These are my results from putting Dr. Neal Barnard's 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart into practice.
11.5 LBS. MY FIRST 21 DAYS (February 21 - March 14, 2011):
When I got this book I jumped right in and tried out a couple of interesting-looking recipes, never stopped doing just that, and here I am 21 days later finding my body 11.5 lbs. lighter -- on average, that's a little more than 1/2 lb. a day.
QUICK OVERVIEW OF BOOK:
By eating only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, and by setting aside all animal products, oils, and high-glycemic index foods, as Dr. Barnard recommends, my body's excess weight just melted away, effortlessly, with very little of my usual cravings. This is exactly what Alicia Silverstone describes from her experiences with these same food choices in the Forward. Thank you, Dr. Barnard, for practicing medicine with a fork rather than a scalpel, as you have previously stated.
I really like the fact that the last third of the book is devoted to providing a fantastic example of menus and recipes; what a great jumping-off point. The first two recipes that I tried, Huevos Rancheros and Quick Black Bean Chili from Day 19, were off-the-charts delicious. Since then, my friends and I have been amazed at how tasty every other recipe has been that I've made for them. Thank you, Jason Wyrick!
MY STORY, COMMITMENT & LEVEL OF EFFORT:
Before discovering this book on Amazon I was pretty serious about losing weight and was already preparing my own meals in order to have direct control over the content of all food that I ate. I had previously spent some time learning about nutrition, attended some classes at a local university, and had seen a nutritionist. As a result, when this book arrived I was already in the habit of logging: earnestly keeping track of everything that went in my mouth, hydration, weight, exercise, when I went to bed at night, and when I got up in the morning. Obviously, this is not usual or customary, but for the purposes of weight loss and working to make some long-term lifestyle changes, it is totally reasonable.
I was determined to make significant lifestyle changes and was looking for a menu plan from anybody who knew what they were doing. You won't find me complaining about the amount of effort it takes to diligently read this book, put together a shopping list, make many trips to the grocery store, get to know my grocers, and learn my way around a kitchen. In fact, I was delighted that finally somebody could give me a set menu, recipes to follow, and more than adequate pointers about how to prepare these delicious recipes, in addition to explaining why I was eating them. My nutritionist had plenty of knowledge but couldn't provide me with a simple menu plan, surprisingly. The classes at the university couldn't do that either; it was all scientific findings and research -- helpful, but of no practical application. However, when I happened across this book on Amazon it was clear to me, from everything else I had already learned about nutrition, that Dr. Barnard and Jason Wyrick could not only provide me with a menu plan and recipes, but it was the right menu plan and recipes for me, based upon my findings.
So I was very excited to get this book and get started because I knew what it could do for me. I made it my mission to try to fix every meal in the book during the 21 days -- and failed miserably! I believe I only made it through Days 1-3 and, along with Day 19 and a number of other recipes that looked appealing, I ended up just repeating four-to-five day's worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the sake of simplicity and time savings. Regardless, every morning I would jump on the scales before hopping in the shower and, not every time but pretty consistently every time, I would weigh 1/2 lb. less than the day before. THAT felt amazing to me, to have that kind of control. I had never experienced that before; it was habit forming and re-enforced my determination to prepare my own meals and have direct control over my food choices. Some days I gained a little or broke even and a few days I lost considerably more than 1/2 lb. Whatever the daily result, I was determined to stay consistent with my mission of following the menus and recipes.
I'm excited about this book! It has changed my life. Yes, implementation at the grocery store and in the kitchen takes considerable time and effort, but no more time and effort than my Mom does every day in her kitchen. I have two sharp knives, a bunch of crummy old pots and pans, an electric range/oven, and a small kitchen with very little counter space. There is nothing fancy going on here except a commitment to follow the menus and recipes.
EXERCISE & HYDRATION:
I also exercised regularly during this time, roughly every other day, and I made sure I drank plenty of water, at least eight 8 oz. glasses per day starting with 16 oz. first thing in the morning. (15.35 oz. of water weighs one pound, so when I jumped on the scales each morning I would subtract a 1.0 lb.) I used to be a competitive swimmer and now usually swim 4 times a week with a Master's swim team, but during this whole 21-day period I only swam 2,000 meters on three different occasions, which is about 35-45 minutes of swimming for me, and I walked 1.5 miles six times, which is typically around 30 minutes of walking at 3.0 mph for me. That's only nine periods of exercise on nine different days during the 21-day period, which I consider to be moderate exercise by current standards.
BENEFITS:
Through Dr. Barnard I have finally found some practical guidance where, if I put the right foods in my mouth, my cravings for sweets go away, I no longer get ravenously hungry during the day, I lose weight immediately, and it's all completely healthy -- all while my body is boosting metabolism, lowering cholesterol, and dramatically improving its health in many other ways after years of uninformed eating. What more can you ask for than that?
There is so much conflicting information out there about nutrition from credible sources. This book makes it easy to practice Dr. Barnard's recommendations because all you have to do is jump in and start eating from the menus and recipes, which you can do while getting a real education in nutrition from the rest of the book in the meantime.
A GREAT KICKSTART:
Learning how to prepare fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes as deliciously as you can from these menus and recipes was a pretty easy lifestyle change for me. And although I have significantly more weight loss to go, losing 11.5 lbs. in the first 21 days is certainly a great kickstart!
I got immediate results and I believe you can, too.
Bon appétit!
