From Obesity to Total Health and Fitness

Mary Lynn: I picked up a copy of Muscle and Fitness magazine today because I have started to examine the current health disaster in the United States, (more specifically my own). I am gathering all kinds of information and looking at many diet and exercise or lifestyle change programs that promise to take the user from obesity to total health and fitness. Some of the programs can't back up their claims, some can. What I am looking for are real life experiences from people I know, or scientific research that backs up the claims. I like the idea of going from my own current obesity to total health and fitness but I have tried this thing before. I ask my friend Teddy how he lost 60 pounds and lowered his blood pressure and blood sugar levels so dramatically in the last eight months. He told me what he was doing and I raised my skeptical eyebrows....(those are different than my everyday eyebrows, the skeptical ones say...yeah?.. show that to me !) but looking at Teddy is proof of one thing; he is doing something right.

AC: So you just decided to do the same program right?

Mary Lynn: Well I decided to look at Teddy's plan of going from obesity to total health and fitness and compare it with other plans that seem similar or make the same claims. One issue that is important to me is maintaining the total health part of the equation. If I have to get sick to get healthy you can count me out of that plan. Another part of the equation that is important is that, when the obesity diminishes, I do not want to have baggy butt syndrome or sagging jowls. I want to look and feel fit. So fitness needs to be a built in part of the plan. Because I tend to procrastinate, get lazy, and generally act like I don't know any better, the whole issue needs to be engaging. By that I mean I need to feel mentally stimulated by the concepts, and physically feel more energetic and healthy. So, let's go back to the magazine. The July 7, 2007 edition of Muscle and Fitness magazine is the sixty years of Arnold, Collector's Edition. It has a number of articles that are interesting but for a little old butter butt, grey haired lady like me the article that I was most interested in is the one on proteins .... It is found on page 115 and is titled "Protein Face Off". It is written in a boxing fan style that made me laugh but the information is professionally presented along with the scorecards that make the comparisons between the proteins. The proteins are compared in ten separate categories from amino acid content to price and availability. I was interested in noting that the main protein in the supplements Teddy uses in his program was the overall winner in the comparison contest done by the magazine.

AC: So what are the proteins?

Mary Lynn: Egg protein, soy, and whey...I know you are dying to know which protein came out the overall winner.....well believe it or not I have the answer for you. Whey protein was the clear winner. Having said that, I need to move on to the other issues of getting from my current state of obesity to total health and fitness, using a protein supplement isn't all there is to dieting. There are other issues like vitamin and mineral balances and exercise that fits my current state of un-fitness. So what I do now is begin to stretch my muscles a little before I do anything else, and then walk (see this article). Get a drinking bottle that has ounces marked on it and begin to measure my water intake. I know I need to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. I ask Teddy what he did with the water and his program; he assured me he drank around a gallon of water a day. Hmmmm, well being the sort of person who thinks water is a bit nasty tasting without some help, I got some sugar free flavoring.......yeah I know it has preservatives, but at my age preservatives might help anyway... so I can get more water down this way, give me a break.

AC: So Teddy is sort of your mentor?

Mary Lynn: Teddy introduced me to his friend Debbie who used to look like I currently look, but now she looks like I would like to look.....(you might want to re-read that last sentence).. "So", I asked in my best confrontational, interrogative, skeptical way, " What did you do to get from that," I pointed at her chubby self in a snapshot she had, "to that" I pointed at her sleek self as she grinned at me. Surprise, surprise, she is doing just what Teddy is doing.(Mary Lynn Laughs a beautiful rolling laugh that makes the AC interviewer laugh too.)

AC: Did you have other health problems?

Mary Lynn: I ask myself if I wanted to know any more and decided my blood pressure had to come down (it was 174/104), my weight had to come down (it was 200 pounds), my cholesterol had to come down, and gee it would be nice to lose about 3 pants sizes. So being the goofy non-decisive type I looked at all the ways to make that happen without actually doing anything different in my life. Did you know that is the definition of "crazy"? To do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome is certifiably crazy! So I started on Teddy's darn program and in 10 days lost 10 pounds, my blood pressure came down to 140/90 and I have more energy and looser jeans. I hate to say he might be on to something so I started looking around at other programs. I am still looking while staying on the program Teddy put me on. I am still losing weight. I am still skeptical but less hungry, less exhausted, less "plush".

AC: Is there anything else to the program?

Mary Lynn: Well, I also looked at joining a gym, decided that did not fit my lifestyle, went swimming for the first time in decades and decided to include that in my fitness routine, and started a walking program. I know the walking thing is a happy time for me, I talk to dogs and kids and catch fireflies and generally have a good time without much real effort. I have started ramping up the pace however so I can tighten those loose rolls up as I lose pounds and inches.

AC: Do you have any advice for other people who want to lose weight?

Mary Lynn: There are many programs out there and you must do your own research into what will work best for you but if you need to lose weight and get physically fit start doing something today. The road from obesity to total health and fitness is one thousands of Americans are on and many thousands more need to be on. My first tentative steps are the nutritional supplements that replace unhealthy foods, and mild to moderate exercise. I just have hope for the first time in years, I am making this program work and boy do I feel better.