Day one of losing the last 30 pounds started way earlier than planned. The baby woke up around 3 a.m., my husband was up early for work, and by 4:33 a.m. I already knew I wasn't checking off my first goal: 7 hours of sleep. The kids had been home for the holidays, so the first job of the morning was getting the baby dressed and off to daycare so mama could get to work. Real life doesn't pause because you started a plan, and I wanted you to see that.
The first part of my plan is a 72-hour extended dry fast: three days with no food. I'll be honest about two things. First, I did have some water to take my supplements and my L-carnitine liquid shots, so it wasn't 100% dry. Second, I don't suggest this for everyone. I've been fasting for a long time and my body is used to it. If you're curious, take baby steps; you don't jump into a 9-foot pool if you don't know how to swim. I also took my Zepbound shot today. I'd taken a couple of weeks off from my GLP-1 shots, then the holidays happened, and I'll admit I'm a little extra fluffy right now. I was hungry after the shot, though less hungry later in the day.
Here's the structure I mapped out for myself: weight training three days a week, four if I'm lucky, plus two to three days of zone 2 cardio, which is that sweet spot where your heart rate sits around or slightly above the fat-burning zone. The other days are rest days, but they're active rest days, because my 10,000-steps-a-day goal includes rest days too. Any cardio with steps, like the treadmill, counts toward that number. It all flexes around my schedule, because I'm a busy mom.
I work out at Planet Fitness. No fancy gym needed; it gets the job done. My weight training days are a whole-body circuit, and they're long, around two hours, sometimes more if I'm tired or in a mood. Today I came up a few exercises short because I had to leave for a nail appointment, but I got most of it done and checked weights off my list.
Back home I checked the Samsung Health app. My energy score was rough after that short night, and I was at 6,677 steps, about 66% of my goal. So I hopped on my treadmill at home and finished the rest. Seeing that 10,000-step checkmark felt so good. If it's too cold to walk outside where you live, a home treadmill is a lifesaver.
By 7 p.m. I had officially made it 24 hours into my fast. My day started at 4 a.m. and my supplements carried me through. To wind down, I set up my recovery station: a red light LED mask, a red light mat I lie on front and back, and a portable steam sauna tent. The tent takes about five minutes to set up, came with a chair, and has arm holes so you can sit inside. Yes, I look crazy in it. Don't laugh! For me it's relaxing and feels like an affordable home spa. I did red light for about 40 minutes and the sauna for about 25 minutes, then my nighttime skincare.
Day one: a little stressful, but successful. Tomorrow I'll be about 36 to 40 hours into the fast, and I'm planning zone 2 cardio on the stair climber, another sauna session, and of course 10,000 steps. Everything I share in this series, including fasting, Zepbound, supplements, and sauna use, is my personal experience, not medical advice. Please check with your own doctor before changing anything. Glow hard. GRIT harder.