Get Smart Get Strong

Week Two – Move!

Welcome to Week Two!  If you are new to The Melting Point, please check out the e-book and week one materials at http://getsmartgetstrong.com/the-melting-point. As always, follow your doctor’s advice when making changes to your diet and exercise program. Remember that small changes are safer, easier to stick to and have less chance of injury.

Every week I’ll ask you to record your weight. Once a month, I’ll ask you to also take new measurements.

This week we are going take a closer look at how much you need to move to reach your desired goal which was <insert goal from week one here>.

I have used the info you collected last week to calculate some important numbers for you to use in creating the first part of your Melting Point Plan.

MOVE

Plan: Based on your goal of losing N pounds a week, you need to create a calorie deficit of N x 3500 calories a week. This is not as overwhelming as it may sound! Since we need to feed your body a minimum of 1200(women) or 1800 (men) calories to give you the energy you need, it does mean that you need to burn <insert calculation here> calories per day for six days. To do this, you may need to increase the number of days you are exercising, but it is highly recommended that you take one day of rest as your body needs time to heal and build muscle.

A word about Intensity

Your THR or Target Heart Rate is xxx BPM or beats per minute. This is a range based on your age and resting heart rate. To maximize fat burning, you should be working at an intensity level around 60% of your maximum, which is a heart rate of at least yyy BPM, but not more than zzz BPM.

To improve your cardio vascular system, you need to work out at a minimum intensity of 80%, which is a heart rate of yyy BPM, but never more than zzz BPM.

As you can see, you actually need to work EASIER to burn fat, rather than HARDER. If you have one, use a heart rate monitor. If not, stop periodically and count your heart rate until you become familiar with what it feels like at 60%.

Your maximum heart rate is xxx BPM. For your safety, you should never exceed this. Also, if you feel breathless or dizzy at a lower heart rate, stop immediately and check your heart rate. Use that new number for at least a week as your max and work at 60-80% of that number.

Choices: Based on the exercise you did last week, here is how long it takes to burn 800 calories doing those activities:

<insert exercise notes and time calculations from week one materials>

If you are not doing any weight lifting, then this week I want you to add in at one day of weight bearing exercise in addition to the cardio. Next week, add another one. By week four, you should be doing three days of weight bearing exercise per week. For maximum weight loss and body toning, ideally you should increase your exercise gradually until you can: warm up on the elliptical for 1 mile in 10 minutes or less, then always stretch for 15 minutes, then do weight lifting for 30 minutes. If you can do this every other day, three days a week. On alternate days, just do cardio – preferably non-impact like the elliptical, bike or swimming if you have not been doing much exercise in the past.

If you were not already working out 6 days a week, then this week, also add in one day of walking. If you have a pedometer, start to track how many steps you get in a day. 10,000 steps a day is 5 miles. On days when you don’t have a chance to get to the gym, park further away, take the stairs, go for a quick walk whenever you get 10 minutes. Keeps your energy level high and staves off snacking.

More Choices

Here is an additional list of things you can do to burn 800 calories each day and how many minutes that you would need to do, based on your age and weight. Find one you can do, that you enjoy and it won’t feel like exercise. This list is based on a specific age and weight. For a custom sheet, go to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm

EAT

Your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is how many calories you burn just by being alive. It can vary based on your current health and muscle composition, but in general, you burn xxx calories at rest.  Using the Harris Benedict Equation to calculate the number of calories needed to maintain your weight and work out 6 days a week, we find that you would have to eat yyy calories to maintain your weight. You need to eat at least 1200/1800 calories each day, which creates a maximum deficit of zzz calories a day. That, combined with the calorie deficit from exercise, will get you to your target for the week.

This week I want you to start tracking what you are eating using the Daily Plate at www.livestrong.com. I’ve also added a few comments from your notes from last week. Your goal is to properly feed your body the nutrition it needs so you have the energy you need to exercise. Eating is not bad, it is essential. Make it taste good, look good and you will feel good. Don’t ever feel guilty about eating – if you go off target, just track it and make a note about why you ate it. You will start to see patterns. Next week we’ll work more on eating, but for now:

Whenever you eat: pay attention to eating, slow down. Practice mindful eating by looking at the food, smelling each bite, savoring it on your tongue and chewing it many times, very slowly. This will not only satisfy you, but make your brain realize you are full and avoid overeating. Even when you are alone, put on some music, light some candles, set the table and create an appetizing plate for yourself.

<Insert customized meal notes>

Live

When life is good, there are lots of activities and opportunities to see friends. But of course, those are also opportunities to eat or drink off plan. Try to keep a no or low calorie drink in your hands at all times, even if you have to bring it with you. One I love is the Kellog’s H20 pink lemonade protein drink. It comes in single serve packets you can keep in your purse and pour into a glass of ice water and stir or into a bottle of Dasani and shake.

Think

Losing weight has a lot of stress associated with it and you already have more than enough! While you are pushing yourself to meet this goal, try to be kind to yourself and forgiving. The extra stress from your own head is just going to hurt, not help your progress. Pretend you are talking to one of your friends and tell yourself some of the same supportive, loving things you tell them. You deserve it!

I calculated your BMI or Body Measurement index at xxx.  We’re simply recording this so you can track it as it goes down. A good long term goal for you might be to shoot for a BMI <30, which would mean losing yy pounds. A reasonable amount of time to do that is about nnn weeks with a proper nutrition and exercise plan.

I highly recommend finding a WW group. Visit several and if you can’t find one, see if you can start one at work or church or your neighborhood. I go to WW at Work every week and really like the convenience. The weekly accountability and support will have a huge impact on you. You can go online to look for groups: http://www.weightwatchers.com

Click here to download The Melting Point Plan – Week Two in PDF format.