Good Body Buddies

I have always struggled with my weight, and I get those short squat genes from both sides of my family...so I felt doomed! Let me tell you a bit about myself, so my journey may bemore in focus. I am a white female, 50 years old,standing about 5'3" and twice over the past 15 years my weight hit 170lbs. The first time it happened, I stayed at that weight for several years always trying new ways of dieting. Then 10 years ago, I got divorced...and went on what I now know as the Divorce Diet!Due to the stress of the divorce, I just didn't eat...not healthy, not planned...but I lost 35 pounds. I would NOT recommend this method of weight loss!!!

Over the next 9 years, I steadily put back on the weight. My job was at a desk, and for the past three years required extensive travel for several weeks at a time. In addition I was in my 40's and found that even though I didn't eat large amounts, I still gained weight. It was the perfect storm for unhealthy living and weight gain.

So what changed? Two things, my dog died and my 50th birthday was fast approaching. On Christmas 2008, my little poodle that I had for 8 years, died. He was 13 and enjoyed a wonderful life, but I was very upset. After 4 days of feeling depressed (which I am not prone to do), I had to do something to help pull me back up. I decided the gym. Now mind you, I have had a membership for 6 years...and in those 6 years, have used it maybe 8 times. So, the gym is not my normal solution to problems, but for this issue it was. The second motivator was my 50th birthday was in June. YIKES!!! I just couldn't face 50 and being chubby.

A few years ago, I hired a trainer for a short period of time. While it was expensive, it did teach me the basics of a good workout and how to use the weights. My first time back at the gym I did some cardio and a few weights. While I was exhausted and not very good, it felt great. I made the commitment right then, to continue to workout on a more regular basis. Over the next few days, I did continue and my mood improved each day. While I was still sad for losing my little dog, I was no longer depressed.(side note: I have since gotten a new little guy, Max! He is a real cutie and has brightened my days.)

As I continued at the gym, I began to think about my weight and how I needed to shed "a few" pounds. A lady at work had been using the BodyBugg, so I spent some time with her understanding how it works. It is an arm band that measures your calorie burn, so you wear it all day. At least once a day you log into the BB website and upload the armband. Then you log the food that you ate. The premise is basic, you have to burn more calories than you eat. To lose 2 lbs. a week, you must burn 1000 calories more and to lose 1 lb. a week you must burn 500 calories. Once you load the info (takes about 2 minutes for both the upload and logging the food), it shows your burn in a graph and your calorie deficit (or overage). So, you always know exactly where you are.

I went to my gym where the BB was sold (it is also on the web) and invested the $199. That was January 15th, 2009, and I began my journey back to good health. In the beginning, I set reasonable goals, never more than 10 lbs. My daily goal was to eat 1150 calories and burn 2150 which sounded like a mountain to climb! I immediately cleaned out my refrigerator for anything that was not conducive to my new healthy living mantra. I then stocked up on vegies, fruits, lean meats (love those chicken breasts!) and whole grains to support my goals. Notice I am not calling this a diet??? I decided to focus on being healthy and not dieting.In the process, I was convinced I would lose weight.

Back at the gym, I was doing great! I made the committment to work out 6 days a week, taking only Sunday off. I also wanted to make sure that I was not just focusing on burning via cardio, but also giving my muscles a work out through the weights. Since my work schedule is crazy, Idecided that early morning was my best bet. So, I am up at 5am and at the gym by 5:25. Here is my weekly regimen:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday

• 20 minutes of cardio (treadmill, eliptical, rowing or bike)
• 6 weights - 3 upper body, 3 lower body
  • Do one upper, then one lower, etc.
  • Do 20 reps at a weight that is difficult
  • Then lessen the weight by 5lbs and do another 20 reps
  • Reduce the weight by 5lbs one more time and do another 20 reps
• 20 minutes of cardio
• Total workout time around 1 hour

Tuesday-Thursday-Friday

• 60 minutes of cardio split between 2-3 machines

Sunday

• While I didn't do a formal work out, I generally take little Max for a walk in the morning and in the evening.

I also invested in a pair of Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT's) shoes, which force you into walking with better posture and work out your calve muscles in the process. While they are normally expensive (around $250), I found mine on sale for $99. I could definitely tell that my posture was better and for the first few days my legs were sore!

Now that I had my exercise in full speed, I had to focus on my calories. I made sure that I ate something prior to the gym...maybe a granola bar (be careful, many have huge calorie count and lots of sugar), an apple, a banana or any other type of quick healthy snack to get my metabolism moving. Then another small breakfast (oatmeal, 1/2 whole wheat toast with Laughing Cow cheese, etc) after the workout. I am not good at snacking between meals, but forced myself into bringing a piece of fruit for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. For lunch I have lived on salads (dressing on the side as it is a calorie killer!) or other lighter foods. For dinner, it depends. I didn't focus on "diet" type foods, but did focus on smaller portions. We go out to dinner several times a week, and with logging my food on the BB I knew what was going to put me up over the top in calorie counts. Pizza? No problem...just have one slice! Mexican food...ok, that is a challenge. But I will admit I have not had chip/salsa/queso in 6 months and it is my biggest temptation. Alcohol? Limited to wine.

What about traveling? I still do, and I have done very well during my trips. One of my main work destinations is Olean, NY (south of Buffalo) and the Hampton Inn gives their guests free passes to their new YMCA. So my daily routine is the same there as at home.  Almost every hotel I have stayed in has some type of workout equipment...some wonderful (Houston Airport Marriott) and some not so great (Olean Hampton...thank goodness for the Y passes!). I also stick to my eating goals, even though it can be difficult when you are eating out every meal. When I am gone for more than a week, I do go to the grocery store and stock up on frozen meals. I can then have them for either lunch or dinner (or both).

So, down to the bottom line: How much have I lost? As of this morning, I have lost 37lbs! I have three more to go and I will go into maintenance mode. I have gone from a size 10-12 to a size 4-6. I am convinced that the BB helped me focus on the right areas of my life to make this happen: Eating healthy/containing calories and exercising/burning calories. Because I could login everyday and see my progress, it motivated me to do better. I knew exactly how much I needed to burn/eat to lose the weight. No guess work involved.

Last week I hit my birthday and could really celebrate life. Instead of not being in control of my life and losing weight the wrong way (divorce diet), I took control and changed my lifestyle for a healthy future. I have included the website for the BodyBugg and if anyone has questions...please feel free to contact me at jlbogrand@yahoo.com.

Here are the websites:

BodyBugg:

http://my.apexfitness.com/

MBT's:

http://www.swissmasaius.com/Default.aspx?lang=en-US