Initial 20/20 Lifestyles Doc visit

I had my first appointment with my 20/20 Lifestyles doctor today. He spent a lot of time answering my questions and went over all of the test results from my lab tests and initial fitness appointment.

First the good:
I do not have sleep apnea.
My blood pressure is normal.
My cholesterol is awesome.
I do not have diabetes or early stages of diabetes.
My strength and flexibility are normalish for women of my age group (20-29).

Now the not so good:
My body fat percentage is 40%.
My cardiovascular health/endurance is very poor.
And of course, my BMI is too high (33).

All of these factors add up to why I'm there in the first place, which is to get back in shape, lose weight, and fend off any obesity-related diseases. My actual chronological age is 29, but based on these factors, they say that my actual body ages is 35. With the plan that they have set out for me, I can get to a body age of 21! Of course, this isn't guaranteed. I'd be happy to just have my body age be the same as my chronological age for a start.

Tonight, L. and I went to the grocery store and I stocked up on bottled water (I'm very picky about water), frozen berries, and lean proteins (chicken and turkey breasts). For phase one of this program, I'll be on a diet of high-protein shakes mixed with frozen berries, lean proteins, lots of water, and some supplements (multi-vitamin, calcium, omega-3 supplement, and fiber). Then in each phase (of which there are seven), I'll add back in various other food groups until I stabilize on each one and see what I react to. I actually think this will help me find some other food allergies that I'm not aware of. I already know about dairy and strawberries. So, we'll see what else there is. I basically cleared out my pantry, fridge, and freezer of anything and everything that might be remotely tempting. L. took most of it to his place so that it won't be wasted.

Last night I went to the first women's group session. Because of the snow, it was a slightly smaller group than our counselor expected. But that made it cozy and we all bonded pretty quickly. A few of the women are a couple of weeks into the program, so they all offered up some good advice for those of us just starting.

Tomorrow evening I meet with my personal trainer for the first time, and we'll go over the basics of my exercise program. I got a new gym bag and awesome workout shoes as a sort of incentive. I wore the shoes to my initial fitness appointment, and they were great. At any time, and especially at this weight, it's important to have good, supportive footwear. I got a good heart-rate monitor and pedometer to keep track of things as I go along. I've been wearing the pedometer for the last several days, and I've ranged from between around 4500 steps to 7500 steps a day. They want me to hit at least 5000 steps a day, so I'll need to work on the days where I fall short. This, of course, does not include steps in a workout which don't count toward the regular daily activity that is tracked by the pedometer.

More updates to come :)