Notes, Page 1
Here goes me trying to get all my practices into some semblance of order that people can understand. I appreciate all of the people that have supported me and hope you know that I support you too 100%. Losing weight is a difficult thing to deal with. So at the risk of sounding a little nutty, here you go:
When I started on February 19, 2001, at age 33, 300 lbs, and 5'6" I couldn't walk two blocks without getting a cramp in my calf! I thought that it would be impossible to stick with any diet. My doctor recommended the Protein Power book. This diet is similar to Atkins I�m told, but less strict...I�m really not sure of the differences. I understand that since I started, www.proteinpower.com now has a kit with videos, and charts and much more stuff. I have done this plan with just the paperback book written by Michael R. Eades, M.D. and Mary Dan Eades, M.D. I purchased it at my local bookstore, so I don�t know much about the rest of the things they offer.
I highly recommend visiting www.atkinsfriends.com .This is the place I have lived since May 2001, when I found out about it. There are great people there, recipes, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and lots more. This place will help you keep on track.
I started exercise with walking. Probably about a mile at a time after dinner.
Gradually the cramp stopped coming and I added my brisk walks at noon. Starting with a mile in the mall (it's usually raining here), and working up to a mile and a half. Music really helped kill the time.
Next, I added Tae-Bo in the mornings, or biking if it�s nice out. 7.8 miles takes me almost an hour, and is three laps on our bike path. If I�m late I do two laps, which is 5.2 miles.
Then I started to go swimming with my son in the evenings three times a week. I do laps during the family swim time so we can both go. (he's 12) I swim back and forth the short length of the pool right where the rope divides the shallow and deep ends for an hour, backstroke. When I started I had to stop with each lap and catch my breath, but swimming is very low impact. (I had to force myself not to think about what I look like in a swimsuit) My mantra is, "do I care what they think,? NO, those people don�t affect my life anyway!" I need to say things like that to myself when the thoughts start to pop up in my head, then I lift my chin up just a little and keep going lol.
I had to listen to what my body was telling me, and take it slow. I did build my endurance up, and it took longer and longer to get tired. This was one thing that amazed me, how I built my endurance.
I waited maybe a month and a half or so before I tried upper body workouts at the gym three times a week in the evenings. I started with 15 minutes of rowing before each workout to get my heart rate going. Then went to the crosstrainer (it's an oval walk/jog machine). This machine is really easy on the knees. At first I could only do 2 minutes on it, but it got easier and I went to 5, 10, 15..... eventually the stairmaster, which I started in late June 2001. The upper body workouts I do are 5 sets of 20 repetitions on each machine. I�m up to an average of 45-50 lbs on each machine and gradually work up to where my muscles are good and tired by the end of the 5 sets, with slow smooth movements. I try to wait at least one minute between sets, but usually only get to about 30 seconds. In between machines I do 3 minutes on the crosstrainer to keep the heart rate up.
The big thing for me was variety. I get bored doing the same thing over and over. Now I look forward to most of my workouts. I get a rush when I�m done. Even if I have to drag myself out there. Now I get up at 5:30 most mornings and don't usually need my alarm clock. Continued on page 2...