Biggest Loser: 2 week update

As I write this, it's now been closer to three weeks since I began the contest, but on the two-week mark this last Wednesday I was delighted to see that I've dropped over two full percentage points of body fat! I've gone from an initial 13.6% down to 12.4% after one week and am now weighing in at 11.4%. This is a dramatic change and probably has a lot to do with significantly boosting my water intake, but has every bit as much to do with dialing in the diet. I've been enjoying lean grass fed beef, cottage cheese, veggies and berries in copious amounts.

I've also at least doubled my usual amount of cardio workouts over the last two weeks. It's an amazing thing to be able to see fat leaving my body. Usually this happens so slowly as to be imperceptible, but I can actually tell the difference week to week. It feels very satisfying, and makes leaving certain foods behind more than worth it. As someone once said: "Nothing tastes as good as being fit feels".

And here's the big thing: while certain foods are definitely out, I'm hardly missing them. I eat as much as I want (of the right foods), and even satisfy cravings for sweet foods with stevia. If you're not familiar, stevia is an all-natural sweetener that is a secret weapon in weight-loss. It has zero calories, registers zero on the glycemic index and comes in a rainbow of flavors in liquid form. While stevia is just beginning to hit the mainstream in the U.S., it has been used for thousands of years, and other modern cultures have embraced it for decades. In Japan for example, stevia accounds for over 40% of the sweeter market (see Wikipedia link above for references).

In December the FDA permitted certain stevia products as food additives, so keep an eye out for Truevia and PureVia - these are stevia-based sweeteners backed by Coca-cola and Pepsi respectively. Personally I prefer Sweet Leaf brand, available at most health food stores.

A few simple and delicious stevia recipes:

Chocolate-cherry fizz:

20oz H2O

1 package black cherry Emergen-C

1 eye dropper chocolate-flavored Sweet Leaf Stevia


I drink 2-4 of these a day. It is utterly delicious and clocks in at around 25 calories.

Low-fat peanut butter double-chocolate protein shake

32oz H2O

2 scoops MRM brand Stevia-sweetened protein powder

2 tbsp PB2 peanut butter powder

2 eye droppers chocolate-flavored Sweet Leaf stevia


I drink this just about every morning and is a great way to kick start the day with plenty of water. It also allows for some time to let hunger really kick in so I enjoy my first meal, usually around 10 or 11 am. Drink this one slowly in order to absorb the protein most effectively.


Sweet treat blueberry cottage cheese:

1 cup organic cottage cheese
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
5-10 drops (to taste) of liquid stevia

Stir contents well and sit for 10 minutes, long enough for the blueberries to melt a bit and for the cottage cheese to freeze a bit. This maximizes the flavor and gives the whole thing a cold consistency somewhat like ice cream. (thanks to the XGym's hardbod cafe for for this recipe!)

The contest is off to a great start. At 11.4% I'm much closer to single-digits than I thought I would be at this early stage. In the coming week I'll continue to pour on the cardio, and work harder than ever when lifting. I'm especially excited to get back to stairclimbing after almost a full week off. I'm going to break 8:30 at WaMu by Friday, I can feel it.