Fabulous by 40! Day 1

My wife, Danielle, is turning 40 this year and is starting to feel the effects of a full time desk job and 3 kids at home, eagerly awaiting her arrival. Essentially, she has very few waking hours for taking care of herself.



The years of working from a chair have also had an effect on how well she moves. Her shoulders are tight, pulling them forward, limiting her range of motion and causing pain. Her hip flexors are also very tight causing back pain. Both issues are having a negative effect on her posture as well.



Her 40th birthday is November 22 and her goal is to lose 10-15 pounds and several inches around her waist and hips, bringing her down a pant size or two.



Before I get your finger pointing at me, let me just say that this was her idea and she came to me for help. If it seems logical that she came to me for help, then you would be right- it is logical, but as I said, we are married, and that has nothing to do with logic. Besides the fact that weight and body image are very personal subjects that touch on our self esteem, and as her husband I should be unconditionally accepting of her physically, she just doesn't like to be told what to do by me.



So to make sure she was serious, I asked her to agree to let me blog about her progress as a way of recording the actions which lead to the results. After all, if I am going to subject myself to abuse, I need to get some benefit from it. It should also increase her commitment and improve her chances for success. Statistically, using a food journal leads to greater results.



Yesterday, August 3rd, she weighed and I took measurements at her arm, waist, hips, and thigh as a starting point. The focus is more on inches lost than weight but they should move together with the diet and workout she will be on. I won't post the actual measurements here but I will post the pounds or inches lost.



I will be making polite suggestions about what she should eat but I won't be telling her exactly what to eat and when. Normally I would do this for a client and they would try to stick to it, but that is not the case here. No matter what I said, she would have some reason as to why she couldn't do it that way, so I see no point.



I will be logging what she tells me she ate and her workouts. Because of the issues I mentioned earlier, much of her workout, initially, will consist of therapeutic movements and stretches to help her move better. Getting her body healthier and moving better is the first and primary goal, the weight loss will follow.



And so we begin:



7:30-1 glass of lemon water, coffee w/ cream and Agave nectar, scrambled eggs

10:30 - banana

12:00- Muscle Milk drink: 20 g of protein, 5 g of fat, 9 g of carbs, 160 cal.

1:30- 2 eggs and some mixed fruit

3:15- apple

4:30- Activia yogurt

7:00- Taco salad w/ beans, no chips

4 bottles of water throughout the day



The workout was unconventional but good for easing her in to a consistent habit of exercise. She played the Outdoor Adventure game on Wii for 20 min. She used the "training" mode which groups 3-5 activities together, 1 min., 40 sec. each. It was like an interval workout with intensity followed by recovery. Her heart rate was up, she broke a sweat and felt burning in her arms and calves.

This was followed by 10 min. of stretching.

Stay tuned. If it works for her, it could work for you.