My take away
A “special event diet” is primarily for those of us who have received an invite to an anniversary party, wedding or another such “special event” that we plan to attend and want to get fit and look our best on a deadline, by dieting in a safe manor. That said, this generic plan also works quite well as a jump start to a new healthier lifestyle. I have used it for both instances and it works nicely. The easy to follow diet plan and exercise routine work perfectly together. With a “forget the rules” meal inserted into every week, it is much easier to stick with the meal plan knowing you can go ahead and have a couple slices of pizza and a beer Friday night after a long work week. This post has guidelines. My other posts will have daily or weekly exercise and menu suggestions.
Please note that before starting any diet and/or exercise routine check with your doctor or healthcare provider first. Never try to accomplish an exercise that you know you cannot do or that will compromise your physical safety. Always remember to avoid foods that you are allergic to or may have a sensitivity to. The meal formula below provides a list of replacement foods and workout routines have different levels of difficulty for each workout session. Below is what has worked for me. You know you better than I do!
The first time I got serious about this workout routine, I had three months until my special events (a cousins wedding and my siblings anniversary party within a couple weeks of each other).
In the short amount of time I couldn’t believe the amount of fat loss and the difference in my chest, legs, bottom, hips and belly. Not only did this effect the way I looked but also (I suspect this is true of most workout and healthy eating routines) effected the way I felt and, honestly, I had better balance. Not to be too cliche but you’ll get out of it what you put into it. The more effort you are willing to put in, the more successful you will be at getting in shape.
I’ll give you the rundown as I know you probably are reading this post for the formula more than for my personal story.
This particular program calls for exercise 6 days a week. I did 3 x 45 minute workouts and 3 x 30 minute workouts a week. It was a little bit perfect actually. The whole workout took less than an hour out of my day and it incorporated the key components that most successful exercise routines have.
- Cardio on all 6 days (incorporating “HIIT” at least 2 of the 6)
- Strength Training (incorporate into 3 of the 6 days)
- Balance (incorporate into 3 of the 6 days)
- Flexibility (incorporate into 3 of the 6 days)
- Agility (incorporate into 1 of the 6 days)
Front to back side to side squat-lunge combos and plié squats ended up being my favorite leg workouts (they work EVERYTHING) and the medicine ball foot to hand exchange ended up being my favorite abs workout.
My husband and I both work full time so, for me, it is a challenge finding time to coordinate a good exercise routine and meal plan. I have found the best time for me to workout is in the morning before showering and heading off to work. For some jumping into an exercise regimen first thing in the morning is impossible. If for some reason I miss my morning workout, I can take a walk, or head to the gym on lunch break or, if all else fails, just workout in the evening. As a caution sleeping may be difficult after an evening workout, so make sure to end your workout with enough time to let your body wind down before bed, no less than two hours for many. Not me. I’m good and ready to sleep after a vigorous workout.
The second time around I got creative (Hey, what you call lazy, I call innovative…). I used the X-Box “Yourself Fitness” Game to guide my workout routine. The game allows the player to customize the workout and select the schedule. I find it easier to keep track of my workouts, especially with my schedule.
What also induces a lot of structure is packing our lunch and cooking dinner daily. I pretty much have to be committed in order to succeed (because I will make excuses). Once I got organized and in a good routine I found the plan actually provided relief from the daily questions – “what am I going to have for lunch”, “what should I make for dinner?” because the whole month is written out and the meals are planned. As a side note: we actually figured it was much cheaper to make lunch at home even with a fancier meal plan than it was to buy lunch. With the replacement list it is easy to customize each week to suit either what is at home at the time (example: instead of chicken for dinner one night and salmon for dinner the other night I can just buy a 16 oz salmon filet and use that as four proteins, or two dinners, at 4 oz each, for my hubby and me) or what is in the budget.
The below is an example of what a day of meals can look like for us:
- Breakfast: granola, berries, yogurt (plain with a drizzle of honey or sprinkled with Stevia is my choice)
- Snack #1: sliced apple with an ounce of cheese
- Lunch: Wrap with 4 oz turkey and cram as many vegetables as I want in there (usually lettus, chopped celery, chopped onions and artichoke hearts, or I might put in some red bel pepper, for a crunch)
- Snack #2: baby carrots and humus
- Dinner grilled chicken and vegetables with pecans sprinkled on top
- Snack #3: two oatmeal cookies
Staples to our daily diet are:
- Nuts and nut butter
- Dairy
- Green vegetables
- Beans and legumes
- Eggs
- Lean meat
- Oatmeal
- Olive oil
- Berries
- Protein powder (whey)
- Whole grain
- Variety of fruit
- Colorful vegetables
In each one of our meals we try to incorporate at least two of the staple foods and each snack should have at least one.
