Exercise log - Thurs, Jan 17

I went to the gym tonight and met with my nutritionist for the first time. She got me all setup with the information for phase one of the dietary part of the program and gave me some tips for a dinner I'm having with an old friend on Saturday evening.

Following my nutrition appointment, I headed down into the cardio theater to do my workout. The cardio theater is a cool part of the Pro Club that is relatively dark and slightly cooler in temperature than other areas of the gym. It has an abundance of cardio equipment, thus the name.

I hooked up my heart rate monitor and hopped on the elliptical machine. I did 45 minutes of total cardio at a rate of 145-155, with a short warm up and cool down.

Tomorrow, I meet with my trainer, J., again and we'll do more cardio and he'll start me on some weights.

Finally - a good explanation about mucus

Every time I get sick, I wonder why I'm suddenly drowning in mucus. Turns out that it actually has a purpose. From Dear Science in The Stranger.

First personal training visit

I met with my personal trainer, J., for the first time today. We hit it off well and I think that he'll be good at keeping me motivated and on a good workout routine. Today we spent the first part of the session going over my background and he followed up on any questions that he had before getting me started with the exercise part of things. We spent the last 40 minutes on the elliptical machine and I tracked my heartrate with my new handy-dandy heart rate monitor. The kind that I have actually transmits to the machines, so I can see my rate at all times and my monitor beeps if I go over my high point. J. talked me through the workout and it went by amazingly quickly. I finished up by bicycling while watching a program video about getting started with the program.

I'll meet with J. again on Friday, and this time we'll add the weights into the mix, since we're through with the intro stuff. I meet with my nutritionist for the first time tomorrow. Tonight, I had a couple of pieces of toast with butter and jam. It will be my last grain serving for some time - until phase 7 if I remember correctly. I also had an orange. I won't get oranges back for a few phases either. They say that once you get balanced on this, a lot of your cravings go away, so I'm counting on that. I'll probably be a bit crabby for the first week while adjusting, so I've warned L. and he's prepared for things to be a bit touchy in the beginning. But, I'm optimistic that it will be worth it and at each phase, it will be a treat to add small things back into my diet.

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 :)

Bill's last day

This is pretty funny :)

Thoughts about working out

This week I had my first counseling session and my initial fitness assessment for the 20/20 Lifestyles program. So far, I'm really impressed with all of the people I've met and with how efficient everything is so far. It seems to be very well run.

In my initial fitness assessment, they did the following:

• Took my blood pressure - normal, which is good


• Took my measurements


• Tested my upper body strength


• Tested my flexibility


• Tested my body fat percentage - yuck, but that's why I'm there


• Tested my cardio level on the treadmill


• Took my "before" picture


• Got my pedometer


• Borrowed a device to test whether I have sleep apnea

Next week, I go to my first group session, my first personal training session, and my first nutrition session. I talked to my trainer on the phone yesterday to setup our first meeting for next week. He seems really nice, and I hope that we hit it off well. I've done personal training in the past, and it's important to get along well with your trainer and get the kind of support that you need to be successful.

I can honestly say that I'm not big on exercise. In the past, when I've made a point of getting to the gym, I always came home wiped out. And when I tried to exercise in the mornings, I just slumped along all day. A lot of people talk about the rush they get from exercise, but I seem to have the opposite effect. That's why I've scheduled my workouts for the evenings. I can go to work, then head off to my workouts in the evening, come home and eat something healthy, and then pass out for the night.

I'm really not excited about having to work out at a gym. I find gyms kind of overwhelming. There are all kinds of machines that look like torture devices, and I look like a complete idiot trying to figure them out. Occasionally, a nice person will offer some help so that I can go on with pulling my muscles and reminding myself of how out of shape I am. I'm always thankful when I don't have to exercise next to a smug exercise addict - you know, the people who clearly live at the gym and they look at you like they can't imagine that anyone would exist on this earth who doesn't share their sense of excitement about working out? Those people baffle me just as much as I baffle them.

In truth, I'd love to just work out in my own little box and not really have to deal with anyone at the gym. But, then I'd never get anything done. The nice thing about having a trainer is that I'll finally learn how to use some of the new machines at our gym and figure out at what level I should be working out. That will help me to stop trying to pace with people I'm working out next to. It never fails that I get on a treadmill or elliptical trainer in a relatively empty section of the gym, and then a marathon runner comes and grabs the one right next to me and whirs away. It's really hard not to subconsciously speed up and then I wonder why I have no endurance a few minutes into it. As they explained to me today, the duration is more important right now than the intensity. The light bulb went on in my head.

Oh well. At least I'm going through this with a lot of other people who have similar or worse issues. It's kind of hard to go in thinking, "gosh, I'm overweight and I should do something about it" and then find out that you're actually obese. Yikes. I have to say that I don't think I look obese, but I've always carried my weight pretty well and I dress for my body type, so I think that helps. And they define obese as someone who is 30 pounds or more overweight, so I think a lot of people are actually obese that I would have previously characterized as overweight. It's all relative. But, I'm not too far over that line, so I'll be back in the overweight category soon enough and then in the healthy range in some time.

More about why I don't support Ron Paul

Disclaimer: For those who don't already know, web dev girl and I have been having an interesting blog conversation about Ron Paul. For the record, web dev girl and I are very good friends and I appreciate her desire and willingness to converse with me about Ron Paul and our upcoming presidential election. We do, in fact, differ wildly on our views in this and several other things from religion to politics, but I am happy to have a friend who, in addition to being one of the most helpful and giving people I know, constantly challenges my perspectives. I just wanted to put that out there, lest anyone should read back through the last several entries and comments and think that anything untoward was going on.

Ok, now this entry is part in response to my last entry and web dev girl's subsequent comment, and in part just a breakdown of my views of some of Ron Paul's proposed solutions to issues. All of my analysis is in response to the information Paul has posted on his site, http://www.ronpaul2008.com.

Web dev girl wrote:

It's a shame so many of the people who write articles, such as the one on Slog, rely on sound bites for their information rather than doing their research. Congressman Paul's position on both of the issues mentioned - earmarks and immigration - is far different from the picture painted by the sound bytes put out by the mainstream media and many others - and is one I think most Americans would agree with if they were given all of the data.

For example, Ron Paul is not against LEGAL immigration. He's all for immigration as long as people do so LEGALLY. He knows that the rampant influx of ILLEGAL immigrants not only threatens our national security, it threatens our way of life -- the very way of life immigrants seek to avail themselves of -- by putting an incredible strain on our infrastructure and our resources.

As for earmarks, Ron Paul believes voters should get to use their taxes. He simply wants to get federal funds back to his home state as a way for Texans to get something in return for their tax investments. He has openly criticized many of the earmark requests made over the years by many lawmakers, and claims the difference is the money benefits the people of Texas and not a limited number of supporters.

For the facts go to: www.ronpaul2008.com

Actually, the reason I agreed with the article on the Slog is particularly because of what I found on Ron Paul’s own web site and from interviews I have seen with him. The Slog entry and original article just summarized my own opinion about his views on the issues. It's really just a difference in framing.

For example, I think Paul is an alarmist about immigration. I find that a lot of people overstress the issue of illegal immigration as some huge threat and drain on society. Before I started my career in the technology field, I worked with immigrants for several years-trying to help them learn English, find work, and become citizens of the US. It is easy for those of us born in the US to take for granted how good we have it-even US citizens who are in the lower class. People who come here often cannot wait or may not have the resources to do so legally- at first. In addition, our economy relies, in part, on people filling the jobs that citizens do not want to do. And unfortunately, we do rely heavily on low-skilled and low-paid labor, especially in the agricultural sector.

Ron Paul’s six-point immigration plan won’t reduce governmental interference in our lives – it will increase it. Who else will be working on physically securing borders and coastlines (a stupid solution, I might add), enforcing visa rules, removing amnesty for illegal immigrants, ending birthright citizenship, and limiting the amount of immigrants that would be allowed with current reform proposals. Keeping people out is not the answer.

In addition, Ron Paul is against organizations that I support, such as ICC, WTO, NAFTA, and the UN. In an increasingly globalized world, Paul wants to remove the US from organizations that help partner countries from coming to agreements and enforcing those agreements. I don't think that a more nationalistic approach is in order in our life and times.

As far as his plan on taxes and debt, of course people like lower taxes. But I don’t want lower taxes to mean cuts in important social programs, which Paul wants to cut. And the fact that he's supported pork that benefits his home state of Texas rather than other states doesn't make him any different in that regard than other politicians. But, I do agree with Paul about the war – I’ve never supported the war, and that is what has caused us to go so far into debt. I just don't think that cutting social programs is the way to balance the budget - don't hurt people who need help the most. Of course there are people who take advantage of the system, and we need to figure out better ways of weeding those people out. But that doesn't mean that we should get rid of these programs altogether.

Also, Paul is very much against the Department of Education and suggests, “Returning control of education to parents…” while using his “authority to prevent the Department of Education from regulating home school activities.” While I disagree with the No Child Left Behind law, I don’t agree with undermining the Department of Education. There does need to be some standard of learning in the country so that we ensure all students get a minimum of education across the country. I just don’t agree with penalizing programs in poorer areas, and producing laws that give schools incentives to cheat when they don’t pass. And, I personally think that kids miss out when they are home schooled and never experience going to school. I think home schooling can be good, but it does cause a problem for socializing kids. I’m also not sure whether all parents are equally intelligent and open enough to provide a well-rounded education to their own children.

I’m also vehemently opposed to his defining women’s reproductive rights as his “life and liberty” issue. If anything, Row v Wade should be upheld so that the government (both federal, state, and local) do not interfere with a woman choosing her own destiny with respect to pregnancy and birth control. His following statement is completely ridiculous: “I am also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn.” Ending the federal court tyranny and causing the deaths of 45 million of the unborn? I’m sorry, but no man is going to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body and any pregnancy. Until that embryo can live outside of my womb, it’s my decision, not the decision of the government. Period. He lumps abortion in with his issues of violence, crime, and murder. This is an anomaly and is not the job of the government-state or federal-to dictate women's reproductive rights.

His stance on the second amendment is typical republican mumbo-jumbo slamming those who support the right to bear arms along with safety and common sense legislation. He supports and works toward the repeal of many important protections we’ve gained, such as those protections under the Brady Bill, and opposes legislation which would keep dangerous individuals, such as those with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, from owning a gun. As I’ve written before in past entries, I think that we can uphold the second amendment without it being a blanket statement that everyone and anyone can own any kind of gun.

Exactly why I wouldn't support Ron Paul

I love the Slog. Since L. and I were gone for almost a week, I just finished catching up on some of the back entries. This one was particularly interesting from a libertarian commenting on Ron Paul, and the final comment (from liberal, Erica C. Barnett) is perfect:

"An inconsistent right-winger who, as I [Erica C. Barnett] wrote before, 'believes in slashing government where it actually helps people, and dramatically increasing the size of government to restrict rights he doesn’t agree with.'"

Barnett's original entry about Ron Paul was pretty good, too. That list pretty much represents why I can't possibly support Ron Paul. I really hope that he doesn't continue to grow in popularity, because I know that people want a change, but I'm not sure turning to a looney like Paul is the answer. But, that's just my opinion.