Moderate Carb Day

Hey XFLD'ers!! Today we are introducing food back into our system! I don't know about ya'll, but I have been extreeeeeemely hungry lately. That is a GOOD thing! If you think about what's going in the body, crazy amounts of fat are being torched. My body is pulling from fat stores for the fuel to run the required bodily functions and it has no choice BUT to place a demand for energy from fat stores since there are no carbs or glycogen flowing through my system due to the fast and shake day, and lowered calorie intake. So....if you are experiencing hunger, REJOICE! Think about the day 3 weeks from now where you will confidently walk around the pool in your swimsuit, or the new cuts in places you never even thought you could BE cut. New, sleek muscle is now making a debut. Your confidence and outlook on life is growing, along with your pant size it seems! (because your waist is shrinkin, hahah!)

I had to have a talk with myself the last day or two...it seems like I was working soo hard and no results were coming. But a good "friend" reminded me that there is a faith period that one must endure. Just keep to the task at hand for today, knowing that the results are happening right under your nose.

P.S.: REMEMBER--Joel said no weighing yourself until cheat day morning as this could derail you from the course!

How did we do today? Did we "cheat better" than the last time? I know my very first cheat day, I was somewhat hesitant to really let go and just ....cheat! But if you have read the manual, you can be comforted in knowing that a bigger increase in calories over your normal intake will result in a better leptin release, which is the fat burning hormone that is working all week for us. Just be prepared to put in the work at the gym this week and let's really capitalize on the optimally heightened state of thermogenesis in our body!

Sorry about the 2 day absence...I fell into the "no-carb" zone. If you are laughing, you know exactly where I was. You were probably sitting there right next to me. If you don't know what I'm talking about, maybe you snuck in a few carbs or two when no one was looking?? Anyway, my mind is at peace, my body and appetite is happy, and my glycogen stores are full so my workouts tomorrow should kick high-tail. Tomorrow as I'm running hill sprints @ 630 before church, I'll be thinking of you guys and how thrilled I am that you share this passion...let's do this BIG this week.

Well folks, day 3 is wrapping up and from what I have gathered from your comments and feedback, people are STILL not experiencing difficulties with hunger and cravings. The satiety and fullness of drinking the protein shakes is keeping people's spirits high! And if you find that you are having a hard time fighting off the thoughts of eating unauthorized food, it would not be a bad idea to look at a fatburner. (I use Slimmetry from Nutrilite).

The shake day is genius, when you understand the strategy behind it. Being placed right after the fast day, it's function is twofold: obviously to get your day's nutrition, but also to help you stay on track because you know that you will only be having shakes all day. If you fasted, then the next day were able to eat regular food, there is a possiblity of some psychological fallout from feeling somewhat "restricted" from food the day prior. It's also low calorie, to keep your body using fat for fuel. Personally I notice that on the fast day and shake day, I feel better and my head is clear. This makes biofeedback during my workouts spot on.

So tomorrow we introduce whole food back into our diet. It's MODERATE CARB DAY. This is designed to give your body a break from low calories, while still burning fat. Make sure you use the DONE FOR YOU CALCULATOR to get the appropriate amount of macronutrients for your body.

P.S.---Oh, and the interaction on facebook is great! I love hearing about how your workouts are going, and what you are eating, and how you are feeling! Some of you will also experience little, personal victories that help increase your self confidence and raise your self-image. Not only that, but a crowd is forming around us...just watching and waiting, silently cheering us on because they WANT us to achieve. Seeing you break thru your barrier may just be the thing that inspires someone else to attack theirs. I want to leave you with my all-time favorite quote from Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Alright people, let's get after it tomorrow--I am sooo proud of you!

Fast Day went by Fast

Congratulations XFLD participants! The first fast day is now under your belt. Not so bad, was it? If you reflect on the day, you will probably recognize that the difficulty, if any, was the mental attachment to food. For me, it was a nagging feeling that somehow I was "missing out" on something. But from a physical standpoint, I was never tired, not really hungry, and the workouts generally rocked.

I am not sure if the manual stated this, but in general you will be breaking this fast around 6-7...about 24 hours after you finished your last cheat meal. To break this fast you need to take in some protein with some healthy fat. Protein shake with peanut butter, tuna and olive oil, etc. JUST NO CARBS!

Please make sure you listen to the audio interviews that came with the program, as I am getting some questions that I feel can be best answered by Vince...in the interview.

Anyway, tomorrow is shake day. Honestly, it might be my favorite day. I love the variety that Joel gives us in the recipes for the protein shakes.

So ya'll did fantastic! I am so excited for the journey that we are sharing. Let's KILL it tomorrow~~!

We made the cut for FINAL VOTING!!!

Hey everyone,
Some of you know that Vic and I entered a Transformation Contest that started over 16 weeks ago. We trained, we dieted, and we made the final cut for voting!!! We are asking for your support in voting for me, JONI, (you can only vote once). Please take a minute before Wednesday to go and place your vote!

http://www.maximizeyourmuscle.com/transformation_contest/contestants.php

Thanks everyone!

A New Purpose for Chasing Arete and top 10 Reasons the Diet works

Okay.... first of all this is a blog that Vic started at the beginning of his fitness journey so there is a LOT of missing content. Somehow his commitment to blogging about his experience deteriorated....Buuuut it's better than if he had quit the actual fitness portion of it!

Then we had been talking for awhile about using it as "our" blog to chronicle our individual transformations, but that has yet to occur. Mostly all due to my trepidation of posting pictures of my "before" state, and not knowing what the end result would be. It was scary to think I'd fail with the world watching.

Sooo, I guess I can commandeer it for awhile on this journey with you. My fellow Xtreme Fat Loss Diet-goers. I am going to posting some good info that I found useful, and I hope it's helpful to you as well.

Look forward to seeing some after pics, if ya'll ain't skeered ;)

*****
TOP 10 Reasons The Xtreme
Fat Loss Diet Works
*****

===================
1. Every Day Is A "Mini-Challenge"
====================

One day you're CHEATING, the next day you're FASTING, the next
day your doing ONLY protein shakes... it's SO SO easy to stay
focused on one "mini-challenge" at a time.

=============
2. It's ONLY 25-Days
=============

Many diet plans last "12-weeks" or more and that's just too
daunting for some people to wrap their minds around. 25-days
is a perfect amount of time to get serious and dedicated.

===============
2. You Can Build Muscle
On Your Cheat Days
===============

I trained my weaker body parts, biceps and shoulders on
these days and experienced more fullness and definition
at the end of four cycles because of the extreme caloric
surplus that occurs on this day. I could actually FEEL my
muscles stretching and filling out more and more after
each cheat meal.

====================
3. You Can Lose Up To 2 Pounds
Of Fat In ONE Day On Your FAST Days
====================

This DOES require you to workout on your fast days and I
will note that i sometimes did 2-3 workouts on my fast
days! Yes, you read that correct. However, your body is
so topped off with glycogen, amino acids and triglycerides,
from the cheat day, your body has LOADS of energy to train
as normal in a FASTED state. Believe it or not, my workout
intensity and energy is just the same. You'll see for yourself.

=======================
4. You Lose 3-5 Pounds EVERY 5-Days
=======================

Do you know how motivating that is? Every 5-days,
Flavia and I would step on the scale and see our weight
get lower and lower and our abs got more ripped and
defined faster than ever. We COULD NOT WAIT to get
to Punta Cana and do our photo shoot. Plus, all the fat
was coming right off our lower abs (trouble spots for
both of us).

========================
5. The Compliments And Stares You Get
Will Keep you EXTRA Motivated
=========================

Even though we did our transformation with Joel's plan
in November, Flavia was getting compliments on her arms
every day at work. When I trained in the gym, you could
see my six pack through my white Under Armour shirt
and when people were looking at me - I knew what they
were starring at. Every 5-days you capture more and
more momentum to keep you pushing.

===================
6. Every 5-Days You Learn
Something New About Your Body
==================

Trust me, I was a huge skeptic before I attempted this
plan. Training on my fast days was really scary because
I was afraid of losing muscle. Joel reassured me to
TRUST the program and the science and I did that.

I actually gained 1 or 2 pounds of lean muscle over the
21-days - probably because of the massive caloric surplus
I took in on the Cheat Days. I learned that "losing muscle"
is over rated if you have the right plan.

==================
7. Every 5-Days Your Confidence
And Belief In Yourself SOARS
==================

This one is from Flavia. She told me her mentality of
herself completely changed and she gained so much
self-esteem, will power and belief in herself after these
21-days. The Protein Only Depletion days were probably
the toughest day but knowing you have the Cheat Day
the next day keeps you true to the program.

=================
8. It Acts SUPER SUPER FAST
=================

Bottom line: we looked good in late October but we were
not ready for our photo shoot in late November. If you
need to be ready for a special event in the next 25-days,
then I have no better solution then Joel's plan.

============
9. It's SO SO SIMPLE
============

As I mentioned, each day you have a new goal which keeps
you focused and looking forward to being successful one
day at a time. How hard is it to Fast ONE DAY every 5-days?
How hard could it be to have protein shakes one day every
day days? How hard is it to eat your favorite foods EVERY 5-days
and be strict on the others? Once you study the 5-day strategic
plan, you're laughing.

============
10. And It's RIGHT In
Time For Summer
============

Enough said. 25 days from now you can be poolside rocking a brand new body. That's where I'ma be.

*****This was taken from an email sent to me by Vince Del Monte and reposted for you ;) Just wanna make sure I give him credit******

Two months in and 13 pounds added.