New You Resolution update
Week 2
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From left: Kimberley Everett, David Peck, Kathryn Burkholder, and Michael and Pam Kirkbride.
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CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta checks the weekly progress of Kimberley, David, Kathryn, Pam and Michael in the 'New You Resolution.'
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What you can learn from our participants' progress, according to their trainers and health experts:
Hydrate -- Drink half your weight in ounces of water.
Minutes count -- Five minutes is enough to fit in some core exercises.
Free fitness -- Some gym classes are the best way to get a free trainer.
Convenience is key -- Buy pre-cut, pre-made and pre-washed.
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(CNN) -- During the eight weeks of the New You Resolution program, CNN will check in with the participants and report on their progress, problems or any worries they might have. Below are updates for Week 2:
Kathryn Burkholder
Kathryn says she feels like she's doing "pretty good" with her resolution to quit smoking.
"I'm not freaked out completely. I was really bad the first three days and now I'm a lot better," she reports.
She credits her Zyban prescription for easing her anxiety. She's now gone 13 days without a cigarette, the longest she's ever stayed smoke-free. And she's talking to her counselor almost every day, but decided not to add in the nicotine patch or gum, as recommended at the start of the New You Resolution program. She wants to get over the addiction as fast as possible, she says.
Kathryn has also stopped drinking for now, in part to avoid the empty calories and weight gain. She's exercising every day, to help keep her mind off smoking.
"I think you get better every time you try to quit," she says.
Kimberley Everett
Kim has experienced a lot of firsts in the short days since the program started. She's learned how to box, rock climb and practice yoga. She's definitely following her trainer's first fitness guideline -- variety in her exercise regimen!
She did a total of four workouts, three of them cardiovascular, just as the trainer prescribed.
But she hasn't lost any weight yet, and Kim says better selection at meal time is no piece of cake.
"I'm more nervous about the food rather than the fitness," she says. "It's going to be hard with my time restraints."
David Peck
David's first commitment is to de-stress, and he did that by taking a yoga class.
But yoga is a lot harder than David thought it would be. "I was thinking you just sit there and hum, but there's a lot to yoga."
He's also changing his eating habits: He's grabbing fewer carbs, scrubbing snacks and opting for things like fish and veggies.
The main reason he's trying to drop his level of stress? His diagnosis of arterial blockages is weighing on his mind, and an angiogram this week to find out how many and how extensive those blockages are.
"I'm concerned. You look at everything a little different before surgery," David says. "I look at the family and hold things a little tighter; and make sure you play with the kids a little more."
Pam and Michael Kirkbride
In the first week of their New You Resolution, Pam and Michael Kirkbride found some new ways to work out with some friends. They learned to box, rock climb and practice yoga with the other New You participants at the Chelsea Piers club in New York City.
But have the new parents found time to exercise without their New You teammates?
"It's hard to work this stuff into the day in a work day," admits Michael.
Fitness educator Stacey Lei Krauss put the Kirkbrides on a fitness plan, including 30-minute cardio workouts at least three times a week to burn off those extra pounds. And in week one, they're doing it -- Pam and Michael have hit the treadmill, and Michael even made it to an indoor cycling class.
The Kirkbrides are also focusing on their problem body areas: core muscles and the mid-section. Their fitness expert has them doing what she calls lifestyle integration exercises.
"They are basically exercises you could do anytime during the day," explains Krauss.
The exercises include push-ups, crunches, wall sits and a position called the plank. All the exercises can be done at home in just 20 minutes or less a day, while the new parents still keep an eye on baby Olivia.
"We're much more active than we were a week ago," Michael reports.
On the food front, "Parenting" magazine's Lisa Bain showed the Kirkbrides how to make better choices at the grocery store.
Her main tip?
"Anytime you can find healthy food that's already cut and prepared and in snack form, grab it," she says.
Overall, the Kirkbrides are sticking to their plan first prescribed to them at the New You launch.
"We thought last week, 'There is no way that we'll be able to do this.' But you can carve out time," says Pam.
