Dash Diet

The Diet:

This diet is not really intended for weight loss, but is meant for lowering blood pressure.

• 4-6 servings of fruit
• 4-6 servings of vegetables
• 4-6 servings of whole grain
• 2-4 servings of low fat dairy
• 1.5-2.5 servings of lean meat
• 2-4 servings fats and sweets.
• 3-6 servings of nuts per week

The Experience:

Monday I had bananas, apples, fish, broccoli, and brown rice.

Tuesday I had oatmeal for breakfast, a greek salad for lunch, misc fruit (such as apples), a couple of large cookies, and a tuna sandwich.

Wednesday I ate some yogurt covered raisins, drank a couple of cans of v8, had 12 ounces of chili for lunch, two apples, a couple of Fiber One bars, and again ate fish with broccoli and rice for dinner.

Thursday I continued to drink v8, Fiber One bars, and yogurt covered raisins (it is hard to eat very many at a time). In the evening I at Zupas and got a chicken chili soup and a bbq chicken salad. I had my chocolate covered strawberries (2) and afterwards I had some milk chocolate chips at my sister's house.

Friday, more of the same. V8 and Fiber One bars for breakfast and midmorning snacks. I had a chef salad for lunch. I drank a diet coke in the afternoon after getting back from teaching, and for dinner I had a tuna sandwich on lunatic bread.

Saturday I woke up and I was 4 pounds over from the start of the week. So I tried to pace myself throughout the day. I had some fruit and hot chocolate, and a peanut butter sandwich. In the evening I went on a date to the Olive Garden. I had a mozzarella baked chicken pasta, with salad, bread sticks, and a teeny tiny dessert. I also ate some cookies.

I bought some Ezekiel Low-Sodium Bread, if you want to call it that. It has the following ingredients: Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Whole Millet, Organic Sprouted Whole Barley, Organic Sprouted Whole Lentils, Organic Sprouted Whole Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Whole Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Sea Salt. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I had a tuna sandwich using that bread. I also had a peanut butter sandwich on Saturday.

I had an increase in exercise this week:

• Monday was a holiday, so instead of going to the gym at work I did the Chest & Back P90X video with my brother.
• Tuesday morning we went through the CardioX Video. In the evening I did 90 minutes of Aikido.
• Wednesday there was a fitness examine at work, in which I did 55 pushups and 42 crunches. In the evening I lifted weights and jogged for 30 minutes on the treadmill.
• Thursday I once again did P90X CardioX. In the evening I attended another Aikido class.
• Friday I taught my Aikido class in the afternoon.
• Saturday I went jogging and afterwards did pushups, cruches, curls, and lunges.

The Result:

Where did I really go wrong? Sure I had a few minor indulgences along the way, but that happens most weeks. I was up 3.2 pounds this week. That can sure feel like a kick in the giant bloated gut. My Fat Loss Monitor says I increased from an average of 17.6% body fat to 18.4% body fat. Basically if it is going to tell me things like that maybe it shouldn't go around calling itself the Fat Loss Monitor.