10 Pounds in 10 Days: Can I do it? Day 1
(Editor’s note: Staff writer Mary MacVean tried out trainer Jackie Warner’s diet and exercise plan from her recent book “10 Pounds in 10 Days.” Here’s her experience.)
Day 1
There are always new diet books out there. You’ve got to wonder: If we could make them work, would the publishing industry have to tighten its own belt a few notches? Failure is a staple of the diet industry. Still, when I saw Jackie Warner’s latest book, “10 Pounds in 10 Days,” I thought, “OK, why not?”
As all chronic dieters could guess, in the back of my mind was the wild hope: What if it works?
I was completely confident about getting through the first step – reading the book. Warner, a bestselling author and celebrity trainer in L.A., seems like a nice enough person, even if she has a criminally wonderful body that can’t ever have had the sort of on-again, off-again affair with Swiss Vanilla Almond (heavenly ice cream, if you are lucky enough not to know) that marks my life.
Her book is full of encouraging words about your inner fire and making your body the best it can be. She leaves nothing to chance. Nothing. She tells you exactly which 948 calories to eat and exactly how to exercise.
Yeah, sorry. These 10 days include exercise. And this: “You will lose up to 10 pounds in the first 10 days if you follow the 10x10 Program exactly as written.” Got that key word? Exactly.
“I have literally taken all the thinking out of this plan,” she writes. And, “I’ll be making the decisions for you.” She’s not exaggerating.
First up: shopping. The good news for me was that you don’t have to eat bars or shakes or things that are not actually food. But Warner’s shopping list is crazy specific, down to “2 bags of frozen broccoli,” a jar of minced garlic, and “30 new potatoes.”
Already I’m worried. Frozen vegetables? Jarred garlic? Why? I love to cook, and I decide I can eat fresh versions and that’s what I buy. Turns out Warner is no foodie and doesn’t like to cook much. The diet for the 10 days is exactly (that word again) the same each day. More on the specifics of that later, but I’m feeling pretty accomplished at the end of my first day.
Tomorrow: Following the rules
