The Amazing Weight Loss Story Of Allan Hoffman

Meet Allan Hoffman, 35 years old, starting weight 555 lbs, uses a wheelchair to get around, has a fractured vertebrae in his lower back and it’s fair to say he had a very difficult childhood. He’s struggled with his weight forever, battles depression and over the past 10 years his weight has gone from 305 to 555 lbs. Talk about having to overcome some challenges! His doctor said he should have gastric bypass surgery to lose the weight. Enter the exerspy and the dotFIT team.

It must have been fate because Allan reunited with a half-brother he never knew he had, who happens to be one of dotFIT’s team members. Allan gets an exerspy, a few phone coaching sessions and starts using the dotFIT Me program to shed the weight. With his physical limitations, we had to start slow. Fast forward three months and he’s dropped 62 pounds. Here’s the strategy we used:

1. Identify WHY you want to lose so you stick to the process. Allan’s motivation was twofold – 1) meet his biological father face-to-face for the first time this summer and 2) see his 6 year old son graduate from high school. He keeps a picture of his son on his computer to keep him focused.

2. Set realistic and achievable goals. Allan’s ultimate goal is to weigh 210 lbs so we set him up to lose 2-3 pounds a week.

3. Give him visible targets to hit daily so he sees progress every day. Using the dotFIT Me program an exerspy – his daily calorie burn target was approximately 4300 calories (remember, the heavier you are, the more you burn). His daily calorie intake goal was about 2800 calories. When he hits those targets, he loses weight. Period.

4. Log everything you eat. Becoming conscious of what goes in your mouth is the first step towards making better decisions and Allan was prone to mindlessly eat.

5. Increase physical activity. Do upper body exercises using cans for hand weights and leg lifts as he sits in his wheelchair. Work up to 5 minutes of physical activity per day. The exerspy tracks this so he knows whether he reaches this daily goal.

6. Eat more fiber-rich foods. Get 25 grams a day to start and track in using the online food log.

As you can see – a few simple adjustments repeated over time has produced AMAZING results. No diets. No drastic workouts or magic cleanses. Just practical changes anyone can do and a bit of encouragement and guidance along the way.  

–Kat Barefield, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian for dotFIT

To find out more about the dotFIT difference, contact us at any of our desert area fitness centers.

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Exercises For Agility Training

If the thought of pedaling a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill instigates a yawn or a genuine lack of enthusiasm, you are not alone.  If you want to change up your routine and create a great cardio challenge for yourself, try performing an agility training routine.  Agility training is another form of cardio fitness that can be fun and create more helpful results for the body than simply increasing cardiovascular efficiency and decreasing body fat.  If you are looking to give your cardio fitness a kick, add fun to your routine and increase your body’s ability to function and avoid injury, agility training is definitely worth investigating.

Agility training teaches the body to start, stop, and change direction quickly while maintaining proper posture.  Agility challenges you to control your center of gravity over a changing base of support while changing directions at varying speeds.  It is important to remember that we move at varying speeds and in various planes each day.  Training to improve movement not only increases functional capabilities, but will help you avoid injuries by teaching your mind and body to work together and move at different speeds using the correct muscle at the correct time in the correct plane of motion.  Agility training can provide you with numerous overall training benefits such as challenging your core, legs, balance, reactive capabilities, and increasing your cardiovascular efficiency.

Agility work can be done using cones or lines and is best performed on a basketball court, tennis court, or in an aerobics room.  Performing agility drills on concrete is not advised and may be harmful to your body.  Opt for surfaces that provide better control for short, quick movements and avoid surfaces that may have loose gravel or feel slippery.  With agility training, the proper surface can make all the difference.

Below are a few different drills you can utilize within an agility training program:

1.  5-10-5 Drill:  Begin with three cones, placing two cones 10 meters apart.  Place the final cone at the midpoint.  Start at the middle cone A and sprint to cone B, then to cone C, and back to cone A.  For increased intensity, get a friend to time you as you complete the drill.



2.  Box Drill:  Place four cones in a square pattern, approximately 10 yards away from each other.  Start at cone A and sprint to cone B.  Side shuffle from cone B to cone C.  Backpedal from cone C to cone D and carioca from cone D to cone A.  Try to maintain appropriate speeds and form.



3.   T-Drill:  Place four cones 5 yards apart from each other in a “T” pattern as shown below.  Sprint from cone A to Cone B.  Side shuffle from cone B to cone C.  Carioca from cone C to cone D and side shuffle from cone D to cone B.  Backpedal from cone B to cone A.

 

Watch your key checkpoints to make sure you are performing your drills correctly.  Always be aware of your body position during your drills.  Good agility comes from good form!

Be sure to design your agility workout so that you have time for a proper warm-up and cool-down.  Both are essential to good form and injury prevention.  As with any program, try not to overdo it!  Work an agility program into your routine performing this workout one to two days a week.  You must give your body time to adapt to the new program in the beginning and give your body time to recover after performing this workout. 

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Use Pre & Post Workout Snacks To Maximize Your Performance

A large, pre-workout whole food meal should be consumed approximately 2.5 to 3 hours before activity. However, to maximize each training session, athletes should always include a pre-workout snack.

The timing, type and amount of food eaten before workouts and events can drastically affect the quality of a training session and the outcome of the event.  Carbohydrate is the primary energy source used by the nervous and muscular systems and is essential for peak performance.  A high carbohydrate pre-workout snack with protein eaten 10 to 40 minutes beforehand can provide the energy to fuel the activity while allowing enough time for adequate digestion.  Conversely, a snack high in fiber, protein or fat may not fill up muscle energy (glycogen) stores, can slow digestion, cause an upset stomach and impair performance.

The recovery process is also influenced by when and what you eat before and after activity.  By eating the ideal blend of carbohydrate and protein immediately before and after exercise, you reduce muscle damage, stimulate muscle growth, refill energy stores and ensure your body is prepared for the next workout or event.  Proper repair and building of tissues after each training bout can prevent chronic fatigue, injury and over-training.  Pre- and post-training and event snacks should be convenient and in a rapidly digestible form. This helps deliver the necessary nutrients for growth and repair to muscles at the right times. Liquid shakes with the proper blend of nutrients are ideal because they are quickly absorbed.

Pre-workout Snack Guidelines

• In general, the proper amount of carbohydrate in a pre-workout snack can be as high as 0.5 gram per pound of bodyweight (0.5g/lb) for long endurance-type activities.
• To determine the proper amount in grams, simply split your weight in half (ex. 150 lbs/2 = ~75 grams).
• Lower amounts may be adequate for strength training or workouts lasting less than an hour (~0.25gms/lb).  
• Items with at least 50 percent carbs and approximately 20 percent protein and 20 percent fat are ideal.
• Pre-workout snacks should be consumed 10 to 40 minutes before activity to ensure the main gas tank is “topped off” at the onset of training and the stomach is relatively empty.  This is especially important for early morning workouts.

Post-workout Snack Guidelines

There is a “metabolic window” that lasts for approximately 60 to 90 minutes after intense training when the body is highly receptive to nutrient uptake. During this timeframe, you have the best chance of reducing muscle damage, maximizing exercise induced strength and muscle size by eating the appropriate amounts of carbohydrate and protein immediately after training.  This short muscle building “window” is most active the moment you cease exercise and from that time on, the muscle building/recovery activities begin to decrease. Once this window is closed, there’s no making up for the potential gains in size even if you eat perfectly the rest of the day. In other words, the immediate post-workout formula/feeding activates the muscle building process, and during this specialized time period the growth is greater than normal gains in daily muscle building that occur without consuming these pre- and post- snacks. A fast-acting liquid formula allows nutrients to be delivered to muscles to take advantage of this opportunity.

• The post-workout formula should be the same as the pre- (see above).  
• Choose snacks based on convenience, preference and venue.

dotFIT Makes Your Life Easier When Planning Workout Snacks

Traditional whole foods are not ideal pre- and post-training snacks because of the time it takes to digest solid food including extraction then absorption of the needed nutrients (about 2-3 hours). Although nutrition bars with the proper carbohydrate, protein and fat ratios can be effectively used before and after exercise, liquid is generally better for the simple reason of speed to the muscles. The dotFIT Pre/Post Workout & Meal Replacement Formula was designed with the ideal blend of nutrients needed for pre- and post-training snacks. The dotFIT FirstString™ powder is the ideal formula for youth athletes and college athletes. FirstString contains the amounts of carbohydrate, protein and fat to meet NCAA guidelines. You can take your game to the next level by following the recommendations here, those in "Performance Nutrition 101" and the fluid guidelines in "Proper Hydration".

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Three Basic Abdominal Exercises For The Gym Or Home

These exercises will help you develop core strength and don't require a lot of equipment.  The Floor Crunch can be done on any flat surface that's comfortable for you.  The Reverse Crunch can be performed using a picnic table bench rather than a weight bench.  You do need a stability ball for the Ball Crunch with Rotation, but these are relatively inexpensive and can be used with hundreds of other exercises (plus you can use it as chair when working on a computer or watching TV, and you'll burn more calories).

1.    Floor Crunch 

• With your feet/knees hip-width apart, bend your knees at 90 degrees and point your feet straight ahead.  Find your neutral hip position, contract your glutes, and draw in your bellybutton to maintain this position.  Keep your arms folded across your chest, and your chin drawn in.
• Draw your abdominals in and slowly crunch your upper body to a position in which you can maintain neutral hip alignment.  Keep your chin tucked in to prevent a forward-head posture.  Hold the top position 2 seconds and slowly return to the starting position while maintaining the drawing-in maneuver.
• Do 3 sets of 12 repetitions at a slow pace.

2.    Reverse Crunch 

• Lie on your back with your legs straight, your hips neutral, your bellybutton drawn in, and your chin tucked.
• Curl your legs up toward your chest while maintaining body alignment, and without changing the angle at your hips.  Hold the end position for 2 seconds and then return your legs to the starting position with control.  Do not allow your back to arch as you lower your legs to the floor.
• Do 3 sets of 8 repetitions at a slow pace.

 

3.    Ball Crunch with Rotation 

• Sit on the ball and walk your feet out so the ball is positioned in your middle to lower back.  The closer the ball is to your lower back, the more difficult the crunches will be.  Place your feet/knees hip-width apart, bend your knees at 90 degrees, and point your feet straight ahead.  Find your neutral hip position, contract your glutes, and draw in your bellybutton to maintain this position.  Hold your hands as shown.
• Draw your abdominals in and slowly crunch while rotating your upper body to a position in which you can maintain neutral hip alignment.  Keep your chin tucked in to prevent a forward-head posture.  Hold the top position 2 seconds, then slowly return to the starting position, rounding your back over the ball while maintaining the drawing-in maneuver.  Repeat to the opposite side.
• Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions at a slow pace.

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Don't Just Sit There, Move!

by World Gym Desert Cities' dotFIT experts

 Weight control is possible without traditional exercise (though there's no substitute for true exercise).

Somehow during the last few decades, somewhere between 20 and 40 years of age, you’ve gained about 20 pounds. This didn’t have to happen--if you had walked an average of 150 more steps daily (which takes about three minutes) during a period you would normally have been sitting, chances are you would still have that same 20-year-old body. If only you’d paced around your office or home while you were on a three-minute phone call, or walked around your house once daily. If you had gone to the gym only ten times each year for approximately half an hour, engaging in a light workout, you would be 20 pounds lighter. And that’s without changing what you ate and drank during those 20 years!


Now, imagine you gained 40 pounds during the last 20 years. Simply double the above numbers and picture yourself 40 pounds lighter. You get the picture. Most people don’t gain weight because they are slothful creatures. Instead, slow, steady weight gain creeps up on us. Many people arrive at a point where they feel it’s too late, the damage is done, it’s too hard to lose weight or they don’t have enough time in their busy lives to make changes.



Take it up a notch


If you need to lose weight and don’t want it to take the 20 years it took to put it on—but at the same time you fall into that category of “no time” or “can’t stick to a diet”—use the formula above and accelerate it up to the point where you can erase the weight over the next year. Like the sound of losing weight without working out and dieting? Basically, you can consume the same foods and fluids but simply move more within your normal daily activities. Here is an example of what a 175 pound person, who does not wish to change his/her lifestyle and eating habits, can do to lose 20 pounds. Refer to “Your Life is Exercise” for additional calorie burning tips.



Start here


Put a stop to the instinctual habit that tells you to take the path of least resistance, the easy way out. Instead, choose to take the path of more resistance anytime you can. In other words, anywhere you can squeeze in some extra steps or movement, do it. Park further out from your destination, pace or stand at home or in the office while on the phone, reading or simply talking to someone. Think “why sit when I can walk or stand”? Get a pedometer and find out how many steps a day you are currently walking. Gradually add an extra 500 steps to your day until you are regularly averaging 2500 steps more per day than you were prior to reading this article. Maintain your same basic lifestyle and eating habits, but incorporate the “move when you can” attitude and stand or pace when performing tasks you previously would have done sitting down. You don’t have to do all this at once; break it up any way you want to. Just average an extra 2500 steps daily. For current physical activity guidelines, click here.





A little goes a long way


For a 175 pound person, every ten minutes of normal walking or pacing while doing something equates to burning approximately 20-30 more calories than sitting down doing the same activity. So, by moving upright for one hour (about 2500 slow steps) more than before, you will lose about 1.5 pounds per month or 18 pounds over the course of a year without working out in a gym (as long as your food intake doesn’t increase). If you did add gym time and a slight reduction in your food intake as well, you could lose significantly more. Not so daunting of a task anymore, is it?


Note: the lighter you get, the fewer calories your body burns, so for every 5-7 pounds you lose, you should add about 500 more steps per day if you choose not to slightly reduce or alter your food intake. Continue the process until you achieve your goal weight.



Tips for extra movement in the gym


Use the same tips recommended in the “your life is exercise” section, but use them in the gym or while going to the gym. 

• Park your car in a safe place at least 1250 paces from the gym
• Always pace or stand between sets
• Circuit train (i.e., move from one exercise to another with little to no rest but rotating body parts)
• Get all 2500 steps/day using cardio machines. On non-workout days, follow the daily life tips or simply do more steps during the three days you are in the gym using a treadmill, stepper, etc., to make the weekly total.

Bottom line

Everyone sits at least an hour a day; the vast majority of people sit a minimum of eight. Find the parts of the day when you can stand, sit or pace while performing something you would normally do sitting down. No matter what you do or how, just be sure you have added an average of 2500 steps to your daily routine and as you lose weight, slowly increase your steps. Always remember, every calorie counts, in or out. That’s a scientific fact. Remember this: if you are wearing it, you ate it.

So there you have it, the easiest, least painful method to stop or reverse weight gain. This is something anyone can do and—most importantly—maintain.


Your Life is Exercise

Around the House

• Get a cordless phone if you do not have one. Walk around the house or yard while you chat.
• Put away the remote control a few days a week and change channels on the TV itself.
• Forget the car wash! Do it yourself and burn about 200 cal.
• Cut back on your cleaning service; schedule them less frequently to save money and boost your activity.
• During commercial breaks on television: Unload one level of the dishwasher. Put in or take out one load of laundry. Clean out one shelf in the refrigerator. Clean out what’s fallen under the sofa cushions. Take out the trash.
• Put away laundry in smaller loads. You’ll make a few extra trips to burn some extra calories.

Traveling

• When traveling by air, walk around the airport till boarding time.
• Walk rather than using moving sidewalks.
• Walk to the airport gate or parking lot instead of using a shuttle.
• Walk to nearby restaurants rather than dining in the hotel.

Errands on the Run

• Bypass the drive through. Use walk-up options at the bank, pharmacy, cleaners, etc. Park at the back of the lot and walk.
• Carry smaller loads into the house to make a few extra trips.
• Hit the mall instead of the Internet.
• Take a lap of the mall or grocery store before starting to shop.
• When loading your purchases, park the shopping cart at the front of the car and carry the bags to the trunk.
• Offer to run errands for an elderly or ill neighbor or friend.

At the Office

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Get off the elevator two floors early—walk the rest of the way.
• Park a couple of blocks away from your office and walk.
• Use the restroom or coffee maker farthest from your office.
• Use a smaller water bottle and coffee cup. You’ll get up for refills more often.
• Take regular breaks and walk once around the office building.
• Walk to lunch instead of ordering it.
• Sit on a fitness ball instead of a chair. You’ll burn more calories and strengthen those abs.
• Waiting for copies? Take a quick walk while the copier finishes your job.
• Don’t eat at your desk. Take a walk, eat in a nearby park, or climb a few flights of stairs.
• Visit people’s offices instead of calling or e-mailing them.
• Walk the entire office a couple times/day. Visit departments you don’t normally deal with.
• Start an office walking club. You can meet before or after work or even at lunch.

Do these things really add up and make a difference? Refer to the two figures below. They illustrate the impact adding daily movement can have on the same person. All of these “little” tweaks to your daily activity have a significantly greater impact than the daily exercise session. Now, if you did both you’d be golden!

 

  

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