13 lbs in 14 days

Weighed yesterday: 178 lbs. That's nearly a pound a day for two weeks - and really only ten days of working out.

I've got to attribute much of it to eating right - listening to Julian about both the 'what' that I eat as well as the 'how much.' Portion control and accountability from the trainers.

The rest of it, of course, is from pretty intense training. But those sessions have been welcome. At work our company is in our busiest time of year, trade show season, which always calls for long hours and late nights. Instead of taking a (so-called) breather to walk over to Wendys and back, it's been a welcome break in my days to go over to Fitness Together and push harder than I thought possible, before coming back to work for another eight hours.

Memorial Day in the Woods

On Memorial Day, FT was closed but Kyle gave me a workout to do on my own: 3 sets of 3 exercises, which I repeated 3 times each. Things like pull ups, push ups, crunches, squats, etc.

The college gym near where I live was closed, so I decided to take to the woods instead. After all, one of the things I hope to bring back into my life through this 'experiment' is to get back onto trails. Out where it’s quiet - like I used to do nearly every day - now that my kids are getting old enough really to enjoy it with me.

So I did all of those sets out on an old construction road on Lookout Mountain, then went from a long cardio run on the trails.

"Hello, sweaty Caleb."

"Hi there, camera phone."

"5 things I never thought I'd hear you say"

My lovely wife said that she's been keeping a little list of things that I've said in the past week, that she never thought she'd hear me say. And enjoying every one of them.

1. "I've got to get up early tomorrow morning to work out."
2. "Did you know that boiling broccoli reduces its ability to help you fight cancer?"
3. "They say it takes fifteen minutes for our bodies to tell our minds that we are full. And because we eat so fast, we cram a lot more in during those fifteen minutes."
4. "I've got to call the hotel first, to find out what machines they have in their fitness club."
5. "I'm already starting to feel like I live in my body, instead of just walking around in it."

Wednesday Weigh-In

A good thing:
Wednesday I weighed myself for the first time in a week. After only four workouts and (perhaps more importantly) a full week of eating appropriate sized portions of what the trainers told me to, I've lost 7 pounds. Woot!

A wild thing:
Thursday, during my workout, I was doing a set of squat+kick out to pushup stance+jump back in+jump as high in the air as possible, combined with crunches where I pass an oversized ball from my feet to my hands and touch the ground at both ends.

After two sets I was panting, drinking water for 30 seconds, when I found myself thinking, “I could do one more set. I hope he says we’re going through it one more time.” That was definitely a first! And turns out, we did.

A funny thing:
One of the designers at my office said, “Go get ‘em tiger” to me as I left for FT on Friday. It cracked me up. I haven’t heard anyone say that since 6th grade football.

The Circuit

Today was the heaviest workout so far. More than simply a workout for upper or lower body, like I used to do back when I used to go to the gym. Today, they gave me exercises that I would never have thought of... to work out muscled I would never have thought of. But dang, I'm thinking about them tonight.

Today's resistance training included familiar exercises like pushups and lunges, and then exercises that seemed a little ridiculous until I tried them. Like doing a Bear Crawl on all fours with dumbbells. That'll wake you up on your lunch hour. Or try this (with a spotter): take a barbell weight and, standing upright, press it above your head 10x, then straight out from your chest 10x, then rotate it around your head clockwise 10x, then rotate it around your head counterclockwise 10x. It's called 'Minnesota Tens' and you will feel it working every muscle in your shoulders.

While I work out, the trainer always takes meticulous notes on what needs attention. I can see them watching my form, watching where I succeed and struggle with a particular exercise in order to know what I should work on next.

Today Jonathan started me with a warmup that felt rather like a full workout, followed by a pair of upper body exercises repeated twice. Next was a Circuit, which was

- squat thrusts with the barbell;
- one arm dumbbell rows;
- the Bear Crawl with dumbbells;
- torso rotations on the machine

followed by a so-called break, which was an intense 1/3 mile on the bicycle, 1/3 mile on the treadmill, and 1/3 mile on the elliptical. Then a repeat of the four exercises in the Circuit. Followed by full stretching, then Cardio of a hill program on the treadmill.

Today I also really saw the value of Fitness Together's model... not only because of the trainers' expertise but because their private studios mean that I'm working out in a fully equipped facility, that's dedicated just to my workout. I've never really been bothered by working out in public/crowded gyms, but I can see that in such settings it would be nearly impossible to give this sort of attention to a full range of muscles, jumping from barbell to machine to machine to dumbbells to other machines while keeping my heart rate up.

Tonight I'm moving slowly but it feels strangely good, the ache of something accomplished. But I definitely will stretch before I sleep and when I wake up (if I want to make it up the stairs at work).

And tomorrow I'm going to weigh myself for the first time in a week. Curious to see...

The morning after

Yesterday I sat down to write up my notes from the week. I was seated on the couch with my kids (after eating breakfast), writing on my laptop as they watched Sesame Street. And, believe it or not―Elmo was on screen teaching Mr. Noodle how to exercise, and then singing "Exercise" over and over to the tune of Jingle Bells.

That little red creature has never been one for subtlety, but this morning his educational message was hitting me right between the eyes. And in the hamstrings. And in the lower back. And in the abs that I'd forgotten are there, underneath my belly.

I wasn't miserable on the morning after, not by any stretch of the imagination. I had half-expected not to be able to stand up (although frankly, if I'd worked out by myself and pushed too hard, I might have felt that way). But I woke up and did some stretches that Jonathan had shown me to do, and walked for a half-hour with my girls in the stroller.

Tonight I made my kids pizza while I made grilled tuna with a spinach salad and piece of bread. And to be honest, as I was drinking my second glass of water, I could easily have polished off half of that pizza. But I didn't.

In a few minutes I'm taking my kids to Greenlife on a grocery run. I'll stretch again before I go to sleep. And I'll be back at Fitness Together tomorrow, and then back online with more of the 12 week transformation.

A trainer focused on me while I work out

Before my first workout, I could already see the value of the trainer in setting goals and keeping an accountable, balanced approach to meals. But this is where it really hit home.

He walked me through every exercise before I did it, so I didn't have to spend any time wondering what to do or if my form was doing more damage than good. Not to mention shaping what exercises are included in the Circuit, to give me the most benefit and progress toward my goals.

Julian has told me that every year he trains people, he is increasingly convinced that everyone wants to be healthy. And although many people blame bad discipline, we all have areas in our personal and professional lives where we are very disciplined. The Fitness Together approach starts with commitments made by me, and then a trainer helping me stick to my commitments.

It's hard to over-describe the value of someone right there, counting down the number of reps left. Even for someone who isn't the type to give up, it's great to having someone right beside you making sure you don't overdo, but that you push right up to the edge of what is possible.

What stood out from other workouts? The private studio

I haven't worked out regularly since high school, but during grad school I signed up for gym memberships and started out a few times. I never did much good there because I rarely took time to go, and eventually I would let my membership expire.

I could see right away that the Private Studio in which I was working out is a big benefit. Not surrounded by other people or distractions, not waiting in line to get on a machine and then being unsure of how best to use it. Here it was just me and the trainer in a private suite that has all of the machines, dumbbells, mats, sparring gloves and so on there for my use.

Thus it begins: the first workout

Friday was the first real workout. How to describe it... let's just say that I was very aware of where I need to go. And that I was thinking, over and over, "Quality of life."

The workout was 45 minutes of resistance training and 15 minutes of cardio.

Under the watchful eye of Jonathan, one of the trainers, I started out on the exercise bike, because getting your heart rate pumping before working out helps burn calories much faster. Then pretty extensive stretching. Since I was going to be working muscles that I'd forgotten I have!

Next I did two "Tri Sets" with a very short rest between each one, rested for a couple of minutes, and then did four "Circuits." These are sets of exercises that are grouped together to work upper body, core (torso/abs) and lower body. And are designed to be sure that you don't overwork one set of muscles that push, to the detriment of the opposing muscles (e.g. don't want to overwork quads and neglect hamstrings).

Then ended with Jonathan stretching particular muscles in my legs, back and arms, to help the muscles to speedy recovery. And last, 15 minutes on the exercise bike, following a series of stages designed to get my heart working overtime, push and recover, then cool down.

I am what I eat (and I tell Kyle every day)

If the CEO of some company called me to his office downtown, and offered me a million dollars if I could tell them everything I ate over the course of a week before I started this program... I'd have to take the bus home.

I've never tracked what I eat. It's such a simple idea, and is part of the trainer-client relationship.

Every day I am going to email Kyle and tell him what I ate the day before. Not only does it keep me mindful of what I'm putting into my mouth, it give him a chance to encourage me and make recommendations if he's seeing an imbalance.

I can also see, already, that it's going to help me save money on food. Because I'll be planning rather than grabbing-on-the go, and because I'll be cooking a lot of it myself, and so paying only for ingredients.

What is "supportive nutrition"?

Food that enhances rather than undercuts my exercise. But even more important than supporting my workout, that supports my body by giving it what it needs, in portions that are right.

Julian has put together a book of foods that can be found at Greenlife, that support quality of life... a comprehensive list of complete proteins, vegetables by category, grains, fruits, and berries, along with recommended meals. Also steps to controlling cholesterol, and advice on number/ size servings that are appropriate to eat per day for weight loss, as well as for fit living once an appropriate weight has been reached.

For me, the first changes to make are things like one serving = serving area that is palm size. A meal of 1 protein, 1 grain, and 1 fruit or vegetable. Two snacks daily of 1 serving of almonds or fruit. Then water, water, and more water.

MY personal goals

Fitness Together isn't a gym, it's one on one training, around the goals that you set. During my fitness assessment, Kyle Johnston (who manages FT Frazier) sat down with me for 45 minutes to create a fitness plan based on where I am and where I want to be. As they say: "A complete workout program for you, with specific, realistic and measurable goals. Along with advice on medical screening and a common-sense nutrition plan that enhances the physical results of your workouts."

The key here are those specific, measurable goals. Julian says that it's ridiculous to assume that one workout fits all people of all ages, sizes, shapes and fitness levels. We all have different starting points. So we set three 6 week goals that are very specific, down to the day of the week.

For example, "Better diet" is too abstract to be really helpful. So a specific, measurable goal might be to eat a healthy breakfast three days a week... but even this isn't specific enough. A good example of the right kind of goal: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am going to eat a breakfast of one complete protein (such as natural peanut butter), one serving of whole grain bread, and one fruit or vegetable.

After helping develop these goals, it's the trainer's job to push and encourage you toward reaching them... and at the end of the first 6 weeks, to sit down together again to set new goals that build upon the success to date.

Wake up call

Two examples of how my fitness and nutrition evaluation woke me up:

1.
My resting heart rate is 83. It's not "Get that boy to the hospital" scary, but the average for males my age is around 72 (65 is a great target; professional athletes can be in the 50s and 40s). So I'm a little concerned, because of how much harder my heart is having to work

So if my heart is beating 18 times per minute more than it is preferable... then multiply 18 by 60 minutes, then 24 hours, then 365 days, then the 40 years more I hope to live. And see how much harder my heart is having to work, than it should.

The good thing, as Julian said, is that the heart is a muscle and it adapts quickly to exercise and eating the right amounts of the right foods... that it's easy to help the heart even before dropping weight.

2.
I don't eat breakfast during the week. Between helping get the kids ready for school and getting on the road for work, I simply don't take time. And before kids I was in graduate school myself and usually stayed up late writing, then woke up late and lived on coffee until lunch. So it's safe to say that I've skipped breakfast for ten years. As Kyle, one of the trainers pointed out to me, that means that I've been going from dinner to lunch without a good intake of nutrition-- since late night snacks were usually less than ideal.

That's a good fifteen to seventeen hours every day, without giving my body what it needs. Fifteen hours x 365 days x 10 years. The body is designed to burn calories, and I haven't been doing mine any favors.

My fitness and nutrition assessment

Julian has two studios in Chattanooga, Fitness Together Frazier and Fitness Together Gunbarrel.
Because Frazier is closer to my office, I showed up there two days ago for a fitness assessment.

The personal trainers at the studio are educated, certified, smart and enthusiastic. They enjoy their job, and take it seriously: to be your coach, accountability and guide in how to work out and eat.

And their first order of business is to find out where you are, in order to see where where you want to go. So the hour-long fitness assessment includes weight, body composition (muscle to fat), heart rate, flexibility, and much more.

Here's the short version:
- exercise history (none in 10+ years)
- resting and exercising heart rate (scary)
- how many push ups I can do (above average for my age)
- what percentage of my body is fat (I'm not obese, but I'm more than 30% body fat. Which is not okay, to say the least)
- and so on.

It adds up, and for me it's not a very a pretty picture. In fact, it's a little bit of a wake up call.

A 12 week, semester-long program that'll last a lifetime

So we are viewing these 12 weeks as an education. A course in setting me back on track to live out my days better. The investment of time, money, and energy is like the degrees that I paid for. Worth the investment because they give me a higher quality of life that is lasting.

The way I'm doing it―crash course―isn't for everybody. Some people would benefit from spreading this sort of lifestyle readjustment over six months, or a year.

But it's a good model for people who want to make a change, and are able to make a 12 week commitment. For me? I've decided that there is something to prove, and I'm out to prove that it can be done.

A Big, Fat, "What If"

So I started this week. And it's been dawning on me just how much work lies ahead. What have I gotten myself into, and why?

I'm 34 years old. I have two beautiful kids and a gorgeous wife―she's so gorgeous that I like to joke that when people see her with the chubby guy, they must think I'm rich.

So I have no desire to get a ripped bod and walk the beaches of Cancun with my shirt off. I'm not looking to relive glory days of high school athletics (they weren't that glorious). And I'm not really inclined to try to become a mid-life adventure racer―although I certainly admire people who do.

What I want are those things that Julian said are possible. What if I could work better, play better, sleep better? What if I could avoid and prevent disease?

Now that my kids are getting older, what if I had more energy to start doing outdoor sports with them, in the woods around Chattanooga? Like I used to.

What if I could my body as the proving ground that there can be a better way than simply eating whatever I want, whenever I want? And not exercising because I'm "too busy."

Maybe now that I'm listening, my body will sit up and say, "Hey there. I've been trying to get your attention for a long time."

What & How

Here's the plan:
for 12 weeks, work out five days a week with trainers at Julian's studio + eat only what they tell me to.

So 12 weeks sounds unrealistic for the "average Joe"? Tell me about it. The eco-design studio where I work is slammed, and I've got young kids, and do a bit of freelance on the side. Right in the middle of my program I'm going to have to travel to Chicago for a week-long trade show, and get up early to work out in the hotel fitness club. Let me tell you, in recent years, exercise has been LOW on my list of priorities.

Heck, I haven't even had time to upload the blog entries I wrote for this week until today!

At first, my wife wondered about the idea of taking time away from everything else going on. But she quickly became the biggest supporter, because she likes the idea of me sticking around for a while, rather than keeling over at my desk in about ten years.

And Julian's goal in this? To see me get started on solid ground, build good habits and a better perspective on how my body integrates into my life. And then send me off into the world.

A Grand Experiment

My friends and I have been thinking a lot about truth in marketing lately. A couple of weeks ago I was talking about it with Julian Kaufman, a friend of mine who is a personal trainer.

He said that the fitness and health industry in our country is as guilty as anyone. Encouraging men and women to find their value only in body image and appearance. Sex, being skinny, and an unhealthy approach to eating. Looking only at the number in the back of your swimsuit, or a number on a scale.

He is absolutely committed to stand over against this sort of advertising. According to Julian's philosophy, true fitness is about quality of life, disease prevention, building endurance and strength and flexibility, and supportive nutrition. Feeling better, working better, playing better, even relaxing better.

Big claims. But not baloney― because I know Julian, and I believe he is telling me the truth.

So we decided on a grand experiment: let's take 12 weeks and see what can be done to change a lifestyle. Not just a body shape, but a lifestyle.

All we needed to start was one unhealthy body. And I just happened to have one with me.

Flab meets "truth in fitness"

This is a true story about an average Joe Chattanoogan, that's happening right now.

OK, OK, I know what you must be thinking: a blog about losing weight? And you heard about it in an ad, or by email? Wow, there's a candidate for the SPAM Hall of Fame. Just about as junk mail, potted mystery meat, and marketing-manufactured as it comes. Although.. maybe this is not what you're expecting.

We've all seen those "Before" and "After" fitness ads before. Some guy takes a "Before" picture looking potbellied, depressed and rather like a mystery meat himself. Then, 12 weeks later... what a surprise! He's metamorphosed into a knight in shining armor with great hair, a big smile and a six pack.

Well, that is not this blog. (If that is what you're looking for, I'm sure Google can hook you up.)

In fact, this is the story of truth in marketing put to the test. I am a writer and communications director by profession, and over the course of my career I have written a lot of marketing claims. Some of them I am proud of - those great moments when my words revealed a truth about a product or industry for the benefit of the client and their customers.

But some of them I am not proud of - because I found out later that my clients were feeding me a pitch that was, at best, half-true. And that I helped them feed their half-truths to other people, to make money. You don't have to be a writer to feel hungry for the whole truth. Just listen to the thousands of advertisements that bombard you every day.

To read about our Grand Experiment, click on "newer post" below.