Week 15-Cardio Day II

Nutrition Notes: 6/18/2009

The focus for the week of 6/15 is to watch the carb intake. It is way too easy to have more complex carbohydrates than you need. Out goal for the week it to have the ratio between complex carbs, fibrous carbs and protein to be very even. That type of ratio is right in alignment with our Basic Balance philosophy. Just a little extra focus can really pay off.

Week 15-Cardio Day

Trainer Notes 6/15/2009

Last week Jason had another solid week! Part way through the week we ended up having to make some adjustments to his workout in order to still keep the intensity at the level needed to see results. Jason injured his heel when running to first base during his softball game. With the bruised heel Jason was no longer able to run like he had in the past and we had to adjust some of the resistance training exercises as well to take pressure off of the heel. I'm pleased to say that Jason was able to still make progress toward his goal even with the injury. My last trainer notes mentioned that Jason was able to get down to 282 but as of Saturday he is now down to 276! He is pumped and even more motivated to keep working harder and harder. Great job Jason, keep it up!

Roadblocks to Success

As I weighed myself this morning, I realized that I am now lighter than I have been in 10 years (277 pounds). I thought about why things were different this time vs. all the other times I had started and stopped exercise programs, diets, etc. I think these are the top three roadblocks to my success in the past:

1. Humility

There's that old adage that sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you can pull yourself back up. It has been humbling over the years to look at myself and the physical shape I had gotten myself into. It's much easier to look away than it is to call yourself out and do what is necessary to get back on the right track. Pride can keep you from looking at yourself honestly and making the tough choices that need to be made.

This time around, I assessed myself honestly and refused to accept any excuses.

2. Patience

Not a big strength of mine. At 310 pounds, the results didn't come as quickly or as easily as they did when I was 235 pounds. And when I'd hit my first plateau, I'd simply shut down and basically give up. I don't think I was ever realistic about the kind of effort it was going to take to lose the weight I needed to lose. Or maybe I did understand what it was going to take and just refused to push myself. Regardless, I never was patient enough in my approach to exercise and nutrition.

I knew once I was chosen for this competition that I wouldn't quit. There was never a doubt in my mind. While I've let myself down in the past, there was no way I was going to disrespect the trainers at Fitness Together that had blessed me with an amazing gift.

3. Fear

When you are on a diet or starting an exercise program, everyone knows it. Your friends, your family, your co-workers. They notice that you pass on that cookie at lunch or skip that next beer. If you fall off the wagon , they're also going to be the first to notice. It's embarrassing. Why start a program if you know that you're likely to fail? They say the definition of insane is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. That was me.

So when I started my current program, I had to admit to myself that what I had been doing didn't work. I was literally a blank slate when I walked in that first day, willing to unlearn all my bad habits and ready to accept new ones. That's tough to do for someone who thinks they know everything.

I know that staying in shape won't be easy; anything you have to work for never is. But I think that continuing to be self aware as my program continues will allow me to identify any new obstacles that come my way and I'll be better prepared to overcome them.

And again, thank you everyone for your continued support.

-Jason

Nutrition Notes: June 10 2009

The meal plan for the next week is not very complicated.

The goals are to :
-keep his meal frequency to 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day
- make sure each meal has our Basic Balance complexity
- keep his sugar content as low as possible
- continue to take his after workout recovery shake
It looks like Jason and his wife are doing a great job of planning and preparing for success because these types of practices are happening more and more often.

Trainer Notes: June 8

Jason had another solid week and it started off great with his 3 month assessment! After seeing the data and the before and after pictures, Jason was pumped and it motivated him to keep giving 100%. He was able to see that his hard work was paying off! Some of the great results are as follows:

3/10/09 6/2/09
Overall Fitness Score 35% 59%
Weight 307.8 lbs 282.8 lbs
Resting Heart rate 68 beats per min 54 beats per min Resting blood pressure 130/84 112/72
Inches 17.5 total inches lost!

These are just some of the great numbers that Jason was able to see. Can you see why he is still able to give it 100% after working hard for just less than 3 months? This is one of the major reasons why we consistently reassess our clients so they can see the progress and stay motivated. It is also a tool that we use to know how to adjust there workout routine to maximize there result potential. This week Jason started a new program. Based on the results we have received over the last few months, I was able to evaluate how his body responds to certain rep ranges, tempos, rest periods and intensities so he can execute a program that will keep him going in the right direction without hitting plateaus. Great job Jason keep up those awesome results!

My First 5K

Jason Video Blog: 6/3/2009

Nutrition Notes: 6/1/2009

The plan for the week of the 6/1 is to stay on track. I will be checking Jason's accountability journal to make sure he did well over the wedding weekend and we all know how hard it can be to eat well over a long weekend like that.

By checking the journal it helps me to keep a pulse on his portions and on the quality of the food he is eating. Both are very important if he wants to continue to see results. With monitoring his results and by writing his food down daily we are able to know exactly when it is time the "raise the bar".

It is important for our clients to understand that just because something is working now does not mean that it will continue to work. These bodies we are given are smart and will plateau in results if we don't continue to raise the bar when we take our selves to new levels. I see it all the time when people think that what they are eating and the amount they are eating should be good enough to see results because they did before by eating the same way. This is another reason why our goal is to help our clients get so in tune with their natural instinct of knowing when to eat and when to stop that they will be ingesting the "ideal" amount of nutrients their body needs to see the results!