Week 1: Well I have made it through my first week of training at His and her Fitness. It has been a great week. When I weighed in on Saturday I had already lost 15 lbs. and just under 5% body fat.
I am eager every morning to get the kids to school and then get to my workout. I have been feeling great. I have a lot more energy then I did just a week ago.
The first three days I had my usual evening hunger pains but I was able to sooth them by drinking water. Since then I have had to cut down on the amount of food I am eating because I can not eat it all.
Week 2: This week has started off great. At weigh in I lost 7 pounds and 3% body fat. Brandon is pushing me harder finding very quickly my limits. I am working hard to break those limits, build muscle, and improve my health. My energy level has skyrocketed. I am starting to notice that my clothes are looser then they were just a week ago.
I work 12 hour shifts on the weekends by myself. This past weekend they left a bucket full of candy and a chocolate cake. At no time did I have any thought of eating any of the sweets. I have lost all cravings for sugar.
This past Wednesday my oldest daughter had a procedure at Children's Mercy Hospital. I prepared by bringing my snack and lunch with me so I would not be tempted to grab anything at the food court.
I am eating more food then I did before and I am still losing weight. Now that is a win win.
Week 3: This has been a crazy week. Outdoor soccer season has started and I have been running back and forth to drop off and pick up kids. Unfortunately the fields are about 30 minutes away from each other. Thank god gas prices are not as high as they were six months ago. So I have been carrying my meals in the car with me so I do not get hungry and do something stupid. At this time I am eating seven meals a day and that has been really tough to get them all in. By evening time I am so full that I have been having problems getting the last two meals in. What I have had to do is cut down on the amount of fiber and starch that I take in during the day so I am able to eat all my meals.
On my workouts we have started isolating muscle groups. So we are now only focusing on two or three muscle groups per day. I am doing more sets less reps and heavier weights. I am so excited with my progress that it is only a matter of time that Brandon will whip me into shape. I can not wait for the next workout to see what new tricks Brandon has up his sleeve. Today abdominal workout was very tough but in a few weeks all the struggles will be worth it.
My clothes are getting looser and looser everyday. The other day I wore a pair of pants and just a week ago I did not need a belt to keep them up. This week I had to wear a belt. That is a great sign.
Week 4: Finally I get a week to rest. With my work schedule I never get to bed before 11:00 PM and I get up by 6:00 AM to get myself ready and then get the kids up. My wife is a night owl so she gets the evening shift. This week the kids have been on spring break at Grandmas. So I got to sleep in and did not have to do any running around in the afternoons. What gets me through all the running around is making sure I always have food prepared so I do not grab any junk food.
The day after Brandon called me to tell me I was in this program I grilled several pounds of chicken breast, taco turkey burgers, Christina's Meatloaf, Salsa chicken, and Whole Wheat pasta. So at all times I would have food ready to grab on the go.
This week has gone great. I have lost a total of 31 lbs. and 11% body fat.
Every workout Brandon is having me lift heavier weight and for the most part I am able to lift the weight with little of no help.
It is so much easier to workout with a trainer then to workout on my own. At home if I am tired or lazy I would skip the workout. But at the studio Brandon will not let me slide by. Brandon's encouragement helps me when it is needed. Today, I was doing some abdominal training and the first set was not bad. The second set really killed me. At home I would have just stopped but Brandon did not let me stop. He did allow me to modify it a bit but I had to finish. I am happy he did that because that is the only way I will improve.
It has been quiet and peaceful around the house but I am ready to get the kids home.
Week 5: As of this weeks weigh-in I have lost 13% body fat. This has been since the middle of February 2009. I am so excited. I have also lost a total of 33 lbs. I am wearing clothes I have not been able to wear for a very long time.
The whole experience has been increasable. All the trainers and clients at the studio make you feel like family. They all really care about you and your accomplishments.
There is just a bit over three weeks until this is over and Brandon is pulling out all the stops to get in the best shape possible. The workouts are getting tougher but I really enjoy it. There is nothing Brandon can do to me to discourage me from coming back for more. I don't think!!!!
This past November I setup an appointment for a physical. The first opening they had was in March 2009. At the time I was thinking I have to wait four months. Well I am so glad I had to wait. After a few weeks on this program my weight had gone down considerably. The test results were great. My blood pressure was lower then it has ever been 114/74. My over all Cholesterol was 144. The HDL was 50 and LDL was 83 and my Triglyceride was 54 which my doctor said was GREAT!!!!!!!!.
My doctor told me to keep doing whatever I was doing.
Week 6: This week started off on the down side. I got a call that my Uncle had died. That completely changed things. On top of that my cousins were flying in this past Saturday and their flight was canceled because of the weather in Kansas City. It was good seeing the family even though it was under these circumstances.
As of this weeks weigh in I have now lost 36 lbs. and over 15% body fat. I am getting closer and closer to my goal weight.
I still am having problems eating seven meals a day. Usually the last one I usually do not get around to it until after 10:00 PM.
The workouts are going great. All the hard work is starting to pay off. I am seeing many changes in my body. The waist is getting smaller and the shoulders are getting broader. Today I was doing chest press with 70 lb. bum bells. That was huge for me to accomplish. Now I am shooting for 80 lbs. for next week.
Christina has changed my diet for the last two weeks to really get my body ready for the finish line. This will be a challenge because I need to follow her menus with no changes, but I want to succeed so I am up for the challenge. Focus on the prize. What is the prize??? It is a better ME. Learning all I can to take care of myself using nutrition and exercise.
Week 7: We are into the final two weeks in this journey. I have learned so much in the past six weeks and expect to learn a lot more in the next two weeks. Christina has changed my diet for the last two weeks. This plan lays out what I need to eat for every meal for the next two weeks.
For the past six weeks there have been a lot of food items I was not able to eat and I thought I would have cravings for them. The biggest ones are sweets, cheese, bread, nuts, and peanut butter. The only item I have craved is peanut butter, but have stayed away from it so far. Now for the next two weeks I get one TBSP of peanut butter. Yea!!! I am really surprised I have not craved any cheese which I would eat at least twice a day.
This past Friday my oldest daughter's school had a fund raiser. For dinner they had a Mexican buffet. I ate my dinner prior to leaving for the fund raiser and at no time did I feel the urge to eat any of the food or sweets. They even had carrot cake which is my favorite.
Also, eating seven meals a day plus drinking over two gallons of water really cuts down on the cravings but not restroom visits. Also, with all the exercise and good food I do not feel exhausted all the time like I use to. I feel energized and ready to go. This program has really made a difference in my life not just for two months but for the rest of my life.
Week 8: The journey is almost over and I was reflecting on what I have learned in the past two months. I have been on several different weight loss programs and had temporary success but I was never taught what food does in our bodies and why we should eat certain types of food at certain times of the day but not at other times of the day.
All of the other weight loss programs the leaders were good hearted people but they truly had no idea what they were talking about. They did have general training but it was from the company they worked for so if you were to ask them a question that they had no answer for they gave you this look like a deer staring at head lights. Then they would say let me ask and I will let you know next week. Well weeks turned into months and months turned into never. They would tell you how many calories you could eat each day but did not give a list of what not to eat. So I could eat that garlic laced with dripping butter at 9:00 PM and then go to bed and I should still lose weight because I stayed within my calorie limits. Yea Right!!!! Weight training and cardio was optional.
I am eating between 500-1000 calories more per day and losing weight much quicker then ever. Why, because I am lifting weights and doing cardio. So I have more muscle to help burn fat. That is simple logic. If you let your car run in idle you will burn gas but if you push the accelerator you will burn gas much quicker.
While I am doing my cardio at the studio it is a great time to pick up some great tips from the trainers. All of them are very well educated in nutrition and exercise Physiology. I always get great tips on what foods are better to eat then others or a better why to do a certain exercise. Of course I always get great tips while working with Brandon.
Now I need to take what I have learned and use it in my daily life and continue on improving myself.
I want to thank Christina for giving me this opportunity to be involved in the Eight weeks to greatness program and Brandon for being there to help me along every step of the way. Also, to Jonathon, Lilli and Christina #2 for being there when I had a question. This I a great group of people who work very well together. God Bless you all.
