Life Can Really Get In The Way Sometimes When Trying To Loose Weight!
Week four turned out to be the “week from hell”.
Everything went fine in the morning of the first day of this week, including my exercise and eating program.
All of that changed when I went out to my car to get something and started back towards the house. Somehow I managed to trip on the front porch step, stubbing my right toe, scuffing my right knee, and pulling a ligament in the back of my left knee. My right big toenail immediately turned purple.
Also, I had a business meeting scheduled in Charlotte, North Carolina or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
So, not only was my exercise program totally interrupted but now I had a business meeting , which would take up all of my time for four days. On top of all that, as you can imagine, we would be eating all of our meals at restaurants, including entertaining business partners.
As a result my health program took a backward turn. These are things that we all have to deal with, but we all know sometimes just a good excuse to come off our exercise and eating program. I will admit I’m guilty.
The net result for this entire week was I gained back three quarters of a pound. Bad habits are tough to break. But I am determined!
My knees are fine, but I will probably lose the nail on my big toe. However, I am not going to let it deter me from my program.
I immediately jumped back in the saddle and am back on my exercise and eating program.
Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. But now that I look back at it, I can laugh, and move on.
Tags: Back Exercise, Bad Habits, Big Toe, Break, Business Meeting, Business Partners, Charlotte North Carolina, Excuse, Exercise Program, Front Porch, Good Health, Health Program, Hell, Knees, Left Knee, Ligament, Loose Weight, Porch Step, Restaurants, Three Quarters, Tuesday Wednesday
New Discoveries About Low Carbohydrate Weight Loss
Week three went fairly well. There were a couple of days that I did not meet my minimum carbohydrates goals. I am finding that when you go over 100 grams of carbohydrates or cheat just a little it affects your weight loss for several days. About four days into this week , I had lost 2 pounds. However, we went to a movie and shared a small popcorn and by the end of the week I had only lost 1 pound. Maintaining 80-100 grams of carbohydrates per day spread over the entire day is critical.
I increased my time on the elliptical machine to 19 minutes total. I am still at the same number of reps and weight for my exercise program. I have increased the number of stretches and time for each stretch. I will be demonstrating my entire program in a later post video when I have it perfected.
My meals consist basically of 25-30 grams of carbohydrates for breakfast, 10 grams of carbohydrates at two snacks, 15-20 grams of carbohydrates for lunch, and 20-30 grams of carbohydrates for dinner.
I also try to balance the meals with 4 to 6 ounces of meat protein, a small amount of fat, and carbohydrates from fruits and green vegetables which do not seem to have the same effect as carbohydrates from things that have sugar or high concentrations of carbohydrates such as rice and potatoes.
My overall health and energy is getting better each day.
Tags: Couple Of Days, Elliptical Machine, Exercise Program, Fruits, Good Health, Green Vegetables, Health New, Lost, Low Carbohydrate, Lunch, Meat Protein, New Discoveries, Popcorn, Potatoes, Snacks, Stretches, Weight Loss
Weight Loss And Good Health Depends On Breaking Old, Bad Habits!
This week was good news, bad news.
The good news is, I stayed right on schedule as far as my exercise program. I increased my time on the elliptical machine to 15 minutes. I alternate between doing 2 mph for three minutes and 2 1/2 mph for one minute. I have increased my reps on my weight exercises to 15. There has been a significant increase in my energy level and physical well-being. I can already feel the difference in my muscles and the decrease in soreness when I wake up in the morning.
The bad news is, I did not lose any weight this week. I think I have made the typical mistake that most people make of not writing down exactly what I’ve eaten and how much. I have just kind of calculated it in my mind. Big Mistake! I am finding that you must be cognizant all the time or the old habits will sneak in when you least expect.
I do keep up with the amount of water I’m drinking every day and have managed to drink a minimum of 64 ounces every day. On most days I find that I am drinking between 90 and 100 ounces. I know this seems like a lot to some people but if you keep the water in a container by you at all times you’ll find that over time you will drink it out of habit. As I’ve stated in previous posts I have a 32 ounce container of water with me at all times.
So starting this week I’m going to write down everything I eat and keep up with my total calories, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and fats. Remember, my goal for this week was to decrease my carbs to 80 g per day and my calories to under 2000 per day. I also want to make sure that I am getting enough protein and fiber for building muscle and good digestion. I want to make sure I am getting the good fats versus the bad.
In next week’s post I will give a summary of those amounts and let you know my progress.
Tags: 15 Minutes, Bad Habits, Building Muscle, Calories, Carbs, Digestion, Elliptical Machine, Energy Level, Exercise Program, Good Fats, Good Health, Good News Bad News, Habit, Muscles, Old Habits, Ounce Container, Protein, Three Minutes, Typical Mistake, Weight Exercises
You can have all the successes in life you want but if your health turns bad and you become debilitated or die,
what good is it?
I know when you’re young you seem invincible and health is not an issue. However bad health habits are formed from the time we are infants and our health in later years is determined by those habits.
If you are like me you have probably become more cognizant of those bad habits when you started to mature.
Being overweight, having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and yes even cancer can probably be attributed to our bad health habits.
Most people are not willing to commit to the sacrifice it requires to change those habits because it’s hard.
Over the past years I have tried just about every diet program and exercise program that exists. I have to say that like most people I did not follow through to change the habits I needed to obtain the health I wanted. My only saving grace was that I have always been an outdoor, active person and that really kept me from total disaster. However as I have aged those bad habits are starting to have adverse effects on me: overweight, sore muscles, bad back, low energy, high blood pressure, etc etc.
After much time spent studying and researching programs, I’ve decided to create my own program based on what I feel will work for me and probably anyone else who is willing to spend the time and effort to change those bad health habits.
Starting this week I will be posting the exact steps in this program I will be following and results as it happens.
First we must write down exactly why we want to have good health. The next thing we must all do is write down exactly
what our goals are. Then we must write down exactly what we are going to do to accomplish those goals.
Here is my why:
I want to be able to enjoy life to the fullest including long walks on the beach, scuba diving, traveliing
to exotic places, dancing, enjoying time with my wife, playing with my grandchildren, living in the home of my dreams,
going to the theater, dining out, playing with my dog, skiing, hiking, fishing, visiting with friends, celebrating holidays,
writing, blogging, reading, waking up in the morning feeling great, eating the foods I want that will not harm me and
sleeping sound.
I think you get my drift.
Here are my basic health goals:
Lose 36 1/2 pounds in the next 12 weeks. I presently weigh 214.5 pounds. My goal weight is 178.
Lower my blood pressure from 140/85 to 120/80 and then be able to stop my blood pressure medication.
Change my eating habits from too much fat, cholesterol, and carbohydrates to a healthy diet that will accomplish the
above goals.
I will be following the exercise schedule outlined below. Included is a short video demonstrating what I’ll be doing.
Exercise
Week 1- 11 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical machine or treadmill. (Three minutes at 2 mph and one minute at 2.5 mph)
15 reps each w/8 lb weights-x 4 exercises
5 minutes foot stretches(Because of nerve damage from back operation)
Upper and lower body stretches
Week 2- 15 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
Same as week 1
Week 3- 19 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
Same as week 1
Week 4- 23 minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
18 reps each w/8lb weights-x 3 exercises
Same as week 1
Week 5- 27 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
Same as week 4
Week 6- 31 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
Same as week 4
Week 7- 35 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
20 Reps each w/8 lb weights
Same as week 1
week 8- 39 Minute (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
Same as week 7
Week 9 & 43 Minutes (3-1) Rotation on Elliptical
beyond Same as week 7 (May want to increase weight)
Diet
Diet-Goal 178 lbs Requires 3 lbs/week for 12 weeks
1st Week- Breakfast-Honey nut Cheerios w/non-fat Milk OR 2 poached eggs w/8oz non-fat milk, and a piece of whole grain low calorie toast
(Hold carbs Snack-Protein
to less than Lunch-Sandwich-Low fat meat, vegenaise, no fat or flavored cheese, lettuce, whole grain low calorie bread
120 per day) Snack-Protein
Dinner- High Protein-Low to no carb,low fat
Snack-Protein
2nd Week-
(Less than
100 carbs per
day)
3rd-12th Week Make adjustments as needed in meals.
(Less than
80 carbs per
day)
Drink at least eight-8 ounce glasses of water per day! This Is a Must. I actually drink over 100 ounces of water per day starting with 32 ounces during the exercise time.
Use common sense! You must have some fats in your diet but hold them to a minimum. Try to balance all meals with protein, whole grains, carbs from green vegetables, and even a small portion of high carb items a couple of times per week if you must.
I also take a regimen of natural supplements that are missing from most of today’s foods. That is entirely up to you but I do recommend that you at least take some potassium during the losing weight time.
Remember the Common Denominator of Success-you must be willing to do what most people will not do in order to succeed.
I started my program on January 4, 2010 and have already lost 2 pounds as of today January 6, 2010! Plus I can already feel my energy coming back. Nothing is going to stop me now!
Tags: Adverse Effects, Bad Habits, Bad Health Habits, Being Overweight, Cholesterol, Diabetes, Diet Program, Disaster, Exact Steps, Exercise Program, Exotic Places, Good Health, Grandchildren, Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Low Energy, Sacrifice, Saving Grace, Sore Muscles, Successes
Most of us are in search of success in all or various parts of our lives including business, financial, health, spiritual, family, etc. etc.
There was a speech given at an insurance convention in 1940 by Albert E. N. Gray in which he defined the Common Denominator Of Success. “The secret of success of every man who has ever been successful lies in the fact that he formed a habit doing things that failures don’t like to do.”
It is my true belief that most people fail in their attempt to succeed at various aspects of the life because of the habits they have formed over the years based on their lifestyles, people they associate with, parental input, income level, type of career, ethnicity,eating habits, exercise habits, nutrition, education and willingness to put forth a concentrated effort to change those habits.
If you have come to a point in life where you truly want to succeed at some or all of the aspects of your lifestyle then you must be willing to put forth the effort to change certain habits that are holding you back from living strong.
The first step is to make a list of the things that you feel like you need help with to attain total life success.
For most, this will be a change of “Bad Habit Number One”: Not making a written list of the things you need help with because it means you must admit that you have not attained certain things in life or you have actually failed at some things in your life that you really want.
It really doesn’t make any difference about your age. If you really want to succeed with some aspects of your life, you must identify what they are and make a concentrated effort to change the habits that will in effect bring about changes that will lead to your success.
So stop right now and make that list.
Tags: 1940, Bad Habit, Belief That, Career, Common Denominator, Eating Habits, Exercise Habits, Financial Health, Insurance, Lead, Life Success, Lifestyle, Lifestyles, Nutrition Education, Parental Input, Secret Of Success, Spiritual Family, True Belief, Willingness