Flare Magazine » Shrink Wrapped

Lose seven pounds and an inch and a half off your waist in just four weeks. Astrid van den Broek tells us how

#1 LIGHTEN UP

My old plan: Twice a week, I'd head to the weight room for a grueling 35-minute "hang and bang" session - I liked lifting heavy loads. At my peak, I was squatting 70 lb., in two sets of 12 reps. The fix: My goal was to tone and trim, but Gee told me my usual weight program was designed to build mass. "if you don't want to get bigger, then do high reps with lighter weights," he says. (you know you're building, rather than toning, if you're exhausted aflter your weight session.) Gee lightened the load, sometimes by as much as 10-15 lb. less than my original program. He also had me doing three sets of 15-20 reps, with a five-minute cardio blast following the sets to keep my heart pumping. He recommended I lift weights for 60 minutes, three times a week

#2 GET PUMPED

My old plan: Three times a week, I'd sign up for a 45-60-minute Spinning class. I thought I was working hard, but my cardio intensity waned depending on whether I was tuning into the tunas or focused on staying pumped. The fix: Not only did Gee increase my cardio work outs to four or five times per week, he had me monitor my heart-rate every 15 minutes during the 45-minute cardio workout to make sure it was at least 135 beats per minute. 'Your heart-rate has to elevate into a certain range for you to have cardiovascular benefit," says Gee. 'Curing your workout, your heart-rate should be between 70-85 percent of your maximum heart-rate for optimal aerobic benefit." To determine that, subtract your age from 220 and multiply that figure by 70 percent. In my case, 220-27 x 0.7 = 135.10. To test your heart-rate, take your pulse for l0 seconds, then multiply by 6 to get your beats per minute.

#3 MIX IT UP

My old plan: In the past year, I had become a Spinster extraordinaire, dropping all other forms of cardio exercise except for the occasional run. The fix: Gee suggested I limit my Spinning to twice a week and sign up for 2-3 other cardio blasting workouts, such as kickboxing. People need to be stimulated in different ways. If they do the same things over and over again, their mind lags and they don't stay motivated he explains. So those aerobics classes I hadn't done since I discovered Spinning were reintroduced, as was at least one 30-minute run, either outside or on the treadmill.

#4 TO DIET FOR

My old plan: I followed a semi-health-conscious menu consisting of something like bran flakes and skim milk or breakfast, sushi for lunch and pizza for dinner, with some snacking in-between. The fix: First, Gee analyzed my diet. Turns out my total carb intake was, unbeknownst to me, around 60-70 percent (who knew Diet Coke was a carb2). Gee suggested I drop it to 50 percent and bump up my protein which was virtually nonexistent, to 25 per cent. That meant limiting carbs such as quiche, french fries and pizza. (The ideal, says Gee, would be salads mixed with chicken breast o' tuna). My total fat intake should be around 25 percent, with no more than 10 per cent from saturated fats. Now, a typical eating day includes a nonfat dairy breakfast, a cart-based lunch (such as a protein-boosted salad) with fruit snacks and a carb-based dinner (such as pita with cheese and salsa).

#5 SIZE MATTERS

My old plan: I ate as much as I wanted, when I wanted. The fix: Gee asked me to reduce the amount of food I was eating and to snack on fruit if I was hungry. That meant cutting out such things as extra bread with my meals or the number of California-roll pieces I ate. He also got me thinking about opting for less calorie-dense foods. For example, switched from peanut butter on toast to nonfat yogurt for breakfast. (One piece of whole-wheat toast with 2 tbsp peanut butter has 16 g fat and 254 calories versus 3/4 cup non-fat yogurt, which has 122 calories and less than 1 g fat.) That said, Gee does allow for the occasional splurge. 'There are 21 meals a week." he says. For two or three of them, eat whatever you want, because you have to reward yourself or working so hard."

THE RESULTS

Week 1: No noticeable results, but I'm feeling motivated - even smug - now that I'm back in my healthy livin' groove. Week 2: My Gap stretch shirt is definitely less snug. My husband even commented that my face looks thinner Yep, I've dropped 3.5 lb. Week 3: My pants are defnitely looser. I've dropped another pound. Week 4: Success! I've lost another 2.5 lb. this week for a grand total of 7 lb. My waist has even shrunk 1 .5 inches.

THIN TANK

While Gee is working on my outer self, I thought I'd ask a shrink for advice on how to stay motivated to workout and to maintain my willpower while I'm standing in line for my Sulawesi coffee sans scone. I turned to Charles E. Henderson. PhD, a New York-based former psychologist and author of the book You Can Do it with Self-Hypnosis (Prentice-Hall). The good doc believes you can use self-hypnosis to treat anything from fear of dentists to weight loss. In fact, he claims he dropped as much as 50 lb. using the following technique: While lying on your bed or sifting in a cozy chair, envision your muscles relaxing, starting from your toes up. Now, imagine you're on an elevator that is slowly descending floors, starting from 20. After enjoying the relaxing elevator ride, think about statements that focus on your weak nesses, such as: "I will eat less ice cream" and "I will go to kickboxing class' Don't say them out loud because Henderson says your own voice isn't as effective as thinking the thought. In time Henderson says you'll accept those thoughts and your behaviour will change. When you've run through your statements five or six times, think to your self 'O.K. I'm through. Wake up.' If you spend 15-20 minutes a day doing this mental exercise, you'll notice changes within 21 days, says Henderson. adding that you still need to eat right and exercise to lose weight. "What hypnotism does is subconsciously help you do both."

The result: I've been trying to hypnotize myself daily, but I'm not sure if it's working. Henderson cautioned me that bright people tend to overanalyze the situation, while others - who perhaps arent the sharpest knives in the drawer - just aren't concentrating. (I'm in the first category, no doubt.) Henderson says there is no 'light that comes on to let you know you've been hypnotized and that my reaction is quite common. Where I will notice change is in the results. I'll be eating less and wanting to work out, he says. By week 2 I do notice I'm eating better and working out more. By Week 3 and Week 4, I'm on a roll. While the hypno sessions might be helping, I suspect Gee's enthusiasm, and my need to record my eating and training habits for him, are what's kept me on track.

To find out more about hypnosis, visit www.rdoublel.com/hypnosis You can contact Jason Gee at (416) 707-FITT or www.getfitt.com

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