Well, I've been delinquent in updating this blog as you can see. I see two weeks have passed since my last entry. A weekend trip to Seattle back on the 17th started the delinquency and it went from there. Nevertheless, I'm back to report that things have gone extremely well so far. I even managed to behave on our weekend trip and while I was not eating as often, or as well as I would have liked, I did not overly indulge in anything and even managed to sneak in two workouts in the hotel fitness room. The net result was no gain or loss over the 3 days.
I was committed to get back on track starting on the Monday though. I should mention that the first two days of exercise proved to be crippling. I could barely walk after day two. In fact I took the next three days off to let my confounded muscles recover a bit. Since then, each workout session has become better and better, with little to no pain or stiffness the next morning. I can feel myself becoming stronger with each passing workout. And boy, do those exercises get you huffing and puffing. Christine has put together an excellent combo of exercises and you can feel the large muscle groups get challenged. I am noticing an improvement in my right hip and am walking with much less of a limp now. I feel stronger and more confident in my stride. I guess the lack of activity really was taking it's toll on my body. I can't wait to see how I feel a month from now.
You're probably wondering how I'm doing weight wise. Well, like I said it's been extremely encouraging. Since I "unofficially" started the program back about a month ago I've lost 10 lbs. And no it isn't mostly water, as the common saying goes. I've been drinking plenty of water and the workouts, while challenging, are only about 20 minutes in length and do not leave you perspiring a lot. You work up a mild sweat but nothing crazy. So all in all I've been on pace to lose about a half a pound a day. I'm sure this will plateau soon enough, but I'm still working on the Week One meal and workout plan. I've upped the reps a bit (20 > 30) for some exercises, but I'm going to keep on the Week One routine until I start to see a plateau. I'm fine with the food and I'm still doing the novice level of the exercises. My body will tell me when it's time to move up.
In my next entry I will talk a little bit about the foods and vitamins I'm eating. I won't be exercising the next 2 nights as my oldest son is graduating this week and we have two functions to attend. I do not plan on cheating much if at all. In fact it's been fairly easy to say no to all the forbidden foods of the past. I hope the hotel meal on Thursday night is somewhat nutritious and the next 2-3 days show no weight gained back.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Day Two
Well, I'm not gonna lie. I woke up a bit sore this morning. But it was a good sore. Last night was my first run through of the Week 1 exercise routine. It was tough going and I didn't make it through all the reps for all the exercises. That's what you get for doing diddly squat for two years. I will say this though, the routine is not complicated and I can see myself sticking with it. It really does get your heart rate up and you can feel your muscles working. I feel it most in my shoulders and thighs. The thing I keep telling myself is that it's not all going to happen in one week. I have lost a fair bit of muscle over the past two years. It's going to take a while to build it back up.
I took some "before" pictures on Sunday night. I'm saving those for after I've met my goal. I still need to take some body measurements though. I modified the progress tracking sheet in the book to include a few more body parts as well as BMI. I stepped on the scale this morning and was down another pound so that's encouraging. I'm trying not to get too caught up with the weight thing right now though. I really want to get past the soreness and get my muscle memory activated again. It'll be nice to be able to get through all the reps and gradually step-up to the more advanced routines. And with that, I'm off to the basement for some more pain and sweat.
I took some "before" pictures on Sunday night. I'm saving those for after I've met my goal. I still need to take some body measurements though. I modified the progress tracking sheet in the book to include a few more body parts as well as BMI. I stepped on the scale this morning and was down another pound so that's encouraging. I'm trying not to get too caught up with the weight thing right now though. I really want to get past the soreness and get my muscle memory activated again. It'll be nice to be able to get through all the reps and gradually step-up to the more advanced routines. And with that, I'm off to the basement for some more pain and sweat.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Day One!
Hello and welcome to Ten Years Thinner: My Personal Journey. As the blog title suggests, this is a diary capturing my personal thoughts while living the book Ten Years Thinner authored by Christine Lydon, M.D. After a bit of internet research I decided upon this book and purchased it via Amazon.ca. I have now finished reading the book and am ready to begin it's 6 week program. In truth, I have been slowly gearing up for today over the past 3 weeks (I wasn't in a panic to start) by finishing off some forbidden foods around the house, researching the internet for recipe ideas and buying some of the supplement items (vitamins, fish oil, protein powder) required by the program. I have gradually started cutting back on my sugar and carbohydrate intake over this time and have already noticed some improvements in both weight loss (4 lbs) and digestion (no Tums in the past 3 weeks). Today marks the official beginning of the start of the program for me though and I wanted to record my experience with it, both for myself and for others who are considering the program.
So why did I decide to buy this book and choose this program? Well, I'm 48, male and weigh 230lbs. I am about 40lbs over the weight I should be for my height of 5'11" at my age. I have struggled with weight for most of my life despite playing sports (hockey and baseball primarily) since I was 5 years old. I was always one of the heavier if not heaviest kids in my class. Not crazy heavy, but just bigger than I needed to be. I took my fair share of taunting over the years. Again, not anything crazy, but enough to shame me from time to time. By the time I was in my mid 20's and engaged to my wife to be (still going strong 23 years later) I had reached 210lbs and was getting sick of looking at myself in the mirror. I decided I had to do "something" so I joined Weight Loss Clinic. They had a pretty basic program that looked like something I could follow. There were dietary restrictions and a pill to take each day and then the weekly weigh-ins. Truth be told, it was the weigh-ins that kept me on track. The accountability of having to stand on the scale, in front of one of the "nurses" and weigh more than the week before petrified me into following the program. And you know what? It worked. Coupled with my regular ice hockey schedule, I lost 30lbs over 10 months. What an accomplishment I said to myself. The staff at WLC were supportive the whole time and were excited for me too. However, my initial WLC program had ended now and if I wanted to continue with them on their "maintenance program" I would need to continue shelling out bucks each month. Of course I figured I could manage on my own from that point and opted not to continue with them. By the time the wedding came 6 weeks later I had already put 5lbs back on!
Maybe you've experienced something similar in your past. You see the problem with almost all of the diets, clinics and programs out there is that they don't really teach you "how to eat" they only tell you "what to and what not to eat". I hadn't really changed my lifestyle that much or learned how my body uses the foods I put into it. At least that was my experience. Fortunately I have not been on another "diet" since my WLC experience so my body has not experienced the harmful effects that yo-yo dieting can lead to. It's only experienced the harmful effects of adding about 2lbs a year over the past 23 years and the lack of any regular physical activity for the past 2 years. I am now stiffer and sorer most days than I have ever been in my life. When I stepped on the scale a couple of months ago and it touched 234lbs I knew I had to do something about my weight or I'd be 250lbs soon enough. In fact I had known for a while. At least since my doctor had put me on blood pressure medication 2 years ago due to slightly elevated BP. But I was also tired of feeling tired and stiff each day, like I had been in the ring with a boxer the day before. Now was the time to TAKE ACTION. But what to do? Where to start? I didn't want just another "diet" or "quick loss program", I wanted something I could learn from and take with me the rest of my life. So I started researching on the internet. There are many, many things to choose from on the internet as you well know. Some sound and seem real good at first until you dig deeper and read the "true" reviews and testimonials. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on DVD's or equipment. So I did a broad search on Amazon under weight loss and started filtering through the results. That's when I encountered Ten Years Thinner. From the online snippets it sounded like just what I was looking for. It was all about lifestyle change and education. There was a web forum with real info and there were several positive reviews for the book. Hey, it's only $15 I told myself, what have I got to lose. Except for the weight of course, lol. Plus the cute picture of Christine on the front cover didn't hurt either. So that brings me to today. The official start of the program and hopefully a change in eating and exercising for the rest of my life. I'm determined to stick with it until I start seeing results. Thankfully not every blog entry will be as long as this one, that's for sure. I just felt I should share a bit of my background and what brought me to this place in my life. I will pop in regularly to update my progress and share thoughts and tips as I experience them. Thanks for stopping in.
So why did I decide to buy this book and choose this program? Well, I'm 48, male and weigh 230lbs. I am about 40lbs over the weight I should be for my height of 5'11" at my age. I have struggled with weight for most of my life despite playing sports (hockey and baseball primarily) since I was 5 years old. I was always one of the heavier if not heaviest kids in my class. Not crazy heavy, but just bigger than I needed to be. I took my fair share of taunting over the years. Again, not anything crazy, but enough to shame me from time to time. By the time I was in my mid 20's and engaged to my wife to be (still going strong 23 years later) I had reached 210lbs and was getting sick of looking at myself in the mirror. I decided I had to do "something" so I joined Weight Loss Clinic. They had a pretty basic program that looked like something I could follow. There were dietary restrictions and a pill to take each day and then the weekly weigh-ins. Truth be told, it was the weigh-ins that kept me on track. The accountability of having to stand on the scale, in front of one of the "nurses" and weigh more than the week before petrified me into following the program. And you know what? It worked. Coupled with my regular ice hockey schedule, I lost 30lbs over 10 months. What an accomplishment I said to myself. The staff at WLC were supportive the whole time and were excited for me too. However, my initial WLC program had ended now and if I wanted to continue with them on their "maintenance program" I would need to continue shelling out bucks each month. Of course I figured I could manage on my own from that point and opted not to continue with them. By the time the wedding came 6 weeks later I had already put 5lbs back on!
Maybe you've experienced something similar in your past. You see the problem with almost all of the diets, clinics and programs out there is that they don't really teach you "how to eat" they only tell you "what to and what not to eat". I hadn't really changed my lifestyle that much or learned how my body uses the foods I put into it. At least that was my experience. Fortunately I have not been on another "diet" since my WLC experience so my body has not experienced the harmful effects that yo-yo dieting can lead to. It's only experienced the harmful effects of adding about 2lbs a year over the past 23 years and the lack of any regular physical activity for the past 2 years. I am now stiffer and sorer most days than I have ever been in my life. When I stepped on the scale a couple of months ago and it touched 234lbs I knew I had to do something about my weight or I'd be 250lbs soon enough. In fact I had known for a while. At least since my doctor had put me on blood pressure medication 2 years ago due to slightly elevated BP. But I was also tired of feeling tired and stiff each day, like I had been in the ring with a boxer the day before. Now was the time to TAKE ACTION. But what to do? Where to start? I didn't want just another "diet" or "quick loss program", I wanted something I could learn from and take with me the rest of my life. So I started researching on the internet. There are many, many things to choose from on the internet as you well know. Some sound and seem real good at first until you dig deeper and read the "true" reviews and testimonials. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on DVD's or equipment. So I did a broad search on Amazon under weight loss and started filtering through the results. That's when I encountered Ten Years Thinner. From the online snippets it sounded like just what I was looking for. It was all about lifestyle change and education. There was a web forum with real info and there were several positive reviews for the book. Hey, it's only $15 I told myself, what have I got to lose. Except for the weight of course, lol. Plus the cute picture of Christine on the front cover didn't hurt either. So that brings me to today. The official start of the program and hopefully a change in eating and exercising for the rest of my life. I'm determined to stick with it until I start seeing results. Thankfully not every blog entry will be as long as this one, that's for sure. I just felt I should share a bit of my background and what brought me to this place in my life. I will pop in regularly to update my progress and share thoughts and tips as I experience them. Thanks for stopping in.