Well, I’ve decided to try something different.  After months and months of hard work, dedication, and frustration, I am ready to take a different track on my weight loss journey.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that my body does not want to budge from it’s current weight and that I need to make a change from what I’m doing. 

That being said, I am going on a diet.  Yep, an actual diet to get this weight off.  I’m already living my lifestyle change.  I already eat healthy, exercise, and am living a much healthier lifestyle than I ever have before… I’ve been doing really good with it.  My food portions are good, my caloric intake is right on target, and I do cardio four days a week and am training for my two 5k runs this summer.  Doesn’t it seem like the weight should be coming off? 

So yes, back to this diet.  I found a diet that I am going to try because I think it has some good potential without doing anything too crazy.  It’s called the Upday Downday Diet.  Very simply put, you alternate between low calorie days and higher calorie days.  Apparently the jumping back and forth between the days helps kick the metabolism into gear.  Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, here’s the kicker.  On the Down Day (DD), you actually only consume 500 calories… TOTAL.  I know.  (Now you totally think I’m crazy, it’s okay, I do too!)  Then on the Up Days (UD) you consume within your regular calorie range (mine would be between 1,200-1,500).  From what I can tell, most people do three DD’s a week and the other four are UD’s.  And regular exercise is recommended.

I am incredibly skeptical when it comes to fad diets so I wanted to see if this has worked for other people.  I wanted to see how people actually make this diet work, what their strategies are, etc.  So I found a group on SparkPeople with 296 members who are on this diet.  Aha!  Real people making it work, losing the weight, and then maintaining their goal weights.   (side note: SparkPeople is an AMAZING website for weight loss, my favorite out of all of them!)

It really seemed impossible to me at first.  How on earth could I possibly survive a day with only 500 calories?!  And what must I be thinking to attempt such a thing!?  But as I went on to read about how other people do it and how great they feel after doing this diet for a month or two, I think, is it possible?  So, I decide to give it a shot.  I can always change my mind at any time if I suddenly decide that I had a momentary loss of sanity for trying this.

So I a DD yesterday and here is what I ate:

Breakfast:  Coffee with creamer- 30 calories, Small piece of toast- 60 cal
Lunch:  an AdvantEdge Protein Shake- 110 cal
Dinner:  Instant Weight Control Oatmeal- 160 cal, A bite of tomato from a piece of my hubby’s pizza-  30 cal (est.)
Evening snack:  Smart pop mini bag popcorn- 100 cal

Soooooo, not much food, eh?  Yeah, I was starving.  I drank a TON of water, which really helped, but I was definitely hungry.  But do you know what?  I learned something, actually a few somethings.

First, I learned that I could do it.  I didn’t have a meltdown or freak out because of it.  And by the end of the day, I was so proud of myself for having enough willpower to make it through the entire day.

Second, I learned to appreciate my food.  What tiny little bits of food I did eat, tasted like food sent down from Heaven.  Seriously.  Like the Quaker instant oatmeal tasted like the most amazing thing I could have ever asked for and it was actually a very satisfying dinner!  I savored every single bite and completely appreciated the portion. 

Lastly, I learned that I am going to give this diet a shot. 

I must admit, I’ve been a little nervous about writing this post.  A part of me feels bad for getting on this diet and not sticking with just eating right and exercising.  It’s hard for me to admit just how frustrated I have been and that I am resorting to a “fad” diet because I don’t want to be patient anymore.  But like I said earlier, I can just as easily stop if I think it’s ridiculous.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  If anything, I now know that I can survive on less calories!

Here are some links about the Upday Downday Diet if you want to read about it:

Johnson Upday Downday Diet

The Alternative Day Diet Book on Amazon

Really Good Article About UPDD Diet

I tried to link to the SparkPeople group but it requires signing up and becoming a member.