Unless you’ve been living in a closet with no access to Internet or TV, you’ve probably heard of Tim Ferriss and his book The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. It’s the successor to The 4-Hour Workweek and I have to admit that Tim Ferriss may just be a bit too obsessive and crazy when it comes to controlling and monitoring the body — but if he hadn’t done all that, the book wouldn’t have as much credibility (or such an amazement factor).

The 4-Hour Body program is actually a low carb, high protein diet, somewhat similar to Atkins — and coupled with exercise programs that involve kettbells and some free-weights. But all the workouts only take about 5 hours a month; a time commitment which one just can’t pass up when it comes to your personal health. We just started on Sunday, and are still waiting on our weights to arrive, but we’ve already begun to see results in just a few days (it seems crazy I know). Our goal is to be tone and fit by December 26th (our ten year wedding anniversary).

But there are many things which can be achieved with any workout program…and here are 10 things I’m hoping to achieve myself.

1. Have more energy
   Most days lately, I find myself wanting to take a nap in the middle of the day. I will be one of the first people to suggest that naptime should be re-instituted like they have in France or Spain (actually in our little village, most places close from 12:30-2:30 anyway which would be a good naptime), but sometimes even after a full 8 hours of sleep, I still feel exhausted. And I’m pretty sure that’s not really normal.
2. Eat healthier foods
   I use to generally think that I ate fairly healthy foods at home…but after taking a closer look at my carb intake, I’ve realized that it’s just an insane amount of carbs, with barely any protein. Not acceptable at all, even without dieting. All the carbs take forever to digest and encourage your body to retain water. I’m definitely going to miss bread and pasta 6 days out of the week –but thank goodness there is a binge day in the 4-hour body diet!
3. Drink more water
   Considering you’re supposed to drink about 5 liters of water a day with this program, I will definitely learn to drink more water though this experience. But I have also starting thinking more about the amount of ice tea we drink every day (and the 2/3 cup of sugar that goes into very pitcher.)
4. Look better
   I’m thin framed and have never really had a weight problem, but I have gotten really flabby lately and have very little muscle definition — especially since the accident last year. It’s only been a few months since they took the plates out of my arm, which is when my arm started to officially feel like a real arm again.
5. Feel more comfortable in my body
   I’m pretty self-confident most of the time — but I would like to be able to look at myself in the mirror and be happy (excited even) about what I see there.
6. Sleep better and wake up feeling rested
   As I mentioned above, I could definitely use more energy during the day. And I think that also hinges on sleep and being able to make the most of the hours of sleep you do get.  So I’d like to be able to wake up more easily in the mornings, and be able to function at peak levels during the day, until I’m ready to touch my head to the pillow again.
7. Be more focused
   I have so much going on in life that I often find myself not knowing what to do next and where to focus my energy. I know that can’t be entirely solved by starting to work out. But I do think that it can help me clear my mind on many levels…which will then allow me to focus more intently on the important things.
8. Have more motivation
   There are only so many hours in the day…and I’d like to be able to harness all I can from them. Plus, I want to stay motivated to keep doing this for several months — which is about 5 months longer than we’ve ever managed to commit to any other fitness program.
9. Be a good example
   I would like Mackenzie to grow up seeing both of her parents as thin, muscular, healthy people, who instilled in her good eating habits. Plus, going back to #1, I’d like to be able to keep up with her whether she’s rolling around on the floor or running laps around us.
10. Inspire others
    As with anything I’ve done in life, part of the fun of doing things (especially when you’re blogging about it) is to inspire others. And the Lord knows that there are far too many people on this planet who MUST make a change in their diets to survive. Mackenzie’s generation is the first one that will most likely not outlive the parents because of childhood obesity — some kids in elementary and high school right now won’t even live to graduate college unless they make drastic changes. So during all of this, I hope we can inspire others to live more healthy as well without having to spend countless hours in the gym every week!

This post was shared on Oh Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday.