Long time coming...

This post has indeed been a long time coming. Wow, has it really been 5 years since I did 20-20? At this point I have moved my blogging activities to my new blogs and photo sites:

Family blog: www.donnahoo.com
Triathlon blog: www.normalguytri.com
Pictures site: www.flickr.com/leedo

Sometime soon I'll be posting my write-up of the 20-20 program along with my progress since then. It has been quite a ride!

Week 8

Weight: 280.2
Change from last week: 3.0
Total Weight Lost: 29.6

Wow, what a difference a week makes. Last Saturday was really bad: bad attitude, low energy, really bad. Sunday was much better, and Monday/Tuesday were great. I even tried jogging on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time in 10 years! We'll see how I feel at the end of the week.

No addition to my diet this week since I only had 2 servings of beans. I'll try to eat more beans and depending on how it goes I may get grains next week.

Week 7

Weight: 283.2
Change from last week: 1.4
Total Weight Lost: 26.6

And I thought last week was tough? I really hit a wall this week. My workouts were very hard, my attitude was bad, and I had a couple of bad days at work. I hope things get better later.

I added beans to my diet this week, which means I can have hummus! This should be fun.

Week 6

Weight: 284.6
Change from last week: 3.6
Total Weight Lost: 25.7

Things this week have been very tough. I think I am fighting off the cold/flu that my boys have had for over a week: very sore in the mornings, tired all the time, and very cranky. I hope this doesn't last long. The workouts were very difficult.

Dietician: I had my first craving this week: ice cream, followed by another weird one: salsa.

Week 5

Weight: 288.2
Change from last week: 4.8
Total Weight Lost: 21.6

This week has been a bit of a turning point. I am less sore and feeling pretty good. I have more energy and my sleeping is going much better, when my sick boys are keeping us up all night.

Dietician: This week I get Fruit! 4-5 servings each day of just about any fruit I want, except cherries and bananas. I've been on berries since day 1, but this expands that incredibly.

Workouts: My workouts this week have been pretty tough. I was really sore in my legs on Friday, but overall I'm feeling pretty good.

Week 4

Weight: 293.0
Change from last week: 3.8
Total Weight Lost: 16.8

As you may have noticed, updating this blog each day is simply not practical. Weekly is all the time I have.

Dietician: I added more dairy today in the form of cheese. I now get 1-3 servings of yogurt, cottage cheese, and/or cheese each day. Wieght loss is progressing nicely.

Workouts: My workouts are getting harder each day with weight training after each of my cardio exercises. I really felt like I hit a wall this week. We'll see how I do next week.

Week 3

Weight: 296.8
Change from last week: 2.4
Total Weight Lost: 13

Monday
I was VERY tired today. I barely work up in time to run out the door in time for my trainer appointment. My workout was long but I made it through. All through the day I was tired and grouchy. I hope tomorrow goes better than today.

I bought more of the Orange/Pineapple/Guava and Kiwi/Orange/Lime shakes. These seem to the the most tolerable of the flavors available. Chicken, Vanilla, and chocolate are definitely off the list.

Tuesday
Workout today wasn't bad. I got to work late, though.

Dietician: We added some dairy this week: one serving of yogurt each day. This should be fun. It feels like I am stuffing myself each day with all the veggies and meat I have to eat. Adding yogurt should give me more variety.

Week 2

Weight: 299.2
Change from last week: 10.6
Total Weight Lost: 10.6

Monday
Today's workout went pretty well. We did the same workout that we did on Friday with very little variation. It seemed to be a little easier and go a lot faster. I purchased the two Orange shake flavors at the Pro Club and they are much better than the Vanilla. I'll never by that Vanilla flavor again. The Chocolate sample wasn't that good either.

Tuesday
I missed my workout today due to a flub on my part: I got to the gym and realized I forgot my shorts. Without enough time to go get some and get home at a reasonable hour I just went home for the night.

Dietician: I got my diet today: Veggies! I get to add vegetables, and just about all of them that I can eat.


Wednesday
I think I over did it during my workout this morning. On the last segment of cardio, I looked down after 10 minutes and realized that I was going really fast on the elliptical trainer. I made it through the end of the program, but I was huffing and puffing.

Thursday
Nothing new to report. My workout was boring.

Friday
Workout session today was pretty harsh. I hope I'm not sure tomorrow.

Weekend
I had lots of work to do in my garage today and didn't have too much trouble doing it.

Week 1

Beginning Weight: 309.8

Monday - I started this week out with a brief 30 minute workout on my own. I start my "official" training sessions on Wednesday. I purchased my heart rate monitor, the Polar A5.

Tuesday - I didn't have time to workout in the morning due to work obligations. I met with my dietitian for the first time. My nickname for her is "The Hammer" because today she really let down the hammer. My new diet, starting tomorrow, is a combinations of specially formulated shakes, proteins, and fats for a total of 1300-1600 calories per day. I used to eat that for LUNCH each day when I was in college.

Wednesday
I met with Jen, my new personal trainer. She is really cool, but my new nickname for her is the "enforcer."
Workout: My first workout was this morning-
1. 15 minutes on a recumbent bike while I watched a video about the 20/20 plan overview.
2. 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer with handlebars for upper body work as well.
3. 20 minutes on a different elliptical trainer (no handlebars) with a little different leg movement.
4. 15 minutes of abs work followed by stretching.
Overall the exercise program wasn't bad at all. I'm sure this was a light workout to start out with.

Support Group: The group I meet with is 11 men at various stages of the program, 0-5 weeks. I was surprised to see that 5 out of the 11 men had twins, just like me. It almost became a gag as we continued introducing ourselves.

Thursday
Workout: Today's workout wasn't that great. I did a total of 30 minutes of bike/elliptical. My abs were really burning.

I went all day without taking a Zantac (acid reflux med), but I still took one at night. I was really tempted to snack after 8 pm.

Friday
Workout: Wow, Jen really worked me today. After doing 15 minutes of bike, 20 minutes of treadmill, and 20 minutes of elliptical trainer, we did a wide range of weight machines followed by more crunches and stretching. I hope I'm not sore tomorrow (lots to do).

These protein shakes are getting old fast. I need to find some spices to get rid of that weird flavor. Strawberry is the best so far, although I can't say I have a favorite (they all stink). I have to do something about the taste if I plan to do this for another 26 weeks.

Weekend
I was pretty sore this weekend, but did some stretching and worked it out. These vanilla shakes are gross. Vanilla is now OFF my shake flavor list. When I buy more on Monday I'll get the orange flavors, which seemed the best in the sample pack they gave me.

I bought a food scale on Saturday night and was pleasantly surprised that I was underestimating the size of a 6 oz serving of fish and chicken by nearly 50%. We'll see how this affects my appetite.

Initial Appointments

Counselor - I met with the counselor/psychologist to discuss goals and how I'm feeling. Lots of questions. I will be meeting with her in a couple weeks as well as a support group once a week.

Physical assessment - I met with a guy who had a "Personal Trainer" shirt on. I'm can't remember his name, but he had me do quite a few different tests-
1. Blood Pressure
2. Electrostatic body fat % test
3. Strength test (basically an arm curl attached to a machine)
4. Heart Rate test (Get on a treadmill with increasing workload until your heart rate reaches 160 BPM, then rest of a minute and take recovery heart rate)
5. A whole slew of body measurements (chest, arm, waist, and thigh circumference)

Doctor - I met with the 20/20 program Doctor (not my personal Doc) to discuss the results of my physical assessment. There were no surprises: I have moderate blood pressure, hypertension, and high cholesterol. They game me a lot of reading material on all my risk areas.

I meet with my Dietician and Personal Trainer in a week when I start my week 1 workout.

Introduction

This blog outlines my progress and experiences in the 20/20 Lifestyles program at the Pro Club, in Bellevue, WA, USA. This program is a weight management program that focuses on lifestyle modification, exercise, proper nutrition, and general wellness to achieve dramatic and lasting results. The program includes a customized exercise program and regular meetings with a dietitian, doctor, counselor, and support group.

I have spoken to numerous people that have participated in the program and each had a remarkably positive experience, lost a lot of weight, and have kept it off. The secret to the program is no secret at all: the key is lifestyle modification, not just diet and exercise. This program seems to be a good fit for me. I have been very mindful in recent years of my health but managing it on my own simply did not work: I have steadily gained weight while my cholesterol has steadily increased and my energy levels have decreased.

My family history is such that if I don't get my health and cholesterol under control, I may end up like my Grandfathers, who both suffered multiple heart attacks and multiple bypass surgeries before the age of 50.

My goals include-

1. Weight Loss: My ideal weight is 240-250, approximately 60 pounds lighter than my current weight.
2. Increase Conditioning: I want to be able walk up a flight of stairs without breathing hard.
3. Increase Muscle Tone: My muscles haven't been this flabby, ever. I don't want to get big, just tone what I have.
4. Strengthen Certain Muscle Groups: A few of my muscle groups are actually quite weak: mid/lower back, arms, and abdominals. These weaknesses are only exacerbated by poor posture while setting at a computer all day. The resulting problems are back, neck, and headaches.

We'll see how this goes!