Wellness Invitation

While I was weighing myself a couple of weeks ago, I was dismayed to see that I was 3 pounds away from my heaviest weight ever. This sparked me to think about my eating and exercise habits. Even though I am in the health and fitness industry, I have been a poor example of what to do. In Rochelle, I voiced my thoughts and it brought up a spirited discussion with Karen, Karla, Kelly, Kaitlyn and Papa Jim (who has recently lost 40 pounds). Based on this discussion, I have come up with the following three month plan. I am asking you to join me in this endeavor to become more healthy and well. People who join this plan can expect the following:

1. Minimum of 25 pound weight loss.
2. More energy.
3. Improvement of key health metrics (cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides, etc).

Mike's Wellness Plan

Exercise Portion - Move, Lift, Stretch and Pamper:

1. Move: Cardiovascular exercise 5 days per week. Thirty minutes 3 days per week (non-strength training days) and twenty minutes 2 days per week (on strength training days). Cardio can be jogging, walking or aerobic dance and heart rate needs to be in the 120 and 140 beats per minute.

2 Lift: Strength training two days per week. One day upper body for 15-20 minutes and one day lower body for 15-20 minutes. We can use bands or weights. Aim to do two sets of 8-12 reps for four different strenth training exercises.

3. Stretch: Stretching/Core Training for two days per week (15-20 minutes).

4. Pamper: Reward ourselves each day for completing the days exercise. Take a long shower, a relaxing bath, read, go get a coffee or tea or whatever you like to do to relax. The key is to do something to reward yourself. (If the plan is all work and no enjoyment, you will not do it for the long run).

Nutrition:

1. Eat five meals per day. Breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner.

2. Our breakfast, lunch and dinner cannot be more than one plate with three servings.

3. No snacks. Don't waffle on this. We don't need them as much as we think. Forget desserts, cake, ice cream, candy, chocolate for the next three months. We will live through it.

4. No supplemental bread. We can have bread for a sandwich, but no other bread allowed.

5. No snacks outside the five meals. (Exception: We can eat all the fruits and veges we want at any time.)

6. Strive to eat good food. Grilled chicken, tuna, fish, pure beef, vegetables, fruits. Stay away from baked and fried items, limit sugar and stay away from high fructose corn surup.

7. Limit soda pop/ice tea/coffee intake to maximium of 48 ounces per day. Before drinking any beverage, we must drink the same amount of ounces of water. For example, if we are going to have a 12 ounce can of coke, we must drink 12 ounces of water prior to having the can.

Parting Comments:

1. We'll start Monday, January 7 and go through Sunday, March 30.

2. Don't deviate from the plan. It will only be successful if we follow it. However, we are given three "grace" days throughout the program. We won't try to deviate, but if we do, we'll give ourselves "grace" and move on.

3. If you are wondering whether you can do this for three months, think about missionaires or our soldiers in Iraq. If they can be over there for more than a year away from family, friends and familiarity, we can certianly perform this plan for three months.

4. I'm betting we all feel so good after three months, we'll want to keep going.

Good luck and call (517)420-0477 or e-mail (mikecombes@aol.com) if you have any questions.

Let's have fun, lose weight, feel better and get healthier!!

Happy New Year.

Mike

Your Partner in Wellness