As many of you know, I have bipolar disorder and I recently started taking a new medication for this, called Lamictal. Apparently this medication can slow your metabolism and cause weight gain, which might explain why I am having trouble shedding any more pounds despite my rigorous exercise routine. I have spoken with my doctor about this and hope to find an acceptable solution.

Anyone else out there taking medication for bipolar disorder and experiencing weight gain/weight loss? I’d love to hear from you.

The key to the continued weight loss, at least for me is getting in the high intensity, aerobic exercise at least 5 times per week for 50-60 minutes. I also do weight training 2-3 times per week to keep up my muscle mass, but that alone won’t drop the calories. In a recent Q&A on MSNBC, it looks like their ‘expert’ agrees with me that weight-training alone won’t trim the fat.

I know 50-60 minutes may seem like a long time to do aerobic exercise, or any exercise for that matter. So how do I stay motivated? First I make sure I mix up the workouts. I will do 20 minutes on the treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical to keep things from getting too dull. In addition, I typically mix up the order in which I do each machine. An iPod with some good, fast paced workout music also seems to keep me motivated. I figure it is 6-7 songs worth on each machine, which isn’t too bad when you just focus on the music.

I’m to the point now where I am comfortable running on the treadmill. Previously I felt my weight was too high and that my knees would suffer serious injury if I were to run. I’m not running a marathoner’s pace at this point but I did manage to get a 13:00 mile in, which isn’t bad considering the last time I RAN a mile was in college.

In order to keep myself motivated to run and continue to lose the weight, I signed myself up for a 5K run here in Seattle in late September. I know 5K might not seem like a big deal for most people, but to me it is a stretch. I will seriously feel a tremendous sense of achievement if I can manage to do it.

The only potential pitfall here is the beer garden at the end of the race, but I should be able to avoid that without any problems. It also looks like I will still qualify for the ‘Beer Belly’ division so that gives me some extra incentive to keep things moving forward.

I’m happy to report that this is all behind me now and I look forward to keeping your updated on my diet, exercise and weight loss progress.

As I reported over at Dollar Buy Dollar, I had been having some Fellowes’ Mental Health and Debt and I ended up in an intensive outpatient program. This program was originally going to last 7-10 days but it ended up lasting nearly 3 1/2 weeks and I have been out of work on short-term disability during that period. I’m happy to report I will be heading back to work next week.

Unfortunately, between the combination of struggling with my mental health issues and having my daughter, ex-wife and mother in town, sticking to the diet and exercise regimen proved to be somewhat futile. The good news is that I haven’t gained any weight. The other ’side effect’ is that I have had to temporarily stop my sessions with my trainer (again, this is paid for by employer), but those too will start back up next week.

That said, I have been hitting the gym regularly over the past seven days, doing at least 60 minutes of cardio (treadmill, elliptical and bike combination) as well as some strength training. I’m down another 2 pounds since getting back into the swing of things this week, which makes me quite happy.

For those of you wondering what my diet generally looks like, let me give you a snapshot of what I have had today, as well as what I plan on eating for dinner this evening:

Breakfast: Protein Shake (EAS Chocolate Protein Powder) with Mixed Berries. I use two scoops of the powder so I get some good mileage out of the container. I usually get this from Costco in a 6lb. package. I also add a serving of fiber to the shake each morning.

Snack: One normal sized banana and string cheese

Lunch: Grilled Chicken Breast Salad with 2 Tbsp of Lowfat Dressing. Admittedly, I bought this salad at my gym because it is SO good. The salad is a mix of green and iceberg lettuce, sliced red and yellow peppers, low-fat cheddar cheese and pinto beans. Remember, on the cheese and pinto beans, it is all about portion control, i.e. 1 cup max.

Snack: Apples slices with 1 Tbsp of Natural Peanut Butter. It is always good to match the carbs in the fruit with a protein source like yogurt or peanut butter. Peanut butter can be high in fat so again, watch the portions!

Dinner: 6 oz. Flank Steak with a nice and spicy steak rub with a nice mixed green salad and a slice of whole grain, whole wheat bread, aka ‘colon blow’.

Yes ladies and gents, this is ALL I eat in a typical day when I am following my diet. In addition, I drink at least 64 oz. of water each day. This may seem like a lot, but when you work out at the intensity level I do, you will end up drinking at least half this intake during and/or shortly after the workout.

The amount of food I eat each day, when I follow my diet, is a tremendous change from my past diet. It also may seem like not much food, but let me tell you that eating 5 times a day, while drinking 64 oz. of water is not an easy task. The high protein, lower carb meal plan I follow keeps me very satiated and for the most part I am never hungry at the end of any given day.

Again, I am not a dietician so I cannot recommend this plan specifically for anyone, but should you choose to try it, I wanted to give you some details into what my daily food intake looks like. If you do nothing else, I urge you to cut out any soda or juice from your diet and drink only water. I promise you will lose weight!

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.

• 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.

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.
 

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.

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I am a 32 year-old, recently divorced male who finds himself overweight after several years of unhealthy eating and a relatively sedentary lifestyle. I have a 3 year-old daughter who I share custody of who means the world to me and has, in large part, led me on my path to transforming my lifestyle. On this blog, I will go by the name of Fellowes, the brand of shredder I used to destroy all of my credit cards that put me in the dent that I chronicle over at Dollar Buy Dollar. I choose to be anonymous, at least for now as dont wan’t my identity revealed to coworkers or my employer.

What?

This blog will detail and chronicle the transformation of my lifestyle of unhealthy eating and minimal exercise to one of healthy eating and consistent excercise. In addition to sharing the details of my diet and exercise regimen, I also plan to share other musings regarding a healthy lifestyle that I hope will be of benefit to my readers.

Why?

 Why chronicle my weight loss vis-a-vis my diet and exercise regimen. Quite simply, I have found that blogging is a great way to keep me both motivated and accountable and weight loss is another one of those life changing events that demands both honesty and accountability in order to be successful. I now realize that my debt accumulation and weight gain were intimately related and in order to convey the whole story and the subsuquent transformation, I need to share this facet of my life as well. I hope to inspire others who find themselves in the same or a similar situation to take the steps needed to both conquer debt and get healthy.