AJC.com > Health > Fit and Trim > Archives > 2005 > February
February 2005
Another week & another plateau
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Another week & another plateau. I have neither gained nor lost any significant weight. Two weeks ago, I was at 208. Last week, I ballooned up to 212 after a trip out of town. Well, this week I am resting in the middle at 210. Not great, but at least I am again headed in the right direction…down!
I knew I needed some kind of additional structure to my fitness routine so I figured I would pick up a group fitness schedule at my gym. I noticed that every Monday & Wednesday night they have a class called Body Pump, which is an hour-long group class that incorporates free weights on a barbell with an aerobic routine to high energy music. I figured if I could get myself to stick to this class schedule, I would be setting my self up for some regular activity. My new plan is to do 30 minutes of cardio followed up by Body Pump class on Monday & Wednesday, a full hour of cardio on Tuesday & Thursday, and 30 minutes of cardio followed up by my own weight routine on Friday. I am still leaving weekends unstructured, but I will try to not spend all weekend on the couch.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Drew Wilkinson
Back to the Track
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I am pleased to report that projects which have required most of my attention and energy over the past month have reached their conclusion. The past several days have been spent in reflection, recuperation and relief.
I have been WAY out of my exercise routine for weeks, but still somehow have managed to lose a total of 18 pounds since January 1. The blahs will surely go away when I hit the track in the morning, rain or shine.
Here’s hoping that our scheduled meeting with a personal trainer will provide additional motivation to get back to work!
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Joye Oltmann
The Scale Didn’t Even Twitch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week was a bummer for my program.
Seems everything that I like is either illegal, immoral or just plain fattening!!!
I followed all the steps. I drank lots of water, watched what I ate, and didn’t load up on carbs. In fact, when we went out to eat, the french fries, just sat on my plate. That about kills my 13 yr old stepson who thinks it’s evil to leave a french fry on a plate.
So yesterday I got on the scale and nothing… not a pound lost!!! That scale just laid there on 215 didn’t even twitch! How frustrating! The only saving grace in last week was that at least I didn’t gain anything.
Now, on the other hand, Christine, my beautiful wife, has been watching her weight and going to that ladies gym 3-4 nights per week. She’s lost 14 lbs. so far and is looking very sleek. I’m very proud of the work that she’s done so far.
My results will be better next week
Time to “cube-r-cise.” Exercise is the answer!
Stay tuned and
Semper Fi
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Christian Roberts
Recipe for a rebound
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta…we have a problem!
So I went to Dallas with my wife this weekend. We visited with some friends and went out to eat each night. Care was thrown to the wind and meals were ordered with reckless abandon. Cheeses and starches and sauces…OH MY! Add to the fact that I did not exercise all weekend, and you have a recipe for a rebound.
I weighed in this morning at 212 lbs. That is a four pound increase over my weight from my Thursday blog. Now I really need the fire under me! Last week, I was halfway to my goal, and as of today, I have regressed halfway back to my starting point!
This morning I decided to try a new thing … pushups & sit-ups in the morning. Ideally, I would like to be in the gym at 7AM each morning, but it is so hard for me to get out of bed (I am NOT a morning person) that it is not realistic. So I will try to work some kind of exercise in in the morning to motivate me for the day until I get into the gym in the afternoon.
Permalink | | Categories: Joye Oltmann
Halfway through & halfway there
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, we are officially halfway through this three month experiment. When we started on January 1st, I weighed in at a hefty 221 lbs. My waistline was at 38”. And my body fat, well, let’s just say that a lot of me was made up of the bad stuff! All three were personal highs in my record book. My goal for the end of this experiment was to be at 199 lbs, have a 34” waist, and get my body fat down significantly. All were very lofty goals, but seemingly attainable.
Well, we are halfway through, & I am glad to say I am halfway to my goals. My weight, as of this morning, is at 208.8 lbs. Today, I am wearing a pair of jeans (comfortably) with a 36 inch waist. And while my body fat is not as low as I would like, it has still fallen several points. Sounds great, right? Well, yes & no.
I lost 10 pounds pretty quickly. My clothes all fit looser & people are commenting on how much better I look. All before the end of January (before my infamous trip to Mardi Gras). But then I got complacent. I did not maintain the regular workouts. I started eating more. I figured that a slice of cake would not kill me. And it was all back to square one, so to speak. My weight did not rise, but it hit a plateau. I am against a brick wall & I need to get past it. I need to get the motivation to go to the gym every day & stop making excuses around 4PM as to why I should skip out & just go home. I need to learn that just because the snacks I am now eating are healthy, that does not mean I can simply eat more of them. I used to be pretty good at consuming a lot of water throughout the day, but now I find myself not even going to fill my water bottle up in the morning like I used to.
So I need to get that fire back in my belly. I appreciate the comments I get from family and friends & I am thankful for all the encouragement, but I think I need some serious tough love. I am considering hiring a personal trainer. Nothing motivates you to get in the gym more than realizing that you are paying a load of money to that person yelling at you to push out “just five more reps!” like a USMC drill instructor. After speaking to Lynne Anderson, she said that the group may be getting some guidance from a personal trainer. This may be the kick in the butt that I really need.
I have 6 weeks, 10 pounds, and 2 inches to go. I made it this far and I am not one to give up halfway through the race.
Permalink | | Categories: Drew Wilkinson
Evolution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hi, Everybody,
Two weeks into February and there is definite evidence of an evolving healthy lifestyle.
…going straight for The Sports Authority ad in Sunday’s AJC
…knowing the location, hours and staff of two workout facilities
…the scale is no longer buried in the closet under my shoes
…my husband, the carnivore, requested vegetable lasagna for dinner and gleefully plucked the last box of whole wheat noodles from the shelf at the market.
Never having actually made lasagna, but having plenty of firsthand knowledge of eating it, I began mixing and layering; those beautiful whole wheat noodles, fresh yellow squash and zucchini, portabella mushrooms, thickly sliced, and red onion with just enough zing to bring a tear. In between, I added part skim ricotta, low fat mozzarella and a cup of Newman’s Own Pesto/Tomato Sauce. It had a little sugar in it but much less than the others I looked at. Next time maybe I will try to make my own. I attempted to buy the Boca Crumbles that you mentioned in your comment, John, but the market had but an empty shelf. I used cut-up Garden Burger Patties instead….no, really….it sounds a little yucky, but was actually delicious, and no one regretted the request for vegetable lasagna.
On another note, I went in to be weighed at the doctor’s office yesterday. Like my fellow blogger Drew, they have one of the fancy scales that measures body fat, muscle, water, etc. I am another six pounds lighter and my body fat is down over three points. Should be “yippee”, right? Well, they said that my muscle is not increasing proportionately and that means that I am not eating enough!!
I am going to have to ponder this a bit. It’s all about balance and I apparently have a ways to go to achieve congruity.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Joye Oltmann
HAPPY VALENTINES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAPPY VALENTINE’S everyone.
Seems that about every 2-3 months we have a holiday. Valentines was started by the greeting card companies to boost sales since there was “nuttin” going on between New Years and Easter. Now we have all sorts of holidays to spend your money on. Most all of these holidays involve some kind of eating. I have to be careful and not fall back into that trap of just one little cookie … it won’t hurt! Maybe not, but one cookie ALWAYS leads to another where I live.
One of the things I’ve been concerned with is this “pre-diabetes” thing that’s out there. More and more doctors are testing for it. As we age, our bodies gradually gain weight. This causes our bodies to screw up the manufacturing of insulin. Either we produce too much or not enough. This causes our blood sugars to get out of whack. Complications from diabetes can cause blindness, kidney disease and even amputation. When you are over weight, over fifty and over the hill with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high Triglycerides (blood sugar) you’re a prime candidate for this. Diet, exercise and certain medications can slow or even reverse the progression of pre-diabetes. There was a terrific article in the AJC by David Walberg this morning on this important health issue. If you’re a candidate as I am, make sure you read it, get your blood tested and the start doing something about it. Excuse me… I have to go walk now!
Stay tuned and Semper Fi
Permalink | | Categories: Christian Roberts
The healthier, leaner Valentine’s heart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Happy Valentine’s Day Atlanta! Today is the perfect Hallmark holiday where you are required to spend twice as much on chocolate, 4 times as much on flowers, and more than your last paycheck on jewelry to tell that special someone you love them. Or, you could just tell them you love them with a healthy home cooked meal!
Why drop all that cash on flowers that will die in 3 days? Why get that cheap pendant that she will only wear 5 times a year? Why spend $200 on a dinner that won’t fill you up? Instead, you can achieve maximum romance with your significant other with a home cooked meal, and the right mood…candles & music optional, but helpful!
What brings this up? Well, last night my wife & I went to a cooking class for Valentine’s. The class was awesome & we learned a lot of cool new tips for cooking some dishes we never would have had a clue about. But we also learned some of the darker sides of eating out. The chef who was teaching the class was using some pretty wicked stuff in the recipes. Heavy cream, lots of oils, and tons of tasty, but bad stuff! Now, think about the kitchen at that $200 dinner restaurant you are going to. Is one night of splurging worth setting you back a week or more on your diet?
My wife & I started talking about what we learned & how we can make it healthier. Some things were perfectly good & healthy while others were not healthy at all. We figured you can take a healthy twist to an unhealthy dish and make it just as delicious while keeping the amazing flavor. For example, we cooked a whole beef tenderloin in the class, but put a heavy sauce over it. The same beef loin can be cooked (very healthy when eaten with portion control) and instead of coated in a heavy cream sauce, use a healthier alternative that may even suit your tastes better. We did oven roasted asparagus that came out delicious & was about as healthy as it can get. To end it, we had a chocolate mousse dessert that probably tipped the scales in the fat category! In the end, the class showed us how we can still have the finer foods, but with a little tweaking on our part, it will keep us healthier and happier.
And that is a Valentine’s heart that will last a lot longer!
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Drew Wilkinson
Mardi Gras, exercise and beads..
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, Mardi Gras did not take too big of a bite out of me. I successfully avoided as much of the heavy New Orleans food as possible. Staying on my feet for all the parades and moving around a lot helped me get a little exercise in. Walking to the car after one parade on Sunday, I was carrying two bags loaded with beads. These bags easily weighed 40 lbs each. I used the 6 block walk to the car to do some curls with the bags…talk about improvising for exercise!
Unfortunately, going hard & heavy every day from sun up to well past sundown took a heavy toll on me this week. I am exhausted. I feel drained & out of my own element. I have not made it to the gym at all this week & probably will not be able to go until next Monday.
But on the good side, I am still losing weight! In my post from last week, I said if I came back from New Orleans at 210 lbs, I would be happy. Well, as of this morning, I weighed in at 207.8 lbs! My body fat is up a little, but still down 4 percentage points from when we started this almost 6 weeks ago! So I am going to try & take this weekend to recharge, finish my recovery, and come back strong next week!
Permalink | | Categories: Drew Wilkinson
A Kind Word Goes A Long Way
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve noticed that when you eat out, more and more restaurants are offering low-cal menus. Sometimes you have to ask if they have a low-cal menu. Don’t worry they’re out there. The other item I’ve noticed is that most restaurants, if they don’t have a low-cal menu, don’t have a problem with substitutions. The other night we ate at a well-known steak place. I ordered a burger with bacon, no bun, no fries but a house salad instead… NO PROBLEM! Now…That’s my kind of place.
It can get very frustrating when you’re doing a weight program and the people around you aren’t. The other day at the office there was a breakfast to celebrate someone’s birthday. The ladies all outdid themselves with eggs, quiche, pancakes, sausage, donuts, pastries and what not. As I stood there, several people said “Aren’t you eating?” I said, “in a minute,” secretly hoping that all the donuts, pastries and other goodies would disappear so that the temptation would evaporate. (It didn’t!)
Actually I was a good boy, had just a bit of bacon, sausage and fruit and totally ignored the REALLLLLLy good stuff. Later that day, one of the women on our floor passed me and said “You losing weight? You look thinner!” Later in the day another women said, “Your diet must be working, you’re losing your stomach!” MAN! That just made my day!
I’m keeping apples and bananas as snacks on my desk instead of any type of vending machine junk. There is an abundant choice of low-cal soups out there that I’m trying for lunch. Most aren’t too bad plus they’re cheap. Less then $.99 cents for lunch. I’ve even asked the building management to have the snack machine vendors to start supplying a healthier choice of snacks for us.
As I progress from week to week, I find myself eating smaller portions and not feeling hungry. I tend to grab an apple or other fruit here and there so that at the end of the day I’m not famished as I was before. I still need to work harder on the exercise part. The computer still nags me to “GO WALK” but the miserable weather tends to make it difficult (notice the excuse here). But I am “Cubersizing” and I think that helps.
Stay tuned and Semper Fi
Christian Roberts
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Christian Roberts
Lamentations Revisited
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As if to answer my recent lamentation “When is all this good stuff that I am doing for myself going to kick in?” my phone jingled impatiently on Tuesday afternoon. After glancing at the caller ID, a sense of dread rose quickly. It was my doctor’s office calling and I recognized her private number. She must have the test results from my recent checkup. “Uh oh. That was fast.” After struggling with climbing cholesterol and triglyceride levels for several years and being too obstinate to take medication for it, I was prepared for another ~!<*-chewing. To my delight and amazement, the news was GOOD! Total cholesterol and triglycerides still slightly elevated, HDL and LDL well within normal ranges! “Yippeeee!” This was great…not perfect…but still great!
Now, I am not saying that this all happened within the last month. Eliminating meat from my diet 3+ years ago made a noticeable improvement in the numbers. Last summer, I started really and truly monitoring my fat intake….more improvement but still not enough. In December, after much research, I added daily supplements containing plant sterols, which support reduction of Total and LDL cholesterol levels. All of these measures made a definite impact, but it is the lifestyle changes of the past 5 weeks that have made the most difference….exercise, less stress, better rest, sensible diet, exercise, more fiber, less sugar, exercise.
And I will tell you what else is great about it…hearing the relief in my daughters’ voices when I gave them the good news.
Another thing that is different and good….last weekend when I couldn’t get out for my walk for two days, I was climbing the walls….I MISSED and NEEDED my walk! Doing a couple of miles on the dusty treadmill helped a little, but I practically sprang from the house as soon as my street was cleared of ice on Monday. I headed to the park with vigor.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Joye Oltmann
Keeping the fat out of Fat Tuesday…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“When you go to New Orleans, you oughta go to Mardi Gras
When you go to New Orleans, you oughta go see the Mardi Gras
When you get to the Mardi Gras,
Somebody’ll tell ya whats Carnival For.”
-Professor Longhair
Well, it is time for my annual pilgrimage to the debauchery that is Mardi Gras in my hometown of New Orleans. And while my years of “Girls Gone Wild”-esque exploits on Bourbon St. are behind me, there are so many other vices and temptations surrounding the Fat Tuesday celebration that could make this coming Tuesday a fat one for yours truly.
Going home is always fun. My family is made up of some of the greatest Cajun & Creole chefs this side of the Mississippi River! Unfortunately, that means real butter, heavy creams, plenty of rolls and biscuits, and no second thought to the calories, fat grams, or sugars in a single dish. Put a plate of Crabmeat Au Gratin in front of me and I can polish it off in record time while washing it down with a bowl of seafood gumbo and a shrimp po-boy. But as bad as the food may be for me this weekend, I think the libations may be even worse.
Mardi Gras is not Mardi Gras without a cold beer or drink in your hand. A 12 oz bottle of Guinness (my beer of choice) has 125 calories. 12 oz of Bud light has 110. And a single shot of Crown Royal has just under 100 calories. In any case, it can all add up. Compound that with the fact that there will not be a lot of exercise scheduled this weekend, and those calories have nowhere to go but straight to the scale.
Perhaps I will test my willpower & see exactly what I can refrain from and what vices I will succumb to. Mardi Gras is a tough mistress & her power has lured me back to my hometown every year of my life. This morning I weighed in at 208 lbs. If I only bounce up to 210 after this weekend, I will be happy. With a little self control, this year’s Fat Tuesday will not be so fat!
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Drew Wilkinson
‘A little hungry all the time…’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
209 today. Last week was a “recovery week,” meaning that training intensity is down a little to let the body recover. Despite the weekend away Jan 21/22 and the “Freeze In” day last Saturday (with the unscheduled day off that goes along with it), my weight dropped almost overnight.
I know myself well enough to know that my body will try to hang on to the weight and that I need to persevere until the first big drop. I was about 7,000 calories deficit last week which is about 2 pounds. This will be a pretty high volume week so I am confident that after this first big plunge, it will show up on the scales a little bit every day.
I love chocolate and I am still managing to have a little but I really miss a good big hunk of dense chocolate cake every now and again. I read somewhere that to lose weight you need to be “a little hungry all the time.” I am in that zone and it is showing up on the scales. I have not felt weak during my training and so far my fueling strategies are working.
Feeling good…
Chris
Permalink | | Categories: Chris Andrus
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