Week 3-4 Review

This Post is part of Dr. Ben’s “Fitness 2009″ program. To follow Dr. Ben’s progress every week, visit the main “Fitness 2009″ page.

Let me start off by saying sorry for missing a week of posting my progress (hence the “week 3-4″ review together). The ice storm that hit the “midwest” hit me as well and I was without electricity for a little while and without internet for even longer.

With that said, let’s get down to business.

In both week 3 and week 4 I lost 2 lbs (each week) for a grand total of four pounds. I started the “Fitness 2009″ program a month ago at 229 lbs and as of this past Monday I weighed 217 lbs.

My energy continues to be through the roof and I am consistently losing 2 lbs each week. This is exactly where I want to be.

So Why is it so Important that I only lose 2lbs per week?

Even though it can be especially frustrating to lose 2 lbs or below when you have alot to lose….it’s essential to not lose too much too quickly.

Minus the initial plunge……(Which usually happens when you first start a good fitness program) you should aim to lose less than two lbs per week (2 lbs is the absolute upper limit).

If you start losing more weight than 2lbs per week then your opening yourself up to gain it back….and quickly. You don’t want to make your body think that its starving and thereby cue it to store energy as fat any chance it gets.

If your losing under 2lbs per week, then that one night of bad eating isn’t going to bite you in the ass as much.

THE RULE: TRY TO KEEP WEIGHT LOSS UNDER 2LBS PER WEEK….

It’s healthier and it will last for the long haul.

If you skipped the box above…go back and read it….

So what have I changed since I started the program. (Every fitness program needs to adapt as you go)

1) I stopped charting my food after a month. I got to the point where I could maintain my daily calorie intake without having to chart everything. I didn’t get to this point over night. It took me a while and I still look up “new meals” that I’m not sure about. I eat alot…….it’s all about eating the right things and “pacing” (If you have no idea what “Pacing” is then make sure to sign up for the Newsletter because we’ll be talking in depth about pacing in February’s version (Which comes out this Friday so hurry and sign up!)

2) I run a little more than I did in the half of the month (1.5 mile a day or a mile at a faster pace).

3) I make sure that I don’t stress too much over my failure (like when I sleep in and miss my morning workout). Failures are okay as long as you make them up.

-Dr. Ben

Tags: fitness 2009, health