Mark

Mark recently posted this on the family website, and I thought I'd post it here as well.  Thanks for sharing your goals with us, Mark.  Good luck!

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I, as a member of the Anderson family, have a serious problem. I have allowed my weight to move slowly and gradually upwards from190 at marriage (age 26, 1984) to almost 300 (age 51, 2009). In 1996,I hit an allttime high (up til then) of 273. I used Phen-phen and lost almost 30 pounds. That, of course,was not a long term solution. I have hovered in the 275 range for many years since then and have had an occassional loss due to a spurt of focused efforts (255 in 2000). I ws regularly playing racquetball upuntil aout 2 years ago and that activity stoppage has conributed to me moving from the under 280 range to over 290.

When i was in my 20s,I was so active sportswise, that i never really thought much about it. In my 30s,as I gained into the 235-245 range,I thought that was fairly normal and acceptable. I have "lived with it" for the pastt 10 years into these higher ranges and just shrugged it off.

Part of the problem is understanding the difference between lifelong maintenance and attention to living and eating habits and short spurts of determined activity which is not sustainable because we lack the knowledge and experience of how to live and eat long term.

Anyway, I recently went topurchase more life insurance and even though I am in the business, I was shocked at whatt it would cost for my age and weight. I can not afford to let my family not have enough insurance on me so this, among other motives (comfortable daily living, fitting into attracttive clothing, avoiding or forestalling diabetes, being able to have more physical activity stamina) is moving me to do something meaningful and hopefully longlasting about my weight.

At the beginning of September, I was pushing 300 pounds. I weighed in this morning at 285. I am in the process of actually writing an activity goal plan for the balance of 2009 so that i can increase my physical activity from driving and sitting in an office all day to at least walking and reintroducing gym activity which formerly for me was routine.

The most I have ever lost in a 'dieting" effort is about 30pounds and I think I did it twice--once with phen-phen and once primarily using Atkins. My biggest problem in the past has been to coordinate my eating habits with my excercize efforts. It seems thatt i have never been able to do both at the same time. This time,my focus will be on including both simultaneously.

I am making these goals public and allowing my family to help hold me accountable.

My immediate weight loss goal is to be at 250 pounds. I will time myself on walking/running a mile and 2 miles and then post the time results and then come up with an improvement goal for that.

So, do not let me off the hook until I have reported to you all that my weight is 250.

When I am at 275, that will be an important milestone, ahving lost almost 25 pounds in 4 months.
I will then work on getting to

September 1, 2009-----297
October 9 (today)--------285
November 1--------------280
December 1-------------275
January 1-----------------27­5
February 1----------------270
March 1,2010------------26­5
April 1-------------------­---260
May 1-------------------­----255
June 1-------------------­--250

Mark

Brandon - Week 3 - 3 Miles

I'm back on my feet, and I ran about 3 miles this morning. Some friends wanted to meet us for breakfast at Kneader's, so I ran the 1.5 miles there and met them (and Lacy and Elly). After an artery-clogging breakfast of sausage, eggs, croissant, and french toast I ran the 1.5 miles back home. So, it wasn't a true 3 mile run, but it was still good to get out and do something since I haven't done anything all week. The highlight was that I ran a pathetic 10+ minute mile there, but stepped it up to an almost 8 minute mile on the way back. Progress! Here's the route:

Brandon - Week 2 - 3 miles

Saturday is my day for long runs (well, long for me anyway). Today my schedule called for 3.5 miles, but I only went about 3 since I missed last Saturday's long run. I was surprised how easy the run was. I really didn't get very tired at all. Of course, I was just keeping an easy pace. But still, I'm amazed at how quickly your body responds to a consistent training schedule by building up endurance, strength, etc.

Today's route took me up to the edge of campus and back:

Katie

Here's an email Katie sent me recently about her fitness goals. Thanks for participating, Katie!

Since I've been back to school, I've tried really hard to exercise every morning. With the craziness of grad school, I'm trying to keep some semblance of balance still in my life! So far, this semester, I've done pretty well. I go to the exercise facilities on campus, trading off cardio and weightlifting/resistance training. Part of my motivation is that I've made a deal with myself: if I exercise every day and keep my nutrition in check during the week, then I can have a cup of Aggie Ice Cream on Friday (hey, at least it's not ice cream every day!).

Brandon - Week 2, Day 3

2 miles today.  Down to Provo Mall and back.  It was crazy cold today - 46 degrees - with a little rain and wind.  I was running straight into the wind on the way back.  That was fun.  Here's my route:

Brandon - Week 2, Day 2

For my cross training today I played my third intramural flag football game.  3 games.  3 losses.  I'm competitive, and I hate losing.  But at least I'm back on my training schedule.  The best part of intramural sports is that you're actually only doing this:

but you feel like you're doing this:

For me, that's enough motivation to get out and exercise, even if I lose.

Brandon - Week 2

First, I want to thank everyone for contributing to the blog and updating us on their progress.  I love that we're all feeling connected to each other through this, and that the blog is providing some motivation.  Keep it up!



I'm back on the horse.  After giving my knee a break for the week, I got out and ran about 1.6 miles today.  This is less than my training schedule calls for, but I wanted to take it easy to see how the knee felt.  Surprisingly, it felt pretty good, so I think I'll try to get back on the full training schedule. 

Another pleasant surprise was how easy the 1.6 mile run was.  My pace was nice, and I really didn't get very tired at all.  It's amazing how quickly your body begins to adapt.

Kari - Day 4, 5 & Start of Week 2

Day 4 (Friday - walk day)
Walked for 30 minutes this day, the came back and got the stationary bike for another 20 minutes.

Day 5 - (Saturday - jog day)
Saturday morning I met up with my friend for our jog day. It was supposed to be run 1 minute, walk 2 again. But she's ahead of me in the program, not to mention Hoon asked me to run all the way to our meeting point since I was alone so I think I got in more than my fair share of jogging that day. But happily, I wasn't crazy sore like I usually am after I jog 1 day and never do it again, you know?

WEEK 2
Run program: Run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes for a total of 44 minutes.
This morning I did this workout, with an additional 10ish minutes of walking to our meeting. I never thought 2 minutes could seem so long and short at the same time. Even though we are only running part of the time right now, our bodies are getting used to the amount of time we're going, so eventually actually running for 44 minutes won't feel too surprising (hopefully).

After 1 week, I'm feeling good, but I haven't seen much change in the scale (patience, I know). A big part of this will also have to be my food choices which weren't so choice over the weekend. We're still getting settled in the new place and cooking isn't exactly easy right now. I think I'm also suffering from some weak knees like Brandon, so hopefully my day off tomorrow will help.

Ross' Weekly Summary

Ok, its been a motivation this week knowing that I have a chance to report to others how I did. I made some low grade bad eating decisions, like the onion rings when we went out to dinners with our friends in Park City. And two candy bars during the week.

But its been a good week for activity:

Stationary bike 2 hrs 15 min

Bicycle 19 miles (errands and meetings around town)

Mtn bike 10 miles (up, down and around the mountain of Park City Resort)

Softball 2 hr

According to various calculators, I figure I worked off about 4900 calories.

My regular weigh in time is Saturday mornings. I tipped the scale at 204.

So it was a pretty good week, and I'm looking forward to this coming week.

Brandon - Knee Pain

Between two intramural football games and one intramural ultimate frisbee game, I've fallen on my left knee 4 times in 2 weeks.  (I have to say that I made the catch every time, but that's beside the point.)  The first time I came down on it, it was swollen for most of a week.  I iced it, elevated it, babied it, etc.  It felt (and looked better), so I went out and played on it again.  Tuesday night I fell on it again.  As I jogged on it immediately afterward, my knee cap felt like it was bouncing up and down (that sucks!).  I got a little scared, so I went to see my doctor on Wednesday.

He asked a bunch of questions, looked at my knee, moved it around, and finally took 4 x-rays of it.  Everything looks fine, but he thinks I may have stretched some ligaments or something.  He recommended I give it until Monday before I really get out and do anything.  So that means training is postponed for a few days.  I'll pick it back up on Monday.  That kind of bums me out because I was really excited about this.  But, I'm glad there's nothing seriously wrong with my knee.

Here's a picture.  This isn't my knee, but my x-ray looked just liked this.

Brandon - Day 2 - Ultimate Frisbee

My schedule called for 30 minutes of cross training today, which was easily accomplished since I had an intramural Ultimate Frisbee game this evening.  If you've ever played, you know it requires players to run back and forth constantly (like soccer).  The game lasted close to an hour, and we only had one sub, so I got my exercise for the day in.  Ultimate is a blast, and we creamed those undergrads 12 - 5 (and they had like 5 subs).  Old guys rule.

I didn't have a catch like this one, but I dream that one day I will:

Mom (Pilar) & Jordan

I received this email from Mom.  Thanks for joining!  Keep us posted.

I am also very excited.  I will be doing a marathon on October 3, 2009.  I do it a couple of times a year, and I love it.  I also want to commit to lose 5 lbs by the end of October.

 

GO BRANDON!  The girls in our office are starting also.

 

Jordan is back on his diet.  Since June 1, 2009 he has lost 21 lbs. and wants to lose another 20 before December 30th.

Ross

Ross sent me this email.  Thanks for joining, Ross!  Keep us posted.

Great idea!  There is always strength in sharing a goal and receiving mutual encouragement.

Here's mine:

Last January 1, I weighed 217 pounds - the most I have ever weighed.  By the summer, I was consistently settled in at 200 - and it wasn't really that hard.  Just scrupulous eating decisions.  I even got as low as 198.  But it only took a couple of weeks of careless eating during vacation travel this summer to plateau back at 205. 

So for me, this next January 1 is significant, because of last year's "milestone".  Where I really want to be is around 185.  (That would take me back 30 years.)  But with about 15 weeks left, I'm going to set a goal of 10 pounds, or 195.

I already set a goal recently of 3.5 hours per week of sustained exercise.  I've been doing that on a stationary bike watching football games, and on my bicycle.  So far, I've succeeded for about 3 weeks.  That burns about 2000 calories or so a week.  That's worth about half a pound a week.  I'm planning to continue this regimen.

Also, my plan is to just be more conscious of my food choices like during the spring.  Limited carbs, more veggies and fruit.  Get a good habit going to endure the holiday food barrage. 

I don't know when I will have time to tackle another long bike trip.  I would really like to ride down the Pacific Coast, or through the Eastern seaboard or the Great Smoky Mtns.  Those will probably have to wait until retirement because the training regimen is too strenuous to sustain having a life.  Right now its more about staving off that lurking diabetes and just generally being more fit as I get older.

Karen

Karen left this comment to my original post, but I thought I'd bring it to the top for everyone to see.  Thanks for participating, Karen!  Keep us posted.

Good idea, Brandon! For years and years, I walked regularly every morning with friends. Since moving to CA, I haven't found that reliable walking partner (the dog just doesn't cut it), so I haven't been a consistent exerciser. My goal is to burn 1800 calories/week in exercise/activity. This translates to 300 calories of exercise 6 times a week. I know this is about equivalent to walking briskly for an hour, but in addition to walking, I'd like to try to add in other activities like light weight-training, Wii Fit, etc. I have plenty of time, but without someone to do it with, the motivation hasn't been there. So maybe this blog will help me with motivation. Thanks!

Kari - Day 1

Well I got up at the crack to meet my friends. 5:15 - we walked for about 15/20 mins to meet another friend then once she got there, we started working on our program for that day:

Run 1 min, walk 2 - repeat 12 times for a total of 36 minutes.

Overall, 45-50 minutes of cardio. Pretty good. We'll be running again on Thursday & Saturday (just walking on Wednesday, Friday) so we'll see if we continue this routine for the remainder of the week.

Brandon - Day 1 - 2.5 miles

I ran my 2.5 miles today (see training schedule below).  I liked the route, so I'll probably use it for all my 2.5 milers.  I started feeling a little tired right around mile 1, and then again around mile 2.  Overall, though, it wasn't too bad.  I just kept an easy, steady jogging pace.  Here's the map of the route:

Kari's 13-Week Running Program

Here's what Kari emailed me.  Thanks for participating, Kari!

"Brandon thanks for the invite this is actually perfect timing because this week I'm starting a 13 week running program with a couple of girls in the ward. We'll be running 3 times per week and walking twice. I hope to get up my endurance and cultivate a love for running and of course shed a few excess pounds i'm carrying around.  Also by going with friends at the crack of dawn and committing to it on your blog it's making me more accountable and motivated.

I'll keep u updated. I'm in 100%."

Brandon's 10K Training Schedule

Remember, I start tomorrow - 9/21!  I haven't yet identified a race to finish off the whole thing, but I'll let you know when I do.  If nothing else, I'll just go out and run my own 10K.

If any of you are runners, I welcome your advice as I'm a total novice.

Week	M	T	W	Th	F	Sa	Su
1	2.5 m run	3o min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	3 m run	Rest
2	2.5 m run	3o min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	3.5 m run	Rest
3	2.5 m run	35 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	4 m run	Rest
4	3 m run	35 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	4 m run	Rest
5	3 m run	40 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	4.5 m run	Rest
6	3 m run	40 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	5 m run	Rest
7	3 m run	45 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	5.5 m run	Rest
8	3 m run	30 min cross	2 m run + strength	Rest	Rest	10-k race	Rest