"The Brad Plan"

On March 15 I took a challenge presented to me by Mike, a co-worker. Twenty years ago his buddy Brad, a nutritionist, had come up with The Brad Plan.

In summary, the plan was to eat foods on the Yes list, avoid foods on the No list, and exercise at least 30 minutes each and every day. Do this for 30 days and you'll lose weight and feel better. The lists consists of the typical foods you'd expect on the Yes - fruits, veggies, lean meats, non-fat milk, even pasta (shocker!), and on the No - starchy veggies, sugar, wheat, flour, candy, sodas, cheese, most dairy, etc.

Mike and Brad decided to challenge each other and make a bet. Whoever didn't stick to the plan, or was the first to deviate from it, would owe the other $100. Both men stuck to the plan for the entire 30 days, so they both kept their money. But Mike said he lost 20 lbs.! I decided to take the challenge and try to get my friends to do it with me and make a wager. My brother was anxious to try to take my money, and another friend jumped on board quickly, wagering a $25 Nordstrom gift card. But as quickly as they hopped aboard, they hopped off. Ended up my friend Tina said she'd follow the diet with me for about three weeks, until her planned Vegas trip. We chose not to make a wager.

I stuck to the plan religiously. Some times were harder than others. I made fruit smoothies for breakfast, salad with chicken or tuna, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and vinegar for lunch. Dinners were harder because we end up eating out or getting take-out often, but I'd make sure to eat only the foods allowed. Problem with that is everything is so overloaded with salt. Also, even though pasta and rice are on the yes list, eating more than a very little of it is counter-productive. I came to the realization that it's not so much determination that is necessary for weightloss, it's PLANNING!

I re-joined 24 Hour Fitness, kicking myself for cancelling my $99 per year for life membership only a few months earlier. Three of my co-workers go to the 24 Hour across the street during our lunch hour, including Anna, who is in my department, and my boss. I never thought I'd look forward to working out. I actually am anxious to get to the gym everyday!

In three weeks on The Brad Plan, I lost 6 pounds. That's a 2 lbs. average per week, which is supposed to be healthy. My clothes began fitting looser, though I was still in the same clothes.