed that after doing it, I was only dizzy and I did not really feel the burn, you know? So it's back to boring old cardio routine for me!

On some other (equally good) days, though, when I begin exercising, this happens:

And this:

Leave me alone, Yuri:

Just kidding.

And, finally, on weekends,I wake up with the intent to exercise but cannot because here's what I see:

An intruder!

Make that intrudersss!

Now, for food intake, I still count calories (but still often overeat). I've switched from my mobile app to MyFitnessPal because it has a lot of features.

For example, a lot of Filipino foods are in their database, unlike my mobile app where I often had to choose what seems to resemble what I just ate. This led to incorrect readings.

I also liked how it also tracks my water intake. I seriously need to improve on this area, too!

(Hopefully, my accountability partners would create accounts din.)

As for my diet itself, like exercising, there are good days...