“June, 2007” Archive
Jun
15
For those of you who follow my other blog at Dollar Buy Dollar, you know that over the past week or so I have been in a rather serious depression. Although I am not getting some professional help with this, the toll it has taken on my normal routine is starting to hit me. I have slipped a bit in terms of healthy eating and several times in the past week I have used food, once again, to soothe my pysche. I expected that through the course of my weight loss I would have some slip-ups and fall back into some old habits but I am a little disappointed it has happened only a few months into my diet and exercise regimen. That said, I am human and I have made some great progress in losing 37 lbs. thus far and setbacks are bound to occur.
My structured exercise program, i.e. my personal trainer, is on hold during my intensive treatment for my biploar disorder. That said, I still need to exercise each day. I haven’t done ANY exercise this week and I can already feel the difference. My energy is lower and I don’t feel as sharp throughout the day. I’m going to hit the gym tomorrow AM and get some good exercise in. I think it will help with my mood as well.
I know many of you want to see my exact diet and exercise regimen each day so I am going to find a tool over the weekend to do this. In the meantime, check our Blogging Away Fat for some additional weight loss inspiration.
Jun
11
I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t include the MOST important element of the program I am currently on. That is, MEAL TRACKING. I literally keep a journal of every morsel of food that I consume in any given day. This type of discipline really does two things:
- Allows me to see exactly the food choices I make, complete with calories and fat grams
- Allows me to take corrective action if I have a ‘bad day’
In many ways, meal tracking is like keeping an accurate checkbook, in that the meal tracking always provides you an instant feedback mechanism for your eating habits. Much like my personal finances, I had no idea what I was eating in a given day, in terms of calories and fat content, until I was forced to meal track. Now that I do, I can easily forgive myself for having a ‘bad day’ because I can literally see the consequences of my actions in my food journal. The documenting of food choices keeps me honest and provides me with great accountability.
My suggestion, if you are considering doing some serious weight loss is to document your entire food intake for the next 30 days, down to how much water you are drinking. Just like your personal finances, I would posit you will be shocked to learn how many calories you consume in a given day. This is okay because it will give you a jumpstart of sorts when you finally buckle down and decide to commit yourself to losing weight, exercising, and eating healthy.
Jun
11
Calling all readers! I’m looking for your input as to what you would like to see in my posts. Would a detail of my food choices be useful? Do folks want to know exactly what I did for exercise that day? Would both things be very useful? Any thoughts on organization/presentation? I feel like I have a wealth of information I can share with folks but I want to make sure I share what people want to hear and in a way that they can benefit the most. Let me know your thoughts and I will do my best to steer the site in the appropriate direction. Thanks everyone, in advance, for your input!
Jun
10
I have been pretty surprised by the amount of weight loss I have been able to achieve in just 14 weeks. I am sure many of you are wondering what have been some of the key success factors, either from a diet perspective, exercise perspective or both. I will share some of the dietary changes that have helped me in a future post, but since the real key and fundamental change has been including exercise as a regular part of my life, I’ll share some of my advice on that front first.
First and foremost, my weight loss has required regular exercise, 60-90 minutes in duration 5-6 times per week. Yes, this may sound like a lot of time but frankly when I put it all in the context of how much time I would waste in front of the TV each day, this really isn’t that much time. SO, what do I do during all this exercise. The biggest component is cardio exercise and I am convinced this is really what causes the pounds to shed, at least from an exercise perspective. I am fortunate enough to have access to a wonderful health club facility so on the 2-3 days that I exercise without a trainer I do 60 minutes of cardio during each session. For those of you who already exercise in a cardio capacity, you probably also know that cardio can be VERY boring, particularly if you don’t mix things up. So, I will do 20 minutes each on the stationary bike, treadmill and elliptical so I don’t get totally bored. The key is to keep your heartrate in the cardio range during 40-50 minutes of the 60 minute total. For me, that means keeping my heart rate around 155-160 bpm. I have a heart rate monitor (you can get a good one for just $50) so I know I am on track. On days I work with my trainer, I do ao combination of cardio (usually 15-20 minutes) and weight training. The weight training ensures that I don’t lose any muscle mass during my weight loss.
Again, I won’t lie and say it is easy to get a solid 60 minutes of cardio in each session, but during the periods where I didn’t keep this regimen, my weight loss slowed or stopped completely. For those of you who don’t have access to a health club, this is okay. You absolutely CAN get a cardio workout in by riding your bike or walking briskly. Briskly for me means about 4 miles per hour as this keeps me heart rate up. If you buy no other pieces of equipment (paying cash or debit card of course), I would invest in a heart rate monitor and and a pedometer. Other than getting your 60 minutes of cardio, it is key to get 8K-10K steps in per day. Again, I didn’t think this was a big deal but during those weeks where I didn’t get my steps in, my weight loss slowed of stopped completely.
Jun
10
As promised, I have launched a blog dedicated to my weight loss which I have achieved through a fairly dramatic change in lifestyle, i.e. healthy eating and consistent exercise. For those of you who have been loyal readers of Dollar Buy Dollar, you know that I strongly believe that my debt and weight gain are interrelated. As such, I felt it would be great benefit for everyone–myself included–to chronicle my other transformation.
Like my chronicle of debt repayment, I will be as open and candid as I possibly can. As I anticipate there will be many folks who will want to try the same approach to weight loss as I am currently taking, I will detail my meal and exercise details as much as possible. I haven’t figure out exactly how I will detail all of this but for now look for the details spread throughout the post. I may try to design some sort of report or Excel file that folks can reference but I will have to give that some thought.
As is the case with my debt accumulation, my weight gain took many years but a few months ago, shortly after my divorce, my weight reached an all-time high of 294 lbs. and I decided that something drastic needed to happen. Thanks to my employer, my health club membership is paid for. In addition, my employer also pays the lion’s share of a structured, medically managed weight loss program whereby I meet with a personal trainer three times per week and I meet with a dietitian once per week. The program lasts 28 weeks and I am exactly 14 weeks in at this point. So yes, I have lost 37 pounds in 14 weeks through hard work, lots of exercise (I workout 3-4 times per week on my own in addition to the training sessions) and a drastic change in my eating habits. Since I realize that not everyone will have access to such a structured program, I will try to share as much as possible for those interested in trying to emulate the program I am on. Keep in mind, I am not a doctor nor do I claim to be, so please be sure you are cleared to exercise and diet before starting ANY program.
To all those folks who have been leaving comments at Dollar Buy Dollar, I encourage you to do the same here. On those days I get discouraged, it is often the comments from my readers that keep me going. My goal, once again, is to help at least ONE person change their lifestyle and get healthy, fit and exercising regularly.
Jun
10
Feel free to contact me with topic ideas, comments, tips, suggestions, questions or for any other reason, as long as you aren’t asking me to loan you money as I don’t have any to loan at the moment. You can also contact me with any travel requests you might have as I am indeed a part-time, home based travel agent.
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