2009 comes to an END!

First off let me say "Happy New Year!" to all. Been a bit busy since my last update.

So, back on Thanksgiving I am approached again by a trainer and sit down with them and commit to one month of training with a fitness instructor. I plan on working with him 1 day week. I figure at least I will get some guidance as to a workout routine for strength training.

After doing some more research it comes to my attention that I need to incorporate strength training into my workouts. I am hopeful that working with a trainer he will be able to point me in the right direction. I meet with "Mike" a young guy about 25 or so. He tells me he use to be about 270lbs. I think to myself "yeah right" then he shows me a picture! I think "he's not kidding." He just may be able to help me!

I sit with him and we discuss my goals once again. He tells me that we can accomplish this without a problem as long as I am committed to at least 3-4 days a week at the gym and change my eating habits. He goes over with me a plan as to what healthy items I need to incorporate into my meals.

Next it is off to the free weight section of the gym. For the next hour or so we discuss each exercise and he sets up a 3 day workout routine. He is very informative and answers all my questions. We then sit back down and continue to discuss nutrition. He recommends a few supplements that I should look into to assist with my nutrition needs.

Mike, is a nice guy and has been very helpful since I started working with him. He ends up working with me a few extra days over the month of December and I am grateful for this. I am feeling better and I can see some encouraging results. My only concern now is I would like to continue to utilize him over the next few month, but I need to figure how to incorporate this into my budget.

I made a determination that I would not weigh myself until January 11th this will give me at least a 1 month time period since incorporating weight training into the mix of things. From what I have been reading I understand that one does not change fat to muscle and that muscle weighs more than fat. What I have noticed since doing the strength training is my clothes are fitting different and my belt notch is moving. I expect that when I do weigh myself I will be right around 300 lbs or so. If this is the case then it would be about a 23 lbs loss since October.

I am trying not to get to hung up on losing the weight as long as I bring my total body fat % down. Next time I meet with Mike he will do some measurements and take my body fat % again. (When I first meet with him we did the same thing) If I remember correctly I was above 40%! So even though I may not lose the 75lbs I would like to by October if I can build some muscle and get my fat % lower then that will be an accomplishment in it self!