Good morning, campers! Last week Big Skeezy came off a two-week bender of sorts and, amazingly enough, didn’t gain any weight. He also didn’t lose any, either, so the BSC seems to be creeping towards the finish line as opposed to racing towards it. How did Skeezy fare this week? Let’s break it down, shall we?
It’s true. I’ve been ambling towards the finish line for a while now. I know it, you know it. Still, after a couple of months of half-assing this I finally perked up after the Vegas trip a couple of weeks ago. I remember in the beginning when I was dropping weight by the handful I calculated that if I continued to do that all year long I would have ended up losing more than I weighed come the end of the BSC. That’s not healthy or practical, obviously, but I did certainly apply the brakes a few weeks ago.
Luckily, Cosby Sweaters’ resident physician (aptly named “The Doctor”) sent me an email last week discussing a book he’d just picked up called The Four Hour Body. It was written by Timothy Ferris, author of the wildly successful The Four Hour Work Week. What Ferris details in his book is a smorgasbord of interesting dietary and lifestyle tactics that, through his studies, target fat loss. The first thing he says in the book is to grab a tape measure and take your measurements – waist, arms, legs, etc. – because this is going to be about inches and not necessarily weight, though you will certainly notice it on the scale.
How does it work? I’m not done with the book yet but I’ve cleared most of the major points in the diet itself. What he recommends is a “slow carb” diet. It’s not unlike Atkins but it’s a bit more lenient. On this diet you can eat meats (fish, chicken, beef, pork – all the delicious animals), beans, and vegetables. Spinach in particular is a good one, and the beans are an excellent source of protein. Fruits (due to fructose), sugar in general (it is a diet, after all), dairy – all of these things are off-limits. You are allowed cottage cheese because of the fat-burning friendly bacteria found in it. Eggs are also good, but limited to egg whites for the most part. If you eat three eggs, you get one yolk for flavor. This diet has been pretty easy to follow thus far, as I have been toting three small containers to work containing my lunch. One with chicken, one with whatever type of beans I feel like that day (pinto, black, black eyed peas, refried) and a smal container of spinach for my dose of veggies.
Ferris has other interesting ideas as well. Within thirty minutes of waking you should drink a good amount of ice water, as the frigid temperature of the water will kick-start your metabolism. Within that same 30 minute span, you should eat a protein heavy breakfast. I’ve been eating a few spoonfuls of cottage cheese and three hard boiled eggs (one yolk, whites otherwise). Once that’s done I’ve been hopping in the shower and that’s where it gets a bit brutal. Following the notion that the colder your body is the more it has to work to keep you warm, here’s what Ferris recommends:
Get into the shower with the water set to your usual delightful temperature. Soap up your face and hair and then immediately flip the water to as cold as it’ll go. wash your face and hair and then turn your back into it, letting the icy water hit your neck, top of your shoulders for 2-3 minutes while you soap up and wash the rest of yourself. What this does is not only wake you right the hell up but it stimulates what’s called “brown fat”, which in adults is stored right where that polar water is hitting you. Brown fat burns white fat, which is what I have everywhere else. It’s also been cold in SoCal lately (well, for SoCal standards) so I’ve been sleeping with my windows open and my fan on. Metabolic burn all day, baby.
That, my friends, is what I’ve been doing all week. Sure, I went out Friday night and enjoyed the USC game with a bunch of friends, as well as a couple of giant margaritas (you get one cheat day a week). Saturday was spent with my friend “Abby” at a lovely benefit/fundraiser. Sunday was back to normal, eating right and watching football (Tebow > Oakland).
Eventually it was time for the weigh in. I was interested to see if Ferris’ plan worked. I certainly felt like it was working so I stepped onto the scale today and discovered that I’d lost three pounds, despite a rather unhealthy 24 hour span between Friday and Saturday. That takes me down to 275 with a 96 pound loss on the year. Four more pounds to go before I shake that 100 pound gorilla off my back.
Now, let’s talk about something else right quick. A week or so ago I posted about the Cosby Sweaters team joining the MOvember movement to raise money for men’s health awareness. I can’t help but notice that a very limited amount of you have joined Team Dirty Cosby Sweaters and even fewer of you have donated. It only takes a minute, gang, and it’s for a great cause. Please be sure and visit my page at http://mobro.co/Bigskeezy and join the team, make a donation and do a little good in the world today.
