The Life Plan (55 page)

Measure the circumference of target areas in inches with a tape measure and record your changes in the grid: neck, chest, arms, waist, hips, thighs, calves.

Use skin fold calipers to test body fat once a week. Calipers can be bought or borrowed at any local gym. Although they may be as much as 5 percent inaccurate, you can steadily see your progression, even if your initial calculation is incorrect.

It’s crucial to stick with this program for at least eight weeks. It generally takes that long just for your brain to create new habits, let alone for you to see changes to your physique. After eight weeks I am sure you will experience a level of enjoyment and pride from sticking with your program.

An important rule about exercise is its compounding effects. You won’t get a lean, healthy, muscular physique in one workout. But you can obtain the body you’ve always imagined having when you are consistently working out and following a healthy nutrition plan. With that in mind, I find that the best way to achieve goals is to set reasonable expectations. Always set new, attainable goals every week.

First, define what you are trying to accomplish with your fitness program. Your goals can be losing fat, gaining muscle, sports performance, or even general health. A common system that is used for goal setting is the SMART system.

Set a specific goal that you want to achieve that isn’t too extreme. One goal could be to lose weight. First, set a goal that seems reasonable to achieve, like losing 10 pounds. Once you’ve accomplished that, move to a larger weight loss goal that is still within a reasonable range. A second goal could be to keep those 10 pounds off and lose another 5.

A measurable goal is one that you can objectively determine whether you have met. For example, make a measurable goal be to perform the Life Plan Basic Health Workout at least three times per week, with the goal of adding another day in two weeks before moving on to the Fitness Workout.

Make sure you are able to block out the time necessary to complete the Life Plan Workout. Work with your schedule instead of working against it, and make sure to schedule your workout into your daily routine, rather than waiting for free time to just appear.

Remember, you won’t look like me after just one week of exercise and dieting, no matter how hard you try. Modify your expectations to look for results after the first two weeks, and not before.

Set a date in the not-too-distant future when you would like to achieve your largest goal. It may take you a few months to get there, but that’s okay. Set the date in stone and don’t change it once you have it set.

You should be keeping a detailed food journal in conjunction with your workout log. There is a direct correlation between food and energy levels, so comparing your energy levels with your nutritional intake on a daily basis is a good idea.

You should be recording the time of each of your six meals, the amount of food eaten as well as the calories. A detailed food journal will also include your level of hunger 20 minutes after eating each of the meals. This is a good way of tracking your satiety, which can assist you in learning how to eat based upon hunger and timing rather than habit.

The following is a sample weekly food journal entry. You can photocopy this form or download it from my website, www.drlife.com. Print these out and keep them in a binder to monitor your progress as you move through the different levels of the Life Plan for Healthy Eating.

After you have kept your workout and nutrition logs for a few weeks you can begin to analyze the information that you have gathered. Your journals will offer you quality information on your performance and insight into why you are achieving your goals. So be very objective when reading your logs and ask yourself the following questions:

1.

Am I progressing?

2.

Am I working all muscle groups and at the right intensity?

3.

Am I resting too long between sets?

4.

Can I push myself harder?

5.

Am I recording all pertinent information?

6.

Are my energy levels good?

7.

Is my flexibility better?

8.

Am I eating the right amount of balanced meals?

9.

Am I on track to reach my goals?

10.

How can I improve in all areas?

I
have accomplished my health goals almost in spite of many self-created obstacles that sometimes derail me. If I get off track and eat the wrong foods, I eat way too much and face a major ordeal to get back on track. The same applies to alcohol. If I drink, I drink way too much. I have learned to recognize my demons: carbohydrates, fats, and vodka. Yours may look different, but whatever your demons are, we have to face them, eliminate them, and then move on.

Before I started my journey, my demons showed up pretty consistently, almost every day. But many of the men who come to see me have told me that their demons appeared during a time of crisis. For example, they would tell me that their life and their health were just fine until something “unexpected” happened, like a job loss, job change, residence change, remarriage, or divorce. Whatever the circumstances, change seemed to throw them for a loop. A year or more would go by before they realized how far off the health track they’d gone. Many gained weight, mostly around their bellies, their cholesterol and blood pressure levels worsened, sexual function declined, and depression set in. None of these triggers were enough to get them to see a doctor, until they realized that they were too tired to function all the time, or that their relationships were suffering.