Glen:
The last month has gone extremely well. Cori and I have successfully made the shift from working out in the evenings to 5:30 a.m. We've been at it for two weeks now, and although it's tough to get up, it's a great way to start the day. The reason for the change in workout times was summer ball and shooting season for our kids is starting up. As summer progresses there will be tremendous demands on our time for team meetings, practices, games and just stuff that needs to be done. However, nobody has tried to schedule anything on our calendar at 5:30 a.m. as of yet! We were unwilling to let our daily lives get in the way of our workouts, so we prioritized our workouts and do them before everything else in the day.
I am also seeing tangible results from the workout regime. During a recent Doctor's visit, I learned that my blood sugar dropped from 287 to 131, and my triglycerides, blood pressure and cholesterol have also dropped significantly. These changes are the direct result of working out and improving my eating habits. My Doctor seemed very pleased to inform me that my chart finally says that my Type II Diabetes is "under control". The scales are also starting to show weight loss, and my clothes are fitting much looser. It's amazing what a little time in the Gym will do!
This is an ongoing change in lifestyle that is requiring a considerable amount of effort. The thing that is starting to become apparent to me is that once you get over the original hump (4 to 8 weeks) the benefits clearly start outweighing any perceived sacrifices. In fact, the longer I go, the easier it seems to be getting...
Bottom line is don't give up, keep plugging away in the gym. It's definitely worth it.
CORI:
I am feeling better than I have in years.
Glen and I made the switch to working out from the evenings to 5:30 a.m. in the mornings, and that has been quite an adjustment. On the first morning we worked out, I thought to myself, "there is no way I can do this every morning, I will be so tired". But after the workout, I had so much more energy. Now, it does take every thing we have to just get out of bed at 4:45 am, but once we are up and around, we are fine.
We have a routine where Glen fixes our breakfast and I make the coffee and off we go to the gym. I like it because I am done working out for the day, so whatever is thrown our way later in the day, we won’t miss our workouts. We went to the mornings because both of our children play summer baseball and softball. So with practices and games, life was going to interfere with our workouts, and we weren’t about to let that happen.
Glen’s diabetes is under control for the first time in over 3 years, and all of his other vital numbers have dropped as well--so that alone is reason enough to continue the workouts for the rest of our lives. I have so much more energy and endurance than I used to have before I started working out, it is just amazing to me.
DAWN:
I was ecstatic when Glen and Cori came by the gym to give me the good news about Glen's numbers from the Doctor! And, if that weren't enough, he's begun to lose some weight on the scale, too! His total body weight dropped from 368 to 352 this last month. 16 lbs!!!
These two are an inspiration to me and to all of those folks who struggle to make a profound change in their lifestyles. The sacrifice it takes to get up so early to fit in their workouts is being proactive in their health. So many of us put the workouts at the end of the to-do list, when it needs to be on the top! Great job guys! Keep up the good work!
PS: If you've been following Cori and Glen and want to send an encouraging note to them, send it through my contact page: http://www.dawnbranchonline.com/contact.asp I'll be sure and pass it on to them!
