Lengthening & Lightening Our Lives…

Biggest Loser, Modest Maintainer January 20, 2010

It’s been awhile since I shared an update with you. Reason? No major shakes for me, thankfully (as it should be), and Kay has reached another significant weight loss goal, doggedly continuing her downward weight trend, but that’s every bit her story, not mine.

I will tell you this. Most recently, as a member of the Charlotte Harbor Cultural Center, who is sponsoring a weight loss challenge similar to the TV show, “The Biggest Loser”, Kay is actually modeling the way for others on her team who haven’t progressed as far along the weight loss program as she has.

I attended the kick-off dinner with her, and was proud to have been a role model for one of her teammates…

George introduced himself as a retired over-the-road truck driver. He called Kay one week later to share with her that he had lost twelve pounds during the course of that week,  and cited my encouragement as his primary motivation!

Now George is a tall man who weighs 350 pounds, and it felt very good to know that I influenced the start of his journey, albeit late in life.

Turns out that George is a humble man. Learned later that he was indeed a truck driver who apparently also owns a trucking company. He’ll do ok.

You’ll notice that I don’t talk much about Kay in this blog. That is at her request, and I’m honoring it (mostly), but had to share this story with y’all !

For January and February, I’m on a maintenance program–less aggressive training schedule, and alot less sore much of the time– before I begin another twelve week BFL program, with more aggressive training to rid myself of any body fat that might have creeped back on during maintenance and to add a few more pounds of lean mass.

So what else does “maintenance” mean?

I’m still weight training, but instead of taking each set to failure (meaning I couldn’t possibly do even one more rep) for each targeted muscle group, and instead of piling on progressively more weight during the course of each set, while cranking out fewer reps during each set, I simply perform three sets of ten to twelve reps of each exercise at only seventy-five percent effort. Seems too easy! 

I also only work each major muscle group once a week (upper = chest, back, shoulders, biceps & triceps; lower = abs, quads, hams & calves), although I do hit the abs more frequently as they’re harder to get and keep fired. 

Maintenance also means stepping up the cardio (walking, elliptical), although less intense, and I keep the nutrition at a 40/40/20 ratio of protein/clean carbs/unsaturated fats, respectively, focusing on burning as many or a few more calories than I consume.

Journaling every single thing that goes into my mouth, and analyzing DAILY the implications of same, continues to be critical, and I try to make it enjoyable (data = knowledge = power = performance).

Another more holistic observations… it is all too easy to “slack off”, allowing that nasty ‘R’ word – regression. It takes constant focus, no getting around that. Helps alot that Kay is still on a weight loss program, and her strong moments compensate for my weak ones. No excuses cause and effect. Period.

By constantly reminding myself of my own mortality, and how each day I have one less day to live, I just keep convincing myself I have no choice but to be brutally honest with myself.  

Yes, we’ll continue to fight this battle, and it must be fought… it’s worth winning, each and every day.

So what’s your excuse? It really didn’t take all that much introspection to reveal how feeble all of mine were!

 Keep smilin’ !