2014 Boston Marathon Volunteer recap: Kristen, a Licensed Massage Therapist stretched and massaged runners after they finished the marathon. Sean, a Registered Nurse cared for runners along the course who could not finish the race.
It was our pleasure to lend our skills to the marathon runners and to the city of Boston. We meet some amazing people, heard some incredible stories and witnessed “wicked” strength & fearlessness.
Day #100
The first 100 days: A journey to health and wellness:
We started this project because we wanted to learn how to lose weight and maintain weight loss, long term. For 100 days we shared our measurements and our experiences, good and bad. We also offered helpful tips that we learned along the way. Tips about nutrition, healthy lifestyle habits, exercise, healthy recipes and goal setting.
Why 100 days?
- 100 days allows enough time to create new habits and new routines. Even when given all the tools to be successful, success does not happen overnight. Nearly every day we learned something new about ourselves (willpower, wants vs. needs, motivation and commitment) or about the science of weight loss/ weight management (muscle, fat, metabolism, nutrition, and aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise).
- Weight loss plateau is inevitable. 100 days allowed us time to hit a plateau, make necessary changes and continue losing weight.
- 100 is a nice round number.
What did you eat?
Our nutrition changed throughout the 100 days. The first 7 days is considered a “food detox” made up of mostly vegetables, low glycemic fruits, nuts and protein shakes. The detox “resets” the digestive system by eliminating foods that cause inflammation and reduces unhealthy food cravings. After the detox, we slowly incorporated starchy vegetables and lean animal proteins. Now we follow the 50-25-25 rule. Each main meal is portioned into 50% vegetables, 25% complex starches (example: quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes) and 25% lean animal protein. Snacks include low glycemic fruits, nuts and protein shakes.
Our daily intake of dairy, gluten and sugar is very limited. There are many types of food that claim to be healthy, we have learned that most of those claims are false. We now read nutrition labels and the list of ingredients. We stay away from foods that contain ingredients we cannot pronounce, artificial sweeteners and pre-packaged foods that contain more than 5 ingredients.
One day per week we have a “free” day. We rarely take full advantage of a “free” day because it is hard work to get back on track and we typically feel “hungover” after eating a lot of sugary, salty, and/or fatty foods.
Did you exercise?
Yes we did. Prior to starting this project 90% of our exercise was aerobic exercise, we are runners. We are runners that love to eat. One of our bad eating habits, included “rewarding” ourselves with high calorie/high fat foods after we ran. That was just the start of our bad eating habits.
During this project we learned how the food we eat can cause local and systemic inflammation, inflammation that causes aches and pains throughout the body. We also learned to the value of weight training. Weight training builds muscle that increases basal metabolic rate = increasing the amount of calories burned at rest. Since increasing our anaerobic exercise routine, we have seen many changes in our physique and overall strength.
To be honest, we did not exercise as often as Dr. Sferra suggested (4-5 days per week). We are getting better about making exercise a priority, we now exercise for 1 hour per day at least 3 days per week. We must admit we have better weight loss results and feel better when we exercise 4-5 times per week.
How much weight did you lose?
Weight loss goals met!
Kristen lost 15 lbs. and a total of 10.5 inches.
Sean lost 22 lbs. and a total of 10 inches.
**Kristen’s mom and Sean’s dad are also following Dr. Sferra’s plan. Kristen’s mom has lost 30.8 lbs. (since January) and Sean’s dad has lost 20 lbs. (since February).**
The project is over, now what?
Now we do more of the same. We have new routines that we follow that keep us on track. We will work on our new weight loss and fitness goals. We would like to achieve those goals before we get married in October.
The first 100 days: A journey to health and wellness project has without a doubt changed our lives. Below are a few things we learned about nutrition, exercise and ourselves:
Note from Sean:
Nutrition – What you DO eat is just as important as what you DON’T eat.
Exercise – I learned the importance of frequent exercise and weight training.
Myself – I don’t need my vices (diet soda, coffee with Splenda, bread with every meal, etc), but I do need nutrient rich foods. I now choose to feed my body, not my cravings.
Note from Kristen:
Nutrition: I have learned to eat to run instead of running to eat.
Exercise: I was surprised to learn that I actually enjoy weight training! I have seen my body transform. I am much stronger than I once thought.
Myself – I still love sweets, that will never go away but I have learned that I have the power to walk away. It also helps to not have junk food in the house.
If you would like to start your own weight loss journey call 908-252-0242 and mention the First 100 Days Project to receive a FREE consultation that will outline and explain YOUR individual weight management program.
