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.