Excess baggage

Over the last several months we’ve unpacked most of what we brought from Las Vegas – experiencing many surprises (good and bad) at possessions that travelled East. I’ve found many things I’d forgotten we own – and some things that I can’t figure out why we still own them.

Off all the things we brought East, though, I’m happiest about something I left in Las Vegas – about 35 pounds.

Last December – a year ago – I got some blood work done and it turned out my cholesterol was high. Not time-for-a-bypass high, but high enough that my doctor told me I either needed to start taking drugs or make some lifestyle changes. I don’t take drugs (except some allergy meds), so I got motivated to eat better and exercise more to see if I could get that number down.

Then there was the scale. I hit a number over the 2008 holidays that I wasn't ready to see: 209.

Whoa.

Finally, during that time, I was informed that my job would change – I would be a “functional manager” over the public affairs function – which would require a lot of travel. I was told to get ready for the “functional 15” – the 15 pounds I would gain from all that sitting on airplanes and sitting in meetings and eating during visits.

Those three created the perfect storm. I was 41 years old, needed to be in better shape, with some nice new risk factors and the potential to make it worse.

I was really, really motivated.

First came diet.

To be clear, I don’t do diets. I’ve tried them, and I hate them. So I decided to make small changes.

I started by keeping a food diary, keeping track of what I ate and how many calories I took in. What an eye opener.

I gave up soda almost completely (a diet Dr. Pepper is a nice treat every once in a while – but twice a month and not twice a day). I substituted low fat and/or low calorie foods for a few weaknesses. No more 2% milk or cheeseburgers or potato chips; more skim milk, chicken, fruit, and baked Lay’s.

I found a good groove for my daily meals: a granola bar, banana, and skim milk for breakfast; a serving of almonds (my favorite: wasabi and soy sauce) for a snack; a reasonably portioned lunch (with a 100-calorie pack of Chips Ahoy for a treat); a low-sodium V-8 and bag of carrots (my vegetables) in the afternoon; and a healthy dinner (chicken or Yvonne’s excellent shrimp pasta). I drank lots of water during the day and had a 6-ounce Ovaltine with skim milk at night. And I walked every day, adding some running as I could stand it, for at least 30 minutes.

The result: by early April I was down 25 pounds, a notch on my belt, and a 30-ish points in my cholesterol count. I celebrated by shaving my entire face for the first time in over a decade.

My travel then started to pick up (I was on the road Monday through Friday most weeks), so I decided it was time to step it up: P90X. I had seen the infomercials, and I had talked to friends who had tried it and liked it. So I ordered it.

In reality I had been getting ready for the demands of the program for a couple months, stepping up the amount of running I was doing and lifting some weights.

And running stairs – lots of stairs, starting at 1,000 stairs a workout and working up to 1,500 stairs, mixing in two-at-a-time, jumping up the stairs with two feet, etc. (some of the stuff I’ve coached for a long time to get my ballplayers in shape but haven’t done myself).



Still, when I started P90X, I hated it. HATED it.

One more time, just to be clear:

I…HATE…ED…IT.

But I still did it, and after two weeks I could already see and feel the difference (I kept a workout journal, just like they said). I was doing the workouts in hotel rooms and hotel weight rooms mostly (with the video workouts loaded on my iPhone), but I was getting them done.

My travel schedule made it difficult, so I had to modify the plan, getting the workouts in when I could – making sure I got the major workouts in over the course of the week even though it wasn’t according to the book. And eating right was tough, but I did my best (let’s just say there were a lot of protein shakes and Wendy’s Caesar salads with grilled chicken and no dressing).

Over the next 100 days, I lost another 12 pounds and two more belt notches. It’s been worth it. I feel better, have more energy, and more strength. And I no longer hate the workouts, I look forward to them.

During our trip out here I lifted weights in Flagstaff and St. Louis; ran stairs under the St. Louis arch; abused elliptical machines in Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, and Louisville; and ran through cornfields outside Nauvoo. On my business travels I’ve added workouts in many more locations -- from early a.m. to late at night and many times in between.



I’ve been off-and-on the program since August, because the move here and settling in has made it difficult, but I've maintained the weight and done what I can. If nothing else, I try to get my “30” – 30 minutes of exercise – every day.

At a recent check-up, my cholesterol was down another 20+ points, and my blood pressure, glucose, and other levels were all very good. As I tell my kids, “not bad for an old dude.”

And that’s been an added benefit of me getting dedicated to exercise: the kids have gotten more motivated to exercise, too. We set up some space in the house to work out, and Yvonne and the kids use it regularly (even Levi, who likes to do plyometrics, i.e. jumping around).

My goal for the holidays is to maintain, then start another P90X cycle in January. Wish me luck.

And if you're looking for the weight I left in Vegas, it's at one of the buffets, disguised as gravy.