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It is now the end of January and I have totally busted the challenge for January!  I have spent the last month researching and learning about other methods of "fat" loss and gaining some muscle.  I think I know my plan now for the month of February....  Ultimate goal is to lose 20 pounds in February!

1. I am hiring a personal trainer.  I will work with a personal trainer 2 times per week for 30 minutes each.  I am thinking about purchasing a kettle bell for home as well.  This a quick and effective workout that I can do at home.  Expensive to get started though!

2. I am going to do the 4 hour body "slow carb" diet for the entire month of February.  This will include one cheat day!  I am excited about the cheat day as I will probably have some ice cream!  What is the slow carb diet?  Well, it is really pretty simple, you eat a lean protein, legume and vegetable for each and every meal.  No dairy is allowed and no grains.  Fiber will come from the veggie and beans.  There is no limit to the amount that you can eat. I will obviously take a calcium supplement.

3. I am going to set up the blog so that I can post pictures of my meals.  I will snap a pic with my phone and then upload it immediately just before I eat.  This is a great diary to have and is almost better than logging the food.

4.  Although the slow carb diet does not require that you log food, I am going to do it!  I want those number is my body media.   I want to test the calories in... calories out theory.  The author of the 4 hour body says that there are way too many other factors than that simple calculation.  I tend to believe he is VERY right.  There is way more to it than that.  The main other factor is SUGAR... Sugar is the enemy of any dieter!

5.  I am also planning on doing at least 30 minutes of continuous walking at some point in every day.

6.  I will be drinking at least 16 oz of water 5 times per day.  Preferably with lemon.

I will be adding to this over the next couple of days.  I am still tweaking my plans.  I am also trying to get my husband started on this plan for just the month of February and then he will go back to normal.  I would love to see how much weight that he can drop during the month... more importantly, how much we can make his body fat percentage go down!  Men have a huge advantage in that arena!

I had my first slow carb breakfast this morning and my 8 year old LOVED it.  I kind of liked it too.  The hardest thing to do will be to eat beans at every meal.  The rest is a walk in the park.

Have a great day!
- Tracy