Week 2 Summary

Hello Everyone and welcome back!

I hope the weekend treated you well! Did you get to enjoy some fun in the sun? I sure hope so!

This week has been a great motivator for me! I had some really strong workouts and even though I had a minor setback (Heat Exhaustion) I really feel like I am starting to see slight changes is my appearance. I will be posting some pictures at the end of the seven weeks to see if you all can notice any changes as well.

The workouts have been going well and so has the nutritional changes! This week is the second week of being allowed to only drink water and I feel great. I dont really miss any of the other beverages anymore and it has only been 2 weeks! This week I started to avoid fried foods. It is usually difficult on the weekends more than the weekdays mainly because my wife and I go out to eat more on Friday and Saturday. This week we chose to have our date nights more of the ice cream variety. Now I know what your thinking, " I thought you were trying to eat healthy?" My response:  Yes, I am.  I am trying to make one healthy change at a time and so far getting rid of ice cream has not been part of it :-)

This week, however, the ice cream is no more....

This week my new workout plan is listed below and my modification on nutrition is no more unhealthy treats. The only snacks I am allowed to indulge in are fruits, veggies, nuts, or yogurt.

As for my fitness test, here are my results:
Pushup test: 46 Reps
5K time: 24:19

Again, improvement in both categories. I know I will eventually start to plateau but for now, I will enjoy the success! My 5k time has dropped over three and a half minutes from what it originally was! Thats nearly a half of a mile faster in regards to when I would cross the finish line! Also, my pushups are 10 higher than originally which means I improved my over 20% since starting my challenge!

Feel free to comment on your own success! I would love to hear about it!

Listen to your Body!

Hello Again!

The last couple of days have been quite an adventure.

Remember, I always mention to listen to your body; this is why...

Wednesday I go into work and work a full day. Where I work there is a building with no air conditioner. Since we have been short staffed I spend the majority of the day in this building. By lunch time the temperature inside is hotter than the outside. By 2:00pm it is nearly 100 degrees and I have been sweating the entire time. I got off work around 4:00pm and started my usual trek to the gym when I realized there was no way I could make it in. I went home and took a cold shower and drank plenty of water but still did not feel well. I wound up going to bed and sleeping for nearly 11 hours!

This morning I woke up and felt amazing! I am glad that a little bit of rest and hydration is all I needed to get back to 100%. I had a great workout today and made it one day closer to the weekend.

I hope your weekend plans are coming together and your workouts are still growing strong. If you have made any changes to your diets or have any success stories please dont hesitate to post them!

Keep Going Strong!

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday I stepped on the scale and weighed in at 202.8. So 1 pound down and much more to go! I knew the weight would not be too low since I have really only taken soft drinks, energy drinks and shakes out of my diet.

The ACSM suggests that a healthy weight loss goal is between 1-2 pounds a week. So I am in that group. The scale has said I have lost over 4 pounds and also that I have barely lost ounces. Still it is too early to really tell but I feel alot better!

Yesterday and todays workouts went really well and I haven't had much problems avoiding the fried foods(yet). Usually the weekends have been my problem days for fried meals so I will definitely try to avoid them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This weekend I will be taking my wife out for a much needed date night so I will keep you posted with any healthy options I choose or any unhealthy ones I had to fight to avoid!

My energy levels feel fantastic and I am looking forward to continuing this challenge. So far, so good. I just need to keep going strong.

Week 1 Wrap-Up

Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope your weekend was full of rest and relaxation (With some exercise peppered in)!

This weekend I went to the beach for the weekend. I still made sure to take some time to continue the workout schedule as it was listed for week 1.

At the end of the week I took two different tests to measure my success thus far. I did the 5k and the pushup test. My results for the week 1 wrap up were:

Pushups: 41 Reps
5k Time: 26:27

I would say that overall, that is some terrific progress! My pushups have increased by 5 in the matter of a week and my run time improved by 1:35! When I did the tests my body felt alot better than the way I felt last week.

Now on to week 2..

My new workout routine is listed below. This week I will continue my structured warm-up and follow it up with a little more in-depth dynamic stretching section. Stretching is a very important thing that most people tend to neglect. Dynamic stretching is different than static stretching because your body is moving throughout the stretch.

For my Nutritional change this week I am going to get rid of fried foods. I think this will be very difficult but I think it will make the biggest change in my waistline.

I hope you are all taking steps in the healthy direction. If you haven't started yet, there is no time like the present!

It's The Small Victories That Sometimes Count The Most!

Hello everyone and welcome back!

I hope you are all gearing up for the weekend! Make sure you enjoy your much needed rest and relaxation!

This week has been a huge motivator for me. I have felt some lows from my caffeine withdrawals but for the most part I have felt a lot more highs.  The amount of energy I have been getting from these workouts has been a real inspiration. My body feels a lot “cleaner” from only drinking water, and the number on the scale seems to be going down slightly. I don’t want to call it weight loss yet because your weight will consistently fluctuate a few pounds. I will, however, call it a small victory!

Wednesday:

I worked out with a friend and we followed the set workout routine. Since I had a workout buddy with me I definitely tried to kick it up a notch. After the workout I felt good. For the first time this week I have not been sore so that was a plus. I had the same slight headache I have been dealing with all week. I really think it is because I have not been indulging in my energy drinks and am going through a form of withdrawal from lack of caffeine. I am not craving the drinks, just the caffeine.

Thursday:

Today I woke up and went the whole day without a headache! I went through the workday without a problem and did a few social events this evening too. By the time I got home this evening I really didn’t feel like working out. I thought to myself that my whole idea is about taking the right steps towards health. Even though I might not sprint each step, just moving in the right direction is a good idea. So I laced up the shoes and did a good eighteen minute warmup followed up by stretching, weights, core and finished with a quick cooldown. I will admit I was not excited about working out at first but by the time the first drop of sweat hit the floor I was back in it!

I hope your workouts and nutrition has been going well for you. Remember, you don’t always have to sprint, just keep moving in the right direction!

So Far, So Good!

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well and enjoying your week so far!

Today I am going to tell you how Monday and today went.

Monday:

Monday was a great day! It was the start of my new workout routine and also of my first week drinking only water. I did crave my diet soft drinks and daily energy drink but I knew I had to push through. It was tougher in the morning because I always start the day off with a sugar free or lo card energy drink. Without the caffiene it was definitely tough.

My workout routine was great! I was a little sore from the 3.1 Mile run I did for the fitness assessment but a good warm-up really eased the tightness in my legs away.

My warm-up is the main focus this week. I started by jogging for 4 minutes. I started jogging at 6.0 MPH and went up .3MPH every 1/10 of a mile.

My dynamic stretches helped loosen up all the major muscle groups. I followed up the dynamic stretching with a basic strength program (Explained in my previous post[The first healthy habits]). The workout went well and I cooled down and went home.

Tuesday:

Today I was a little more sore but still excited about the healthy habits I am starting to form.

As far as the "Water only" its been tough. It is only the second day so I know it will be hard to get rid of 20+ years of soft drinks and 5+ years of energy drinks. I had a little bit of a headache from no caffiene but I pushed through and felt good for not giving it. Its only day two after all!

The workout was great. My legs are a lot tighter but I am really enjoying my regular workouts.

Todays warm-up was a jog starting at 6.5 MPH and going up .2 MPH every 1/10 of a mile! The rest of the workout went off without a hitch.

I hope your workouts and healthy habits are going well! Remember, its a marathon, not a sprint. Dont give up and keep up the great work!

The Full Monty Part 1

This is me, in all my glory, before the start of the program. I will post another set of pictures in 7 weeks!  Every day for the next two months, I am going to post about my workout routines and my nutritional changes.  I hope you enjoy following me on my journey towards health!

If you are interested in following along with a similar plan, make sure you practice good form and listen to your body.

The First Fitness Assessment

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Today I went to Snap Fitness and met with a personal trainer to do my fitness assessment. I was unsure how I would perform. I know I have not been taking care of myself as well as I could but I was not prepared for what was in store for me. My fitness assessment is listed below:

After the assessment I just sat there with the results. I started to get down on myself and then I realized, “If you don’t like the results, change them!”

The new regiment is a day away and to say I am looking forward to it is a complete understatement! I am ready to see what changes I can make in 7 weeks.

The one thing to remember, Rome wasn’t built overnight. I am also pretty sure it took longer than seven weeks too, but hey, it’s a start!

Notes From a Nutritionist

Hello everyone! Last night I met with a local nutritionist to get some basic information on the breakdown of what we put into our bodies. I would like to pass this information on to everyone who is interested. I am going to put it into a simple bullet point format at the bottom of this post. Later on, I will be uploading all this information on the nutrition tab on this site!

Tomorrow, I am meeting a personal trainer from Snap Fitness to get a full fitness assessment completed which I will post the results tomorrow so you can see where I am starting from. A special thanks to Snap Fitness, who was nice enough to give me free fitness assessments through the course of this program!

 I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

NUTRITION

Carbohydrates:

·         Found in foods composed of starches/sugars / and fiber.

·         Most common source of energy from food

·         50% of our diet should be carbohydrates

·         Two types- Simple and Complex

o   Simple- Processed and refined sugars( Candies and snacks)

o   Complex- More Fiber (Whole Grains, Beans, Corn, Potatoes)

§  Better to have more complex than simple

Fats:

·         4 types of fats in our diet

o   Monounsaturated + Polyunsaturated: Heart Healthy

§  Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Fish, Nuts, Seeds, Avacado, Peanut Butter

o   Saturated Fat: Unhealthy Fat

§  High fat animal products

o   Trans Fat: Manufactured and processed foods.

§  Used to improve shelf life of products

·         Tip: Limit or avoid saturated or Trans fats. They could increase your risk of heart disease!

·         20-35% of your diet should be Monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats

Proteins:

• 10-35% Of your calories should be protein
• Protein is found in meat, eggs, cheese, nuts, peanut butter, beans
• Try to avoid high fat protein (Bacon, sausage, pepperoni, etc.)

Healthy Meal Plan Tip

• 3 small meals a day with a snack in between each is the preferred meal plan by nutritionists
• Small meals more frequently increase your metabolism
• Eat well balanced meals
• Increase Fruits and vegetables!

The First Healthy Habits!

Hello Everyone! Welcome back! Today I want to post next weeks workout regiment and explain my first healthy lifestyle changes I hope to turn into habits.

Over the next seven weeks I will be slowly improving my routine by making certain aspects of my workout more intense. On the nutrition side I am going to make one healthy change each week as well. The goal is to keep up these changes for at least three weeks and explain how I am feeling and what changes my body is making during that time.

My one nutritional change is I am going to drink only water for the next three weeks (Starting Monday). Water is such an important yet forgotten choice for people to consume.

Today, I am posting my workout routine for next week. It puts an emphasis on making sure I properly warm-up. I have always enjoyed running but have been inconsistent in doing it. I am going to use jogging as my form of warming up. If you are going to follow along you can do many other options in the "Warm-up" department. Just make sure you start slow and build up gradually! If you need to rest make sure you do and pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Before Pictures and Assessments to follow later in the week!

Good Luck with your first step towards a healthy success!

Here's the plan...

Hello again! Day two of our first steps towards becoming a healthier person!

I would like to take this time today to explain exactly what I am planning on doing here on "The first step."

I am planning on creating healthy habits for both my diet and my exercise routines over the course of the next few months. During this program I will be incorporating one healthy change in both my diet and exercise every three weeks.

Why every three weeks you might ask? Well the reason is simple; Studies say that a habit is typically formed within the first 21 days. So by changing my behavior slowly every three weeks I hope to be able to continue these healthy behaviors long into my adulthood.

On this site, I will have two tabs; One for Nutrition and one for Exercise

On the "Nutrition tab there will be some basic information as well as my daily food log. You can watch it as it slowly evolves into a healthier diet.

In the "Exercise" tab there will be basic information about exercise and how to help you reach your goals. You will also be able to see my workout plan and get daily breakdowns of my actual exercise regiment.

This week I will be contacting a nutritionist to get some basic nutriton questions answered which I will be putting on my "Nutrition" Tab Also, I will be going to a local personal trainer to get a complete fitness assessment done which will be placed in the "Exercise" Section.

Over the course of the next seven weeks (Eight including this week) I will be keeping you updated on all changes that are happening to me. These changes will include:

Weight / Body Composition / Flexibility / Circumference Measurments / Calorie Intake / 5k time / Blood Pressure / Heart Rate.

The First Step Toward a Healthier Me

Hello! and congratulations on taking your first steps to a healthier you!  This site was built with the idea of helping myself and others achieve a healthier lifestyle one step at a time. 

As you can see from my bio, I am an alumni from East Carolina University.  I graduated with a degree in health and fitness, and put that degree to use for a few years post grad. 

Looking at myself today, I have noticed a person who has lost a little bit of that fitness luster.  I'm searching for practical ways to become fit, while still working a 40 hour work week and making time for life's other responsibilities.

I hope that you will follow me on this journey towards a healthier lifestyle, and I hope that inspiration can find you and lead you towards the next step in health.