Week 1 Update by Travis

With the better part of a week behind me, I'm still going strong on this second iteration of the Abs Diet. One nice thing about the diet is that it's helped me get back into cooking at home and eating out less. Here are a couple meals that have been working out well for me (keep in mind that I'm trying to put on weight, so I'm sneaking in a few extra calories whenever I can; consider that if you're going to use any of these suggestions).

For breakfast, I've been making a morning sandwich, consisting of a couple eggs, slices of Canadian bacon, a slice of Muenster cheese, and a little ketchup on two slices of whole wheat bread. I'll wash the whole thing down with a tall glass of milk.

At lunch, I'll mix together some canned chicken, low-fat refried black beans, a little flax, almond slivers and a curry or simmer sauce that I picked up at Trader Joe's. One batch of this is usually enough for two, maybe three meals.

I've been trying different things for dinner, but last night I BBQ'd a chicken breast that I'd marinated in lime juice, pepper and olive oil and combined that with some spinach that I sautéed with garlic, lemon juice and a little salt and pepper.

As for the smoothies, I've been going the kitchen sink route and throwing the following into a blender: milk, yogurt, flax, blueberries, peanut butter, protein powder, and then I'll either throw in some oatmeal or high fiber cereal.

The exercise is going well, too. I did a little cardio on Monday, lifted on Tuesday and did an hour of cardio at lunch yesterday. I'm resting today and then plan on lifting again, tomorrow.

I've been bad about writing down my starting stats, but hopefully I can get to that tonight. I can't say I've really noticed a change, yet, except that I do feel a tad leaner (probably a result of all the water I've been drinking).

It's all coming back to me by Travis

Transitioning back into the Abs Diet eating routine has gone seamlessly for me, so far. Having removed all of the non-Abs Diet friendly foods from my fridge and pantry, I went shopping on Sunday afternoon in an effort to reload those voids with healthier choices. Considering the amount of food I bought, I was pleasantly surprised to note that the cost was much lower than what I had anticipated. A nice reminder that while eating healthy may cost a little more, it's not going to break the bank. Besides, when compared to the cost of an unhealthy lifestyle, there simply is no comparison.

Today will be my first day back in the gym. I hate going to the gym for the first three weeks in January because I'm forced to deal with all of the New Year's resolutioners. That aside, my plan is to follow the Abs Diet routine for today and Friday and then to switch over to my workout routine next week. Ideally, I plan on hitting the gym on MWF and doing cardio TTh.