Articles

Diet, Exercise and You

By Brock Smith, R. Ph. Co-owner.

Welcome to late summer 2005. Swimsuit season is now over and it’s time to start planning for next year. I enjoyed the summer this year more than the past few as I developed some new eating habits and have started to morph into a new body shape. How did I get to this point and how will I maintain it?

I started my exercise plan with a goal, not only to lose weight, but also to get in better shape at the same time. I will soon be 39 years old and a father of three kids between five and nine years old. My motivation was to run a 5 K run with co-workers. They asked me to run because they wanted to have someone to beat in the race; I am competitive and did not want to post a slower time than my co-workers. I felt I was already in decent shape since I play ice hockey twice weekly for 90 minutes and coach the kids’ soccer and softball teams.

The exercise began with a combination of running and walking. I started with a program where I walked for three minutes, then ran for one minute. I repeated this interval for 30 minutes 3-4 times per week. I gradually increased the amount of time spent running and also increased my work out time up to one hour. After six weeks, I was able to run for 50-60 minutes at a time. It is a slow progression but eight weeks after I started, I ran the St Louis 5K pre-marathon run/walk. I placed eighth in my age category (35-40 Male) with a time of 25:20. I was very happy with the results. I ran a second 5K race and had a time of 26:10, slower but on a hillier course. Excuses are like diet failures, a dime a dozen, so take it slow and you will be successful. Always consult your health care professional before starting any weight loss or exercise regimen. For additional exercise and fitness information, you may visit www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/activity/gf_guide1.html or www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/health-info/fitness/exercise/exerprog.html

At the same time I started running, I also started a diet plan. I chose a 1200 calorie carbohydrate/protein/fats 40/30/30 meal plan that was prepared twice weekly for me. I also had the option of a 2000 calorie-per-day plan. The healthy eating program is a popular one started by a nutritionist in Illinois. She has a five-week rotating menu schedule and all meals can be microwaved if needed. The cost is about $110.00 per week for 21 meals; I feel it is a good value for a diet plan. There are no meetings, no weigh-in, and no weekly/monthly fees. The meals are prepared for you and if you follow the program, you will lose weight. I was hungry the first two days but quickly adjusted to the smaller amount of food, just snacking on pretzels in the afternoon when I felt hungry.

The diet plan allowed me to change my eating habits by adjusting to smaller portions, cutting out most soda, and drinking a lot more water. You may visit www.mypyramid.com for a view of the new pyramid guidelines and a list of sample weekly menus.

The major benefits for me have been with my cholesterol levels. My total cholesterol has dropped 50%, from 430mg/dl to 210mg/dl, and my triglycerides have fallen from over 800 to 300. The addition of fish oil (Omega-3)has helped me improve my HDL (high density lipoprotein) to total cholesterol ratio and helped decrease my LDL (low density lipoprotein). You may view the current guidelines at www.nhlbi.nih.gov, which gives menus to follow to help improve your cholesterol. I am 6’ tall, normal build, and considered overweight at the beginning of the program at 234 lbs. I dropped to 208 pounds at the start of the summer and currently weigh 215 lbs. One of the rewarding aspects of my program’s results is that my co-workers and friends have noticed that I have changed. My face is thinner; I have lost 2.5 inches on my waist, and my body fat has dropped to 17%. These are all huge improvements from where I was a few months ago. I am eating a regular diet at this time and run 2-3 days per week to help maintain the results I’ve achieved.