Healthpointe - Week 6 Results

Week 6 has ended and I'm now officially off the Healthpointe program!  Yay!  This means I can eat more freely whilst maintaining some healthy habits that I picked up along the way in order to maintain my weight.  What I like about this program is that it never makes you feel like you need to eat less to maintain or lose weight.  Most people I know seems to reiterate "eat less, eat less" but I now know that it really isn't that necessary.  Yes calories in and calories out matters but where you get your calories from matter more.

Anyway enough of that, I'm going straight to my results at the end of the Healthpointe program.

PROGRESS PHOTOS
I look a bit feral in my final photos but that's because I took them at the very end of the day as it was a busy weekend for me.  I almost didn't have time to take them but decided I wanted to anyway since it seemed more authentic to take the photos on the last day of the program.

I actually notice a little bit of progress from my Week 1 results here.  But again the difference isn't immediately noticeable.  While it's slightly disappointing that my results haven't been more dramatic I also expected as much since I was very overweight when I began, the heaviest I have ever been in my life.  Also even after losing weight I'm still 2kg above what I would have considered my regular weight just one year ago.

WEEK 6 (DAY 42)

WEEK 1 (DAY 1)

WEEKLY PROGRESS

So at the end of the six weeks in Healthpointe I have seen some major weight loss.  I probably would not have thought it possible to lose weight like this prior to Healthpointe.  While I'm not at my goal weight yet and still not happy with my current weight I am happy with the progress made so far.  I'll do a more thorough blog post on my final thoughts regarding Healthpointe soon.

There was not much change between weeks 5 and 6 which is to be expected since I added a slice of bread to my lunch and dinner menu.  I realise I haven't talked much about the menu so maybe that can be a blog post for later as well.  All in all whilst I finished at 69.5 I would expect my resting weight to be around 70.5 kg for now which would be a 6.6 kg weight loss.  I will continue to monitor my weight in the days, weeks and months after Healthpointe.

STARTING MEASUREMENTS

Weight      77.1 kg

Chest         98 cm

Abdomen  95.5 cm

Hips          104 cm

END OF WEEK 1

Weight      73.4 kg

Chest         95.5 cm

Abdomen  93 cm

Hips          94.5 cm

END OF WEEK 2

Weight      72.5 kg

Chest        95.5 cm

Abdomen  93.5 cm

Hips          92.9 cm

END OF WEEK 3

Weight      71.6 kg

Chest         93 cm

Abdomen  92.5 cm

Hips          92 cm

END OF WEEK 4

Weight    70.2 kg 

Chest       91.5 cm

Abdomen 89.5 cm

Hips         91.0 cm

END OF WEEK 5

Weight     70.1 kg

Chest        94.0 cm

Abdomen 92.5 cm

Hips         97.0 cm

END OF WEEK 6

Weight     69.5 kg

Chest        94.0 cm

Abdomen 92.5 cm

Hips         97.0 cm

Healthpointe - Week 5 Results

I am nearing the end of my first 'season' of Healthpointe!  I say first because it's quite likely that I will repeat the program to reach my goal weight of 62 kg.  My ideal weight is 58 kg and if I want to reach that then I may have to repeat the program a third time.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Week 5 was my first week of the maintenance phase.  In this phase the goal is to start introducing larger portions of food so that my body gets used to increased amounts of food and to create a set-point for my body.  This so called set-point is pretty much setting a new normal or equilibrium that my body will remember and naturally work to maintain.  Goes the theory.  Time will tell how well that works.

I cheated a little bit in week 4 and 5 as there was Chinese New Year celebrations to be partaken in and a friends 30th birthday party.  I did not consume any sweets or cakes at the party but I did eat protein based foods such as satay sticks along with some salad and fruit.  For Chinese New Year I ate a traditional salad known as yee sang, prosperity duck, 12 spices pork known as loh bak and specialty dessert known as sago pudding.  Sorry I don't have any photos to show you but if you're curious a quick Google image search will give you an idea of what these dishes are like.

So now the main event!  I missed blogging week 4's results as I was pretty busy that week/weekend but I will include week 4's results in this batch.

PROGRESS PHOTOS
Here are my progress photos from day 1 against day 35.  I still feel like there hasn't been much change when looking at the photos.  But if pressed I would say that the area which has seen the largest gain is the bum which is a little embarrassing but it is what it is.  I would also say my face is a little less chubby and I've lost a tiny bit of girth around the belly and chest.  My upper arms are also a little less chubby.  I've posted my half nudes so that the comparisons this week is easier to see.

WEEK 5 (DAY 35)

WEEK 1 (DAY 1)

WEEKLY PROGRESS
Note that week 5's measurements may seem like I got larger cm-wise but I don't believe this is the case.  What I think is that whoever was measuring me before was pulling the tape measure very tight around my body thereby skewing the results.  In week 5 I had to measure myself as my regular helper was away at a business conference.  I will measure myself again in week 6 for consistency.

STARTING MEASUREMENTS
Weight      77.1 kg
Chest         98 cm
Abdomen  95.5 cm
Hips          104 cm

END OF WEEK 1
Weight      73.4 kg
Chest         95.5 cm
Abdomen  93 cm
Hips          94.5 cm

END OF WEEK 2
Weight      72.5 kg
Chest        95.5 cm
Abdomen  93.5 cm
Hips          92.9 cm

END OF WEEK 3
Weight      71.6 kg
Chest         93 cm
Abdomen  92.5 cm
Hips          92 cm

END OF WEEK 4
Weight    70.2 kg
Chest       91.5 cm
Abdomen 89.5 cm
Hips         91.0 cm

END OF WEEK 5
Weight     70.1 kg
Chest        94.0 cm
Abdomen 92.5 cm
Hips         97.0 cm

Healthpointe Day 24 - Ten Thousand Steps

Happy Healthpointe day 24!  Today my weigh-in put me at 70.80 kg!  Yippee!  In previous weeks I have gone up a little so while I have seen some rapid losses over the past 3 days I am just waiting to see where my weight settles in at at the end of the week.

Today I wanted to discuss ten thousand steps!  This is a big part of the Healthpointe program in that Healthpointe is more of a "wellness" program than a weight-loss program.  Take away from that what you will.  So everyday I'm required to complete 10,000 steps though technically 8,000 is the bare minimum.  I've been a little surprised at how much 10,000 steps actually is.  I work a desk job so if I'm not making a conscious effort to get up and walk around more often I can easily end my working day with a paltry 2,000 - 3,000 steps.  Even on weekends where I tend to be a little more active my steps can still fall short around 8,000 - 9,000 steps.  Granted squeezing in another 1,000 steps isn't too hard and can be achieved just by walking around the house or the backyard.

To get a feel for how much 10,000 steps is for me, typically it takes me approximately 1 kilometer to make 1,000 steps.  I think it's a little less maybe around 850-950 meters but I'll say 1 km for simplicity.  At a moderate pace it would take me around 10 minutes to walk 1 km so even if I go for a 1 hour walk I only will achieve around 6,000 steps.  So 10,000 steps for me is actually quite a lot and I definitely have to put in an effort to make it.

While this may be inconvenient it has been great!  I had been very sedentary for the better half of 2015 so I definitely feel that having to get out and go for a walk or just move around more in general has been a great change for me.  I find that walking isn't just good for your body but also good for the mind.  Whether I listen to music or just walk in silence I find that it helps calm my mind and gives me time and space to either veg out or have a bit of a think.

Promoting the 10,000 steps has been effective in helping me maintain a healthier level of physical activity and I highly recommend to anyone who has a sedentary lifestyle to consider incorporating 10,000 steps into their daily schedule.  Don't worry too much if you don't hit it every day but aim to hit it more days than not.