Sunday, September 16, 2012

End of the Body-for-LIFE program

End of the Body-for-LIFE program

Hey, guess what? We made it! We completed the program and have turned in all our entrance information for the competition. We actually finished the program two weeks ago. It has just taken a while to get around to writing the blog. All of our goals have been met. Of course we will have to wait to see if we won the competition.

LIZ'S ACCOUNT

So far after completing the challenge I have lost 16 pounds which was 6 more pounds lost than I had hoped for. I did complete the 12 week program without ever missing a workout or meal. I hope to win the competition but will have to wait to find out on that. The only chance I have had to be a good example to my athletes was competing in a 5k race at the end of the challenge that many of my athletes ran in. One of the parents of a girl I coach thought I was a new girl on the team and realized afterward that I was their coach. I also got some nice comments from my athletes so I hope this will give me more credibility when I actually get a chance to coach them next season. Finally, I think the photos show how far I have come on my belly. I can't believe how slimmed down my stomach has gotten!

As I worked through the program I noticed that I became more organized, developed extra energy and motivation, and gained a desire to help and inspire others. As a mom it is very hard to plan ahead for everything because the kids can make a mess or have a dirty diaper at any moment. However, I learned through this program that things were easier when I did plan ahead not only with the program but with house cleaning, errands, and time with the kids. In the evenings my husband and I used to watch TV and snack for two or three hours because we were worn out from the day. During this program I had more energy to clean up the dishes at night and take care of any last minute tasks for the day. I also slept better because I wanted to be rested and ready for my workouts in the morning. I think the biggest surprise was developing a strong desire to encourage others with their weight and exercise issues. I’ve had several comments from others about the changes they have seen in me and I really enjoyed sharing my journey with them. I especially love sharing how simple the meal plan is and all the good foods we have been eating. I know so many people, including myself, give in to food temptations easily. I developed the mental strength to easily resist these temptations because I always knew I had my free day for them. I also began to not really want the junk food even when I had my free days. I'm so proud of myself for completing this program and I plan to keep it up.

DAVID'S ACCOUNT

Well I completed the program quite well. I did miss a couple of days due to getting worn out between work and not sleeping well. I kept up with the eating plan everyday though. I think I had one meal mishap. So I would say goal one was a success. As far as becoming a Body for Life Champion, I will have to wait and see. Goal three was to gain 9 pounds of muscle and I gained 10 pounds. At about week three of the program I started feeling more energized. I was able to do hard physical tasks like yard work when I normally would be too exhausted to do them. My last goal was to support my wife through the program and she completed it successfully. We planned meals and cooked together. We had to work out separately but we would take turns watching the kids so we each could get our workouts in. So I think I did really well with my goals. I am so happy to have achieved all of them. I certainly hope I did enough for the competition to be a winner.


As I compare my before and after photos of this challenge I see how scrawny I was 12 weeks ago. I thought I looked healthy before the challenge but now I look and feel solid. What a confidence booster! I feel so proud to have completed this challenge and also to have met almost all of my goals. I learned how to set goals better by defining what I want and having a plan to achieve it. My imagination has run wild with ideas of improving my spiritual life, improving my career as a musician, improving my family and home, and so much more by setting goals and making a plan. I had one really big inner change during this program. As I was working out and trying to hit those high points I tried to think of what I really wanted. Early on I thought of the body I wanted and winning the challenge. This was motivating but after a few weeks I found that what I really wanted was truth. I am a Christian and believe whole heartedly in God and the Holy Bible. It is a daily battle to stay focused on God and I get so tired of myself not trusting and believing what I know is true. So when I was fighting for those high points I imagined that I was battling to stand up for God. By doing these workouts I was training my mind to fight not just in the workout but in my life. I only have one chance to live on this earth so I’d better fight for what I know I should be doing while I’m here.


AND FINALLY, HERE ARE THE PHOTOS









We were trying to figure out what to do next because we really felt good doing this and it certainly was a benefit to us.  So we have ordered the Insanity program (as seen on TV) and will start that as soon as we get it.  Thanks to everyone who supported us and has been praying for us.  May God bless you.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

End of Week 11


One week to go!  What a journey it has been.  I already feel proud that we have made it this far without getting off track.  It’s hard to say how and why we did it.  I know I’ve said before that planning and setting goals has been really helpful.  But even then, I don’t always stick to other things that I plan for and set goals for.  I think it helped that the plan was fairly simple.  It helped that we were investing extra money into it because we don’t like to waste money.  It helped telling others about it so we felt accountable.  I think the real key was that God has been with us.  And I can’t explain why that is but we’ve tried things like this before and have never finished them. 

A friend of ours had leukemia and amazingly got rid of it after a long struggle.  I asked him after he had been heeled of it if he had any big spiritual breakthroughs from going through this.  The thing that I remember him saying was that he learned to really own his prayers.  I got what he was saying at the time but I’m starting to get it even more lately.  I can’t just come up with my wish list and say, “Okay God, I want a vintage 1936 Martin D-18 guitar in mint condition, I want a Corvette, a big new house, etc.”  The thing is, I may think I want these but deep down I don’t really want them.  I’m after what I think they will give me.  God knows what we really need.  I’m not saying I needed to get in shape like this but I think it had so much more to do with all the benefits of doing it like helping my wife, being an example for the track kids, being an example for our boys, and developing discipline.  I think…no, I know God had a reason for us going through this.  For me, I’ve grown far closer to God than I have in quite a while.


This last week I did much better with planning ahead for my meals each day.  That had been my problem in the 2 or 3 previous weeks.  I also relaxed a little more and didn’t worry so much about getting the perfect workout in.  I still tried but I think I was stressing too much about doing everything perfect.  Liz has been doing well in her workouts without stressing about them.  She just does it.  Me, I have to analyze everything.  Liz has seen great changes so I decided that I should just do the workout. 

It’s on to the home stretch.  Our final week.  We know what to do by now and it is routine so we just need to continue doing it and trusting God.  We also need to start working on our final essay and getting ready for all the stuff we need to turn in at the end of the competition.  I’ll post our final photo comparisons next week.

Monday, August 20, 2012

End of Week 10



Almost there!

This last week was a tough week for me. Liz was fairly consistent but I had some difficulties. The main thing was I wasn't sleeping well mostly because my mind was very active which caused me to stay up planning for all my projects, researching, and being anxious. We also seemed to get on a bad track with our digestion. We ate out at a Chinese Restaurant on our free day (last Sunday). It was delicious but it didn't seem to sit well with our stomachs and it surprisingly took the week to get back on track.  I think some of our supplements are not sitting well with us either.

As I read through my workout notes from this past week, I see how each day I seemed to have some note saying I didn't do as well, was lacking energy, and was failing to hit my high intensities. By the end of the week I got really dizzy in my workout on Friday and had to alter it. Saturday I took the day off to get caught up on sleep.

I also altered my diet this last week so I wasn't eating as many supplements. I tried to eat more whole foods. I didn't plan as well either so I don't think I ate as much as I should have. This may have been part of my problems in my workout.

So... this week it is time to get back on track. I got rested up this weekend so I feel ready for the week. I recommitted myself to making sure I get enough sleep, decided to relax more so my mind isn't stressed and anxious, and plan and eat what I need. Planning is so key. Any day I plan things out, not just for Body for Life but in everything, I am noticeably more productive. I've noticed when I practice guitar I have not been very productive lately so last week I started to really identify what I want and need to work on. I wrote out some plans and started to journal about my practice. I have made some huge gains in my practice just in one week.

God, help me to place all my trust in You. I recognized that you were with me in the beginning with this and I have gotten lost in other things. I keep wanting to do better but I am very inconsistent. I 'm not planning ahead as well. I'm not being careful on my Free Days. And I'm not focused daily on You in this. Thank You for Your grace and mercy that You have shown me through this process. Help me to stick up for what I know You are leading me to do.  

Sunday, August 12, 2012

End of Week 9


The last few weeks of the Body for Life program have moved along very quickly. We continue to improve each day finding new, healthier, tastier foods to eat and improving our form on our exercises. Our bodies have changed for the better. We have more energy, better posture, and general strength to do more. We've trained our minds to push through challenges in the workouts daily. This translates to daily challenges of house cleaning, work, spiritual challenges, etc. Needless to say, it has been a really good experience so far and well worth the effort of making the time, planning ahead, and putting the extra money into it. A wise investment.

I don't have much to share about this past week. One thing that stands out though is the whole mind over body thing. I'm sure it won't sound very appealing but I really look forward to the opportunity to push myself. In the beginning, not so much. But now I know that I better myself and make myself stronger when I push passed what I think my body can handle. There's an incredible sense of accomplishment when it happens. I remember when I was in Cross Country in high school and college I would usually dread the hard workouts and competition. Even though I did pretty good, it was really hard and painful. A big difference I notice now is that I'm recovered, energized, and ready for each workout. The meal plan makes a huge difference.

Thought I'd share an example of a workout and meal plan from this past week


You'll notice in the intensity levels, I don't always reach a 10.  A 10 means you are pushing passed what you think you can do.  You should be able to say that there was no way you could have done anymore repetitions.  It's very hard to do.  I only hit 3 of the 5 tens for this particular day.  It's very hard to get a 10 on every exercise because of the amount of focus it takes.  I'm pretty hard on myself too so it's hard for me to give myself a 10.  You can also see my notes and side comments about my form.  I always write down questions I have and problems I'm having so I can research them and do better the next time.


Some of my abbreviations and symbols might not make sense so I'll try to clarify.  The P & C on the Eating page are for Protein and Carbs so I could count them and make sure I got enough portions.  I used quotations in the Actual column if I ate what I planned.  Myo is the Myoplex protein drink that we have after every workout.  Multi and Fish Oil are vitamins.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

End of Week 8

2/3 of the way through


Wow! We are really doing it. We are moving along in this program, hitting our workouts and eating what we need to. We are feeling stronger all the time both in our bodies and minds. It really is mostly a mental challenge. What's cool though is that the body reflects the mind.

Well we are really embracing this lifestyle more and more all the time. We rewarded ourselves with some things to help us in this challenge. Liz has been working on some issues in her back that she has had for a long time. She's been getting chiropractic treatment and using a back roller to help straighten her back. We also got an armband to take my smartphone with us on runs. Liz uses it mostly for music but we can also track our runs. I also got some weight lifting gloves that help a lot with getting a good grip and lifting more weight. Along with some new workout clothes, we are feeling good and enjoying this lifestyle. I think it will stick. Our plan after completing this program is to do a 12 week sprint program. As a lot of you know, Liz is the head high school girls track coach. I help out once in a while too. So we want to be able to train these kids better. Liz and I were both distance runners and need to learn about sprinting. What better way than to train ourselves.

I listed 6 things last week that we need to work on to do better. Some of them were unsuccessful but we definitely stepped it up.

  1. I was able to workout with Liz only once rather than twice. I think it will be more realistic to shoot for 1 workout together each week.
  2. We did study form for our weight lifting and have greatly improved in this area. I can tell I am getting a better workout and will be less likely to get injured.
  3. Portion sizes with food – Liz has been doing well with this but I have tried to make sure I am getting enough to eat and it is going well.
  4. I do keep checking in on past winners to see what they have done. Mostly what I have learned is I need to trust the program. I think I'm basically doing everything I can. I keep wanting to do more but past advice has said to stick to the program. You don't need to workout more or eat differently than what the program lays out for you. Keep it simple.
  5. I have not written anything yet for the final essay but I know it's still a little early.
  6. I have been recording my meals better. I still need to make sure I record how much water I'm getting.

The final big thing was making sure God is with us. This is tough to measure. Of course one can always improve greatly in this area. I think this is where we can step it up the most though. Liz and I were doing devotionals and praying together each day for a little while at the beginning of this challenge. Now it is every few days. I am pretty sure that our only chance at winning this competition is to have God on our side. He has already blessed us so much through this challenge. He has given us amazing opportunities including the use of a full gym at no cost. He has kept us focused on eating right and training right. The series that our pastor is going through this summer has been incredibly relevant to us. It seems beyond coincidental that God is already with us in this. God has made it known to us that He is with us. I just want to make sure we finish strong WITH God and making sure we are living according to the spirit; not the flesh. The hardest part is having three little boys that almost always need our attention. BUT, that is no excuse because we can make the time if we really want to.

Finally, we did take 8 week photos. Since I did the 4 week comparison, Liz said she would reveal her 8 week comparison photos.




Sunday, July 29, 2012

End of Week 7


As I think about what the Olympians had to go through to train to compete for the gold, it makes me wonder if I'm competing at that level with this Body for Life challenge. We are competing with a lot of people in the country for this title of 2012 Body for Life Champions. I think of Ryan Lochte who went into his race yesterday in the 400m Individual Swimming Medley knowing he was capable of winning. He knew because of how he had trained. I guess I still feel like I can do better in this competition. Of my five goals, I feel the weakest on the part about winning the competition and also supporting Liz. Basically I'm thinking as long as no one goes all out with this, we have a chance.

With only five weeks to go I need to start putting everything I've got into this to make sure we win. WE need to be the ones who are going all out for this. I know it's so easy to say well I'm doing good enough. I know these Olympians didn't say that's good enough as they were training; at least the ones competing to win. The commercial that's been on about finding your own greatness really sticks out to me. Even though we're not competing for the Olympics, we can still compete like one. After all we did decide that we wanted to do this. We wanted to challenge ourselves to this. I've wanted to build more muscle my whole life. I want to see what it feels like to win a big competition like this. I find as we get further along in this I feel like even if I don't win, we've made some good progress. While this is true, I don't think this is a winning attitude.

This next week is going to be a little challenging as we will be traveling a lot. I was impressed to see Liz planning our meals and workouts out yesterday for the week so we are ready. We will be cooking a lot today so we have a lot of good foods to bring with us this week. We will be getting some day passes at a couple of gyms while we are traveling to make sure we get our weight training days in.

Even though we are doing well with getting our meals and getting our workouts in, I know there is more we can do. It's time to take this to the next level. Here's the plan:

  1. Need to workout with Liz at least 2 times a week. We know we can't do our aerobic workouts together so we need to try to get at least 2 of the 3 weight lifting days in together to stay connected in this and push each other.
  2. We need to study our form and make sure we are doing the exercises as accurately as possible focusing on the correct muscle groups.
  3. We need to really make sure our portion sizes are accurate. I know I need to make sure I'm eating enough. It's really hard to get all the calories I need and still eat healthy. It's a lot of food.
  4. I need to read up on what past champions have done to win.
  5. I need to journal more so I'm ready for the final essay.
  6. I need to make sure I record every meal and especially how much water I'm drinking to make sure I get enough.

There's a lot of detail things we need to do. We've already invested enough into this that it would be a shame not to take these extra steps to win.

I just realized a huge thing we've started to fail in. We need God with us. Our busy life has taken over again and we've gotten away from really putting our trust in Him. We desperately need to spend time with God. We need to work as if it were all up to us and pray as if it were all up to God.

I performed the hymn “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” this morning in church. Isn't this exactly what we need?  If God is with us and for us, who can stand against us?

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Half Way There


We have reached the half way mark. We are far enough in this that we'd better finish it. To be honest this last week wasn't as strong as it could have been. Our busy schedule has been making it hard to do everything right. I missed one aerobic day and also messed up on a meal. We were traveling and didn't plan ahead for a meal at some friends house and gave in to what they were eating. It wasn't horrible but I know we could have done better. I don't feel too bad about missing the aerobic day as I am trying to gain muscle and those days don't necessarily help very much with that.


On the positive side, we have gained access to a full gym which is awesome! I love having everything available that I need. Liz still does her workouts at home which means we aren't working out together. We've planned to go to the gym and workout this week for our weekly date. I also started some new supplements that will hopefully help with muscle growth. One is to take before a workout for an energy boost. It's mostly creatine. The other supplement is taken after the workout to help with muscle repair.

I can't say I noticed huge changes this week. Just the same stuff and we are getting used to our new energy, new bodies, and the many mental and spiritual changes we have had. We took 6 week photos and are still seeing changes which is nice. It's always hard to tell with weighing ourselves but I have been between 6 and 10 pounds more than my starting weight which is right on track for my goal. Liz has lost about 8-12 pounds which was one of her goals. Improvement is good but is it enough to win? We will see.

If there are any questions please feel free to ask.

Monday, July 16, 2012

End of Week 5


Just the other day I was at a gig and during my break I pulled out a protein bar. A woman from the party came out for a smoke and asked what I was eating. I told her and she said, “ Oh, you're one of THOSE people. You guys make me sick.” (Her tone wasn't really mean. I could tell she was partly just picking on me but she also seemed to be saying what she really felt. Another man came out with a beer and got into the conversation. He said his diet consisted of beer, cigars and Cheetohs.  

I've seen this many times before where people get disgusted by other people trying to be healthy. I can see that if you have no purpose in life, if you don't believe in God, and if you don't understand the basics of how and why we are here; there would be no point in trying to be healthy. I just have to say I am so thankful that there is a God and I know Him. He's not my idea. He's not another persons idea. A lot of other made up gods and religions ruin it for people so they think being a Christian is another one thrown in the mix. I can guarantee that if anyone does their research and is truly honest and not lazy about it, will realize there is a God and He guides us to understand Him through the Bible. Knowing all this gives me great purpose in being the best I can be to love God and love others.

We are at a stage in this program where it would be easy to give up or get lazy. We've had some good results from it. There still are challenges to keeping up with it. I can feel the temptations starting to come in. You don't really think you can win this do you? You are just wasting your time. Look at all these delicious sweets you could be eating. You're too busy for this. You've had some good success so it's okay to give up now.

Luckily the temptations haven't been too strong but it's letting me know that it will get harder because we aren't even half way through this yet. Just like in my workouts, I need to keep good form. God has been blessing us through this program. He's helped us grow in so many ways through this. There really is no reason to quit. There is so much more reason to keep going and win this.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

End of Week 4 (Day 28 of 84)


Well we are certainly proud of ourselves for making it a third of the way through the challenge without wavering. It honestly hasn't been too difficult. The workouts do take a high level of effort and focus but at this point we enjoy trying to push ourselves to new levels. As long as we plan ahead, we have been meeting our nutrition requirements. This last week we didn't plan quite as much so we had a few problems with having the food ready that we needed. We know we need to make sure we plan ahead this week and for the rest of the challenge to make sure we have the right foods in stock. One thing that I haven't talked about yet is the cost of doing this program.

We actually started the Body for Life program about 6 years ago and did it for 3 or 4 weeks. We couldn't really keep up with the nutrition requirements because we couldn't afford the food. We also struggled with the weight training because we couldn't afford a gym or the equipment. Now we have reached a point where we can afford the food by making some adjustments in our home finances. We have also acquired some weights over the years so we have a set of dumbbells ranging from 2 pounds to 30 pounds which works for the most part. We still have some exercises where we need more weight to reach the intensities. As seen in the last blog post, I have been using my boys as weights sometimes. We also use our dining table and chairs for some exercises. Liz has exercise bands that work for her on some things.  I also just found an ab roller at a thrift store last week.

Lower body weight training days are especially hard to reach the intensities with what we have. Liz has been doing pretty good but I definitely need more weight. We have found out that we will have access to a private full weight training gym in a week or two that won't cost us a thing. Can't wait! In the mean time I have been going to gyms on my lower body days. We received a flier this last week that had a coupon for a free visit to a Senior Center Fitness Gym. So I worked out with a couple of senior citizens and disco music one day this last week. I've also done a couple of day passes at some gyms while we wait for access to this other gym.

Other ways we have saved money is through Liz's amazing coupon skills with groceries. We also buy manager's specials from Kroger. This is especially nice with the meats. Oatmeal is a really cheap breakfast carb. Eggs and cottage cheese are fairly cheap for protein. Once our garden starts producing we will be able to save on vegetables.  Our plan from the start was "No Excuses".  This included any excuse that we couldn't do what we needed to because of money.  God has really blessed us with opportunities to earn money and save money throughout the program.  

Well I think if you are reading this you are probably most interested in seeing the changes. I'm a little reluctant to post these photos because I don't want to make this about looks. Going through this program is about so much more than the looks. It actually started more because of the looks. However, I have gained confidence to tackle some challenging things. I've gotten more organized. I just feel better. My real deep down goal is to be able to serve God better. I am so sick of this world and all the distractions it is caught up in. I hate that I get caught up in all this too. I can't wait to be in heaven with God. I know it's not my time and I need to make sure I am submitting to God now and doing what He has placed me here for right now.  God help me.

Actually, the thing that has helped me fight in these workouts this last week is thinking about what God has done for me.  I know I'm not really doing any world changing accomplishments by running with no destination or picking up a weight and putting it back down.  But what I do understand is that I'm developing a fighting attitude to push through these physical and largely mental challenges.  

So for the sake of possibly motivating some of you to get going on this program or any program or to get going on anything you feel you should be doing, here is a comparison of my before and after photos. (Couldn't convince Liz to let me post hers but she is certainly changing a lot and looking great).





Sunday, July 1, 2012

End of Week 3


Always trying to figure out how to get the workouts I need with what we have available.



This week I thought I'd share four things. First I wanted to share the goals we set at the beginning of the program.  Another thing is I've seen how doing this program has made me more productive in other areas of my life. Lastly, I shared last week that Pastor Keith's sermon gave me a good challenge. This week it seemed incredibly obvious to me that God is challenging us and trying to build a relationship with us through this program.

Goals

Liz's Goals
  1. Lose baby belly
  2. Win the competition
  3. Lose 10 pounds
  4. Prove to self that I can complete the program
  5. Motivate the athletes that I coach
David's Goals
  1. Prove to self that I can complete the program.
  2. Win the competition
  3. Gain 9 pounds
  4. Develop more energy
  5. Support my wife and help her complete the program succesfully as I know she really wants to get rid of her baby belly after having 3 boys.
Productivity

I started realizing this week that we were doing a good job of sticking to this program. It seemed as though we've made this program our number one priority. So far it has been successful because we've set our goals that we really want, we know fairly clearly what we need to do to succeed, and the big thing has been planning ahead. We decided to start planning out other areas of our life. I planned out my whole day for three days. By the end of each day I completed so much more than I would have if I didn't plan it out. The other benefit was that Liz and I knew what each other was doing so we wouldn't end up arguing about who's watching the boys or some unexpected appointment. It certainly took some focus and determination to stay on schedule but it was very rewarding.

Champion
Last week I learned and applied praying faithfully to God to guide us in this challenge along with working as hard as we can at this. Today, Pastor Keith's word of the day was CHAMPION. I found this incredibly providential in that the Body for Life winners are declared champions which is what we are trying to achieve. Could God make it anymore obvious that He is challenging us with this and wants to be behind us in this?

As we learned in the sermon today, King David was so successful because God was with him. He won incredible battles because he trusted God alone. I realize none of us are worthy of anything from God. I realize we don't deserve God granting us the winners of this challenge and there is no way we can earn it from Him. What I do know is that God wants us to come to Him humbly and faithfully. A verse that has stuck out to me lately is James 4:9.

“Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

At first I didn't understand what this was saying and after some searching I realized it was saying we shouldn't pretend like everything is okay when we know it's not. I think I have life all figured out sometimes and I feel like I'm in control. Then something like getting sick gets in the way and changes my whole schedule. I then go to God saying,”God please take this sickness away now.” after not carrying on a good relationship with Him. Basically, as long as things are good I forget God. When they are bad I go to Him. Huh.  Not much of a relationship.

So I feel a strong need to work on my relationship with God. I plan on doing this as a family. This will include praying with the boys before going to bed, praying with Liz, studying and talking about God's word, and continuing to work on memory verses. Just like the Body for Life program, I know we will have the best success if we set goals in this, know what we need to do, and plan and schedule for this.  I know that for God to be behind us in this challenge (and of course in everything) we need to work at having a good relationship with Him.

Conclusion

I hope somebody is getting something out of this. If not, it feels good being able to think through our week and analyze how we are doing. I pray God will take hold of Liz and I and turn us into what He wants us to be fully. I pray He will knock down all the things holding us back from what He wants to guide us into. I also pray this for all my family, friends, church, community, and ultimately the world. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.     

Sunday, June 24, 2012

End of Week 2


So this last week we did a lot of traveling for some of my gigs which added a bit of a challenge to working out and eating right. We managed to fit in all of our workouts and eat what we needed to though. The main thing was planning ahead.

Last Sunday night Liz and I went to Grand Rapids to celebrate our anniversary. We planned ahead and made sure the hotel had a fitness center and good breakfast foods. It turned out that they only had treadmills but with our hotel key card we were able to use it to get into a nearby gym for free. And no the cards were not used to break into the gym. 

Later in the week we traveled to northern Michigan and stayed with my aunt and uncle. My aunt saw on Facebook that we were doing this program so she got on the Body for Life website and had meals from the website prepared for us which was so amazing to us that she would go to those lengths. Thanks, Aunt Mary!

With all the traveling, we used that time in the car to plan out meals and workouts. Some things were hard to figure out. We had to make some special stops for good foods. We also had to do a couple of night workouts to get them in but we did it.

Today we weighed ourselves and took photos again. My weight was the same. Liz, however, lost an amazing 8 pounds from her starting weight. In our photos we noticed that we both had more muscle definition as well.

Besides the physical changes, we both are becoming more motivated in general. We are more easily staying on top of tasks that need to get done. We have more energy for daily stuff. The soreness from the first week is wearing off and we are recovering much more quickly from the workouts.

We continue to struggle with figuring out how to win this thing. We know we are definitely making gains for ourselves as noted above; regardless of the competition. Even though we are following the program correctly we know we need to go above and beyond. Today in church I found a new hope for this. Our pastor shared this quote from Saint Augustine.

Pray as though everything depended on God.  Work as though everything depended on you


What a great quote!  I think we've worked fairly hard at the Body for Life challenge but we still have room for improvement.  We've been praying about it but I know we are not relying on God very much.  As our pastor explained, this balance of prayer/faith and action/works is very hard to find.  Most of us tend to be either works based or faith based.  As part of the Body for Life challenge we have decided that we need to work to find this balance.  We will pray knowing all our dependence is on God's will, guidance, grace, and mercy in this challenge.  We will also workout, eat, and plan knowing we have to DO the right things to win.

May God bless you in your won challenges you are facing.


Monday, June 18, 2012

Week 1 Done


Actually a little more than one week. We put in a good first week. We met all of our food requirements and workout requirements. Hitting the level 10 intensities is hard. In the book it says you won't always hit them. It's difficult because we are still learning what our bodies can handle. We are trying to avoid injury so we let up a bit sometimes. Overall we are both surprised at how hard we have been able to train without injuring ourselves. The 4 or 5 days we were very sore and tired but now on day 8 we are beginning to get energized and we are recovering much quicker. I had read multiple times from other people who have done the program that they actually gain a lot of energy from doing the program.

One of the problems I'm working through is trying to get more sleep. I'm always hit or miss with sleep. My mind is very active so it's hard to calm it down. The last few days I have been sleeping better though. It's hard to say why. I have been trying to finish any eating 3 hours before bedtime. Also I'm certain the exercise is helping in some way.

The other problem I have is that I'm trying to gain some weight. I know that may seem ridiculous to some of you reading this but I've always been the skinny guy. Kids used to call me toothpick. So I'm actually struggling to eat enough food to gain weight. It's hard to get a lot of calories when you are eating good healthy foods. I'm gradually learning how to eat more and that's what I will continue to work on throughout the program as I think that will be the hardest challenge for us to win this competition.

So far we are right on track but to win we know we need to keep stepping it up. We are competing with a lot of other people all over the country (maybe world). It's going to take going the extra step that others won't be willing to take. So far we've learned it takes a lot of planning to make sure we are ready for all of our meals and workouts. We are traveling a lot so that makes it even harder.

Continue to pray for us as we continue to try to be more disciplined and learn what it will take to reach our goals.

God bless

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The beginning

So my wife and I decided to do the Body for Life program.  This is a 12 week training and nutrition program.  The very general idea is that you take 12 weeks and try to be as efficient as possible with eating right and exercising.  You can learn more at http://bodyforlife.com for specifics.  We purchased the book (used) for $4 on Amazon.  It's written by Bill Phillips who designed the program.  I'll try to explain the recommended plan by the creator of this program.

The Workouts

The training part of the program includes alternating strength training days with aerobic exercise days.  On the strength training days you are alternating upper body and lower body.  So Day 1 was upper body strength training.  You pick a strength training exercise for each muscle group (chest, shoulders, triceps, back, and biceps).  With each exercise you have different intensities and reps (number of times to perform the exercise).  For the intensities you have to rate them a scale of 1 to 10.  1 is basically doing nothing.  10 is giving everything you've got.

Here's the plan for each exercise:
12 reps - intensity 5 (easy, just getting blood flowing and muscles moving)
1 minute rest
10 reps - intensity 6 (still warming up but a little harder)
1 minute rest
8 reps - intensity 7 (not too easy, not too hard)
1 minute rest
6 reps - intensity 8 (this should be hard)
1 minute rest
12 reps - intensity 9 (this is very hard)
no rest
12 reps of a different exercise for same muscle group - intensity 10 (a 10 is very hard to achieve because it requires you to go beyond what you think you are capable of doing)

So do the above for each muscle group with 2 minute breaks between exercises

For aerobic days it is a 20 minute workout using the intensity scale.  You can do any aerobic activity such as biking, running, swimming, etc.  I'll likely be doing mostly running.  We did pick up a stationary bike for $20 at a yard sale so we have no excuses if for some reason we can't get out of the house or the weather is bad.
The intensities change every minute during the workout here's the list of intensities per minute
5 5 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 10 5

The Nutrition Plan


The best part about this program is how simple the nutrition plan is.  No calorie counting.  Just portions.  A portion is considered the size of your fist.  Mr. Phillips has you eat 6 meals a day that all contain a protein food and a carbohydrate food.  For at least two meals he wants you to have a vegetable.   Some other things are avoiding fatty foods, inc, drink 10 cups of water a day, and eat a tablespoon of unsaturated oil daily (found in foods like salmon).

Rest Day


The program allows for one free day a week.  This day you don't exercise to give your body a break.  The other thing is you can eat whatever you want.  So any sweets or fatty foods you've been craving you can have on this day.

Conclusion
So there's the basics of the program.  I will do my best to include useful information on this blog such as our goals, plans to win the competition, why we are doing this, photos, and any requests and questions from you guys.