Nutrition, Wellness and Fitness as I've Learned It While Deployed

Before (March 2009)

After (October 2009)

A number of your have asked me for my fitness and nutrition program that I used to lose 25 lbs in 5 months and to get myself in the best shape of my life. Honestly, I'm flattered by the attention, but I'll tell you that I had little idea of what I was doing when I started. I had a goal to drop 20 lbs and max my Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) by the time I took R&R in September. I used some that I'd learned years ago combined with some that I'd read in Mens Health Magazine and the rest I figured out as I went. The biggest key for me (other than eliminating alcohol) was just plain consistency or stubborness. I knew I had to show up every day no matter how I felt and I knew I had to stick to my dietary plan. Anyway, it worked for me, so here it all is for any interested. I will say that I'll challenge any and all to try this for 6 months. I promise that if you do that you'll get results that'll surprise you and impress everyone around you.

NUTRITION & WELLNESS

FIRST: We set our target weight goals, and then we calculate our caloric intake. Here is an example showing how I came up with my numbers using a standard formula.

Target Weight: 175 lbs
x Base Factor: 10
Weekly Intake: 1750 calories

We now modify our factor based on how often we work out. Add 1 for every hour you work out weekly. I work out about 8 hours a week.

Target Weight: 175 lbs
x Modified Factor: 18
Weekly Intake: 3150 calories

Please note this is the amount of calories that can be consumed to maintain the target weight. To lose the weight, we have to consume less than this number.

SECOND: Set-up daily dietary goals. You don’t have to take your calorie counting calculator to the grocery or to dinner. Just get to know the general numbers and shoot to go lower for each meal. One big issue that is easy for me to deal with while deployed, but not at home is…alcohol! Alcohol consumption can easily add 500-1000 calories to a day. Think about drinking wine instead of beer with dinners and limit consumption except on special occasions.

These are my daily diet goals.

Breakfast: [30%] 2 Eggs
Wheat Toast w/ Margarine
Oatmeal, Grits or Yogurt
Fruit
Glass of Orange Juice
Glass of Milk

Snack: [5%] Energy Bar or Granola Bar

Lunch: [25%] Sandwich or Salad
Chips or Rice
Fruit
Pudding, Jell-O or Yogurt
Glass of Juice

Snack: [5%]: Piece of Fruit or Granola Bar

Dinner: [35%] Steak, Chicken or Fish
Rice, Potato or Pasta
Vegetable
Small Salad
Low Fat Desert
Glass of Juice

Weekly Tips:
1) Once a week eat whatever you want.
2) Eat within 1 – 1 ½ hours of working out.
3) Watch the “business lunches”!
4) Be consistent!
5) Cut down on carb heavy meals.


Wellness Words of Wisdom:
1) Have sex as much as you can. :)
2) Work to lower daily stressors.
3) Don’t check your weight every day. Make a plan and give it time to work.
4) Laugh….a lot
5) Find an active hobby and do it every week!

WEEKLY WORK-OUT SCHEDULE

Work-out Words of Wisdom:
1) Show-Up Every Day
2) Set Goals
3) Plan to Work-Out at Least 1 Hour Each Day

Daily Tips:
1) Do 3 sets of each exercise with 10-15 repetitions per set. Increase weight to get resistance. Work to muscle failure at the end of each set. Try to use free weights as much as possible.
2) Work quickly. Allocate 7 minutes per exercise with just 30 sec rest to move to the next exercise. The goal is to complete 8 exercises in an hour. If you have less time, simply eliminate an exercise or two.
3) Feel free to substitute new exercises. Don’t be afraid to experiment.


DAY #1: Chest & Triceps [1hr 20min]
1. 5-7 minutes of upper body stretching
2. bench press
3. triceps press with cables
4. incline bench press or incline machine chest press
5. curl bar overhead triceps press
6. decline bench press
7. dips
8. chest and triceps press down machine
[2 Mile Run]

DAY #2: Legs & Abs [1hr 20min]
1. 5-7 minutes of stretching
2. squats or leg presses
3. incline sit-ups & crunches (40+ per set)
4. leg curls
5. crunches (75+ per set)
6. groin press
7. leg/knee lifts
8. calf raises
[15-20 min on Bike]

DAY #3: Back & Biceps [1hr 20min]
1. 5-7 minutes of stretching
2. upper back pull down machine
3. bicep curl machine
4. lower back pull machine
5. bicep curl with cables or curl bar
6. rows
7. single arm dumbbell curls
8. dumbbell bent over row
[1.5 Mile Interval Run]
- Break the run into ¼ sections. Run ¼ as fast as you can and then jog a ¼ mile. Do this for 1.5 miles. Work to increase the intervals over time.

DAY #4: Shoulders & Abs [1hr 20min]
1. 5-7 minutes of stretching
2. shoulder bench press
3. swiss ball jack knife
4. lat pull downs
5. ab machine or crunches with weight on chest
6. single arm dumbbell shoulder lifts
7. lower back exercise (inverted, right side, left side)
8. chin-ups
[15-20 min on Bike Intervals or Elliptical]
- A tip for the bike intervals is to do it to music. Ride as hard as you can for an entire song. Slow down and rest on the next song. Repeat.

DAY #5: Mega Stretch and 5K [1hr 20min]
1. stretch entire body for 15-20 minutes
2. joint exercise – neck rolls, wrist rolls, knee rolls, etc.
3. run a 5K (approx 3.2 miles)

DAY #6: Sport / Aerobic Activity [1hr]
1. go for a swim
2. play a game of pick-up basketball
3. go for a hike or a climb
4. ride a “real” bike
5. play tennis
6. Do something fun, but get the heart rate up!

DAY#7: Rest

Items to Send in Care Packages

Many of you have asked what items you can send to me while I'm deployed. I want to first say thank you in advance. I would never presume that anyone would send me anything other than their love and support (except for Ang and the kids...you guys have to send me stuff:)), but know that if you chose to anything you send is always appreciated and shared with other soldiers I live and work with.

I'll share a quick story about a gift I received that moved me more than anything (except maybe those wonderful pieces of artwork that Trey and Audrey like to send me LOL). For those of you that don't know, Derek Duncan is my big brother from my fraternity at the University of Kentucky. He's the one that recruited me into Lambda Chi Alpha and recruited me into officiating basketball (which I still do today!). We spoke for the first time in many years on the phone while I was mobilizing. Wonderful conversation and baseball and politics the two topics that we both love so much. Well, a couple of weeks later I received a small package. It was filled with individual cards written my the youth volleyball team coached by Derek's wife Jenny. Each was inidividually written and signed by about 8 players. I'm sitting here with tears in my eye even thinking about those little notes right now. I pull each of those notes out one by one and read them at night and my spirits soar each time. Amazing stuff....

Anyway, little things like that are many times what a soldier needs to remember why we're here and what we're fighting for. The future of freedom for young children. However.....if you would like to send other nice goodies, here's the kinds of things that I need or would enjoy.

First, the don'ts...... no magazines with "suggestive" material and no alcohol. These are stricly prohibited "in theater" (war zones).

The Do's.....

- colgate toothpaste travel size
- gel shaving creem travel size
- sun screen
- enery bars/breakfast bars
- iPod gift cards (I can get music and rent movies.)
- paperback books
- hard candy
- any homemade goodies wrapped or ziplocked very well
- phone cards (Domestic cards are fine. I can call through a US switch to use them.)
- other than that's the rest is up to your imagination :)

One more....many of you have probably heard of the PX. The full name is AAFES Post Exchange. It's about the only place we spend money. :) We buy snacks, drinks, esstentials, stuff like that. You can buy gift cards at https://thor.aafes.com/gcs/default.aspx . These are great to include in care packages. It's interesting here on post that they don't have any change. They have bills, but no coins. You get these silly little AAFES card board pieces for coins. They look like play money. I've found it better to shop with gift cards or my credit card to avoid these things that I'll never use.

Don't worry about sending DVDs. I snagged about 600 movies from another soldier and put them on an external hard drive, and we get to see all new releases for free at our theater.

Please do me a favor and should you read this and send something, post what you sent on this blog. This could be a wonderful way to share and for all of us to talk about the wonderful ideas you guys have to help soldiers like me.

Thanks again to any and all. I look forward to conversing with you in some shape or form over the next year.

(BTW, I'm limited on what pictures I can take, but less load up. They're pretty weird about taking pictures here. However, should I go into Iraq at all, apparently you can take all the pictures you want there.)