DYC Live

• The DYC 30-Day Challenge (2013)

  January 04, 2013 | 0 comments

  We received no fewer than thirty year-end offers for diets, cleanses and gym memberships. They arrived by email, Twitter, Facebook and even in the form of old-fashioned mail. Each one promised to make us thinner and fitter in the New Year as long as we were willing to part with a credit card number. We have no idea how many of these came from legitimate businesses. Most of the pitches carried the desperate air of a letter from a Nigerian Prince: “I need a little money up front, but I only have you best interests in mind.”
  At DYC, we do things differently. We start each year by spending 30 days in Austerity Mode. Anyone is welcome to join us. No purchase is necessary.

  The 30-Day DYC Challenge: Thirty days in Austerity Mode paired with exercising five days per week.

  Austerity Mode is Basic DYC with all of the fun foods taken out. Virtually all carbohydrates come from fruit and vegetables. This is DYC so alcohol is allowed, but grains, alternative flours, starchy tubers such as potatoes and added sweeteners are fully eliminated. If you decide to join us, we assure you that you will not starve. There are plenty healthy foods available. All fish, eggs and meat are unlimited. All fruits and vegetables are similarly fair game.

  The difference between Basic DYC and Austerity Mode may seem trivial. Austerity simply eliminates all of the Limited foods in Basic. Yet these differences have an enormous impact.

  • Fact: Going cold turkey on sugar and starch is a shock to the system. It brings all the symptoms associated with addiction withdrawal. (We considered listing the symptoms, but we’ll save some time and instead recommend that you rent the film Trainspotting.) Stay disciplined. In a week to ten days your sugar cravings will diminish. For most people, fully eliminating added-sugar for two weeks is enough to banish sugar cravings altogether. If you want to taste something sweet, pick up a piece of fresh fruit. Fresh fruit is nature’s candy and you can eat as much of it as you want.

  It is worth pointing out that for the first two weeks, you will likely find yourself a little bit grouchy and perpetually hungry. Whenever we go into Austerity, we eat and twenty minutes later we are desperate for a snack. This is not a problem. As counterintuitive it seems, in Austerity Mode you don’t need to worry about portions.

  We’ve all been trained that portion control is required for weight loss. It turns out that this isn’t true. As long as you stick you the Austerity Food List you’ll be consuming far fewer calories than normal. Eat until you feel satisfied. Your calorie consumption will drop by virtue of the fact that you are avoiding sugars, starches and other calorically dense, but nutritionally poor, foods.

  • Fact: We once made the mistake of watching the 1968 classic film Night Of The Living Dead while in Austerity Mode. Instead of being frightened or horrified by the zombies devouring the population of a rural Pennsylvania town, we felt sympathy for them. They were clearly very, very hungry.
    
    For this reason, for the next 30-days we will avoid watching Silence of the Lambs.

  This is a Drink Your Carbs Challenge. You are allowed to continue drinking alcohol. There is, however, a catch:

  • You must abide by the No Mixer Rule.
    
    
  • This Challenge requires five days per week of exercise. Exercise is not optional. Exercise is necessary for both overall health and weight loss. Equally important is the fact that required exercise turns Drink Your Carbs into self-correcting system. If you can’t get out of bed in the morning to fully commit to your workout, you need to dial your drinking way back.
    
    This, of course, assumes a serious exercise routine that actually elevates your heart rate and burns real calories.

  While Austerity Mode has easy-to-follow rules, exercise is far more personal. If you have not trained for it, going out and running a Marathon will injure you. If you don’t currently exercise, you should plan your program around our Basic Exercise recommendations. It may also be worthwhile to find a personal trainer to design a custom program for you. At a minimum, your workouts should revolve around getting your heart into your target heart rate zone and keeping it there for at least 20 minutes. If you don’t know your target heart rate, ask your doctor or personal trainer to help you figure it out. If he or she does not know how to figure this out, it’s safe to assume that you’ve uncovered a massive case of identify fraud.

  If you currently work out, you probably don’t need our help designing an exercise program. For experienced exercisers we will offer only one piece of advice: vary your routine. Hitting the same machine or even the same muscles over and over is a recipe for injury and poor results. If you already work out and approach your workouts with serious intensity, check out our recommendations in Advanced Exercise. Pairing Advanced Exercise with 30-days in Austerity Mode is our plan for the Challenge. We’ve done it before and the results are impressive.

  We will share our progress through the DYC Facebook Page. As you progress through The Challenge, we encourage you to share your thoughts and observations as well. Let us know what is working and what is not. As always, we will try to reply as quickly as possible.

  • Fact: Yes. The photograph is of Steven flexing off against actor and Mr. Universe, Lou Ferrigno. The photo was taken at the 2012 Los Angeles Comic Con event. Lou clearly won, but keep in mind that this was taken prior to the 30-Day Challenge. Steven plans to return next year to measure his progress.

  

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