Last years:

Total Cholesterol - 243 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol   - 173 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol   - 40  mg/dL
Triglycerides     - 150 mg/dL

This Years Results:

Total Cholesterol - 190 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol   - 119 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol   - 44  mg/dL
Triglycerides     - 136 mg/dL

This the first time my cholesterol has every been below 200. My first cholesterol test in 1988 came back with 220 total cholesterol.
My strategy of eating a lot of vegetables and fruits has paid off.

• My exercise regimen is not working for weight loss.  Walking for 1 – 2 hours a day and yoga a couple times a week is great but it is not giving me weight loss.

• I need to compress my workout to a shorter amount of time.  I don’t have a lot of time but need a higher return on my investment.  I have worked out for up to two hours per day several days per week

• I still need to take the time to walk with Blaze, he will be 12 yrs old in April.  In January he had his annual check up and got a good bill of health.  I believe walking a mile every day has helped him avoid problems that a lot of older dogs have.

• I feel less effective than I could be at work.  I think some of this is caused by habits established when I was tired most of the time.

• My work / life balance seems a little out of balance at the current time.  Right now it feels like I have a lot of personal stuff on my to do list that is neglected.  My work to do list seems very lightweight right now; I need to plan out my work better so that I can get focus better on both issues.

• I have made great progress but need to get the next level of benefit. In 2007 I weighed 229lbs with 32% body fat. This means I had about 156lbs of lean muscle; I have increased my lean muscle to 168lbs in the last year.

To address the issues I identified above I will need to work on creating a few new habits and routines.

• I will start interval training to increase my metabolism. Interval training is a different way to workout. I will increase the intensity of my workout to the maximum I can output for a few minutes, continue with my workout at a much lower intensity.   I will repeat this for 4 – 10 reps to start with and see what feels right.  Several studies have shown interval training creates more muscle mass and improves metabolic function.  Since this workout will have a much higher intensity I will be able to work out less and achieve more.

• I will continue to monitor my weight and body fat and food intake.  I will also continue to take a snack everyday to work.

• I will need focus on getting my work tasks flushed out and getting into balance.  Looking for the best way to execute all my tasks.  My work will be changing a lot over the next few weeks.   So there will be new challenges in this area.

I did not loose or gain any weight while consuming more calories.  For most of the experiment, I think my hunger was under much better control than it has been in the past.   I would often find myself extremely hungry, craving carbohydrates in the afternoon.

Other accomplishments during the experiment

• I started tracking my food intake and exercise using BalanceLog.
• I purchased a new scale for measuring body fat and weight.
• I increased my exercise by doing Yoga and walking more.

Other than regular drops in my energy level in the afternoon I have been doing really well.

I have been thinking about my exercise and eating plan.  I believe I need to increase my activity level significantly.  Most of the exercises I am doing I have been doing for a while now and I think my metabolism has adapted to them so that I don’t burn as many calories as I used to.

My plans going forward

• Pay attention to my weight and track my eating habits so that I can adjust down my intake and up my output.
• Attempt to  increase my muscle mass so that I burn more calories.  Need to consume a little more protein
• Investigate interval training to increase my exercise effectiveness

So here are my statistics as of this morning

• 234.5 lbs,
• 28.8% body fat
• 1.9% water this morning.

This means I have ~168 lbs of lean muscle and about ~67 lbs of fat I can loose.  My goal for now remains at 200lbs before then end of 2009.

I have been using Balance Log this week to track my food.

I did remember to bring a snack today:

• Pear
• Almonds

reakfast was:

1 Egg

1/2 cup Beans

1/2 cup Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Pear

For lunch I ate the salad bar from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• Beef Chili w/Cheese
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Today Karen was up at 6:30 and rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes.

Today I also walked the dog for about 1 mile, Walked 1 mile at lunchtime today.   Overall not a bad day.

Breakfast was:

• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Beans
• 1/2 cup Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Pear

For lunch I went over to whole foods and ate a 7oz serving of  Salmon and Avocado Sushi.

Diner was:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Rice
• Salad

Breakfast was:

• Eggs
• Beans
• Peas

For Snack today:

• Almonds
• Rice Cake with Peanut Butter

For lunch I ate the salad bar  from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• Gluten Free pasta with Pesto Sauce
• Little bit of Italian Sausage and Chick mixed in.

My energy level was good until around 1 pm today; it was a struggle to keep focused on work.  When I got home this evening I took some Probiotics and Grapefruit Seed Extract.  I immediately got a headache and crash.  I think I will sleep in a little bit in the morning, 6:00 instead of 5:15.

Breakfast was:

• Eggs
• Beans
• Peas

For Snack today:

• Raisins & Almonds

For lunch I ate the salad bar  from the cafeteria at work- about 1.5 cups:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Slice of 2 roasted potatoes
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

Diner was:

• 3 pieces of chicken thighs
• 3/4 cup Mashed Potatoes
• 1/2 cup of canned corn (yuk)

My energy level was good until around 4pm today; it was a struggle to keep focused on work.

I plan to get up and do the Burn Yoga in the morning tomorrow.

Today’s Snack:

• Rice cake with Peanut Butter
• Almonds and Raisin

It was a beautiful day today in the low 80’s at lunch time when I went for a walk.  For lunch I ate:

• Gourmet Lettuce
• Sweet Potato
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Chick Peas
• Shredded Carrots
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Kidney beans
• Olive Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar

For dinner I had a cup of Gluten Free pasta with Pesto and a large salad.  Breakfast was the usual eggs, beans and peas.

I did not drool last night while sleeping.  I set my alarm to go off at 5:30 this morning (15 minutes early).

My new scale arrived and here is what I got from it:

• Weight: 238.2 lbs
• Body Fat: 29.1%
• Water: 51.1%

I am planning to do 1 hour of yoga at home tommorow morning (Burn Yoga)  at 5:15.

Today’s Snack:

• Rice cake with Peanut Butter
• Almonds and Raisins

For lunch today I met the family at the park.  It was a beautiful day today in the mid 70s.

I ate:

• Turkey Sandwich
• Potato Chips
• Brownies

For dinner I had a cup of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Breakfast was the usual eggs, beans and peas.

I also squeezed my own orange juice from the fresh oranges out back.

My Energy level tanked in the afternoon today.   I also need to mention that my left check was covered in drool this morning so I may not have slept very well last night.