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20/20 Introduction

I have officially joined the 20/20 Lifestyles program at my gym (www.proclub.com). The first step is to attend a two hour introductory seminar given by the program founder, a doctor. I went to the seminar a little over a week ago (I know, this is not really a timely post! ) The doctor went through the 20 reasons why people are overweight- he suggested that everyone in the room probably has 4-5 reasons among the 20. The seminar was really interesting- he talked about weight and health issues from a biological point of view..it wasn't just about "Put down the fork fattie"… He talked about enzymes and hormones that affect the way people eat, he talked about sleep, he talked about not eating enough at the right time of the day, he talked and talked for two hours. The interesting thing for me is that on an enzymatic or hormonal level, a lot of the processes were self-reinforcing… so by the time you have bad eating habits, your enzymes and hormones go through processes that keep you in that cycle, which also leads to High Blood Pressure, High Blood Sugar, Insulin resistance, high cholesterol and other issues…

The next step in the program is to get blood drawn for a initial reading of blood sugar and cholesterol… I had that done on Tuesday this week. The next step is that there are a number of initial things that need to be done: I will see a counselor next Friday, the following Monday I will get an initial fitness assessment done, Mid week I will have a meeting with a 20/20 program doctor who will probably scare the heck out of me with my initial health evaluation. Then the week of June 9^th I will start my fitness program- three times a week I will strength train with my trainer, and I'll do cardio I think about 5-6x/week. I also will meet with a dietician weekly starting June 11.

I have been sick for three weeks which has really put a damper on my pre-program training. In fact I haven't done any cardio since the beginning of the month- I've had a nasty cough that has completely drained all my energy. I finally went to the doctor on Tuesday and he put me on some anti-biotics which has started to help. We are going to Vancouver this weekend for a few days and we'll bring our bikes…hopefully I'll be able to enjoy a little bike riding. I'll be in Austin next week but I plan to start really watching what I eat and start exercising so that I don't wait until my dietician appointment on the 11^th.

New Beginning

It was almost a year ago that I started this blog with the goal of documenting my weight loss, and I am now heavier than I was a year ago. There are many reasons including the fact that I have been completely inconsistent in my approach to losing weight. I get very motivated for a period of a month or two, I experience good results, and then I get content and don't continue to follow through. I have been rewarding myself whenever I get a good start by going back to my old habits of over consuming.

I look at my wedding photos, and while they are great and I couldn't be happier with how the wedding turned out, I look fat in all those photos. So fine, I will forever be documented as heavier than I would like for my wedding, but that doesn't mean that I have to accept it going forward.

So I've taken the first real concrete step to changing my habits and lifestyle so that I can get to my goal weight and be a much healthier person: I got my doctor to recommend me for the 20/20 Lifestyles program at the ProClub- my gym here in Seattle. I'm not sure how long the program is going to be- it is a minimum of 12 weeks but can go all the way to a 32 week program depending on the starting point. I'm basically physically fit at the outset, but I need to lower my blood pressure, my cholesterol and my blood sugar levels. I will learn in the program how to do all of that since the program combines physical training with meeting with a dietician weekly as well as some group sessions with others like me. Now I have to say at the outset, I'm not really looking forward to the group sessions… I don't want to have to sit around explaining why I am overweight… I have a very good idea why. But the program does boast very good long term results:

• Participants lose an average of 43lbs or 17% of their body weight;
  
• 73% normalize blood glucose levels and eliminate the need for medication;
  
• 79% normalize blood pressure and eliminate the need for medication;
  
• 61% normalize their cholesterol and eliminate the need for medication
  

I'm on blood pressure medication but nothing else at this point, and my readings for glucose and cholesterol don't yet warrant medication, but if I don't do something substantial now to change the way things are going, I will likely have to take medication in the future.

So I am going to do this program and follow it very strictly, and I WILL lose the weight and be healthier.

Oh and with the new weight I do plan to get back into half marathons and 10Ks and the like, and I bet my performance will be better than ever!

I'm excited to get started and I will start regular blogging again once I start in a few weeks so that I can document how things are going and to stay motivated!