GETTING FIT : Report on our Ten Week Weight Loss Program

Ten weeks ago we started a weight loss program and made exercise and diet our number one priority. Here is a report on our results and some insights we learned along the way.

We were surprised at how few calories we were able to eat each day after subtracting 500 calories a day (the amount needed to lose 1 pound a week) from our scant number of required daily calorie requirements.

We spread our daily calories into 3 meals and 2 snacks each day and included wine each night.  Each meal was in the 300-400 calories range with two 100-200 calorie snacks to make room for 300 calories of dry red wine in the evening.

We added exercise to give us more calories each day.  We did 45 minutes of water aerobics daily (allowing us 200 more calories each day) and 20 minutes of gym time 3 times a week to improve our overall fitness and provide an additional 600 calories each week.

We planned easy to make, repetitive meals so we wouldn’t be tempted to eat more and to keep us from our habit of making elaborate, calorie-rich meals.  Each week we chose organic where possible and ate local fish,  beef, and produce. We are blessed to live in Hawaii County where so many fruits and vegetables are grown. We ate out once in the 10 weeks and the only supplement we took was Malic acid and Magnesium.

The first three weeks we felt very low energy and were extremely sore from the exercise. We woke up hungry and many days went to bed hungry.  

Here are our results after ten weeks of diet and exercise:

We each lost 1 inch off our waist.

We each lost 10 pounds and added some muscle.

We were able to add aerobic and weight lifting intensity to our 20 minute gym workouts.

We starting feeling more energy after 8 weeks.

We learned to drink water, take naps, and distract ourselves when we were hungry instead of eating.

Both of us still have an additional twenty pounds to lose in order to achieve our goal of a BMI under 25. Over the next ten weeks we intend to continue the same diet and exercise plan in hopes of attaining similar results and making more progress toward our goal.