Holiday fat and some crazy new ideas

I am a sucker for any diet/workout book that gets put out.. Especially when the names that contribute to the content are the top of the industry. I got The Four Hour Body before Christmas and was immediately intrigued by one one of the chapters in the beginning of the book on fat loss. What was this intriguing little trick? ICE BATHS!!! Sit in a bathtub full of cold water and 2 10lb bags of ice for 20 mins three times a week and increase your rate of fat loss by 300%! There is a slightly less brutal protocol that involves 2 cold showers and ice packs and 60% of the results of the above protocol. So since I have tried everything(legal) I decided after the holidays cold showers and ice packs would be my key to rapid fat loss and a six pack!

So on the morning of January 3rd I woke up and took my first ice cold shower...and WOW! Tim Ferris the author of The Four Hour Body wasn't lying when he said "this will wake you up like a fog horn." The morning showers suck bad and the evening showers suck slightly less. The ice pack on my upper back for 30 mins is not bad at all. My thoughts were to try this and in in one ice bath on the weekend. The ice baths are a whole new animal.

Last night I stopped by a 7-11 and bought 2 10lb bags of ice and on the drive home I was giddy with excitement. I got home filled the tub and threw the ice in. I then slowly crawled in and sat in ice cold water up to my waist for 10 mins then scooted down and got as much of my body under water as I could for the last 10 mins. Now this protocol is supposed to induce shivering which it did, but it wasn't that bad. And actually overall the bath wasn't bad and I actually closed my eyes and enjoyed it for a bit, and actually stayed in the tub for about 25 mins. Now while the shivering wasn't terrible during the bath, it was what happened after the bath that was a bit more uncomfortable. I could not get my body temp back to normal. I knew this would happen but was not prepared to be as cold as I was for as long as I was. I had to sleep in wool socks, pants and a sweatshirt. Other then the cold nights rest, the bath felt great! I am thinking of switching over to the baths 3 x's a week versus the shower/ice packs.

Now the numbers:

Taken Monday Jan. 3rd in the morning and will be taken every Monday Morning.

January 3rd:
weight: 228.5
hips(at belly button): 39 3/4 in

January 10th:
weight: 225 (-3.5 lbs)
hips( at belly button): 39 1/4 in (-1/2 in)