The Man with a Plan

I'm featuring Tim Whited today. You might think that this blog is just about marathoners, and elite athletes. It's really about taking your health into your own hands, and Tim is a perfect example. After having major back surgery in the mid 90's he was pushing 300lbs! He's been a regular at the Y for as long as I've known him. While I was talking to him today, he started off with a series of stretches for his back. This was his second workout of the day. He followed that with a long set of back extentions with a 10lbs weight. Then it was on to the treadmill for a power walk.

The main thing I like about Tim's approach is the fact that he has set specific goals and wrote them down. Another good thing he did was that he told others what the goals were. It's good to put pressure on yourself. The third thing he did was to educate himself about diet and the best workouts for him. See the link below about his diet. It sounded like it had a South Beach feel to it, of which I'm a big proponent.

To meet his goal of losing 20-lbs by his June vacation to Hawaii he's going to have to lose about 4-5 lbs a month. That won't be easy, but, it is reasonable. We are going to check in on him at the end of each month to see how he's doing. Now, if you haven't made you goals (see New Beginings in my archives) then click on the comment link below and write one down. Even if it's a goal to make some goals.

In his own words, this is Tim's bio:
"Age: 42
Medical: Back surgery 1995 (laminectomy on L5S1), genetic hypertension.
Cholesterol: 177
The worst: 295 pounds, summer 1998.
The Best: 248 pounds, fall 2005.
Broad goals: weight loss, improve cardiovascular health.
Short term goal: 240 pounds by June 2, 2006. Hawaii for scuba diving with the family for my 20th anniversary.
Long term goal: 225 pounds and stay under 230 for over 30 days.
Current weight: 261 pounds.
My workout: To make my next goal I am trying to workout at lunch and after work as often as possible.

-- I spend some time on the stretch trainer to loosen up my legs and back, which have been super tight since my surgery. -- Then I hit the back hyper-extension machine to specifically strengthen my lower back.
-- Then I hit the treadmill. 3.4 – 3.5 MPH at a 10 degree incline. 30 minutes at lunch, 60 minutes on weekends and after work. I don’t have time for the official 5 minute cool down at lunch, but I do after the 60 minute walk. 30 minutes burns 525 calories, and the 60 minutes burns nearly 1100 calories.
My diet: For the past 8 months I have been doing a diet from www.weightlossforidiots.com . It seems to help, but the only real way to lose is to combine diet (that’s DIE, with a “T”), and exercise."