I have now finished week four of the Ten Years Thinner diet and exercise plan, by Dr. Christine Lydon, M.D. This week saw another illness, which made me miss a number of days of exercise. I lost no weight, but my measurements continued to shrink. For those confused how that could happen, keep in mind that muscle takes up less space, but weighs more than fat, so I assume that I replaced some fat with muscle. That is good with me!

Weight lost in week three: 0 pounds (no gain either, I just stayed the same).
Total weight lost through four weeks: 10 pounds

Inches off in week four: Thigh 1/2, Hips 1/2, Stomach 1 (Yay!), Arm 0, Chest 0.
Total inches off so far: Thigh 1 3/4, Hips 1 1/2, Stomach 2 3/4, Arm 1/2, Chest 4.

The annoyance this week was that I was ill yet again. A couple of weeks ago I had the flu, and much of this week I had a cold. I am normally very healthy, so back to back illnesses are quite unusual for me. I'm beginning to wonder if the sudden lifestyle changes messed with me enough to make me more susceptible to such things. Regardless, while I did not lose weight, I did continue to drop inches--something I could tell by the fit of my clothes before I even took my weekly measurements.

I was allowed to bring dairy back in this week and used that to switch out eggs for a couple of breakfasts with cottage cheese and fresh pineapple. Otherwise, I didn't take advantage of the dairy all that much. I added a bit of Feta cheese to a salad, and sprinkled a bit of cheese on some chili, but that was about it. Obviously, I am being good about taking my calcium and magnesium pills since I am not drinking milk like I used to!T

Today marks the start of week five. I am now allowed to have up to 100 calories of high glycemic foods, such as grains, potatoes, or corn with each meal, and 2 ounces of chocolate or dried fruit with each snack. However, I am a bit concerned that because of my two illnesses, I haven't built up as much muscle by this point in the program as I should have for my body to be ready to handle the high glycemic foods and still continue to lose weight. So I am inclined to wait another week before adding much of those. My hope is to have a full week of normal exercise this week now that my cold is subsiding.

Amazingly, I don't miss the grains now anyway and have pretty much gotten a fruit habit formed. Our beer of the month club shipment came today though and will have to sit in the fridge and wait a few more weeks. I do miss that!

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I have now completed two weeks of the Ten Years Thinner diet and exercise plan, by Dr. Christine Lydon, M.D. I get to start eating legumes this week, so I have white chicken chili going on the stove right now!

First off are the numbers:

Weight lost in week two: 4 pounds
Total weight lost: 9 pounds

Inches off in week 2: Thigh 1/2, Hips 1, Stomach 3/4, Arm 0, Chest 1.
Total inches off: Thigh 1, Hips 1, Stomach 1 1/4, Arm 1/2, Chest 3 1/2

Week two consisted generally of more chicken, fish, eggs and various vegetables. I tried out a few fruits that I rarely eat, such as star fruit, and today I bought a fresh pineapple. I always loved my veggies, but I never was a very good fruit eater. This diet seems to be changing my habits in that regard.

Now that I am starting week three, I get to add legumes to the diet. That really makes it easier to work with some foods such as canned soups. Unfortunately, however, I noticed that most of my favorite vegetable soups still add corn to them, which isn't allowed for a couple more weeks.

One odd thing that happened is that I may have discovered a food allergy. I had quite the full blown allergic reaction to my chicken soup, which ended up with me swelling up, breaking out in hives, and running for the Benadryl! Fortunately it went away fairly quickly once the antihistamines kicked in. Right now celery is the top suspect, because it has the potential for strong allergic reactions, I rarely ate it before, and I put a lot of it in the soup to replace the missing potatoes. But the nuts and the star fruit are also potential suspects. Figuring out the culprit with certainty might be an interesting process.

The exercise program has been going well, but I definitely still feel the need to add a few more exercises onto the end for my gluteal muscles. Of most interest to me has been how week my abdominal muscles had gotten. When I started, I could barely do 10 crunches. Now I am up to 20 or so, which is still hard for me. I guess taking a year off from pilates and Irish dancing shows! I have started dancing again, so improving my abs will also improve my dancing skills.

I will post another update next Wednesday. Until then, for those doing the diet or who are considering it, here is a good white chicken chili recipe that is compliant beginning in week three. I estimate that about 6 servings can come from this:

White Chicken Chili Recipe

One package of grilled chicken breast strips (I like the southwest seasoned ones), or several handfuls of chopped leftover chicken breast meat.

One small onion, chopped
Low sodium chicken broth (about one box)
Two cans mild green chilies
One can diced petite tomatoes
One or two cans canelli beans
Spices: cumin, ground coriander, garlic power, chili powder, garlic powder, cilantro: about 1/2 tsp each

Saute chicken and onion in olive oil. Add chicken broth until fully covered and soupy. Also add the can of tomatoes, cans of chilies and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Add one or two cans of beans and additional broth as needed. Add further seasoning to taste. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 more minutes and serve. The chili can be simmered longer to further steep the flavors if desired. After week four, a small can of corn can also be added to this recipe.

Jump to:

PreDiet Writeup
Week One Recap
Week Two Recap
Week Three Recap
Week Four Recap
Week Five Recap
Week Six Recap
One Month After the End Review

Comparison shop for diet books and plans

Disclosures: Beauty and Fashion Tech at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page