I’ve gotta drop 10 lb in 4 weeks for a video shoot I’m doing in September. This is not an easy feat but something I can do. As luck would have it, I was sent a copy of The Eat-Clean Diet Stripped: Peel Off Those Last 10 Pounds! by Tosca Reno. As many of you know I’m a big fan of The Eat Clean Recharged book and Stripped is dedicated purely to losing the last 10 lbs. It’s similar to the Tone It Up diet plan that I usually follow, but I’m going to use a few of the suggestions from Stripped in conjunction with TIU. I’m addicted to the protein pancake so giving that up right now is not something I want to do.
I’m going to stop putting up pictures because I can’t seem to not burn them lately but the last one I made was so big!
Stripped suggests some fats with breakfast so instead of having my grapefruit with the pancake, I had 1 tablespoon (or 100 calories) or organic peanut butter. Look how sad and lonely it looks? I spread it on the pancake and immediately wished I hadn’t. It was soooooo good. OMG. New obsession. I took a picture with a few almonds to show how small the portion really is. This is a half serving as a traditional PB serving is 2 TBSP. Breakfast total calories=300 🙂
About 3 hours later in the day, it was time for a snack. Meal #2 was a protein smoothie. I needed a protein and good complex carbs. This is part of both TIU diet plan and Stripped. I had 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, 1 inch of banana and frozen strawberries ( I didn’t measure them but I think I put in about 5 medium sized ones).
I added water and some ice cubes, blended and slurped down in no time. I would have added some unsweetened almond milk but didn’t have any on hand. I felt like I didn’t put enough strawberries in and was getting ready to go for my Urbanathlon training, so I also had one G Series Fit prime bar. I took a picture with almonds again to show you the size.
For my Urbanathlon training, I had a difficult interval workout scheduled. I warmed up with 5 minutes of slow jogging and got right into the session:
- Interval #1: 2 Minutes Sprinting (HR 177-184)
- Interval #2: 2 Minutes Slow Jogging (HR 140-160) (which turned into a walk at the end because my heart rate wouldn’t go down with jog)
- Repeat 8x and finish with a 5 minute cool down jog
Boy was I sweaty! I burned about 500 calories in under 50 minutes. When I got back, I made myself a grilled chicken salad with grilled chicken, corn cut from the cobb, chopped tomato, and summer squash. I added a little Raspberry Vinaigrette from Bolthouse Farms to complete meal #3.
Meal #4 later in the day was the other half of the chicken breast, the other half of the ear of corn and a handful of carrots (no picture). Meal #5 was essentially the same as meal #3 without the corn and with a few wasabi peas (they are my new obsession).
And what did I have for meal #6? I’m embarrassed to say that meal #6 was not part of Stripped or the TIU diet plan. I had a 45-calorie frozen peach pop from Trader Joe’s, and 3 triangles of ginger dark chocolate from Taza chocolates (with a little bit of peanut butter of top). I normally don’t buy chocolate to keep in the house, but this came from TechMunch. To be honest, I’m suprised it’s lasted so long in my fridge but oops! I’m not perfect. Far from it. I put a piece of gum in my mouth and decided to iron a few shirts to prevent me from continuing the sweet tooth binge. That was was yesterday.
I normally don’t do posts like this so let me know down below in the comments if you like stuff like this or my regular posts.
I’m uploading a video shortly about exercise to get rid of your belly pooch on YouTube right now too! I can’t believe I have almost 40K subscribers on there these days. If you are not a subscriber on YouTube, you are missing out on my favorite internet property 🙂
Thank you for posting this Sarah! It was helpful and encouraging to see what you are eating to lose the last bit of weight before your shoot. I have about 6 pounds to lose by the end of the month for a shoot with my band. It has been tough, and I have been plateaued for a while, but I lost 1 pound so far this week. Please keep posting, it’s great encouragement as I am trying to ditch the last few wobbly bits as well!
you too! It’s hard to remember what I’m doing when I’m out to dinner or celebrating and then I blog and I’m like, oh yeah, that’s why… keep at it and congrats on the 1 lb this week 🙂
LOVE this blog Sarah! Keep them coming!!! I would love the protein pancake recipes 🙂
It’s under the recipes tab 🙂
What’s the video for? Is it a secret? You’re gonna be tiny tiny after dropping 10lbs — thanks for sharing. Always motivating 🙂
Video is a secret 🙂 It wont be out until the new year but it’s going to kick ass! And I’ll obviously be talking a lot about it on here.
Why do you have to lose weight for this video shoot?
Your choice? So you feel healthier when they do the video?
Or is someone saying you need to lose the weight?
Inquiring minds want to know.
personal reasons. I want to look good. I want to be at 15% body fat which is healthy and normal. If I lose 10 lbs I’ll be at 15%. It’s just easier to say 10 lbs than lower my percentage of body fat. If I don’t do it, I don’t think the production will care, but I want to feel good about how I look and I want to know I’m at my personal best.
I love this post! I am also on the TIU plan and love to compare what I am eating to other people. It helps me try new things or try a recipe I wouldn’t have thought of etc. Good luck with the 10lbs, you will do great!!! Have a good day 🙂
~Kari
Yes, keep these posts coming! Love your blog Sarah. Great insiration!
Sarah!! aren’t pancakes awesome with nut butter?! wait till you try it slathered with sunflower seed butter and coconut butter!! 😀
coconut butter is AMAZING. I’m glad it’s $15 a jar, keeping me from buying it lol
haha! Hmmm true that! In some cases lol. Doesn’t always work 😛
If you have a decent processor, you can make great coconut butter!
I liked this type of post! It provides some good meal ideas as well as exercise ideas. Good luck with those 10lbs!
Thank you Kaitlyn!
Love the food diary post!
Happy to hear! Will post more like this. 🙂
Thank you so much for this post.. I love it.. I think everyone loves to see what others are eating, compare and contrast.. Lots of great ideas.. Love it love you .. Thanks again!!
I just went on an impulse and bought that book. Can’t wait until I get it!!
Love this post! I’m trying to lose my last 10 pounds too, Sarah. Thanks for your comment on my blog. Love your videos and how your knowledge of food/nutrition. Keep rockin girl! 🙂
It’s always interesting to see what fit people eat. You never know what tips and tricks you’ll pick up
Drop 10lbs in one month = weightlifting (and continue the running for U-athlon). Squats, deadlifts, good mornings, bent over barbell row, shoulder press, chin-ups, plank. Kick the fat-burning muscles into high gear so those calories are disappearing while you’re sedentary = burn more calories than cardio/aerobic exercise. Good luck.
Hey Sarah, nice post -- RE: protein pancake, you may be using too high a heat…I find they work out best at a heat of 3/4 out of 10 🙂
Hi Sarah!
Absolutely love this post! Its real and authentic which i’m sure makes it a lot easier for most readers to relate. it’s nice to know what its like in day for a person who is as fit as you are and that even you struggle with the same temptations as the rest of the world does. haha. keep the posts coming.
I do have a question though, is it a must to do at least 30 mins of cardio including another 10-20mins of interval traning to burn body fat fast?
Hi Sarah,
Yip, love this post too. I am on a lose 10 lbs quest also….lost two in two weeks, 8 more to go. Hang in there, most of us are right there with you too. Love the eat clean books, I have 3 of them. Read them cover to cover numerous times. Thanks for doing what you do. Keep it up.
I really found it interesting to read about what you are eating whilst you are losing that last ten pounds. It really puts the pressure on when you have a deadline that’s so close, but you can do it. Good luck !
I really love your site, your videos and tips are extremely useful, practical and work. thank you very much. Joyce Piper
Thanks Sarah! I love posts like this because it’s encouraging to know that even fit and beautiful people like you have to be conscious about what they eat. Wonderful post!
how much will you be at after a 10 lb loss?
Hopefully 127, my weight fluctuates a lot! I’m usually 133 but gained five lbs since summer started and the other five are my happy weight. The last five are my look best lbs. It’s really hard for me to stay there but I can get there for a shoot!
Your goal of losing 10 pounds in 4 weeks when you are starting at a healthy weight seems very aggressive! When you’re eating this strict of a diet, do you find that you start to obsess about food and what you can’t eat and that it makes you crave all your favorite forbidden foods even more?
Would you rather be at your ideal weight that required you to to eat an extremely healthy diet for maintenance or would you rather weigh 10 pounds more and be able to eat all your favorite foods and not obsess about diet and exercise?
I find that everyone’s body has a set point and if I follow a strict healthy eating plan I can only lose 5 pounds and if I eat everything I want, I only weigh 5 pounds more--so my weight only fluctuates 10 pounds. Personally, it seems hard to move the needle in either direction!
It’s really only five lbs. The other five are water weight. It’s for a shoot and I do this kind of thing when I have them. It helps me feel and look my best.
Loved this post! I find it extremely helpful to see what you eat specifically on a day to day basis. Keep these types of posts up!
Also, I have a question: Do you recommend a workout schedule of 3-4 days of pure cardio with no strength training plus 2-3 days of strength training with no cardio a week or is it good to do cardio and strength training together?
Hi Sarah! I’m aiming to lose the last ten pounds as well, so I’m going to try to keep up with you over the next month. =) Quick question: why only one inch of a banana — what’s wrong with adding the entire thing?
I only had one banana left and wanted to make 2 protein pancake with it so I didn’t want to use too much. No nutrition reason.
I am struggling with loosing the last 5 pounds and love that you posted this! Hopefully you’ll post more of what you eat on a daily basis. Good Luck and I am sure you will reach your goal!
Daniela
I also would like to know if it’s ok to do (some) cardio and strength training together!
Hey Sarah,
I recently purchased the Tone It Up diet plan and I have one question. I have to workout early, at 6:00 am, for cross country practice and I feel like I need to eat something before to give me energy; this goes against the TIU “booty call.” Will this stop me from losing weight because I’m eating before exercising? Thanks.
I would suggest bringing a snack like a banana, or put banana chips in a baggy in your pocket (no sugar added) and eat them 30 minutes into your workout. Eating before does go against the purpose of the booty call but for exercise longer than 30 minutes, u should eat something. Another option is a slice of whole wheat bread w/ peanut butter
I love your information on your diet and excercise sarah, you are an inspiration and upon reading your info gets my motivation going. Keep up the great work and I am sure you will achieve the 10pound loss.
Hey sarah!
I recently heard about “After Burn workouts/exercises” and how they keep you burning calories even after one has ended their cardio workout. I was curious and was wondering if you knew anything about them or had any After Burn workouts I can use.
Thank You!
To be honest it’s pretty minimal. It’s like an additional 50-100 calories at most.
Hi Sara, your website rocks and its such an inspiration. Like you, I also had some 10 pounds left to lose but no matter how hard I work out I just couldn’t lose the remaining pounds. I tried to do different exercises to shock the body as well, but it seems to be of no help;
Hope you can help me. Thank you and keep up the good work
I really enjoyed reading this blog for the first time. Thanks
Definitely going to try the interval workout. I have been doing one for a while now but I do think it’s time to change it up. This one seems doable given the amount of time I’ve been doing mine. It’s so hard losing the last 10 pounds! It’s rather embarrassing for me being a fitness blogger & still have that extra baggage!
♥
Angel
I always pig out after a hard run…I need to stop that thou! I just started reading your blog, and I love it! You’re an inspiration!