A shift of the seasons brings a change of priorities — and now, The Post’s six dieters are preparing for 5K races, weddings and beach season. And with about a month left until they reach the end of their weight-loss challenge, they’re cracking down on lingering bad snacking habits to make the most of this opportunity.
Be sure to check back in two weeks to see how the dieters stack up with less than a month to go.
Chris Bohinski
Diet: “The 20/20 Diet” by Dr. Phil McGraw (Bird Street Books, $26). This diet limits consumption to 20 key ingredients — such as apples, chickpeas, lentils and eggs — that studies indicate may enhance heat production to help dieters feel full.
It’s wedding time! My brother and future sister-in-law get married this month, and my sister and future brother-in-law get married in July — and I am feeling good! I’m pleased with my weight-loss success thus far in the diet challenge and eager to hit the wedding dance floors with my slimmer figure.
My fellow diet participants and I go to The Post every month to have a progress photo taken, step on the dreaded scale and update our body measurements. It’s surreal to think there is only one more of these accountability check-ins to go to before this challenge is complete. As a thank you, I promised to bake a sweet treat for my final photo shoot. I’m thinking about making cookies — but rest assured I won’t eat them until that final weigh-in is done!
I’m hoping the weather outside gets a little warmer soon so I can start pairing gym workouts with runs along the Hoboken waterfront. And since I’m a bird-watcher, I plan to spend more time outside exploring places like Central Park.
Cathy Gierbolini
Diet: “The Hunger Type Diet” by Lowri Turner (Nourish Books, $12.95). Every body is different, so this book offers a 33-question quiz to help readers determine which of the 11 “hunger types” they most closely identify with — and it includes a personalized eating plan and dieting tips for each type.
It’s been almost four months now and I have worked hard. As some of you know, as much as I was working out, by March I didn’t feel like I was seeing results, and I fell on a patch of ice, so that slowed my progress down for a few weeks.
After careful reflection I opted to work with a holistic doctor to find out what was wrong with me. We discussed me giving up caffeine and sweets. Talk about a rough day!
The process wound up helping me a lot, and even though I have always kept a pretty healthy diet overall, I still needed more tweaking.
If you remember, in the beginning of the challenge I was skipping meals like breakfast and eating at crazy times. These habits will sabotage your weight-loss advancements. Even though I improved since the start of the program I was still struggling — so now I am mostly on a raw diet, minus the caffeine and sweets. By doing this I am working to correct some hormonal issues, which was discussed in the “Hunger Diet” book I received at the beginning of the challenge.
Since I just started this new change in overall diet I hope that this will help me to exceed my personal weight-loss goals by July, but I am confident I am on the right track.
Samantha Mercado
Diet: “5 Pounds” by Harley Pasternak (Rodale Books, $25.99). Pasternak, the personal trainer to Victoria’s Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo, mixes traditional rules, such as high-protein meals, with unconventional strategies — including unplugging from electronics and tracking daily steps — to start shedding pounds.
I found working out in the gym to get a little boring — but thankfully, the weather has been beautiful, so I started going for walks in the park or through my neighborhood. And when I bring one of my dogs with me, it doesn’t even feel like I’m working out.
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It was hard not to indulge in all the good food during Easter, but I tried to portion everything I ate. It helped, because I still got to eat what I wanted — but I didn’t feel tired or bloated after.
I have one month until the Color Run 5K I am doing with my family. I’m glad my family is supporting me while I do this. Hopefully, I can run more races after this — my goal is to do a Disney half-marathon someday.
Kimberly Melendres
Diet: “The Healthy You Diet” by Dawna Stone (Rodale Books, $27.50). This diet slowly weans you off the biggest enemies — sugar, wheat, dairy, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, red meat and alcohol.
I started this journey with a few other people back in December, which was really when I decided to change my life to see if I could honestly stick to something: How much of a commitment does it take to really look at food in a different way? Could I join a gym and not lose interest, as I had so many times before?
The way I look at food has changed. There have been some instances lately when my habits have come back to haunt me, especially during a girls’ weekend or on my travels. I can’t always guarantee a healthy meal.
When I find myself full of stuff I wouldn’t normally eat, I crave my kale, carrot and fruit shakes. These morning beverages are my biggest take-away so far. If I don’t have a lot of time in the morning, and know I will be crunched at lunch, I make an extra big one and take it with me. I always carry my shaker bottle wherever I go, and when my shake is done, I use the cucumber and mint that I have brought along to flavor my water.
I love making the shakes for my 13-year-old son, too, and realizing he is getting the same dose of nutrients as I am. I can’t always guarantee a dinner loaded with mixed veggies, but I can guarantee at least one meal a day will be healthy!
I now have four weeks to work my butt off, focus on this weight-loss journey and make sure I look good for the end!
Amanda Turner
Diet: “20 Pounds Younger” by Michele Promaulayko (Rodale Books, $24.99). Promaulayko, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Health, urges readers to abide by her “rules of eating” — from drinking lemon water each morning to mini-meditations before meals — to take off weight and years from their bodies.
On Thursday, I had a little setback, but I will not let it define me. I ate too much and I ate junk. I have been a little lax all week, but it finally caught up with me. I allowed myself to falter — how did it happen?
The answer is: I usually treat myself to salty cashew nuts. I will eat about an ounce, which will satisfy my salty, fatty and crunchy cravings. But the entire week, my store has been out of them, which has NEVER happened before, and I’m left with unsatisfied cravings. The next thing I know, I’m eating fried chicken and salted caramel chocolates.
So on Thursday, I really fell off the wagon. I’m also tired, and my body clock is out of whack. I’m in New York City, but my body is on Honolulu time, which is six hours behind. All week, I have been going to bed at 3 a.m. and feeling really hungover in the mornings — I know how to counter jet lag, but was too tired to do it. Drinking fresh green juice is a start, which I didn’t do for the entire week.
On Saturday, I’m supposed to go back to Honolulu for the weekend. As much as I hate to give it up, I’m going to trade my Honolulu trip for a trip in the Eastern time zone to avoid jet lag. Then I have to start making fresh green juices to get the alkalizing effects that it provides to my body. I pray the air quality will get better. If it doesn’t, as long as I have a plan to follow when I can’t think for myself, I will be OK. We are coming up to the final four weeks, and I want to do my very best!
Marc Applewhite
Diet: “The Ultimate Diet REVolution” by Jim Karas (HarperOne, $25.99). Designed to optimize metabolism, this diet focuses on nutritious fats and proteins to alleviate hunger and boost vitamin storage — important for losing weight and looking younger.
These last two weeks have probably been the best weeks of the challenge so far. As Easter came and went, so did the Daniel Fast. It was definitely a great time for many reasons, and I feel great because of it.
Remember when I said I was worried about coming off the fast? Well, in true Marc fashion, I found myself at a buffet on Easter Sunday. I indulged, but by Monday morning, I was back on track with minimal “damage.”
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With six weeks to go, my goal is to be as consistent as possible and concentrate on continuing proper eating habits, as well as consistent workouts. I want to finish the challenge strong — and that begins right here with me.