At the point I started to change the way I eat, I made a conscious effort to start doing more physical activity. Through my research, I found that while physical activity doesn’t lead directly to weight loss, it does allow one to consume more calories and still lose weight. Weight loss is all about eating less calories than you burn during the day and physical activity adds to the calories burned totals. I would not eat into all of the calories it says I burned but I felt if I needed to, I could eat back a fraction of them. How does one track the calories burned during a round of golf, for example?
To answer that, I got one of the most useful pieces of technology I have ever used – a Fitbit Charge HR fitness watch. I used this at first to track steps and then my heart rate. The important feature of the Fitbit for me was the heart rate monitor, which allowed me to record a relatively accurate count of calories burned during a workout session, based on my heart rate over the activity session. When I started working out/walkig/golf/etc. I would start a session on the Fitbit and then when done I would end the session. From that session, the Fitbit would tell me steps, avg heart rate, mileage and calories burned (based on heart rate). This information was later entered into MyFitnessPal so I could track the extra calories burned. The Fitbit was one of the best purchases I have ever made and was a huge help in understanding what I needed to do.
Armed with my Fitbit, and not really in shape to do anything demanding, I could still get the ball rolling by walking… and my favorite way to walk is during a round of golf.
Golf
In late June 2015, I started to get out to play golf again – walking each round I played. By September, I was playing once on the weekend and sometimes twice during the week. I was usually able to power my way through 18 holes in around 2 hours on a weeknight in Sept before it got too dark. This was my first form of aerobic activity on my way to overall weight loss and it was somewhat effective. I was able to lose 35 lbs through diet and walking/golf. From there I felt I could push what I was doing a little harder…
Home Workouts – Team Beachbody
A co-worker of mine lost 100 lbs a couple of years ago using some exercise products from a company called Team Beachbody. Feeling like I could try something more challenging, I ordered two of their products – P90 and PiYo – along with the 21 Day Fix that I had already purchased. I converted the basement into a home gym, put some padding down on the floor and started the P90 workouts.
These were quite challenging – resistance and cardio for 30-40 minutes a day – 6 days a week – using mainly body weight for resistance. It was a struggle at first. I did 3 weeks of the easiest version of P90 – P90 Sculpt/Sweat A – and then switched to the 21 Day Fix for 3 weeks – this was even harder than P90 but included some Pilates and Yoga which I found I enjoyed. After that I tried to incorporate some PiYo into my workouts – this was challenging but I liked it as well. From November through February, you could find me downstairs at least once a day doing either P90, 21 Day Fix or PiYo to get into better shape. Along with the change in eating habits, the weight came off and I found myself getting fitter and stronger.
P90 is the intro/beginner version of Tony Horton’s workouts and leads into his P90x series – I have just started sampling P90x3 which is much more intense than P90. P90 sets the groundwork and allows you to build a base for the P90x workouts.
Running & Bicycling
In January 2016, I decided I was going to run a 5k in 2016 – this was something I had read somewhere about setting a goal to run, paying the fee and then training for it to ensure you followed through. So I did. The Race For The Cure is May 14, 2016 for Breast Cancer and I am signed up to run it. I needed a training plan – I saw many recommendations for a Couch-to-5K plan that was very successful. Not being a runner at any point in my life previous, this seemed like a good way to start. I found the plan here – Couch-to-5k – and began to follow it. I have a treadmill at home, so I started running/walking according to the plan on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I purchased a pair of Asics running sneakers and off I went.
I was still doing the 21 Day Fix, PiYo and P90 workouts on the non-running days. Once the weather got nice and we could go outside more often, the Beachbody workouts stopped. I purchased a bicycle and started riding twice a week…
A Busier Summer – 2016
To keep active this summer, I played softball on Wednesday nights again, walked in a golf league on Thursdays, walking the golf course on some Sunday mornings. I also began training for a 10k, so I would run 4 times a week (up to almost 20 miles a week) and riding a bike twice a week (around 20-30 miles a week). I also completed a handful of races including a trail run…
Fall / Winter – 2016
I completed two 10k races in September/October and have signed up for a half marathon in May 2017 – so the winter will be filled with running on the treadmill and long runs in the cold. I will also supplement with yoga and trength training this winter as I prepare to try to run 13.1 miles in under 3 hours…
I will post updates on my progress here… My Progress