Jason Bradford

I Survived Charleston! : 4 Hour Body Update

// June 12th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

For those of you who know me well, you know I travel to Charleston once a month to work with my dear friends and clients, Daniel Island.  You also know that when I go… I eat good.  I eat out almost every meal and it’s the last place I’d ever want to think about a diet!!!  All that to say… I survived week 4 of the 4-Hour Body.  No cheating and eating well.  It looks like I only lost 1.5 pounds and unfortunately I didn’t have a way to take measurements.  I’m not disappointed at all.  As a matter of fact I had a little physical break thru.

I have energy.  I feel alive.  I’m motivated. I have some of my drive back.  I attribute that to the 4-Hour Body diet, stretching and exercising.  Even though the “number” didn’t drop much my body is thanking me and I’m motivated more than I ever thought I could be after 4 weeks of a lifestyle (diet & exercising) change.  So if you are working on eating better and  exercising a little more I want to say keep it up!  Don’t stop!  At some point it just clicks and you realize how much better you feel.

Many of you also know that I love to surf.  I was a pretty big guy so getting out past the break and then getting into a wave was serious work.  I went surfing a few times this trip and had the energy I had when I was 20!  No heavy breathing and I had no trouble paddling out!  Another motivation.  I’ve got about 5 weeks before my next trip so I’ve got time to drop 20 pounds and get in even better shape.

4 Hour Body : Resources

// June 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Yes, my blog seems to have been hi-jacked by the 4 Hour Body.  I’m obsessed…  I admit it.  However, I’ll admit this is the most action my blog has seen since the early days of “Free Music” posts.  So now I know… you people are interested in the 4 Hour Body!

I’ve met a lot people who are working thru the book and I’ve enjoyed learning from many and actually helping some of them.  I figured since there seem to be so many questions about the 4 Hour Body that I’d list some resources and other sites that I reference as needed.  If I’m missing some please add in the comments section and I’ll get it added.

• The Book, The 4-Hour Body (You need the book!)
• 4-Hour Body Cheat Sheet (Cheat sheet is invaluable)
• 4-Hour Body Recipes (Subscribe for weekly recipes)
• 4-Hour Body Zone (Blog w/ recipes, thoughts and info about 4-Hour Body)
• 4-Hour Body Forum (Chat it up w/ others)
• Slow Carb Foodie (more recipes!)
• Get Fit Slowly (Weight Loss Tips)

Obviously just a few- hit me with more great sites!  Again, thanks for reading and encouraging.

Silence Does Not Equal Failure : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 25th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

I know I’ve been quite since Saturday… sorry!  Usually my silence will mean I’ve fallen off the wagon or that I’m trying to avoid talking about failure.  NOT THIS TIME!!!

All is going great still.  I’ve had a few testing moments but I survived.  Usually by now I’ve also cheated a ‘little’ and justified it some how.  Again, NOT THIS TIME!!!

To give you an idea of how bad I am at sneaking food.  The last few diets I went on I played the game very well in front of others (especially my wife).  Not sure what good it does to fool others but I felt like needed too.  One trick was to sneak off to Target and grab a Coke slushee and a cinnamon stick to have while walking… and when walking out the door I’d grab a Reese’s Cup (usually the 4 pack) and suck it down before getting home.  Pathetic, right?!  Happy to say that I took my solo trip to Target the other day and did not cheat-  can’t say I didn’t think about it but bottom line is I grabbed a bottled water and got what I needed.  It was a joyous moment.

It’s the small victories, right?   I’m feeling great and am finding little pockets of energy I didn’t know I had!

Thanks again for supporting and not offering me secret bites of candy!

Cheat Day Was Awesome! : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 22nd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // life

Epic! That’s how I would describe my cheat day. What is cheat day? It’s the one day of the week I can eat & drink whatever I want while doing the Slow Carb Diet from the 4 Hour Body plan. So after 5 days of being strict it was fun to over do it a bit.

First let me give you guys an update:

Cheat Day Check in

Weight: 198
Inches: 152″

Yes! I lost 8 pounds but the best part was losing 4″! That made me smile.

So to celebrate on cheat day what did I do?

Breakfast: Banana then to Puckett’s Grocery for the buffet. Pancakes, sausage, biscuits, grits, potatoes, & eggs Xs 2… Yes two platefuls.

Lunch: McDonalds- Double quarter pounder with cheese, large fries and a diet coke.

Dinner: fajitas, refried beans, chips and guacamole, margarita, Dos XX

Snacks: chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate covered strawberries and with a few mins to spare before midnight a bowl of Lucky Charms.

In all, it wasn’t too bad but I was hurting a bit last night! This morning it’s back to slimming down and eating healthy. Breakfast? 2 scrambled eggs and some refried beans.

Like I said last week, the results are a huge motivator and I was actually excited to get started again this morning!

This week I add in 3 exercises to hopefully take this to another level. I’ll share the exercises tomorrow and some feed back on doing them… This coming from a guy who does NOT like exercise.

Have a great week and thanks again for the notes and support!!! Friends are the best!

3 Days In : 4 Hour Body Update

// May 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Wow, so I’m 3 days in and it’s going great.  #1 motivator?  Results!  I’ve lost 6.5 pounds in just 3 days.  I told myself I wouldn’t check the scale for the first week-  that is usually a major disappointment and a way to get off track and quit.  However, I could tell I had dropped a bit so I was just curious.

I’ve lost the weight by strictly following the 4 Hour Body ‘slow carb diet’.  No exercising.  I’m not saying don’t exercise because I’m going to start.  I can’t wait to see how much comes off after I do a little exercising (20 mins a week).

And now I’m starting to sound like a commercial or ‘testimony’ so I’ll stop.  Just know it’s working and worth checking out the book.

Some Notes On The First 3 Days

My diet has been pretty simple and very easy to maintain and keep up with. I’ve eaten out once and had a grilled chicken salad. I’ve been heavy on the spinach and eggs.  I’ve had hamburger steaks, salmon, cod, pork chops, black bean, white northern beans, spinach and chicken.  I’ve not missed anything yet (except the chocolate).

I’ve also been keeping a list of the items I want on my cheat day…  cheeseburger, chocolate cake, chocolate covered peanuts, fries, pizza, bbq–  It’s ridiculous how many things go thru my mind.  Writing them down helps big time!

I’ve attempted the cold water bit but I don’t like that at all.  There is a section in the book that talks about shivering and being cold.  Your body releases some stuff (can’t remember what it’s called) that helps accelerate fat loss.  My basic understanding is that your body starts using your fat to keep you warm.  Makes sense but I don’t like it.

Surprisingly, I was able to eat within 30 mins of getting up.  Getting Emma and Emerson fed and ready kind of worried me but it’s not been hard at all.  This is crucial to the eating plan… the protein gets your muscles and metabolism rocking for the day.

Yesterday I went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up some organic, grass fed beef and it was affordable and great tasting.  If you are interested check out: Bear Creek Beef

Unofficial Check In (1.5):

Weight: 199.5 Pounds

I won’t measure till Sunday

Thanks again for all the encouragement, tweets and FB comments… Very helpful in this whole accountability thing.  Anyone else doing this or some sort of weight loss/life style change?!  If so, how’s it going?!

So What Did I Eat? : Day 1 of 4 Hour Body

// May 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // life

Well, I survived day one.  Not so hard, eh?  I don’t plan on posting every day regarding my diet and weight loss goals but I figured I’d do a few here and there of what the food is so that some of you who are on the fence will see it’s not that hard.

Wait, what am I talking about?  Read this earlier post about getting healthy, round 2.

Day 1 Food:

• Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Lunch: Alaskan Cod, Great White Northern Beans & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: Chicken breast, Green Beans & Spinach Leaves (w/ balsamic vinegar)
• Snack: 2 tablespoons of all natural peanut butter

It’s a pretty basic meal plan and as you can see my focus is on spinach.  They didn’t make a cartoon about Popeye for nothing!!!

Some other notes, I’m using macadamia nut oil instead of olive oil-  it tastes WAY better and has less fatty things in it.  The eggs I had for breakfast were from organic chickens (increased Omega 3 Fatty Acids)… Yes they cost a tad bit more but I’m considering that my “flat-ab tax”.

Tomorrow will be much of the same.  I do plan on having a pork chop with my eggs and spinach for breakfast though!  Lunch?  Well, it’ll be my first meal eating out-  I think I know what I can and can’t have…  Dinner?  Not sure, I have to talk to Renee about that one but I’m pretty sure it’ll involve spinach.

Thanks for the encouragement and notes-  I know I can do this and am going to do this.

Round 2 : Getting Healthy

// May 16th, 2011 // 4 Comments » // life

This is NOT a real pic of me- it's from the Fat Booth App. It reminds me of where I could be heading.

In January I set a goal to get healthy.. It lasted about 2 months. I lost 12 pounds and that was nice… it’s all back.

I’m starting round 2 today but with a different approach. I’m going to be public about it. I’m using many of the dietary suggestions and exercise pieces from Tim Ferriss’ new book The 4-Hour Body. It’s not like 8 minute abs I promise.

Tim Ferriss gets me. We’ve never met. I have a million excuses why I never survive eating changes for the better (notice my attempt to avoid the word ‘diet’). All are lame excuses but they are excuses that I use. If I can find a reason to get out of doing something healthy, I do.

In this book he talks about getting rid of the pieces that make you want to quit. For me, the idea of never eating a piece of candy/cake again freaks me out… having to cook detailed meals takes too long… and starving isn’t fun either.

Tim Ferriss is all about hacking the body. I like his style and his research. If you’ve read this book or are reading it tell me what you think! You can get it @ Amazon

So here I am. Starting my 4 hour body plan. It’s a good one. My wonderful wife is going to help me with it and I’m asking you to do the same. Ask me what I weigh? Ask me if I’ve had any candy. Comment on here and say “I’m watching you”.  If you see me out double check what I’m eating or drinking (except Saturday, that’s my cheat day! Yes, a cheat day- read the book).

I’m hoping to update weekly (I like the idea of no calorie counting and not having to weigh in daily) with progress. In all I need to reach about 165 pounds and want to get my body fat below 12%.

So, here’s check in #1:

Weight: 206lbs
Total Inches: 156″

Total inches=  measurements of both arms (biceps), waist, hips, both legs (thighs)

I’ll spare you the before pics… but promise to share the progress pics when I know they won’t make you throw up.

So tell me… if you are dieting or trying to get healthy, what are the few things (excuses) that hinder you or make you want to quit?