My New Weight Loss Plan

Ok so now it’s time to post my new weight loss plan.  I didn’t post it when I first started over because I was still working on it.  I wanted to have the first week to try it out and see if it needed any tweaks.  This plan is a little bit different than my last one, and some of you may be surprised at some of the items on my list.

The Usual Stuff – If you ran a search on Google for “Weight Loss Plans” most of the sites you would end up at would have some variant of these first 8 items on my list:

1. Exercise every day – No big shock on this one, you need to exercise to lose weight.  My plan is to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every single day.  It can be any type of exercise (cardio, strength, walking) as long as I am doing it specifically to get my daily exercise
2. Track calories and stay below my target – I debated this one quite a bit.  I hate keeping track of my calories, but the truth is I do much better when I’m recording what I eat.  My starting target is less than 2500 calories each day.  That might seem high to some people, but over the years I’ve learned that I don’t have to starve myself to lose weight.  I also have learned that if you try to restrict your calories AND increase your activity all at once, you can very quickly get overwhelmed.
3. Eat 5-6 Meals each day – It has become conventional wisdom that you are better off eating lots of smaller meals rather than just a few large meals.  It helps to keep your metabolism going and you are less likely to binge if you are getting something to eat every 3-4 hours.
4. Have some protein at every meal – Protein stays with you a lot longer than carbs and fat, plus it helps to rebuild muscle when you are strength training.
5. Limit processed and pre-packaged foods to once per day – Pre-packaged foods are full of stuff you really don’t need.  Though I’m not swearing off pre-packaged foods entirely, I am going to limit them.
6. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day – Besides being great for you, you can also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables for very little calories.
7. Set both Long and Short Term Goals – I’ll be posting my goals here in the days to come, but rest assured there will be long term and short term goals.  The short term goals will support the long term plan and all the goals will be SMART goals.
8. Regular Weigh-ins but not too often – I’ll be weighing myself every 10 days.  It’s plenty of time to at least see some sort of progress and not so long that I become obsessed and start sneaking peaks in between dates.

The Not-So-Usual Stuff – These next 10 items are more tailored to me and my personal style:

1. Establish a clear morning routine – This one might seem a little weird for a weight loss plan, but there is a method to my madness.  I will be writing a post in the near future about Keystone Habits, but for now you’ll have to trust me when I say this is probably one of the most important aspects of my plan.
2. Drink 100 ounces of water every day – You always hear how you should get 64 ounces of water every day.  I truly believe you need much more when you are trying to lose weight.  I know that 100 ounces sounds like a lot, but my most successful weight loss endeavors have come when I’m drinking lots of water.  It keeps me feeling full and helps flush out all the bad stuff from your system.
3. Eat a big breakfast  – This one might seem counterintuitive, but in order to get started on the right foot, you need fuel first thing in the morning.  Plus, if you skimp on breakfast you spend the rest of the day hungrier (my opinion anyway) than if you have a full meal.  My typical breakfast will be between 500-600 calories and will include protein, fruit, and complex carbs (such as oatmeal).
4. Post on my Blog Regularly – Submit posts on my blog at least weekly.  This helps me to stay accountable and connected to others that are fighting the fight.  It also keeps me thinking about being healthy.
5. Reduce Digital Entertainment – This one is designed to get at my evenings.  My typical evening involves me coming home, eating dinner, and then plopping my ass on the couch until bedtime.  My goal is to have no more than 2 hours of digital entertainment (TV, Wasting time on the computer, non-active Wii games, cell phone, etc.) each day.
6. Set Monthly Progress Reviews – I’m taking this page from work.  Every month I meet with my employees and we discuss their progress.  With these monthly reviews I can identify areas of concern and if I need to adjust my plan I can do that as well. 
7. Get Plenty of Sleep – You can find research just about everywhere that shows people who get enough sleep do better at losing weight, yet no one ever makes it part of their plan.  I’m going for at least 7 hours each night.
8. Prepare for failure – There will be times when I just completely fall off the wagon.  In order to be prepared for it, I have created a failure analysis form to fill out (taking another page from my work).  The idea is that if I sit myself down and go through the form right after a major failure, it will help me to prevent the same failure from happening again.  It’s also a way of holding myself accountable and getting myself right back on the wagon.
9. Allow Cheating – 1 to 2 meals each week can be anything I want.  This helps me to not feel like I’m being deprived of anything.  Note this is not considered a reward for healthy eating.  One of the biggest pitfalls in healthy eating is that sometimes people want to reward good behavior with bad behavior.  If you want to reward yourself, do it with something that isn’t bad for you.
10. Pay myself for success - One of my rewards will be cold, hard cash.  $10 will be going into an account for every pound I lose.  At certain milestones I will allow myself to use some of that money (no unhealthy purchases) to buy something and when I hit my ultimate goal, there will be enough in there for a pretty decent island vacation.
The last part of my plan isn't really about my weight loss, but rather about my life in general:
Enjoy Life and be Happy!  Afterall, what’s the point of being healthy if you are miserable?
 
Got an "interesting" item in your weight loss plan?  Leave a comment and tell me about it.

Healthy Simple Snacks

If you want to keep your metabolism stoked, you really need to eat often throughout the day.  Having snacks doesn't have to be limited to granola bars and 100 calorie snack packs that are low calorie and leave you starving in an hour.  Snacks can be very satisfying and nutritious; you just need to be a little creative.

My typical day includes 3 small meals and 3 snacks in between.  All of my snacks have some protein and either a vegetable or piece of fruit.  The protein helps to sustain you longer and the fruits and vegetables give your body the nutrients it needs.  You may also notice that almost every one of my snacks come from whole foods.  Processed foods come with a lot of things you don't want or need so I avoid them as much as possible.  For fruits, I enjoy Apples, Oranges, Bananas (only occasionally), Cantaloupe, Pineapple (fresh), Watermelon, Grapes, and Kiwi.  Note - These snacks are targeted for my calorie intake, you may need to adjust the amount to suit your own needs.  Here are some of my favorite snacks:

2 Oz Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup of Grapes
286 Calories

I really like the combination of cheese and grapes.  You get that sharp cheddar flavor followed by the sweet grapes. 


1 Apple
2 Tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter
280 Calories

Slice the apple up and spread the peanut butter on the slices as you eat them.  This is a delicious snack; just be sure to use natural PB to avoid extra salt and sugar.


2 celery stalks
2 ounces of Cream Cheese or 2 Tablespoons of Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup of Cantaloupe
254 Calories (Cream Cheese) 264 Calories (PB)

Spread the cream cheese or PB on the celery and eat.  This is great if you are looking for something crunchy. 


1 Can Albacore Tuna
1 Banana
210 Calories

Yes, many people have told me this sounds disgusting, but this one of my favorite snacks!  You just can't beat the low calorie, high protein can of tuna.  I used to have a few crackers with it, but crackers are high in calories so now I just eat the tuna plain. 


4oz Boneless Chicken,
1 Cup Pineapple
216 Calories

You can prepare several of these whenever you have chicken for dinner (see below). 


4oz of your favorite lunch meat
1 Orange
196 Calories (Oscar Mayer Shaved Turkey)

If you don't have time to cook, just pack up some lunch meat.  I just squirt some mustard on it and eat it plain slice by slice.  One warning, lunch meat is high in salt so do this snack sparingly.  


1/2 Cup Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt
1 Cup frozen blueberries
220 Calories

Throw the frozen blueberries in the yogurt and by the time you are ready for the snack it's melted enough to give you a nice cold treat. 


4oz. Steak
2 Small Kiwi
320 Calories

Got a little extra steak from dinner?  Heat it up at break time and enjoy it as a snack.


1 oz. Almonds (about 30)
1 Cup of Watermelon
206 Calories

This is good snack when you just need a little something to hold you over.  There's not a lot of nuts so you definitely don't feel full when you are done. 


1 Cup of Green Tea with Honey
1 FiberOne bar
210 Calories

I have this almost every night for my evening snack.  It's a nice little treat to end the day.

Preparing your snacks

When you have to eat 3 snacks each day, you could easily spend a bunch of time just preparing them.  Here are a couple suggestions to save some time:

1. Invest in a bunch of small plastic containers to keep your snacks in.  I've got some that perfectly hold 4 oz. of meat or 1 cup of fruit.
2. When you cook dinner, just throw in an extra 4 or 8 oz. of whatever meat it is you are cooking (be sure not to eat it at dinner!).  When you are done you can just cut up the remaining amount and throw it into containers.
3. On the weekend I (my wife) cuts up a whole pineapple or melon or watermelon.  Then we (my wife) put it into a bunch of small containers so it's ready to go.
4. Keep a box of FiberOne bars and a can of almonds in your desk drawer at work.  That way if you forget to bring snacks you'll have something to hold you over.

These are some of my favorite snacks and they are all healthy and satisfying.  I've found that if I eat every 3-4 hours, I'm never starving at meal time and it makes it easier eat a healthy size meal.  As I said above, snacks don't have to be weak and boring; with a little creativity you can find lots of healthy ideas that don't have a lot of calories.  Got any healthy snack ideas that you like?  Leave a comment; I'm always looking to try new things.  Stay Strong!

30 Day Challenge: Week 1

It felt strange not to weigh in on Saturday, but part of our rules on the 30 day challenge include only weighing in at the beginning and the end.  All in all I have to say it was a pretty decent week.  For those of you who follow regularly, you know the start of my week was pretty tough.  I did manage to fight through the issues and I can say that although I felt terrible, I didn't waver on my diet and exercise.

Last Saturday I started a new workout program just for this challenge.  The timing was perfect as I had just finished 6 weeks of my last workout program and was looking to change things up a bit.  I'm now doing 1 hour of exercise each day for 6 days followed by a 1 day break.  I started on Saturday so my day off is on Fridays.  I've always been a fan of having my day off on the weekend, but I have to admit it's easier to get those weekend workouts in.

My workout now consists of both strength training and cardio work every day.  I start with 30 minutes of strength training and then I do 2.5 miles on the elliptical.  For the strength training I have 3 different workouts; one for upper body, mid body, and lower body.  I rotate through these workouts so as to give my muscles 2 days of rest before working them again.  So far the workout has been going well.

As far as eating goes, I've been tracking my calorie intake and trying to hold at 2000 calories.  My wife has been helping out and has been keeping me accountable for what I really eat.  I'm amazed at how I underestimate everything, but she's been making me measure it.  I bet when I'm estimating I probably eat 200-300 more calories than I realize.

When this weekend hit, I was over my depression and it was perfect timing as the weather has been great.  I can actually see grass now and I took full advantage of it taking the kids to the park to let them ride bikes.  I probably walked an additional 2 miles on top of my normal workout.

As far as Big D. goes, he also did very well this week and he says that he's feeling great.  He was off work in the beginning of the week and decided to go the NY, but his girlfriend was very supportive and helped him to eat healthy, fresh foods.  Now he's back to work but on day shift so it's not too stressful on his system.  We are actually going to walk our dogs on a 3 mile loop later tonight.

I do have one sad (well not really) piece of news to report.  Over the weekend I had to retire my last 3XLT business shirt.  I've actually been in 2XL shirts for a little while now, but this was my favorite shirt and I've been hanging onto it for way too long.  You may have noticed that I said I went to 2XL from 3XLT.  I used to buy shirts for tall people so the extra length could make up for the circumference of my belly.  When I hit 2X, I didn't need that extra length (go figure).  Anyway, when I came home from work my wife commented that my favorite was starting to look like I was hiding under a tent.  I've always wore loose fitting clothing, but this was beyond the normal fat person trick.  I think when you can stuff a basketball under your shirt and it's still loose, you probably need to retire it.  So goodbye favorite shirt... Here's to finding another one in the 1X size (I don't plan on being in 2X long enough to find a favorite).

Anyway I'm feeling better, doing the right things, and looking forward to winning this challenge.  This week I'm going to try to get a post out with some suggestions for easy and healthy snacks and I am hoping to continue discussing ways to lose weight without starving yourself.  The next discussion will probably be about ways to help boost your metabolism.  Good luck to everyone out there.  Stay Strong!

You Don't Have to Starve to Lose Weight

Over the past few weeks I've been seeing a recurring trend in the weight loss blog world. It seems like a lot of people are literally starving themselves in an attempt to lose weight. I understand the logic; if you want to lose weight, you have to eat less. The problem with that logic is that the formula is only valid to a certain point. Once you reach the point that you are no longer supplying your body with enough fuel, the body reacts by going into starvation mode. At that point, your metabolism slows down to a crawl and it becomes nearly impossible to lose weight.

The cycle usually starts slowly. You start off eating with too much of a deficit from what your body needs and what you take in. Your hungry, and the process isn't fun but the weight is coming off. Your metabolism isn't firing at its best, but since you have a calorie deficit, the weight slowly comes off. Then after a little while losing weight you hit a plateau. The first instinct (and probably the worst advice that gets offered by so many people) is to eat a little less. At this point you're now getting ready to make things worse. Less fuel means less of what your body needs to function properly so it slows your metabolism even further to put you into "preservation mode". Your body also starts burning more muscle to get the fuel it needs. This in turn makes things even worse as your muscle mass is the source of a lot of expended calories. The result... You are hungry, miserable, and the weight isn't coming off anymore.

Ultimately this kind of behavior leads to binges as both your mind and body are functioning poorly. In this state it becomes easy to give up because your hungry all the time, you’re not thinking as clearly as you could be, and you're not seeing results!

I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible for you to lose weight without starving yourself all the time. The method isn’t sexy and it requires some patience, but once you start on the path you may be amazed at how many calories you can consume and still lose weight. I myself can consume 2500 calories each day and still lose 1-2 pounds a week!

Know the Equation

The first thing you need to understand is how the weight loss equation works. The equation is really very simple:

Calories Lost = Calories Expended – Calories Consumed

3500 calories lost is about equal to 1 pound. So if you consumed 14000 calories and you expended 21000 calories, you would lose about 2 pounds.

The Easy Part

Most people ignore the calories expended part and start out with calories consumed because that’s the easy one. They set a target value based on a book or whatever conventional wisdom comes their way. Each day they add the calories up from what they ate, and as long as they don’t exceed their quota, they feel they will keep losing weight. While knowing how many calories were consumed is important, it is only half the equation.

I want to stop here for a moment and just make a comment that there are many people out there who have done exactly what I just wrote and were perfectly successful at losing weight. Those people are few and far between though and many of them may have just been lucky that the calorie target they selected was actually right on for their situation.  My goal here is not to debunk some myth that highly restricted calorie diets are bad. My goal is to show why the intake part of the process is only half of the equation.

The Missing Piece to the Puzzle (RMR)

The second and equally important piece to the equation is the calories expended. This piece is often ignored because it is not easy to figure out. One of the most common misconceptions out there is that exercise makes up the biggest portion of your calories expended. The truth is your body expends a whole lot more energy maintaining itself than it does during a measly 30 minute workout. Everyone has what is called a resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is basically the amount of calories your body needs each day just to maintain itself. That’s a good start to figuring out how many calories you expend each day. How do you figure out your RMR? You could go to a doctor and they could measure it for you (the most accurate method) or you can estimate it based on one of several formulas that have been derived over the years (see my post on How to Determine Your Calorie Needs for several of the most commonly accepted formulas).

Now here’s the catch… your diet and lifestyle both have an effect on your RMR. Your RMR is not some fixed number that never changes; how you live determines how your RMR changes.  If you starve yourself, your RMR will drop. If you don’t get enough sleep your body doesn’t perform to its fullest and your RMR drops. If you are dehydrated your body can’t function properly and your RMR can drop. Genetics also plays a role, but we can’t really control that (not yet anyway).

Increasing your activity level

Once you know what your RMR is, you can then add additional calories for your activity level. Note this isn’t just your exercise time, it includes ALL of your activity from the marathon you just ran all the way down to the energy you expended to pick up the remote and change the channel. Unfortunately there is no real precise way to determine this value but there are calculations that can give you a pretty good approximation (again see my post on How to Determine your calorie needs)

In the beginning of this post I mentioned some of the worst advice offered for people that have hit a plateau is to eat a little less. More bad advice I’ve read about breaking through a plateau is to try to add a little more time to your exercise routine. I’ve already noted above, your activity level is not just the amount of time you exercise. Your activity level is based on everything you do all day long. Now think about this for a moment. If you exercise 30 minutes a day and then you spend the rest of the day sitting on the couch, how much will your activity level change if you increase your workout time by 15 minutes? Not very much! Your activity level is based on your whole day, not just a few minutes each day when you choose to exercise. On the flip side, how much would your activity level change if you switched jobs from one behind a desk to one where you are on your feet all day long? In this case, your activity level would probably change considerably.

It is actually pretty hard to make a significant change to your activity level (hard but not impossible). If you really want to increase your activity level, you need to look at your overall day and see where you can get more activity throughout. Can you walk or bike to work? Do you use an elevator a lot and if so could you take the stairs? When you get home do you sit at your computer for 4 hours before going to bed? If so can you cut that in half and do something else that requires exertion? You are not going to be able to make 1 change and get a big boost to your activity level. Instead you are going to make a lot of small changes that result in a big increase in your overall daily activity.

Putting it all together

With your RMR and the calories expended based on activity level, you now have a good estimate on how many calories you expend each day. Most people are surprised at the value they see. Depending on the calculation used I expend approximately 3500 calories each day!

With your calories expended you can now determine how many calories you need to consume in order to lose the weight you want to lose. If you are like me and burn 3500 calories each day you can eat 2500 and still lose 2 pounds in a week.

The Problem

After reading this post you are either thinking I’ve lost my mind or that it’s just impossible to eat more and lose weight (or maybe a little of both). The biggest drawback to this type of eating plan is that it takes a little patience to see the results. Your body is smart and it reacts to how you treat it, but not immediately. If you’ve been highly restricting your calories and you switch to eating more, you will gain weight. Your RMR will not react instantly and start burning more. It may take a few weeks or even a month for your body to realize that you aren’t going to go back to starving yourself before it starts revving your metabolism. This is why most people who try this give up quickly. As a society we have become accustomed to instant gratification. If it doesn’t work right away, the instinct is to start eating less which in turn puts you right back where you started.

The second problem is that typically the numbers you start with are not the ideal numbers for you. This isn’t an exact science; everyone is different. The formulas are just starting points. Some people inherently burn more and some burn less and so how much you can eat and still lose weight is largely dependent on you. Over time it becomes necessary to tweak the numbers as you learn more about yourself. This is not a process that can be done in a week.

Part of my own journey includes sharing what I know. One thing I’ve learned over my years is that you do not have to starve yourself in order to lose weight. Now you might have noticed, I did not offer any suggestions for how much is too much or how much is too litle in terms of calories.  I did this purposely because the answer is different for every single person out there.  I've always said that I believe the best diet you can be on is the diet you create for yourself.  Don't just listen to some book on how many calories you can eat.  Take a little time to figure out out how many calories you should have for your own circumstances. Good luck to everyone out there. Stay Strong!

30 Day Weight Loss Challenge

(Editor's Note - The original post had the goal set at 20 pounds in 30 days.  Originally the challenge started at 15 pounds in 30 days, but due to male egos, some last minute discussions caused the ante to be upped to 20 pounds.  Since then reality has set in and the original agreement of 15 pounds in 30 days has been re-instated)

Ok, I've talked about this in my last few posts and now it's time to share it.  A good friend and I have entered into a 30-day weight loss challenge.  The challenge is tough and the stakes are high.  What makes this one interesting is that my friend and I have quite a few differences that give us advantages or disadvantages in the challenge.  I'll go through some of them in a minute, but first let me lay out the details of the challenge.

The goal of the challenge is for both of us to lose 15 pounds in 30 days!  To make it more challenging, it's not even 30 days.  We weighed in Thursday evening and our final weigh-in is on the morning of March 26 so it's really 15 pounds in 28 days.  I know it seems like a lot but we will both lose 5 pounds in water weight this first week (I've put on 7 pounds this week but most of that is just water retention).  After that initial big loss, it will still be hard to get to 15, but certainly possible.  Also because of schedule problems we had to weigh in on Thursday evening and our final weigh-in will be in the morning so you can expect another pound or 2 just from weighing in at a different time of day.

Now of course we are men and a challenge isn't a challenge if money doesn't change hands.  If we both meet the goal and lose at least 15 pounds, then the only money to exchange hands is $1.  Whoever loses the most gets it.  However, if only 1 person meets the goal, the person who doesn't make it has to pay more.  If someone doesn't make it they have to pay $20 for every pound short of the goal.  This means someone has the potential to lose $300.  I like this style of challenge because you are in control of your own destiny.  Regardless of how well the other person does, as long as you do what you are supposed to do and reach the goal the most you'll be out is $1.  If neither of us makes it, then it's still $20 per pound but it's based on the difference between our losses.  So for instance if I lose 14 pounds and he loses 12, then he owes me $40.

So here's a little breakdown of the challengers:

Stats

	FogDog	Big D.
Starting Weight	288.1	256.4
Height	6'	6'5"
Age	37	28
Goal Weight	199	220

History

FogDog Background - Most of you know my story, but I'll offer a brief background anyway.  I'm married with 3 kids and have been overweight most of my life.  At my peak I hit 349 pounds and several years ago I started focusing on improving my health.  I've come a long way and I've learned a lot about losing weight, but have always seemed to struggle with the mental side of the weight loss equation.  Most days I eat a very healthy diet, but I'm definitely not as active as I should be.  My goal is to break the 200 pound barrier before I turn 40.

Big D. Background - Big D.'s story is in complete contrast to mine.  Big D. is single and lives by himself.  His girlfriend is in NY so he travels frequently to visit her.  He's young and very active and has one of those metabolisms that I would kill for.  Unlike me, Big D. has never been overweight, but the years of eating lots of junk food are starting to catch up to him and his metabolism is slowing.  In addition, he had major knee surgery about 2 years ago which has slowed his active lifestyle a little bit and presents some challenges as he starts to workout regularly. 

Advantages

Metabolism - Advantage goes to Big D.  He's younger and has a more active lifestyle.  Currently he eats a ton of junk and still manages to not gain a lot of weight

Experience - Advantage goes to FogDog.  I've been dieting my whole life and know a lot about what works for me and what doesn't.  Big D. has really no experience with dieting.  I have been coaching him a little to help him out a little, but he will need to find a plan that works for him.

Support - No advantage.  I'm married and have the support of my family.  Big D. is single and lives alone with his dog.  The reason why I give no advantage here is that having my family to support me can be as much a disadvantage as it is an advantage.  My wife can help make nutritious meals, but I also have to watch her when she decides to eat a piece of cake.

Lifestyle - Big advantage to FogDog.  I lead a boring lifestyle; I work Monday-Friday and have a very repetitive daily routine.  Big D. works 12 hour rotations, half on days and half on nights.  From day to day his schedule changes plus he travels regularly to NY.

Determination - I'm going to give a slight advantage to Big D.  I don't want to lose money, but honestly my head isn't into this as I would like at the moment.  I'm hoping that as I get into it more, my determination will also increase but right now I'm struggling in my head.

Plans

FogDog's Weight Loss Plan - My plan is fairly simple... Keep doing what I've been doing but make a couple small tweaks.  I currently take in about 2500 calories each day.  I'm going to adjust that down to 2000 calories (this has been harder to do than I originally thought).  I'm also going to increase my exercise levels to 1 hour each day 6 days each week.  It will consist of 30 minutes strength training followed by 30 minutes of cardio.  I will also be targeting 120 oz. of water each day as well.  I will still allow myself 1 cheat meal each week, but I will not be "taking it easy" on the weekends as I have been lately.

Big D's Weight Loss Plan - Big D's plan is centered around not eating junk food.  He's going to try to stay away from all the fast food joints and focus on creating healthy meals at home and buying pre-packaged healthy meals such a Lean Cuisine.  For exercise, Big D. will be walking his dog everyday for 45 minutes and he will doing cardio workouts at the local gym whenever his hectic schedule allows it.

So there it is folks, the 30 day challenge has begun!  I will not be posting weekly numbers for the next month as we both agreed that we would only weigh-in at the beginning and the end, but I will be posting regularly to let everyone know how I'm doing.  Based on what I've written, who do you think will win FogDog or Big D.?  Do you think either of us can reach the very tough goal of 15 pounds?  Got any advice for either of us?  Leave a comment and let me know. 

Starting an Exercise Plan

Now that I’ve started exercising, I thought I would do an article on setting up an exercise plan. Exercise is an essential component to getting the weight off. When you exercise you burn more calories and it goes beyond just the time you spend working out. The extra calorie burn goes on for hours after you workout and after it becomes a regular habit, your body will react by anticipating your normal workout and it will begin burning calories before you even begin. In addition to burning more calories and increasing your metabolism, you will also feel better.  Exercising releases endorphins that can help to make you feel happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out.  Of course losing weight will also help boost your confidence and self esteem.  Below are some tips to help you get started:

Know your limitations and take it slow – Before you even begin you have to be realistic about your abilities. If you have existing conditions that might affect what you can do, talk to a doctor about your plan. If you haven’t exercised in a long time, don’t expect to be able to lift weights or run for hours like you might have done in high school. If you overdo it in the beginning, at best you will end up really sore and at worst you will injure yourself. If that happens you will lose the momentum while you recover and have to start all over again.

Make a plan – Are you going to workout at home or at a gym? Are you going to workout in the morning, midday, or in the evening? Make a plan that fits you lifestyle. Try to shoot for 3-5 days each week.  Also, don't forget the weekends.  Sometimes we get hung up on working out during the normal work week and we forget that often the weekends have more free time to get a couple workouts in.

Include Strength Training – The best form of exercising for losing weight is strength training. As your body builds muscle it requires more calories each day to maintain that muscle. Every extra pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories each day. Strength training will also give your metabolism a boost as well. Even if you are a woman, don’t fear strength training. You won’t bulk up and 30 minutes of strength training will beat 45 minutes on a treadmill any day of the week when it comes to losing weight.

Be ready to make changes in your workout – One of the biggest problems people have with working out is that they end up getting bored. Plan ahead for this and come up with ways to mix things up. I have about 10 different workout plans so when I get bored I switch from one to the next. The changes don’t have to be huge. For example, in workout “A” I do a bench press. In workout “B” I do pushups instead. In workout “C” I do pushups on a flipped over BOSU ball. Even small changes in your routine can help to break the boredom and it also has the benefit of making your muscles work in different ways.

Adjust your diet – When you do strength training, it’s best to get some protein in within the first hour after working out. If you work out in the morning you might need a small snack before you start too. Be prepared to adjust your diet slightly to accommodate your increase in activity. If you find yourself constantly sore or feeling tired all the time, you might even need to eat more calories.

Challenge yourself – Keep track of your progress and try to do a little more each week. Set short term and long term SMART goals to give you purpose. You can even set benchmarks before you begin; see how many push-ups and sit-ups you can do or time yourself to run or walk a mile. You will be surprised at how much you can improve in just 6 weeks time.

Don’t lose the momentum – Getting started is one of the hardest parts; once you get the ball rolling, don’t let it stop. If you feel like taking a day off, instead consider doing a “light” workout. Even if you only workout for half the time, you at least keep the momentum going. Once you start skipping workouts, it gets easier and easier to skip more often and eventually the momentum is completely lost.

Getting regular exercise is an essential tool in the battle to lose weight. However, don’t just limit yourself to increased activity for just one short duration every day. Look for ways to increase your activity level all the time. Find fun things to do that also provide exercise. Go swimming, ride a bike, play tennis, or just go for a walk. There are all sorts of opportunities for you to increase your activity level each and every day. What are you waiting for? Get started today!

Journal Update 12/1/09

So the Thanksgiving week has passed and I'm left feeling a little disappointed about my weight.  Disappointed and surprised that I somehow manage to gain 4 pounds.  Part of me thinks that the weight gain isn't real and that I might be retaining water so we will see next week when I get on the scale again.  I said in the beginning of my journey that I would remain positive through this in good times and bad so I'm not going to dwell on this week for too long. 

I waited until today to post my journal update because I wanted to have a day to reflect on my experience this week.  I've said before weight loss is as much mental as it is physical and having setbacks is one of those hurdles I need to overcome.  As I thought more about my week I came to the realization that I really did a good job controlling my eating.  Here are some of the positives that I had during my week of 2 Thanksgiving dinners and 35 hours worth of driving time:

1. In all my travels through the holiday week, I did not stop at a single fast food place.  I also did not buy any junk food at gas stations or rest stops.  For me this is huge; when you are on the road it's too easy to eat junk whenever you make a stop.  We packed a bunch of healthy snacks in a cooler so when I got hungry I didn't need to stop and get something unhealthy.  The closest I came to eating fast food was a 6" veggie sub from Subway in the last leg of my trip.
2. I drank a lot of water - I drank at least 80 ounces of water every day while I was away.  It meant a few extra stops along the way, but that was ok since we had our dog with us and she enjoyed the stops as well.  I did drink a couple Starbucks coffees and I had a few glasses of wine at dinner time, but for the most part I was drinking water.
3. I did not over-eat at any of the meals I had - I mentioned in a previous post that my family and I were going to Chinese Buffet on Wednesday.  Well at that dinner I had 1 plate with some sushi and 1 more regular size plate.  For dessert I had fruit and a little pudding.  On Thanksgiving I had 1 plate of food and on Thanksgiving #2 I did the same again.  For desserts, I went with moderation.  Instead of having 2 or 3 pieces of pie, I cut small slivers from each kind to sample.  Instead of cookies I ate fruit.  I'm not going to pretend that I ate only healthy foods, but the point is when I was done with each meal I didn't feel like a blimp.
4. I actually exercised...one day - On Thursday morning I took advantage of the hotel gym and worked out for over an hour.  I spent 15 minutes on a stationary bike, 30 minutes lifting weights, and another 20 minutes walking/running on a treadmill.

So you can see why I'm a little puzzled as to how I could have gained so much weight in just a week.  I would have understood if I had stayed at my current weight, but I did not eat enough to gain that many pounds.  Did my metabolism slow down from all the driving?  I suppose that's possible.  Or maybe I'm retaining a lot of water.  If so I should see the weight come right back off this week, so time will tell on that one.  It doesn't really matter because I know that if I had eaten on this trip like I have on trips past, things could've been a lot worse. 

Part of this journey is recognizing that events are going to happen that will make it hard to lose weight.  If I can do really well during the normal weeks and contain the damage during the non-routine times, I think I'll be in pretty good shape.  People tend to think of weight loss as a linear thing (I'll lose a pound a week for the year and then be 52 pounds lighter).  That just isn't the case.  There's going to be times when the weight comes off easily and there will be times when it won't come off at all.  The idea is to keep going and not give up when it gets hard because that's what I've always done in the past.  I can't tell you how many times I've been on a diet for 4-6 weeks only to stop once the weight loss slows down.  This time I want to get over that hump and keep going so I can hopefully reach my goal. 

So sow I've had my first bump in the road and it hasn't shaken me.  I'm back at home and back into my normal routine.  Hopefully it will be a really good week.  Wish me luck.

Weight Loss 101

Losing weight is such a hard thing to do, but the formula behind it is not very complicated. The formula to losing weight is quite simple... take in less calories than your body burns and you will lose weight.


The problem with the formula has to do with how many calories you expend each day. You can track fairly accurately how many calories you consume and you can control it pretty well, but how many did you burn each day? That is where it gets really tricky. There are so many things that affect how many calories you burn each day. The body is a very sophisticated system and it knows how to react. That's why starving yourself doesn't work. The body isn't getting enough fuel so it reacts by slowing down your metabolism so you burn less. The same works with exercise. Exercise once and your body burns a small amount of calories. Exercise regularly and the body reacts by burning more calories in anticipation of the coming workload. It's really quite cool.

So the big trick is to try to keep your metabolism revved up while eating slightly less than your body requires each day (also known as creating a calorie deficit). No simple task indeed, but it can be done. In order to do this you will need to focus on 3 things; healthy diet, adequate exercise, and proper mindset.

Healthy Diet

A healthy diet revolves around balance. You should be trying to eat a wide variety of fresh foods from all the food groups. Any diet that prevents you from eating from a particular group is doomed to fail because the body will react to the restriction. How much food and in what combinations are a subject for another post, but the takeaway here is that you shouldn't be denying yourself of anything.

Adequate Exercise

When people think of exercise, they think of treadmills and stair steppers, but exercise is a whole lot more. Any activity that increases your body's need for energy can be considered exercise whether it's playing golf, walking up a flight of stairs, or having sex with your partner (the next time your wife's not in the mood tell her you need to get your exercise in). The point is your body burns calories based on the amount of activity you do each day. The only way to increase that burn is by increasing your activity level regularly.

Proper Mindset

You could maintain a healthy diet and get adequate exercise and still not lose weight without the proper mindset. Stress and other mind forces will kill your weight loss goals as easy as anything else. What makes matters worse is that an improper mindset not only affects your body, but it also affects your ability to maintain your diet and exercise routine. One bad day in your mind can hurt your weight loss plans 3 times! No one can maintain the proper mindset all the time but you have to remain conscious of your thoughts if you want to lose weight. Did you ever start a weight loss journey and then skip a day of exercise? Did you feel guilty later in the day because you skipped your workout so you bought some ice cream to feel better? Did you wake up the next morning and decide to give up because you felt so worthless from the previous day? Mindset is the most powerful factor in determining your success and I would argue it's the only one that's an absolute requirement for getting control of your weight. There are people out there who have lost weight by just eating better and there are those who have lost weight by just increasing their activity levels, but I doubt there's anyone out there who lost a lot of weight (and kept it off) without the proper mindset.

One last consideration for any weight loss journey should be time. It took a long time to get heavy, and so it stands to reason that the journey to take the weight off will most likely take a long time as well. As a society we do not handle time well. We want everything to happen now. Books on losing weight fast and TV Shows like "The Biggest Loser" only add to our desire to change instantly. You will find that most people that are truly successful at taking weight off (and keeping it off) did it over a long period of time. Keep this nugget about time in your mindset toolbox and you will be better off. Give yourself time to do it right.

Also remember this, even though it will take a long time...

"The journey of a thousand mile starts with the first step" - Confucius