56 people made the weigh-in Friday night. We had four people missing—at least two couldn’t be there, but are still active. That’s pretty good for week two.
As you know, half the people always seem to find a reason to stop any type of diet or exercise program. So we’ve been spending a lot of time talking about how to keep going, even when things get tough.
The first and most important thing is to just get started. You can think about it, talk about it, but if you don’t actually start, nothing happens. You’ve got to actually do it. Just get started.
Once you’ve done that, the next most important thing is to keep getting started—each and every day. Things are going to come up. Life is going to intrude and knock you back. It’s tough. That’s why you need to keep getting started—again, and then again.
Do that enough times, and pretty soon you’ve got a habit going. Experts say it takes at least 21 times to make a habit. What we tend to forget is that if we stop going 21 times in a row, it’s now a habit to not go.
If you want to get what you want, you need to keep getting started. Make it a habit to get in the gym. When you don’t feel like it, just get started. When one part of your body aches, just get started again and go in and work around it. Do what you can. Keep getting started.
When you absolutely can’t get to the gym, work out at home. Go for a walk or for a jog. If the weather is too cold, do jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups and body squats in your living room. Do sets of 10 or 20 and see how many rounds you can do.
Get out that old Richard Simmons tape. Actually use that equipment you’ve got down in your basement. Do something. Keep moving. Keep getting started.
When something happens to throw your eating off track, fix it and move on. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Don’t use it as an excuse to just throw all that progress under the bus. Keep getting started with that too.
You know the old saying “slow and steady wins the race.” The turtle kept getting started, one plodding step at a time. It might not have been as fast as the rabbit, but the rabbit got burned out and quit altogether.
I like to do things a little faster sometimes—to get a better workout, and burn more calories—but I’m all over the steady part. It means that you keep moving forward. Keep working toward the goal. Staying focused on what you really want. Having a plan, and working the plan.
They used to say about Texas Rangers: “There’s no stopping a man who knows he’s in the right, and keeps on a-coming.” That’s what we need. That type of commitment. That sense of purpose and destiny in the things we do.
Attach that type of energy and emotion to your program, and you’ll get what you want. Have that working for you, and you’ll keep getting started.
This week, at least 56 out of 60 people kept getting started, and we turned it up in the Friday night workout too. Last week, they did 5 sets of 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups and 10 body squats—for a total of 50 each.
This time around, they did 60 each, but in a different way. The first thing was that instead of sitting waiting for things to get started, I had them get up and start walking or jogging around the room. This will be a staple from now on. There will be no more sitting. They’ll be moving.
Then they did 20 pushups, 20 sit-ups and walking lunges up and down the room. The second time, they did 20 more pushups and sit-ups and walking lunges backward.
Finally, they did their last 20 pushups, sit-ups, and then hopped around the perimeter of the room—probably 40 hops—great exercise!
After that, we did 3 rounds of sumo-wrestling—pushing each other to try to get them off balance. That’s harder than you think! Finally, they “ran the dots” and ended with stretching.
The goal is to keep giving them more and more ideas and things to work into their daily routines. Next week, we’ll turn it up again—but they’ll be ready for it.
The human body is fearfully and wonderfully made—it will respond to the work by getting leaner and stronger, and ready for the next time. That’s perfect, because we’re going to keep getting started.
The winner of Week Two was Bill Lewis, again. Last week he lost 13 pounds. This week, he lost 3.1% of his body weight and 7.4 lbs. Bill won a $20 Wal-Mart gift certificate from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Terry and State Farm also provided pedometers to all the participants. I’m hoping to tell you how many miles everyone is covering before we finish Biggest Loser “6.”
Bill also won a $20 gift card from our local Subway who just came on board as a weekly sponsor, too. My wife and I always have a “Subway night,” and it’s always a good choice for a quick, healthy meal.
Second place went to Dawn Hopper, who lost 2.3% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs. Third place went to Peter Petrowsky, who lost 2.0% of his body weight and 4.4 lbs. Peter (age 66) and Bill (age 68) are going a long way to prove that anyone can do this.
No picture this week—we’ve got to remember to have a camera—but we’ll get one next week for you. I’ll also tell you about the food part of things. Until then, just get started—again. And keep getting started.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
FAT IS FAT, WHEREVER YOU FIND IT!
Last year I turned 46. It was quite a surprise because for some reason, I’d spent the entire previous year thinking I was already 46. So I was thinking I was turning 47 until someone set me straight.
It was kind of like having a reverse birthday. I got to be 46 all over again (only this time it was for real). Some people do it on purpose. I wish I were that smart.
It was a tough year in some other ways, because things really tightened up in the economy. Fortunately, we’d already been tightening up in our budget.
The year before, we’d finally decided to quit buying things we couldn’t afford. If we couldn’t pay for it, we couldn’t afford it, so we wouldn’t get it. We’d quit spending, and by the end of last year, finally paid the last of them off, along with the Explorer, and a small business loan.
It wasn’t easy. We’d had to make some tough decisions, putting things off until the timing was better. I slashed payroll and started moping floors and cleaning toilets again.
As it turns out, that’s pretty good for the soul. Keeps you humble. It’s hard to feel like a big shot, when you have to go clean up after someone took a big… um, you know what I mean.
Meanwhile, we started with the smallest bill, and one by one, worked our way through them, getting rid of all those minimum payments. That made even more room in the budget, and finally we were taking big hunks out of the bigger bills.
It took a lot of hard work, but we stayed focused on the goal—to be debt free. We’re not there yet, but things are a lot better. Now it takes about half the money to make budget than it used to take. It’s a lot more fun when you don’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul all the time.
Anyone can do it, too. Just pick up Dave Ramsey’s book “The Total Money Makeover” and start following his baby steps. It will change your life.
I think handling your finances correctly is a lot like getting in shape. Some people are carrying too much fat on their bodies. I was carrying too much fat in our finances—in the form of credit card debts, car payments, and business debt.
Just like being too heavy can cause new problems like diabetes and heart disease, excessive debt put such strain on our finances that we got further and further behind. It almost became terminal.
Clearly, a radical procedure was necessary, so we had what Dave calls a plasectomy—cutting up the cards and mailing them all back. We also had to seriously change our buying habits. If we didn’t need it, we didn’t get it. If we needed it, but didn’t have the cash, we still didn’t get it.
Sometimes we almost feel entitled to things. If we want it, we get it, even if we don’t have the money. It’s the American way. But that’s what’s thrown our country into the recent mortgage crisis. I think it’s why a lot of us our fat, too.
Now, we’re much more cautious about buying “stuff” we don’t really need. My wife and I rediscovered the library. Did you know you can actually check out and read books there that you don’t have to buy?
I also discovered the Goodwill store—my wife was already their best customer. Right now, everything I have on (except my tennis shoes) came from there, including my socks and underwear. Don’t worry, the underwear was brand new—and still in the bag.
We stopped having trash picked up out at the house, and every other day or so, I bring trash in town to my dumpster. Why have two, when we didn’t fill up either one? It saved almost $400 a year.
If you want to call me, you’ll have to call my cell, because we’re saving about $900 a year after dropping our land line phone. I started selling the extra firewood I cut in my spare time and worked weekends as a police officer.
It’s kind of like someone who needs to lose a hundred pounds to be healthy and has lost the first 50. It took a lot of changes. They had to start making better choices about eating right and exercising every day.
Now, they’re feeling better and have a lot more breathing room. They’re not there yet, but they’re well on their way. Now they know how to do it so it’s just a matter of time before they lose the other 50. Same with us.
Some people put the weight back on. I don’t ever want to get back into debt like that. To keep that from happening, I’m going to continue to work the plan. If we want it, we’ll save for it.
We’re going to run lean and mean, because fat is fat, wherever you find it. In my case, it was sloppy, excessive debt. We’ve had to work pretty hard to run that extra weight off. How about you? Is there any fat in your life you need to work off?
Sixty other people thought so as they weighed in for Biggest Loser “6” at the end of Week One. Over half of them lost more than 1% of their body weight, which is an amazing start. The average weight loss was 3.38 pounds!
First place went to the returning Bill Lewis, 68, who lost a crazy 5.6% of his body weight and 13.6 pounds. He’s pretty motivated, because after doing Biggest Loser “3” and “4” with us, he took a hiatus and had quite a set-back.
In his words, he “stopped working out and ate what he wanted.” Now he’s back to fix that, and is off to a very good start. I think he’d tell you that he’s a good example of both what to do, and what not to do. I’m pretty sure that this time, he’ll make it permanent.
Bill won a $20 Wal-Mart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry and State Farm also gave all the participants special pedometers to help them with their workouts!
Second place went to Gary Goodman, 66, who lost 3.7% of his body weight and 7.8 pounds. Third place went to the ever-present Ericka Hollis, 36, who’s looking great, and lost another 3.6% of her body weight and 6.0 pounds.
It was kind of like having a reverse birthday. I got to be 46 all over again (only this time it was for real). Some people do it on purpose. I wish I were that smart.
It was a tough year in some other ways, because things really tightened up in the economy. Fortunately, we’d already been tightening up in our budget.
The year before, we’d finally decided to quit buying things we couldn’t afford. If we couldn’t pay for it, we couldn’t afford it, so we wouldn’t get it. We’d quit spending, and by the end of last year, finally paid the last of them off, along with the Explorer, and a small business loan.
It wasn’t easy. We’d had to make some tough decisions, putting things off until the timing was better. I slashed payroll and started moping floors and cleaning toilets again.
As it turns out, that’s pretty good for the soul. Keeps you humble. It’s hard to feel like a big shot, when you have to go clean up after someone took a big… um, you know what I mean.
Meanwhile, we started with the smallest bill, and one by one, worked our way through them, getting rid of all those minimum payments. That made even more room in the budget, and finally we were taking big hunks out of the bigger bills.
It took a lot of hard work, but we stayed focused on the goal—to be debt free. We’re not there yet, but things are a lot better. Now it takes about half the money to make budget than it used to take. It’s a lot more fun when you don’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul all the time.
Anyone can do it, too. Just pick up Dave Ramsey’s book “The Total Money Makeover” and start following his baby steps. It will change your life.
I think handling your finances correctly is a lot like getting in shape. Some people are carrying too much fat on their bodies. I was carrying too much fat in our finances—in the form of credit card debts, car payments, and business debt.
Just like being too heavy can cause new problems like diabetes and heart disease, excessive debt put such strain on our finances that we got further and further behind. It almost became terminal.
Clearly, a radical procedure was necessary, so we had what Dave calls a plasectomy—cutting up the cards and mailing them all back. We also had to seriously change our buying habits. If we didn’t need it, we didn’t get it. If we needed it, but didn’t have the cash, we still didn’t get it.
Sometimes we almost feel entitled to things. If we want it, we get it, even if we don’t have the money. It’s the American way. But that’s what’s thrown our country into the recent mortgage crisis. I think it’s why a lot of us our fat, too.
Now, we’re much more cautious about buying “stuff” we don’t really need. My wife and I rediscovered the library. Did you know you can actually check out and read books there that you don’t have to buy?
I also discovered the Goodwill store—my wife was already their best customer. Right now, everything I have on (except my tennis shoes) came from there, including my socks and underwear. Don’t worry, the underwear was brand new—and still in the bag.
We stopped having trash picked up out at the house, and every other day or so, I bring trash in town to my dumpster. Why have two, when we didn’t fill up either one? It saved almost $400 a year.
If you want to call me, you’ll have to call my cell, because we’re saving about $900 a year after dropping our land line phone. I started selling the extra firewood I cut in my spare time and worked weekends as a police officer.
It’s kind of like someone who needs to lose a hundred pounds to be healthy and has lost the first 50. It took a lot of changes. They had to start making better choices about eating right and exercising every day.
Now, they’re feeling better and have a lot more breathing room. They’re not there yet, but they’re well on their way. Now they know how to do it so it’s just a matter of time before they lose the other 50. Same with us.
Some people put the weight back on. I don’t ever want to get back into debt like that. To keep that from happening, I’m going to continue to work the plan. If we want it, we’ll save for it.
We’re going to run lean and mean, because fat is fat, wherever you find it. In my case, it was sloppy, excessive debt. We’ve had to work pretty hard to run that extra weight off. How about you? Is there any fat in your life you need to work off?
Sixty other people thought so as they weighed in for Biggest Loser “6” at the end of Week One. Over half of them lost more than 1% of their body weight, which is an amazing start. The average weight loss was 3.38 pounds!
First place went to the returning Bill Lewis, 68, who lost a crazy 5.6% of his body weight and 13.6 pounds. He’s pretty motivated, because after doing Biggest Loser “3” and “4” with us, he took a hiatus and had quite a set-back.
In his words, he “stopped working out and ate what he wanted.” Now he’s back to fix that, and is off to a very good start. I think he’d tell you that he’s a good example of both what to do, and what not to do. I’m pretty sure that this time, he’ll make it permanent.
Bill won a $20 Wal-Mart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry and State Farm also gave all the participants special pedometers to help them with their workouts!
Second place went to Gary Goodman, 66, who lost 3.7% of his body weight and 7.8 pounds. Third place went to the ever-present Ericka Hollis, 36, who’s looking great, and lost another 3.6% of her body weight and 6.0 pounds.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
TIPS FOR THE NEW YEAR
We just started Biggest Loser “6” with 58 people. It’s not too late to jump in if you catch me right away. If you’re a regular reader, you know we usually end up with half the people that we started with. I’m hoping to change that this time.
There are quite a few repeat “Losers” doing it again for one reason or another. So many that we’re calling this one Biggest Loser “6” All Stars. I know they’ll stick, because they’ve done it before. Now they’ll get even better results.
Some want to keep making progress, and know they need the structure and support. Others have put some weight back on and want to get things back on track. That’s not unusual. It’s so common, there’s a name for it: “The Yo-Yo Syndrome.”
Usually, it’s because they either go back to eating the way they used to, or they’ve quit working out. Sometimes, it’s both. That can be a disaster. It has to become a lifestyle change if you’re going to be successful in the long run.
Here are some tips that can help you accomplish your goals this New Year. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but it will help get you started. Next week, I’ll give you the roster and results from week one.
1. What Do You Want? Be specific. Most people don’t just leave for vacation without knowing the destination. You’ve got to know where you’re going. It’s O.K. if this isn’t too precise—we can hone in on the details late. What do you really want?
2. Why Do You Want It? It’s important to have reasons why, because it’s going to be pretty easy to come up with reasons why not to when things start getting difficult. Your “got to” has to be bigger than your “want to.” If it’s important enough, you’ll find a way to do it.
3. How Bad Do You Want It? This is important too. If it’s low priority, it’s likely to get bumped when life starts intruding. You’ve got to really want to do it. Here’s where I think people miss it. They want it, but not bad enough to put up with the pain and inconvenience. They don’t stick, because they don’t want it bad enough.
4. Give It Priority. What’s the most important thing that you want to do or change? Let’s focus on that one. Always keep it in the back of your mind that this is the one thing that you want to make sure you finish. You have to finish it.
5. Find Out How. Figure out what you’re going to have to do, and how to do it. Get help. If it’s losing 50 pounds, how quickly do you want to do it? Do you have the time to devote 12-24 weeks to it, twice a day? Or are you comfortable with slowing it down and using the whole year to get there? Are you willing to work that hard?
6. Get With Like-Minded People. There’s safety in numbers. Have a support system. Most people push harder in my group workouts then they do on their own. It’s motivating to see other people all focused on the same goal.
7. Tell People. It helps you stay accountable. If you tell someone, you’re more likely to follow through because they’re going to be watching you. That’s another reason people often do better in groups.
8. Just Get Started. At some point, the talk has to stop, and you’ve got to take action. You can want to do it for a long time, but it doesn’t happen until you actually do it. After you’ve done the research and figured out a good plan, do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Buy some workout shoes.
9. Start Easy. Start easy but keep turning it up. Every day, do a little bit more to get you closer to your goal. Write down what you do—it will encourage you when you look back. And if you have a day or two where nothing’s written down, you’ll realize you need to get back into the game.
10. Stay focused. Don’t let anything get you off track. Remember, this was the one thing that you not only wanted to do, but felt you had to do. Stay the course. When life intrudes, deal with it, and then find a way to keep moving forward. Keep thinking about the end result, which is you getting what you want.
11. It’s O.K. when you make a mistake. Heck, I make at least one every day. If you ask my wife, it might be more. Cut yourself some slack. Forgive yourself. It’s tough enough, without beating yourself up all the time.
12. Get Back Up. Everybody gets knocked down. Winners find a way to get back up. If you have an injury, work around it. If your schedule suddenly changes, figure out how to get it done anyway. If you have a couple bad days, get back with the program.
13. Remind Yourself Why. Keep the big picture in mind. Why are you really doing this? Here’s where the rubber meets the road. When it gets tough, and it will, if you have a bigger “have to” then your reasons are for quitting, you’ll be able to stick it out, and get what you want.
14. Keep Your Commitments. Even to yourself. If you say you’re going to do it, do it. Stay consistent in your efforts. Keep at it.
15. Encourage Others. I’ve found that when I help others reach their goals, I reach mine. A team of horses can pull a much heavier load than just one.
16. Finish What You Started. This is such a huge problem in today’s fast food, get it now, culture. We want it now, and when we don’t get it, we tend to quit and move on to the next thing. Refuse to be a quitter. If you let yourself down that way, everyone else suffers too. Like that great philosopher-comedian says: “Git er done.”
17. Give Thanks. No one does anything in a vacuum. Other people help. Some encourage—some motivate. Thank them. Thank God.
18. Enjoy It. This one’s a little hard for me. I’m so goal-oriented and focused on the end result. Then I get depressed when it’s over because there isn’t something to do anymore. I need to learn to enjoy the journey. I also need to learn to enjoy the destination more.
19. Keep It Going. Come up with a plan to keep the progress you’ve made. In military terms, you want to keep the ground you’ve fought for. Don’t be a yo-yo.
20. Set New Goals. There’s always more to do, and it helps you stay young.
There are quite a few repeat “Losers” doing it again for one reason or another. So many that we’re calling this one Biggest Loser “6” All Stars. I know they’ll stick, because they’ve done it before. Now they’ll get even better results.
Some want to keep making progress, and know they need the structure and support. Others have put some weight back on and want to get things back on track. That’s not unusual. It’s so common, there’s a name for it: “The Yo-Yo Syndrome.”
Usually, it’s because they either go back to eating the way they used to, or they’ve quit working out. Sometimes, it’s both. That can be a disaster. It has to become a lifestyle change if you’re going to be successful in the long run.
Here are some tips that can help you accomplish your goals this New Year. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but it will help get you started. Next week, I’ll give you the roster and results from week one.
1. What Do You Want? Be specific. Most people don’t just leave for vacation without knowing the destination. You’ve got to know where you’re going. It’s O.K. if this isn’t too precise—we can hone in on the details late. What do you really want?
2. Why Do You Want It? It’s important to have reasons why, because it’s going to be pretty easy to come up with reasons why not to when things start getting difficult. Your “got to” has to be bigger than your “want to.” If it’s important enough, you’ll find a way to do it.
3. How Bad Do You Want It? This is important too. If it’s low priority, it’s likely to get bumped when life starts intruding. You’ve got to really want to do it. Here’s where I think people miss it. They want it, but not bad enough to put up with the pain and inconvenience. They don’t stick, because they don’t want it bad enough.
4. Give It Priority. What’s the most important thing that you want to do or change? Let’s focus on that one. Always keep it in the back of your mind that this is the one thing that you want to make sure you finish. You have to finish it.
5. Find Out How. Figure out what you’re going to have to do, and how to do it. Get help. If it’s losing 50 pounds, how quickly do you want to do it? Do you have the time to devote 12-24 weeks to it, twice a day? Or are you comfortable with slowing it down and using the whole year to get there? Are you willing to work that hard?
6. Get With Like-Minded People. There’s safety in numbers. Have a support system. Most people push harder in my group workouts then they do on their own. It’s motivating to see other people all focused on the same goal.
7. Tell People. It helps you stay accountable. If you tell someone, you’re more likely to follow through because they’re going to be watching you. That’s another reason people often do better in groups.
8. Just Get Started. At some point, the talk has to stop, and you’ve got to take action. You can want to do it for a long time, but it doesn’t happen until you actually do it. After you’ve done the research and figured out a good plan, do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Buy some workout shoes.
9. Start Easy. Start easy but keep turning it up. Every day, do a little bit more to get you closer to your goal. Write down what you do—it will encourage you when you look back. And if you have a day or two where nothing’s written down, you’ll realize you need to get back into the game.
10. Stay focused. Don’t let anything get you off track. Remember, this was the one thing that you not only wanted to do, but felt you had to do. Stay the course. When life intrudes, deal with it, and then find a way to keep moving forward. Keep thinking about the end result, which is you getting what you want.
11. It’s O.K. when you make a mistake. Heck, I make at least one every day. If you ask my wife, it might be more. Cut yourself some slack. Forgive yourself. It’s tough enough, without beating yourself up all the time.
12. Get Back Up. Everybody gets knocked down. Winners find a way to get back up. If you have an injury, work around it. If your schedule suddenly changes, figure out how to get it done anyway. If you have a couple bad days, get back with the program.
13. Remind Yourself Why. Keep the big picture in mind. Why are you really doing this? Here’s where the rubber meets the road. When it gets tough, and it will, if you have a bigger “have to” then your reasons are for quitting, you’ll be able to stick it out, and get what you want.
14. Keep Your Commitments. Even to yourself. If you say you’re going to do it, do it. Stay consistent in your efforts. Keep at it.
15. Encourage Others. I’ve found that when I help others reach their goals, I reach mine. A team of horses can pull a much heavier load than just one.
16. Finish What You Started. This is such a huge problem in today’s fast food, get it now, culture. We want it now, and when we don’t get it, we tend to quit and move on to the next thing. Refuse to be a quitter. If you let yourself down that way, everyone else suffers too. Like that great philosopher-comedian says: “Git er done.”
17. Give Thanks. No one does anything in a vacuum. Other people help. Some encourage—some motivate. Thank them. Thank God.
18. Enjoy It. This one’s a little hard for me. I’m so goal-oriented and focused on the end result. Then I get depressed when it’s over because there isn’t something to do anymore. I need to learn to enjoy the journey. I also need to learn to enjoy the destination more.
19. Keep It Going. Come up with a plan to keep the progress you’ve made. In military terms, you want to keep the ground you’ve fought for. Don’t be a yo-yo.
20. Set New Goals. There’s always more to do, and it helps you stay young.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
A NEW YEAR -- WHAT'S IT GOING TO BE?
I was getting a workout on the treadmill last week. While I like running outside, it’s more convenient—and much more comfortable running inside this time of year.
As a pretty new runner with just three years under my belt, I’ve just not been able to muster up the dogged determination that you see in some runners. You know, the ones with all the cold weather gear, dogged determination, and really fast times.
But that’s O.K. I’m fine with it. Besides, I have a few treadmills, so I might as well use them! So you probably won’t see me out on the road until March when the weather breaks.
It does get a little boring when I do the long runs on the weekend, but that’s where the TV comes in handy. On the shorter runs during the week, it’s not bad at all. Especially when doing interval training which keeps your attention.
So there I was, silently stalking through the tall wet grass, intently listening for any sound of the dangerous predator—my senses heightened, for it could strike at any moment…whoops, that’s another story.
So there I was, walking and warming up with my training partner, as we getting ready to do some speed intervals. On the other side, one of my clients was getting on a treadmill too.
She stepped up, hit the button and started jogging. I looked at her and said, “Wow.” She said “not bad for a sixty-five year old.” She was right. I was impressed. I think Josh was too.
This is a woman who had difficulty walking a quarter mile not too many months ago. Now she’s running. Sure, it wasn’t all that fast, but it was fast for her and she was running.
She took away all our excuses. Her goal is to be able to jog all the way around the quarter mile track displayed on the treadmill. I did suggest she walk a bit to get warmed up before running—to help avoid injuries.
I’ve noticed that there are really two groups of people—and I admit I’m generalizing. The first group is people that seem to be able to get and stay fit. I think they’ve simply decided that they’re going to be healthier, so they just do what it takes and get there.
It might not be easy for them, especially early on, but they do it anyway. They might have to lose some weight. Perhaps they already have. They’ve fought through the aches and pains and are seeing results.
They’ve made a decision to stick with it and you can set your clock by them working out. They are so consistent that you just know they’re going to get what they want.
Often, they’ve been able to cut medicines in half or eliminate them. They’re doing better and things are getting much easier—even doing normal, everyday activities.
The other group has it harder. They’ve waited so long that now, it’s really hard. Sometimes, their bodies won’t even allow them to exercise, due to serious illness.
They have to take more medications, some of which cause more problems. It becomes a worsening cycle that traps them in their own bodies, with a life of pain and frustration.
Meanwhile, the others just keep rolling on. Which group do you think enjoys their life more? Which has a better quality of life? Which doesn’t?
The sad thing is that it is so doable. And getting trapped is so avoidable—especially if you do something about it—sooner, rather than later. And you know what? Even if it’s later, it’s usually not too late.
Most people can do something, even if it’s just coming up and riding the bike. Bob was in his late 70’s, and his wife “dragged him up here” to see if I could do anything with him. He had pretty serious health problems, and his body hurt all the time due to serious arthritis.
Bob’s first day at the gym was one of silent rebellion—I could see it all over his face and body. He told me “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to exercise, and you’re not gonna make me.”
I said “that’s O.K. Why don’t you just sit here on this exercise bike and watch TV. If you feel like pedaling, that’s fine, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I left for awhile and when I came back, Bob was pedaling slowly.
He worked up to riding 30 minutes, not once, but twice a day, and lifted some weights too. He took great pride in being my oldest customer and I remember him well. Though we lost him to a serious illness a few years later, I believe he improved the quality of his life while he was here.
Another year has come and gone. A new one’s almost here. What will you do with it? What’s it going to be? Which group will you be in? The group that’s feeling better or the group that’s not?
One thing that might help is Biggest Loser “6” which starts Friday, January 2nd at 6:30 pm.
We have 24 people so far, and you need to be registered by Friday at 1:00 pm. The cost is $50 to participate and you should have a gym membership somewhere. Terry Elston Insurance will be providing the weekly prizes again, and the grand prize this time is a one year fitness membership!
Think of what you could accomplish in 2009. Whether you join Biggest Loser “6’ or not, do something. Get started. It’s not too late. Make it happen. Happy New Year!
As a pretty new runner with just three years under my belt, I’ve just not been able to muster up the dogged determination that you see in some runners. You know, the ones with all the cold weather gear, dogged determination, and really fast times.
But that’s O.K. I’m fine with it. Besides, I have a few treadmills, so I might as well use them! So you probably won’t see me out on the road until March when the weather breaks.
It does get a little boring when I do the long runs on the weekend, but that’s where the TV comes in handy. On the shorter runs during the week, it’s not bad at all. Especially when doing interval training which keeps your attention.
So there I was, silently stalking through the tall wet grass, intently listening for any sound of the dangerous predator—my senses heightened, for it could strike at any moment…whoops, that’s another story.
So there I was, walking and warming up with my training partner, as we getting ready to do some speed intervals. On the other side, one of my clients was getting on a treadmill too.
She stepped up, hit the button and started jogging. I looked at her and said, “Wow.” She said “not bad for a sixty-five year old.” She was right. I was impressed. I think Josh was too.
This is a woman who had difficulty walking a quarter mile not too many months ago. Now she’s running. Sure, it wasn’t all that fast, but it was fast for her and she was running.
She took away all our excuses. Her goal is to be able to jog all the way around the quarter mile track displayed on the treadmill. I did suggest she walk a bit to get warmed up before running—to help avoid injuries.
I’ve noticed that there are really two groups of people—and I admit I’m generalizing. The first group is people that seem to be able to get and stay fit. I think they’ve simply decided that they’re going to be healthier, so they just do what it takes and get there.
It might not be easy for them, especially early on, but they do it anyway. They might have to lose some weight. Perhaps they already have. They’ve fought through the aches and pains and are seeing results.
They’ve made a decision to stick with it and you can set your clock by them working out. They are so consistent that you just know they’re going to get what they want.
Often, they’ve been able to cut medicines in half or eliminate them. They’re doing better and things are getting much easier—even doing normal, everyday activities.
The other group has it harder. They’ve waited so long that now, it’s really hard. Sometimes, their bodies won’t even allow them to exercise, due to serious illness.
They have to take more medications, some of which cause more problems. It becomes a worsening cycle that traps them in their own bodies, with a life of pain and frustration.
Meanwhile, the others just keep rolling on. Which group do you think enjoys their life more? Which has a better quality of life? Which doesn’t?
The sad thing is that it is so doable. And getting trapped is so avoidable—especially if you do something about it—sooner, rather than later. And you know what? Even if it’s later, it’s usually not too late.
Most people can do something, even if it’s just coming up and riding the bike. Bob was in his late 70’s, and his wife “dragged him up here” to see if I could do anything with him. He had pretty serious health problems, and his body hurt all the time due to serious arthritis.
Bob’s first day at the gym was one of silent rebellion—I could see it all over his face and body. He told me “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to exercise, and you’re not gonna make me.”
I said “that’s O.K. Why don’t you just sit here on this exercise bike and watch TV. If you feel like pedaling, that’s fine, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I left for awhile and when I came back, Bob was pedaling slowly.
He worked up to riding 30 minutes, not once, but twice a day, and lifted some weights too. He took great pride in being my oldest customer and I remember him well. Though we lost him to a serious illness a few years later, I believe he improved the quality of his life while he was here.
Another year has come and gone. A new one’s almost here. What will you do with it? What’s it going to be? Which group will you be in? The group that’s feeling better or the group that’s not?
One thing that might help is Biggest Loser “6” which starts Friday, January 2nd at 6:30 pm.
We have 24 people so far, and you need to be registered by Friday at 1:00 pm. The cost is $50 to participate and you should have a gym membership somewhere. Terry Elston Insurance will be providing the weekly prizes again, and the grand prize this time is a one year fitness membership!
Think of what you could accomplish in 2009. Whether you join Biggest Loser “6’ or not, do something. Get started. It’s not too late. Make it happen. Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
BIG THINGS COME A LITTLE AT A TIME
Last week we finished Biggest Loser “5” but the thing I didn’t tell you was the average weight loss for all the participants. Of course the top three had crazy weight loss. Weston lost 57.2 lbs, Erika lost 37.0 lbs, and Logan lost 43.7 lbs.
While we continue to see people losing this much, it’s really the exception rather than the rule. Just like in life, there are always a few people that take it to a different level.
Don’t get me wrong, the others were working pretty hard, too. Just not at their level. First of all, Weston, Erika and Logan were pretty young, and in pretty good shape, so they could push themselves harder. I was told that Weston even did three workouts a day a couple of times.
Once you start feeling better, you can start doing more. Then your workouts can be more intense and you can burn more calories, losing more weight. Now everything gets a little easier, letting you push even harder, burning even more calories and losing even more weight.
I call it the “cycle of success.” Your body starts working for you instead of against you. At first, some people can’t do much. So you won’t lose much weight but you will start feeling better and getting stronger. Then your weight loss can increase.
Another factor is the effect certain medicines have on the body. Medicines for high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, depression, or conditions requiring steroids often have an adverse effect on metabolism—causing weight gain and making it much harder to lose weight.
Even so, it’s still possible to get the job done. It just might be harder for you than for others. When the tough times come, motivation counts for a lot. You’ve got to really want to do this.
In fact, it’s got to be more than that. It’s got to be a “have-to” if you’re really going to be successful. Like a salmon swimming up stream, you don’t have any choice in the matter. You’ve just “got” to do it.
If you have that kind of drive, you’ll be able to push yourself more. You’ll also stick when it counts. The person that sticks will always do more than the one who starts and stops all the time.
It’s tough losing weight. A pound of fat is 3,500 calories. You have to work really hard to burn that off so some people feel like it’s just too much work so they quit trying. What a shame, because almost everyone can burn 3,500 calories in a week—a little at a time.
There was a pair of ladies in their 50’s that made tremendous gains during the program. They even ended up jogging for a couple minutes at a time. They also participated in some really tough workouts there at the end.
Both will tell you that they never dreamed that they could work that hard. But each week they got a little stronger, lost a little more weight, and could do a little bit more. By the end, they were running short distances on the treadmill. They’ve also signed up for the next Biggest Loser. I think they have this thing figured out.
Two other gals told me that jogging was hurting their knees too much, but there at the end, they figured out that they could do the elliptical without pain. In those last two weeks, their weight loss really jumped up.
Another had serious back trouble for years and had to limit the exercises she did. Her strategy was doing more of the things she could do. It worked for her.
After you’ve made the decision to start, and made the daily decision to stick with it, there’s still one more thing. You have to have a realistic goal.
A poll of the 21 participants at the end showed that most wanted to lose 20 lbs, and a few wanted to lose 25 or more. In Biggest Loser “6” we’ll ask everyone up front what their goal is.
Something I keep saying, and just like getting women to hit their “minimum” calories, it’s hard to get people to believe me. Losing a pound a week is good. Two pounds a week is great, and three or more is fantastic.
That means that a 12 week program should net you 12 pounds, if everything goes right. 24 pounds in 12 weeks would be great. Anything more than that would be fantastic. We had 3 people in the “fantastic” category.
The total average weight loss for the 21 was 18 ¼ lbs. If you throw out the top three results, the average for the other 18 people that made the final weigh-in was 13.6 lbs.
This means the average was pretty good. For some people, the weight loss was better than good—it was almost great. For those three, it was outstanding. Keep in mind that all of them wanted to lose more.
In the end, it comes down to realizing you have a problem and then deciding to do something about it. Then you have to get started, set a realistic short-term goal, and work toward that goal.
You have to be dedicated, persistent, and pick your way through the minefields that appear along the way—and they will. At the end of that time period, evaluate how things went.
Then set a new short-term goal designed to get you to the bigger, long-term goal. There’s not a single person I’ve ever met that couldn’t get where they wanted, if they were willing to do what it took for just one year.
Think of it. A year of hard work, but you’re feeling better each day. You’re losing more weight each month, and looking better too. Six months have gone by and now you’re feeling great. You’ve got a spring in your step, and you’re well on your way.
After nine months, people don’t recognize you. They tell you that you look sick, because of all the weight you’ve lost (that’s pretty ironic). Your jogging—maybe even running a 5K. You’re lifting more weight, and have muscles showing up all over.
Your metabolism is humming along, making you a fat burner even standing still. You’ve had to buy new clothes—several times. After a year, you’ve completely transformed yourself. You’re a new, healthy person physically and mentally, too. It’s completely doable.
Biggest Loser “6” starts Friday, January 2nd. We’ve already got 10 people signed up, and you have to be registered before the end of the year—we’ll be too busy that night to mess with that.
It costs $50 to participate and you don’t have to be a member at my gym, although you should be a member somewhere, because you’re going to be working out all the time, right?
2008 has come and gone, and 2009 will go quickly too. A year will pass whatever you do. So what will you accomplish this next year? You can accomplish big things too—a little at a time. Let’s do this together.
While we continue to see people losing this much, it’s really the exception rather than the rule. Just like in life, there are always a few people that take it to a different level.
Don’t get me wrong, the others were working pretty hard, too. Just not at their level. First of all, Weston, Erika and Logan were pretty young, and in pretty good shape, so they could push themselves harder. I was told that Weston even did three workouts a day a couple of times.
Once you start feeling better, you can start doing more. Then your workouts can be more intense and you can burn more calories, losing more weight. Now everything gets a little easier, letting you push even harder, burning even more calories and losing even more weight.
I call it the “cycle of success.” Your body starts working for you instead of against you. At first, some people can’t do much. So you won’t lose much weight but you will start feeling better and getting stronger. Then your weight loss can increase.
Another factor is the effect certain medicines have on the body. Medicines for high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, depression, or conditions requiring steroids often have an adverse effect on metabolism—causing weight gain and making it much harder to lose weight.
Even so, it’s still possible to get the job done. It just might be harder for you than for others. When the tough times come, motivation counts for a lot. You’ve got to really want to do this.
In fact, it’s got to be more than that. It’s got to be a “have-to” if you’re really going to be successful. Like a salmon swimming up stream, you don’t have any choice in the matter. You’ve just “got” to do it.
If you have that kind of drive, you’ll be able to push yourself more. You’ll also stick when it counts. The person that sticks will always do more than the one who starts and stops all the time.
It’s tough losing weight. A pound of fat is 3,500 calories. You have to work really hard to burn that off so some people feel like it’s just too much work so they quit trying. What a shame, because almost everyone can burn 3,500 calories in a week—a little at a time.
There was a pair of ladies in their 50’s that made tremendous gains during the program. They even ended up jogging for a couple minutes at a time. They also participated in some really tough workouts there at the end.
Both will tell you that they never dreamed that they could work that hard. But each week they got a little stronger, lost a little more weight, and could do a little bit more. By the end, they were running short distances on the treadmill. They’ve also signed up for the next Biggest Loser. I think they have this thing figured out.
Two other gals told me that jogging was hurting their knees too much, but there at the end, they figured out that they could do the elliptical without pain. In those last two weeks, their weight loss really jumped up.
Another had serious back trouble for years and had to limit the exercises she did. Her strategy was doing more of the things she could do. It worked for her.
After you’ve made the decision to start, and made the daily decision to stick with it, there’s still one more thing. You have to have a realistic goal.
A poll of the 21 participants at the end showed that most wanted to lose 20 lbs, and a few wanted to lose 25 or more. In Biggest Loser “6” we’ll ask everyone up front what their goal is.
Something I keep saying, and just like getting women to hit their “minimum” calories, it’s hard to get people to believe me. Losing a pound a week is good. Two pounds a week is great, and three or more is fantastic.
That means that a 12 week program should net you 12 pounds, if everything goes right. 24 pounds in 12 weeks would be great. Anything more than that would be fantastic. We had 3 people in the “fantastic” category.
The total average weight loss for the 21 was 18 ¼ lbs. If you throw out the top three results, the average for the other 18 people that made the final weigh-in was 13.6 lbs.
This means the average was pretty good. For some people, the weight loss was better than good—it was almost great. For those three, it was outstanding. Keep in mind that all of them wanted to lose more.
In the end, it comes down to realizing you have a problem and then deciding to do something about it. Then you have to get started, set a realistic short-term goal, and work toward that goal.
You have to be dedicated, persistent, and pick your way through the minefields that appear along the way—and they will. At the end of that time period, evaluate how things went.
Then set a new short-term goal designed to get you to the bigger, long-term goal. There’s not a single person I’ve ever met that couldn’t get where they wanted, if they were willing to do what it took for just one year.
Think of it. A year of hard work, but you’re feeling better each day. You’re losing more weight each month, and looking better too. Six months have gone by and now you’re feeling great. You’ve got a spring in your step, and you’re well on your way.
After nine months, people don’t recognize you. They tell you that you look sick, because of all the weight you’ve lost (that’s pretty ironic). Your jogging—maybe even running a 5K. You’re lifting more weight, and have muscles showing up all over.
Your metabolism is humming along, making you a fat burner even standing still. You’ve had to buy new clothes—several times. After a year, you’ve completely transformed yourself. You’re a new, healthy person physically and mentally, too. It’s completely doable.
Biggest Loser “6” starts Friday, January 2nd. We’ve already got 10 people signed up, and you have to be registered before the end of the year—we’ll be too busy that night to mess with that.
It costs $50 to participate and you don’t have to be a member at my gym, although you should be a member somewhere, because you’re going to be working out all the time, right?
2008 has come and gone, and 2009 will go quickly too. A year will pass whatever you do. So what will you accomplish this next year? You can accomplish big things too—a little at a time. Let’s do this together.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK TWELVE
This week we have the final results from Biggest Loser “5.” Before we get to that, I want to finish a conversation we started a couple weeks ago.
Sometimes we do things we shouldn’t, even though we know better. Think about all those things we do that we shouldn’t. We also have a hard time doing what we know we need to do.
We talked about being honest when we have a problem, inside of hiding and making excuses. That’s the first step to true recovery. The next step is to go get some help. Sometimes it needs to be spiritual help.
I’ve never been disappointed when I’ve asked God for help. It might take some time, and sometimes the answer isn’t always what I thought it would be—but he’s never let me down.
Once you’ve got that going for you, things get a lot easier. This brings me to the last thing I talked about with the group on Friday night.
The Apostle Paul told the Romans we need to be transformed by the “renewing of our minds.” What it means is that we can change, if we can change our thought process.
Most battles start in our minds. Think about something long enough and you’ll do it, even when you know better. You’ll simply talk yourself into it.
One of Solomon’s proverbs says “as we think, so we are.” This works both ways—whether we’re thinking about things that can hurt us, or things that can help us.
Paul also told the Philippians to quit thinking about bad things and to start thinking about good things. He called them things that were “true and honorable” or “excellent and worthy of praise.”
We have to reprogram our thinking. Instead of thinking negative thoughts, start thinking about something more positive. Instead of thinking about what’s tempting you, start thinking about how it would be to be free.
This works. Some time ago, I was outside running while trying to come to terms with a tough spot I was in that involved trusting God’s provision.
The enemy wanted me to believe God was letting me fail, and was showing me all the bad things that were going to happen. But I was reminded of this verse from Psalms: “My God is a very present help in trouble.”
While I ran, I also started saying this one from Philippians: “My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory.” After a couple miles, it was like a cloud had lifted.
I had more faith. Things were going to be alright. Because I’d studied those verses a little, and put them in my mind, they were there for me when I needed them.
I know it sounds simplistic, but it works. If you’re struggling with something, you need to see what God has to say about it. Then, start thinking that way. Think those thoughts.
Let’s get to the results. We started with 53 people, but just 21 finished. Another 8 to 10 people were still active but missed the weigh-in. So we helped at least 30 people that I know of. That’s the way I’m going to think about it.
Our winner for Week 12 was Steve Jones, who just completed his second Biggest Loser. Steve lost 2.1% of his body weight and 4.4 lbs and won a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Our overall winner was Weston Hughes, who lost another 3.6 lbs this week for a grand total of 19.9% of his body weight and an amazing 57.2 lbs in just 12 weeks. Weston won the $250 grand prize provided by Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance!
2nd place went to Erika Hollis, who finished with a total weight loss of 17.8% of her body weight and an outstanding 37.0 lbs—the most ever lost by a woman in our five Biggest Loser contests. Erika pushed herself like crazy, and won $150 from Terry Elston for all her hard work.
3rd place went to Logan Graves (I call him Horton), who finished with a total weight loss of 14.2% of his body weight, and 43.7 lbs. At 17, Logan was the youngest participant we’ve ever had, and won $100 for his college fund from Terry Elston. His performance here was as great as it was on the stage last spring.
Remember that even though these three set the bar pretty high, there’s a healthy way of looking at this for the rest of them. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, healthy weight loss is between 1-2 lbs a week.
I preach that one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three pounds or more is fantastic. I’m proud of everyone who participated, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re all winners.
Keep that in mind while you’re also thinking about getting involved in Biggest Loser “6” which starts January 2nd. You have to sign up before the end of the year, but why not demonstrate your commitment to change and sign up now. Think about it.
1. Weston Hughes 19.9 % 57.2 lbs
2. Erika Hollis 17.8 % 37.0 lbs
3. Logan Graves 14.2 % 43.7 lbs
4. Carol Cline 10.2 % 23.2 lbs
5. Gayle Dailey 9.3 % 13.4 lbs
6. Margo Yeargin 8.7 % 16.2 lbs
7. Dan Lynch 8.5% 20.1 lbs
8. Kelly Lynch 8.4 % 15.0 lbs
9. Jean McConkey 8.3 % 16.6 lbs
10. Steve Jones 7.6 % 16.9 lbs
11. Teri Dennis 7.3 % 16.1 lbs
12. Sue Sheeran 6.7 % 14.8 lbs
13. John Rigdon 6.5 % 13.3 lbs
14. Shawn Bowers 5.8 % 16.7 lbs
15. Melissa Bradley 5.5 % 11.6 lbs
16. Brant Walls 5.5 % 14.2 lbs
17. Renee Colvin 5.5 % 10.6 lbs
18. Heidi Walls 4.8 % 7.0 lbs
19. Shirley Fiscus 3.4 % 6.8 lbs
20. Pam Ogle 3.1 % 7.2 lbs
21. Pam Kelly 2.2 % 5.6 lbs
Sometimes we do things we shouldn’t, even though we know better. Think about all those things we do that we shouldn’t. We also have a hard time doing what we know we need to do.
We talked about being honest when we have a problem, inside of hiding and making excuses. That’s the first step to true recovery. The next step is to go get some help. Sometimes it needs to be spiritual help.
I’ve never been disappointed when I’ve asked God for help. It might take some time, and sometimes the answer isn’t always what I thought it would be—but he’s never let me down.
Once you’ve got that going for you, things get a lot easier. This brings me to the last thing I talked about with the group on Friday night.
The Apostle Paul told the Romans we need to be transformed by the “renewing of our minds.” What it means is that we can change, if we can change our thought process.
Most battles start in our minds. Think about something long enough and you’ll do it, even when you know better. You’ll simply talk yourself into it.
One of Solomon’s proverbs says “as we think, so we are.” This works both ways—whether we’re thinking about things that can hurt us, or things that can help us.
Paul also told the Philippians to quit thinking about bad things and to start thinking about good things. He called them things that were “true and honorable” or “excellent and worthy of praise.”
We have to reprogram our thinking. Instead of thinking negative thoughts, start thinking about something more positive. Instead of thinking about what’s tempting you, start thinking about how it would be to be free.
This works. Some time ago, I was outside running while trying to come to terms with a tough spot I was in that involved trusting God’s provision.
The enemy wanted me to believe God was letting me fail, and was showing me all the bad things that were going to happen. But I was reminded of this verse from Psalms: “My God is a very present help in trouble.”
While I ran, I also started saying this one from Philippians: “My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory.” After a couple miles, it was like a cloud had lifted.
I had more faith. Things were going to be alright. Because I’d studied those verses a little, and put them in my mind, they were there for me when I needed them.
I know it sounds simplistic, but it works. If you’re struggling with something, you need to see what God has to say about it. Then, start thinking that way. Think those thoughts.
Let’s get to the results. We started with 53 people, but just 21 finished. Another 8 to 10 people were still active but missed the weigh-in. So we helped at least 30 people that I know of. That’s the way I’m going to think about it.
Our winner for Week 12 was Steve Jones, who just completed his second Biggest Loser. Steve lost 2.1% of his body weight and 4.4 lbs and won a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Our overall winner was Weston Hughes, who lost another 3.6 lbs this week for a grand total of 19.9% of his body weight and an amazing 57.2 lbs in just 12 weeks. Weston won the $250 grand prize provided by Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance!
2nd place went to Erika Hollis, who finished with a total weight loss of 17.8% of her body weight and an outstanding 37.0 lbs—the most ever lost by a woman in our five Biggest Loser contests. Erika pushed herself like crazy, and won $150 from Terry Elston for all her hard work.
3rd place went to Logan Graves (I call him Horton), who finished with a total weight loss of 14.2% of his body weight, and 43.7 lbs. At 17, Logan was the youngest participant we’ve ever had, and won $100 for his college fund from Terry Elston. His performance here was as great as it was on the stage last spring.
Remember that even though these three set the bar pretty high, there’s a healthy way of looking at this for the rest of them. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, healthy weight loss is between 1-2 lbs a week.
I preach that one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three pounds or more is fantastic. I’m proud of everyone who participated, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re all winners.
Keep that in mind while you’re also thinking about getting involved in Biggest Loser “6” which starts January 2nd. You have to sign up before the end of the year, but why not demonstrate your commitment to change and sign up now. Think about it.
1. Weston Hughes 19.9 % 57.2 lbs
2. Erika Hollis 17.8 % 37.0 lbs
3. Logan Graves 14.2 % 43.7 lbs
4. Carol Cline 10.2 % 23.2 lbs
5. Gayle Dailey 9.3 % 13.4 lbs
6. Margo Yeargin 8.7 % 16.2 lbs
7. Dan Lynch 8.5% 20.1 lbs
8. Kelly Lynch 8.4 % 15.0 lbs
9. Jean McConkey 8.3 % 16.6 lbs
10. Steve Jones 7.6 % 16.9 lbs
11. Teri Dennis 7.3 % 16.1 lbs
12. Sue Sheeran 6.7 % 14.8 lbs
13. John Rigdon 6.5 % 13.3 lbs
14. Shawn Bowers 5.8 % 16.7 lbs
15. Melissa Bradley 5.5 % 11.6 lbs
16. Brant Walls 5.5 % 14.2 lbs
17. Renee Colvin 5.5 % 10.6 lbs
18. Heidi Walls 4.8 % 7.0 lbs
19. Shirley Fiscus 3.4 % 6.8 lbs
20. Pam Ogle 3.1 % 7.2 lbs
21. Pam Kelly 2.2 % 5.6 lbs
Sunday, December 14, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK ELEVEN
Last week we talked about how life-long struggles and how early childhood “cookies for comfort” still affect me today. There are often deep reasons why we do the things we do. This week I want to go back even further. Let’s go back to the Garden.
Remember in the beginning when Adam and Eve stood naked and unashamed? They used to walk with God in the cool of the evening. After the fall, when they chose sin and pride over obedience, what did they do?
“At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.” Genesis 3:7.
They’d been told not to eat the fruit of the tree or they’d surely die. It couldn’t have been a physical death or they’d have died right then.
It had to be a different type of death, a spiritual one. And the consequences still plague us today. “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 16:25.
That evening, when God came to walk with them, they became afraid and hid in the trees. “The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” Genesis 3:8-10.
We hide things instinctively. What’s a child do when caught with something? It’s in our nature, since the day when Adam fell. All of us are born into sin, and we’re still hiding today.
And what happens when we get caught? Like Adam, we make excuses. “Yes,” Adam admitted, “but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12.
When God asked Eve “How could you do such a thing?” she did the same. “The serpent tricked me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:13.
Both did it. Both were guilty. And just like them, we’re still making excuses for things we’ve done, or things we’re doing. Like how we’re eating or take care of ourselves.
But can we really hide from God? Does he not know what’s going on? “People may think they are doing what is right, but the Lord examines the heart.” Proverbs 21:2.
He not only knows, but loves us anyway, in spite of our sin. Even in the garden, he was planning to get us back.
We’ve got to quit hiding. And we’ve got to quit making excuses. It’s time to take responsibility for the things we’re doing.
If you’ve let your appetites run out of control, you may be facing the consequences of those decisions right now. It could be as simple as having a sugar addiction that’s led to obesity. Or it might be a lack of discipline and overeating that’s holding you back.
Maybe you still smoke, or need a drink or two every night to relax. Maybe you’re getting up every night, wolfing down everything in sight, and can’t seem to stop.
Other destructive behaviors can include sexual addictions like Internet porn, or sleeping around. All are ways of being unfaithful to yourself, your spouse, and to God.
Those addictions may seem out of place here, but the root cause is the same. We’re trying to fill needs that we have, but we’re taking the easy way out.
Eating right takes a little work and discipline, but it’s easier to eat fast foods. Doing some healthy exercise every day takes commitment, but it’s easier to make excuses.
A healthy, fulfilling sexual relationship with your spouse takes commitment and work, but it’s easier to go for quick satisfaction, without a real relationship.
No courage or commitment is required with a computer monitor. You don’t have to woo it or live a life of loving sacrifice for it. All you have to do is look at it. It’s a sad epidemic these days, and it’s taking the easy way out.
Just like with getting right with God, we need to admit that things are wrong. Then, we have to want to change, to truly want to turn away from these things. Then and only then, can God can give us the power we need to make changes.
But we don’t do it. We don’t even get close to the power we need. We don’t study long enough to learn how to do it. We try and fail and finally just quit trying. Sound familiar? Think diets and failed exercise programs.
I mean, come on, some of the things we do? We’re so deceived that we’ll ask a blessing on food we know we shouldn’t be eating.
Every day we make choices that are an offense to God, even in our thoughts. And in those moments when we’re being honest, we know it too.
In Romans, we’re told to present our bodies “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Do we live like that? Like our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think so. So why do we do it? Why can’t we live right? Paul told the Colossians “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world?”
He went on to say, “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.”
No wonder diets usually fail. No wonder so many people give up after starting a fitness program. No wonder we fall at the slightest temptation. The usual rules have no effect!
We’ve been using the wrong weapons, in the wrong places. We’ve been trying to fight this battle the wrong way. Next week, I’ll tell you about a different way to fight the battle.
Our biggest loser this week was Weston Hughes, who got back on track by losing 2.3% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs. Weston has lost a total of 53.6 lbs so far, and won a $20 gift card to Joe’s Pizza from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Shawn Bowers, also back on track, losing 2.0% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs. Third place went to Gayle Dailey, who lost 1.8 % of her body weight and 2.4 lbs. In fourth place was Carol Cline, who lost 1.7% of her body weight and 3.6 lbs, and fifth place went to Erika Hollis, consistent as always, losing 1.4% of her body weight and 2.4 lbs.
Don’t forget to get signed up for Biggest Loser “6” right now. It costs $50 to participate, and will help you get 2009 going right. Next week we’ll have the final results for Biggest Loser “5” so stay tuned!
Remember in the beginning when Adam and Eve stood naked and unashamed? They used to walk with God in the cool of the evening. After the fall, when they chose sin and pride over obedience, what did they do?
“At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.” Genesis 3:7.
They’d been told not to eat the fruit of the tree or they’d surely die. It couldn’t have been a physical death or they’d have died right then.
It had to be a different type of death, a spiritual one. And the consequences still plague us today. “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 16:25.
That evening, when God came to walk with them, they became afraid and hid in the trees. “The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” Genesis 3:8-10.
We hide things instinctively. What’s a child do when caught with something? It’s in our nature, since the day when Adam fell. All of us are born into sin, and we’re still hiding today.
And what happens when we get caught? Like Adam, we make excuses. “Yes,” Adam admitted, “but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12.
When God asked Eve “How could you do such a thing?” she did the same. “The serpent tricked me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:13.
Both did it. Both were guilty. And just like them, we’re still making excuses for things we’ve done, or things we’re doing. Like how we’re eating or take care of ourselves.
But can we really hide from God? Does he not know what’s going on? “People may think they are doing what is right, but the Lord examines the heart.” Proverbs 21:2.
He not only knows, but loves us anyway, in spite of our sin. Even in the garden, he was planning to get us back.
We’ve got to quit hiding. And we’ve got to quit making excuses. It’s time to take responsibility for the things we’re doing.
If you’ve let your appetites run out of control, you may be facing the consequences of those decisions right now. It could be as simple as having a sugar addiction that’s led to obesity. Or it might be a lack of discipline and overeating that’s holding you back.
Maybe you still smoke, or need a drink or two every night to relax. Maybe you’re getting up every night, wolfing down everything in sight, and can’t seem to stop.
Other destructive behaviors can include sexual addictions like Internet porn, or sleeping around. All are ways of being unfaithful to yourself, your spouse, and to God.
Those addictions may seem out of place here, but the root cause is the same. We’re trying to fill needs that we have, but we’re taking the easy way out.
Eating right takes a little work and discipline, but it’s easier to eat fast foods. Doing some healthy exercise every day takes commitment, but it’s easier to make excuses.
A healthy, fulfilling sexual relationship with your spouse takes commitment and work, but it’s easier to go for quick satisfaction, without a real relationship.
No courage or commitment is required with a computer monitor. You don’t have to woo it or live a life of loving sacrifice for it. All you have to do is look at it. It’s a sad epidemic these days, and it’s taking the easy way out.
Just like with getting right with God, we need to admit that things are wrong. Then, we have to want to change, to truly want to turn away from these things. Then and only then, can God can give us the power we need to make changes.
But we don’t do it. We don’t even get close to the power we need. We don’t study long enough to learn how to do it. We try and fail and finally just quit trying. Sound familiar? Think diets and failed exercise programs.
I mean, come on, some of the things we do? We’re so deceived that we’ll ask a blessing on food we know we shouldn’t be eating.
Every day we make choices that are an offense to God, even in our thoughts. And in those moments when we’re being honest, we know it too.
In Romans, we’re told to present our bodies “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Do we live like that? Like our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think so. So why do we do it? Why can’t we live right? Paul told the Colossians “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world?”
He went on to say, “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.”
No wonder diets usually fail. No wonder so many people give up after starting a fitness program. No wonder we fall at the slightest temptation. The usual rules have no effect!
We’ve been using the wrong weapons, in the wrong places. We’ve been trying to fight this battle the wrong way. Next week, I’ll tell you about a different way to fight the battle.
Our biggest loser this week was Weston Hughes, who got back on track by losing 2.3% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs. Weston has lost a total of 53.6 lbs so far, and won a $20 gift card to Joe’s Pizza from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Shawn Bowers, also back on track, losing 2.0% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs. Third place went to Gayle Dailey, who lost 1.8 % of her body weight and 2.4 lbs. In fourth place was Carol Cline, who lost 1.7% of her body weight and 3.6 lbs, and fifth place went to Erika Hollis, consistent as always, losing 1.4% of her body weight and 2.4 lbs.
Don’t forget to get signed up for Biggest Loser “6” right now. It costs $50 to participate, and will help you get 2009 going right. Next week we’ll have the final results for Biggest Loser “5” so stay tuned!
Thursday, December 04, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK TEN
This week we showed a “lucky 7” people how to turn it up again. They were the ones who made the Friday night workout. Basically, we took their Level III workouts (compound exercises that use more than just one part of the body), and combined them with abs and cardio intervals for a really intense workout.
Each exercise takes about a minute, so you’ve got a minute of the primary exercise, a minute of abs, and then 2 minutes cardio. That’s four minutes total per round. We did three exercises, two times each, for a total of six rounds. That’s 24 minutes of work, not counting the time it takes to move from one room to the other and get on the treadmill.
When the weather’s nice, we’ll just step out the back door and run around the block which is just about ¼ mile. Since it’s too cold now, everyone alternates so while some were running, others were doing the work in the back. Of course if you’re on your own, it’s pretty easy going back and forth. Here’s a description of how to perform the exercises.
· THRUSTERS: Holding dumbbells (DB) on shoulders, perform a correct squat, sitting backward until your bottom touches an exercise ball or bench; then using your hips and legs, keeping your back arched, straighten back up and thrust both DB up until your arms are straight overhead. Lower the DB to shoulders and repeat.
· WALKING LUNGE, CURL, PRESS: While letting two DB hang down at your sides, take a walking lunging step forward until your front knee is over your toes on your front foot; your back knee should be quite bent but not touching the floor and you should be balancing on the ball of your foot. While staying in that unstable position, curl both DB up together and then rotate them, while pressing them overhead. Lower them, uncurl them, and then take another walking lunging step forward and repeat.
· DEADLIFT, CURL, PRESS: With knees slightly bent, reach down and pick up two DB that were placed at your feet. After straightening up, curl them together, and then rotate and press them both overhead. Lower them, uncurl them, and touch them back to the floor. Repeat.
· AB ROUTINE #1-6: 1) Crunches with knees bent 2) Crunches with legs straight up in air 3) Crunches with one leg bent and other crossed; come up and touch elbow to knee 4) Same thing on opposite side 5) Straight Leg Lifts (raise legs up and down about 12 inches, as fast as possible 6) Pilates Crunches (bring knees to chest, then lower upper body and legs, repeat).
· CARDIO: Ideally, this would be jogging or running on the treadmill at a not quite comfortable pace slightly faster than your regular running pace for 400 meters or ¼ mile (one lap around the football field). Once you get in shape, that will take somewhere between 1:45 and 2:30. For an extra challenge, we also like to increase the pace of the 400 each time. To introduce the concept, we just had them do 2 minutes of cardio. People with knee issues used the elliptical or the exercise bike.
1. Thrusters, AB Routine #1, 2 minutes cardio
2. Thrusters, AB Routine #2, 2 minutes cardio
3. Walking Lunge, Curl, Press, AB Routine #3, 2 minutes cardio
4. Walking Lunge, Curl, Press, AB Routine #4, 2 minutes cardio
5. Deadlift, Curl, Press, AB Routine #5, 2 minutes cardio
6. Standing Deadlift, Curl, Press, AB Routine #6, 2 minutes cardio
We also started talking about some sensitive issues. Eating right and exercising smart will change your life, but you can be out of balance in other ways. In fact, those other areas might be hurting you more than you know.
Let's just lay it all out. If you really want to turn this thing around, sometimes you've got to go a little deeper. What happens when working hard is not enough? Once in awhile, losing weight is easy. Usually it's not, same as with any other problems we face.
We want to, we've tried to, but somehow things never seem to change. What's going on? The things we want to do, we can't seem to do. The things we don't want to do, somehow, we keep doing them.
The Apostle Paul said the same thing in the Bible, in the book of Romans: “I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:15. Sound familiar?
What we have to do, is look at why we do what we do. Our problems aren't always physical—many times they have deeper roots; sometimes even spiritual ones. Right now I just know some hearts and minds are clanging shut, but if we want real hope, maybe we need to go back and take a look.
My earliest memory is at the age of four as we were moving from Chicago into our new house in Angola, Indiana. I’m sitting at the top of the steps, eating what appear to be Oreo’s (although I’m not sure they were that brand).
Moves are pretty noteworthy for kids, and I seem to remember being given cookies so I’d sit up there out of the way, while they brought stuff in. Not a terrible experience, but is it any wonder I find comfort in crunchy cookies, especially Oreo’s—forty years later?
It’s not bad for me to eat cookies, as long as I’m not eating too many. I’ll just burn them off. But a good strategy is to not have any in the house. Failing that, it’s better if they’re my wife’s special oatmeal, raisin, walnut, whole-wheat, super-duper snacker cookies.
Still, there are those times when the Oreo’s are there and they’re hard to resist. It’s good to know that maybe it’s not all just me. Perhaps there’s something else going on. Maybe we need to go back even further. We’ll look at this next week.
Of the 17 people that weighed in (which I chalk up to the holiday weekend), our biggest loser was a two way tie between Weston Hughes and Teri Dennis, who both lost 1.2% of their body weight and 2.9 lbs and 2.4 lbs respectively.
Teri received a $20 Walmart gift card from our friends at Terry Elston State Farm Insurance. Second place went to went to Erika Hollis, who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs.
Each exercise takes about a minute, so you’ve got a minute of the primary exercise, a minute of abs, and then 2 minutes cardio. That’s four minutes total per round. We did three exercises, two times each, for a total of six rounds. That’s 24 minutes of work, not counting the time it takes to move from one room to the other and get on the treadmill.
When the weather’s nice, we’ll just step out the back door and run around the block which is just about ¼ mile. Since it’s too cold now, everyone alternates so while some were running, others were doing the work in the back. Of course if you’re on your own, it’s pretty easy going back and forth. Here’s a description of how to perform the exercises.
· THRUSTERS: Holding dumbbells (DB) on shoulders, perform a correct squat, sitting backward until your bottom touches an exercise ball or bench; then using your hips and legs, keeping your back arched, straighten back up and thrust both DB up until your arms are straight overhead. Lower the DB to shoulders and repeat.
· WALKING LUNGE, CURL, PRESS: While letting two DB hang down at your sides, take a walking lunging step forward until your front knee is over your toes on your front foot; your back knee should be quite bent but not touching the floor and you should be balancing on the ball of your foot. While staying in that unstable position, curl both DB up together and then rotate them, while pressing them overhead. Lower them, uncurl them, and then take another walking lunging step forward and repeat.
· DEADLIFT, CURL, PRESS: With knees slightly bent, reach down and pick up two DB that were placed at your feet. After straightening up, curl them together, and then rotate and press them both overhead. Lower them, uncurl them, and touch them back to the floor. Repeat.
· AB ROUTINE #1-6: 1) Crunches with knees bent 2) Crunches with legs straight up in air 3) Crunches with one leg bent and other crossed; come up and touch elbow to knee 4) Same thing on opposite side 5) Straight Leg Lifts (raise legs up and down about 12 inches, as fast as possible 6) Pilates Crunches (bring knees to chest, then lower upper body and legs, repeat).
· CARDIO: Ideally, this would be jogging or running on the treadmill at a not quite comfortable pace slightly faster than your regular running pace for 400 meters or ¼ mile (one lap around the football field). Once you get in shape, that will take somewhere between 1:45 and 2:30. For an extra challenge, we also like to increase the pace of the 400 each time. To introduce the concept, we just had them do 2 minutes of cardio. People with knee issues used the elliptical or the exercise bike.
1. Thrusters, AB Routine #1, 2 minutes cardio
2. Thrusters, AB Routine #2, 2 minutes cardio
3. Walking Lunge, Curl, Press, AB Routine #3, 2 minutes cardio
4. Walking Lunge, Curl, Press, AB Routine #4, 2 minutes cardio
5. Deadlift, Curl, Press, AB Routine #5, 2 minutes cardio
6. Standing Deadlift, Curl, Press, AB Routine #6, 2 minutes cardio
We also started talking about some sensitive issues. Eating right and exercising smart will change your life, but you can be out of balance in other ways. In fact, those other areas might be hurting you more than you know.
Let's just lay it all out. If you really want to turn this thing around, sometimes you've got to go a little deeper. What happens when working hard is not enough? Once in awhile, losing weight is easy. Usually it's not, same as with any other problems we face.
We want to, we've tried to, but somehow things never seem to change. What's going on? The things we want to do, we can't seem to do. The things we don't want to do, somehow, we keep doing them.
The Apostle Paul said the same thing in the Bible, in the book of Romans: “I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:15. Sound familiar?
What we have to do, is look at why we do what we do. Our problems aren't always physical—many times they have deeper roots; sometimes even spiritual ones. Right now I just know some hearts and minds are clanging shut, but if we want real hope, maybe we need to go back and take a look.
My earliest memory is at the age of four as we were moving from Chicago into our new house in Angola, Indiana. I’m sitting at the top of the steps, eating what appear to be Oreo’s (although I’m not sure they were that brand).
Moves are pretty noteworthy for kids, and I seem to remember being given cookies so I’d sit up there out of the way, while they brought stuff in. Not a terrible experience, but is it any wonder I find comfort in crunchy cookies, especially Oreo’s—forty years later?
It’s not bad for me to eat cookies, as long as I’m not eating too many. I’ll just burn them off. But a good strategy is to not have any in the house. Failing that, it’s better if they’re my wife’s special oatmeal, raisin, walnut, whole-wheat, super-duper snacker cookies.
Still, there are those times when the Oreo’s are there and they’re hard to resist. It’s good to know that maybe it’s not all just me. Perhaps there’s something else going on. Maybe we need to go back even further. We’ll look at this next week.
Of the 17 people that weighed in (which I chalk up to the holiday weekend), our biggest loser was a two way tie between Weston Hughes and Teri Dennis, who both lost 1.2% of their body weight and 2.9 lbs and 2.4 lbs respectively.
Teri received a $20 Walmart gift card from our friends at Terry Elston State Farm Insurance. Second place went to went to Erika Hollis, who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs.
Friday, November 28, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK NINE
Week nine is in the books, leaving us with three weeks to go in the 12-week contest. So far, Weston has lost the most weight at 45.3 lbs, followed by Logan at 38.8 lbs, and Erika at 30.6 lbs. If we look at percentage of weight loss, Erika is slightly ahead of Logan.
We also have a couple new records going on. Weston has a chance to move ahead of Josh’s 57.6 lb record from Biggest Loser “4.” So far, he’s been losing 5 lbs a week and if he stays on track, he could top 60 lbs.
Erika has also moved just in front of our former leading lady, Shirley who lost 30.4 lbs in “Biggest Loser “2.” Unless she has a couple really bad weeks, she’ll continue to set new records. She also has a chance to win the whole thing if Weston slips up. It will be interesting to watch.
You might start thinking about getting involved in Biggest Loser “6” which begins on Friday, January 2nd. Don’t wait to make the resolution. Sign up now and ensure your spot. Its $50 to participate and you don’t have to be a member.
We had 21 people participate in the Friday night workout. This week, it was all about showing them how to increase the intensity of the weight routine by using compound movements like thrusters, where you take a squat and a dumbbell shoulder press and combine them into one movement.
Holding the dumbbells in your hands up at your shoulders, execute a correct squat, sitting backward until your buns touch a ball placed behind you. As you use your hips and legs to drive yourself back upward, you also extend the weights with your arms overhead. Be careful to keep your upper body as straight as possible, keeping your back arched and looking upward.
If you’ll recall, Level I training on the machines provides basic strength and a foundation. Level II training replaces the machines with dumbbells, and using more stabilizer muscles.
Compound movements like thrusters are what I call Level III training, because they use much more energy—try them, you’ll see. You’ll also work your core muscles more, because you have to transfer the power from your lower body to your upper body.
The group did some other Level III exercises during the workout. In fact, everything they did was a compound movement. They also never stopped moving, once they started—another principle of Level III training.
They did walking lunges and DB curls, where holding dumbbells, you take a long step forward so that your front knee is over your toes, and your back knee is bent, and your back foot is heel up. This is a very unstable position (which is the whole idea), and at that time, you curl and un-curl the two dumbbells. Then you take another step, curl, and so on.
Holding pushup position on the exercise ball was a “big hit” with the group. Pushup position is tough enough, but with your lower legs or feet on a stability ball, it’s quite a challenge. Your upper body and legs are fatiguing, trying to hold you up, and your core is screaming while you try to maintain the position.
Some more difficult variations included bringing knees to chest, and then the mother of all core exercises—pikes on the ball. In this one, you keep your legs straight, lifting your buns in the air, until you are holding your upper body at a 90 degree bend, almost straight up and down.
In between these compound movements, the group also did side twists with the medicine ball, and wood choppers, where you bring the ball from the floor in a squatted position, overhead, while twisting to one side, back down, and then up again to the other side. With a heavy enough ball, this can be quite a bit of work.
All these exercises have one thing in common: they work several parts of the body, and your core. The goal is to replace the single exercises with compound movements for the next three weeks, keeping the intensity high.
This week’s winner was Gayle Dailey again. Having recently had a birthday, this feisty 60 year old is our oldest competitor, but you wouldn’t know it, watching her work out. Gayle lost 2.2% of her body weight and a total of 3.0 lbs. She won a $20 Joes gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Weston Hughes, who lost 2.1% of his body weight and 5.1 lbs. Third place was a tie between Erika Hollis and Kelli Stidham who both lost 1.6% of their body weight and 2.8 lbs and 4.0 lbs respectively.
The best personal story for the week came from Shawn, who was out hunting that morning with his dad. For those of you who don’t following hunting, Friday was the first day of shotgun season and even though he didn’t make it into the gym, he got his workout in several ways.
Shawn told me climbing trees and putting up stands used to be much harder. That morning, he got a nice buck and had to drag it up out of a ravine. He said that last year at this time, he probably couldn’t have done it. Now, 70 lbs lighter, it was still hard work, but he was able to do it. This eating right and working out stuff works!
Next week they’ll do a different Level III workout and I’ll tell you about it. We’ll also get into some of the other issues that make weight loss difficult sometimes, and a politically incorrect (biblical) approach to dealing with them. Right now, I’ve got to go split up the rest of my wood pile. Good thing I’ve been working out.
We also have a couple new records going on. Weston has a chance to move ahead of Josh’s 57.6 lb record from Biggest Loser “4.” So far, he’s been losing 5 lbs a week and if he stays on track, he could top 60 lbs.
Erika has also moved just in front of our former leading lady, Shirley who lost 30.4 lbs in “Biggest Loser “2.” Unless she has a couple really bad weeks, she’ll continue to set new records. She also has a chance to win the whole thing if Weston slips up. It will be interesting to watch.
You might start thinking about getting involved in Biggest Loser “6” which begins on Friday, January 2nd. Don’t wait to make the resolution. Sign up now and ensure your spot. Its $50 to participate and you don’t have to be a member.
We had 21 people participate in the Friday night workout. This week, it was all about showing them how to increase the intensity of the weight routine by using compound movements like thrusters, where you take a squat and a dumbbell shoulder press and combine them into one movement.
Holding the dumbbells in your hands up at your shoulders, execute a correct squat, sitting backward until your buns touch a ball placed behind you. As you use your hips and legs to drive yourself back upward, you also extend the weights with your arms overhead. Be careful to keep your upper body as straight as possible, keeping your back arched and looking upward.
If you’ll recall, Level I training on the machines provides basic strength and a foundation. Level II training replaces the machines with dumbbells, and using more stabilizer muscles.
Compound movements like thrusters are what I call Level III training, because they use much more energy—try them, you’ll see. You’ll also work your core muscles more, because you have to transfer the power from your lower body to your upper body.
The group did some other Level III exercises during the workout. In fact, everything they did was a compound movement. They also never stopped moving, once they started—another principle of Level III training.
They did walking lunges and DB curls, where holding dumbbells, you take a long step forward so that your front knee is over your toes, and your back knee is bent, and your back foot is heel up. This is a very unstable position (which is the whole idea), and at that time, you curl and un-curl the two dumbbells. Then you take another step, curl, and so on.
Holding pushup position on the exercise ball was a “big hit” with the group. Pushup position is tough enough, but with your lower legs or feet on a stability ball, it’s quite a challenge. Your upper body and legs are fatiguing, trying to hold you up, and your core is screaming while you try to maintain the position.
Some more difficult variations included bringing knees to chest, and then the mother of all core exercises—pikes on the ball. In this one, you keep your legs straight, lifting your buns in the air, until you are holding your upper body at a 90 degree bend, almost straight up and down.
In between these compound movements, the group also did side twists with the medicine ball, and wood choppers, where you bring the ball from the floor in a squatted position, overhead, while twisting to one side, back down, and then up again to the other side. With a heavy enough ball, this can be quite a bit of work.
All these exercises have one thing in common: they work several parts of the body, and your core. The goal is to replace the single exercises with compound movements for the next three weeks, keeping the intensity high.
This week’s winner was Gayle Dailey again. Having recently had a birthday, this feisty 60 year old is our oldest competitor, but you wouldn’t know it, watching her work out. Gayle lost 2.2% of her body weight and a total of 3.0 lbs. She won a $20 Joes gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Weston Hughes, who lost 2.1% of his body weight and 5.1 lbs. Third place was a tie between Erika Hollis and Kelli Stidham who both lost 1.6% of their body weight and 2.8 lbs and 4.0 lbs respectively.
The best personal story for the week came from Shawn, who was out hunting that morning with his dad. For those of you who don’t following hunting, Friday was the first day of shotgun season and even though he didn’t make it into the gym, he got his workout in several ways.
Shawn told me climbing trees and putting up stands used to be much harder. That morning, he got a nice buck and had to drag it up out of a ravine. He said that last year at this time, he probably couldn’t have done it. Now, 70 lbs lighter, it was still hard work, but he was able to do it. This eating right and working out stuff works!
Next week they’ll do a different Level III workout and I’ll tell you about it. We’ll also get into some of the other issues that make weight loss difficult sometimes, and a politically incorrect (biblical) approach to dealing with them. Right now, I’ve got to go split up the rest of my wood pile. Good thing I’ve been working out.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK EIGHT
Well we just finished the second month in our 12 week contest, so it’s time for another look at how everyone is doing. If you recall, we started with 53 people but only 40 people weighed in at the end of week four. This week, 30 people made the weigh-in.
I’d like to say the drop in numbers is unusual, but unfortunately, it’s not. At the beginning, I told them that half of them wouldn’t finish for one reason or another. Then I ask them which half they’ll be in.
In spite of our best intentions, life always intrudes. Something always comes up. Sickness slows you down. Bills you didn’t expect. Injuries you didn’t want. Even our own nature rises up, trying to get things back to the way they were. We’ve met the enemy and he is us.
We’re creatures of habit and comfort. We take the easy out when we have a choice. We like things a certain way, and don’t like to rock the boat.
Our bodies work this way, too. They resist extreme changes in either direction, always pulling us back to the center. Think about all the times you’ve lost weight, but then just put it right back on.
We like to keep it easy in our heads as well. Once in awhile, we’ll get disgusted enough to try to change, but then we find ourselves slipping back into our old ways. Why? It’s more comfortable that way, even if it’s not what we really want.
Isaac Newton figured this out. If something is standing still, it will keep standing still unless acted upon by an outside force. It’s called inertia. Even a moving object has inertia and will continue in a certain direction unless acted on by something else.
We need to find a way to overcome our own inertia. If we can figure out how to get things going, we could develop a new inertia that will lead to real and lasting change.
Of course, there will be a whole other set of problems to deal with, because life will intrude. Circumstances will conspire against you. It will be all too easy to slip back into the old ways.
In the end, it comes down to what you really want. You’ll do what’s important to you. If eating right and getting in shape really matter, you’ll do what it takes. You’ll find a way.
We have quite a few people with impressive numbers, but you know who really impresses me? It’s the ones who’ve stuck with it for eight weeks, in spite of the results.
These people have overcome not only the usual obstacles, but the biggest one of all—slow results, while being surrounded by bigger losers. If that describes you, I’m here to tell you that your perseverance will be the determining factor in you getting what you want.
You also have to believe that weight loss is possible. Not just for them, but for you too. If they can do it, you can do it. You can lose the weight. We might have to tweak things a little bit to get it working, but they did it—you can do it.
If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way, you’ll be right. You might as well be right and thin.
Ask yourself, “How can I start winning too? What else could I be doing that they’re doing? Or, is there something they’re doing that I’m not?” Success is often just a breakthrough away.
Finally, we need to learn to be content sometimes, especially during plateaus. For normal weight loss, one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds a week is fantastic. That means in eight weeks, we’d like to see at least eight pounds.
If you’re making progress, that’s good, even if it’s only one pound a week, or a half a pound. Take some comfort in that—even while you’re looking for ways to do better. You’ll be happier.
It’s a biblical concept. Paul said he’d learned how to be content in all things, whether he was abased or abounding. This was from a guy who was the foremost apostle to the Gentiles (you and me), who was content to be living in jail, preaching to his jailers.
I’ve learned that God has given me (and you) the ability to strive for all kinds of things, and he always helps me along the way. But some of my biggest blessings have come when I’ve learned to be content, too—and grateful for all the things I used to take for granted.
If it’s a pound this week, take it. Try for two, but be glad you lost a pound. If it’s zero pounds, how do you feel? Do you feel better? Take it and be happy that now you can do more than you did before.
Having said that, our winner in week eight was Erika Hollis, who lost 2.7% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs. Erika won a $20 Walmart gift card courtesy of Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
With four weeks to go, she’s also in the running to win the one of the grand prizes, also provided by Terry and State Farm. Here’s the current breakdown:
% loss Lbs
1. Weston Hughes 14.0 40.2
2. Erika Hollis 13.4 27.8
3. Logan Graves 11.5 35.4
4. Kelly Lynch 7.7 13.6
5. Dan Lynch 7.2 16.9
6. Carol Cline 7.0 15.8
7. Melissa Bradley 6.7 14.0
8. Shawn Bowers 6.6 19.0
9. Sue Sheeran 6.6 14.4
10. Steve Jones 6.5 14.6
11. Jean McConkey 6.4 12.8
12. Amanda Posey 6.4 13.8
13. Brant Walls 5.8 15.2
14. John Rigdon 5.8 11.9
15. Teri Dennis 5.7 12.4
16. Heidi Walls 5.4 8.0
17. Ellen Newlin 5.3 10.6
18. Pam Ogle 4.3 10.0
19. Gayle Dailey 4.3 6.2
20. Jennifer Bowers 4.1 8.4
21. Megan Sellers 3.8 7.5
22. Shirley Fiscus 3.3 6.6
23. Kelli Stidham 3.1 8.4
24. Kevin Branson 2.7 7.3
25. Amy Elmore 2.5 4.2
26. Kelly Reed 1.7 3.2
27. Pam Kelly 1.4 3.6
28. Darren German 1.3 3.6
29. MaryAnn Heinrich 0.8 1.8
30. Stacey Reed 0.0 0.0
I’d like to say the drop in numbers is unusual, but unfortunately, it’s not. At the beginning, I told them that half of them wouldn’t finish for one reason or another. Then I ask them which half they’ll be in.
In spite of our best intentions, life always intrudes. Something always comes up. Sickness slows you down. Bills you didn’t expect. Injuries you didn’t want. Even our own nature rises up, trying to get things back to the way they were. We’ve met the enemy and he is us.
We’re creatures of habit and comfort. We take the easy out when we have a choice. We like things a certain way, and don’t like to rock the boat.
Our bodies work this way, too. They resist extreme changes in either direction, always pulling us back to the center. Think about all the times you’ve lost weight, but then just put it right back on.
We like to keep it easy in our heads as well. Once in awhile, we’ll get disgusted enough to try to change, but then we find ourselves slipping back into our old ways. Why? It’s more comfortable that way, even if it’s not what we really want.
Isaac Newton figured this out. If something is standing still, it will keep standing still unless acted upon by an outside force. It’s called inertia. Even a moving object has inertia and will continue in a certain direction unless acted on by something else.
We need to find a way to overcome our own inertia. If we can figure out how to get things going, we could develop a new inertia that will lead to real and lasting change.
Of course, there will be a whole other set of problems to deal with, because life will intrude. Circumstances will conspire against you. It will be all too easy to slip back into the old ways.
In the end, it comes down to what you really want. You’ll do what’s important to you. If eating right and getting in shape really matter, you’ll do what it takes. You’ll find a way.
We have quite a few people with impressive numbers, but you know who really impresses me? It’s the ones who’ve stuck with it for eight weeks, in spite of the results.
These people have overcome not only the usual obstacles, but the biggest one of all—slow results, while being surrounded by bigger losers. If that describes you, I’m here to tell you that your perseverance will be the determining factor in you getting what you want.
You also have to believe that weight loss is possible. Not just for them, but for you too. If they can do it, you can do it. You can lose the weight. We might have to tweak things a little bit to get it working, but they did it—you can do it.
If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way, you’ll be right. You might as well be right and thin.
Ask yourself, “How can I start winning too? What else could I be doing that they’re doing? Or, is there something they’re doing that I’m not?” Success is often just a breakthrough away.
Finally, we need to learn to be content sometimes, especially during plateaus. For normal weight loss, one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds a week is fantastic. That means in eight weeks, we’d like to see at least eight pounds.
If you’re making progress, that’s good, even if it’s only one pound a week, or a half a pound. Take some comfort in that—even while you’re looking for ways to do better. You’ll be happier.
It’s a biblical concept. Paul said he’d learned how to be content in all things, whether he was abased or abounding. This was from a guy who was the foremost apostle to the Gentiles (you and me), who was content to be living in jail, preaching to his jailers.
I’ve learned that God has given me (and you) the ability to strive for all kinds of things, and he always helps me along the way. But some of my biggest blessings have come when I’ve learned to be content, too—and grateful for all the things I used to take for granted.
If it’s a pound this week, take it. Try for two, but be glad you lost a pound. If it’s zero pounds, how do you feel? Do you feel better? Take it and be happy that now you can do more than you did before.
Having said that, our winner in week eight was Erika Hollis, who lost 2.7% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs. Erika won a $20 Walmart gift card courtesy of Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
With four weeks to go, she’s also in the running to win the one of the grand prizes, also provided by Terry and State Farm. Here’s the current breakdown:
% loss Lbs
1. Weston Hughes 14.0 40.2
2. Erika Hollis 13.4 27.8
3. Logan Graves 11.5 35.4
4. Kelly Lynch 7.7 13.6
5. Dan Lynch 7.2 16.9
6. Carol Cline 7.0 15.8
7. Melissa Bradley 6.7 14.0
8. Shawn Bowers 6.6 19.0
9. Sue Sheeran 6.6 14.4
10. Steve Jones 6.5 14.6
11. Jean McConkey 6.4 12.8
12. Amanda Posey 6.4 13.8
13. Brant Walls 5.8 15.2
14. John Rigdon 5.8 11.9
15. Teri Dennis 5.7 12.4
16. Heidi Walls 5.4 8.0
17. Ellen Newlin 5.3 10.6
18. Pam Ogle 4.3 10.0
19. Gayle Dailey 4.3 6.2
20. Jennifer Bowers 4.1 8.4
21. Megan Sellers 3.8 7.5
22. Shirley Fiscus 3.3 6.6
23. Kelli Stidham 3.1 8.4
24. Kevin Branson 2.7 7.3
25. Amy Elmore 2.5 4.2
26. Kelly Reed 1.7 3.2
27. Pam Kelly 1.4 3.6
28. Darren German 1.3 3.6
29. MaryAnn Heinrich 0.8 1.8
30. Stacey Reed 0.0 0.0
Sunday, November 16, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK SEVEN
Last week I gave you two free weight routines that I called Level Two workouts. If you’ll recall, the main benefit with free weights is that all your stabilizer and core muscles are much more involved than when using machines (Level One). It also burns more calories.
So we want to keep increasing the work and help them burn more calories. This is possible, because after seven weeks, they’re getting stronger. The goal is to be as lean as we can be—as strong as we can be.
This week we asked the group to turn it up again. They had three weeks to get familiar with the other two routines, so now they’re ready to combine the two into one larger routine. Here are the exercises, and all you need are dumbbells (DB) and an exercise ball.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps (Pushing Exercises):
· Chest Press on Ball
· Pec Fly’s on Ball
· Shoulder Press
· Overhead Tricep Press
· Tricep Kickbacks
Back & Biceps (Pulling Exercises):
· Pullovers on Ball
· Single Arm Rows
· Bicep Curls (together)
· Bicep Curls (one arm at a time)
Legs, Hips & Back (Lower Body Exercises):
· Body Squat
· Walking Lunge
· Bent Knee Deadlift
Abs & Core:
· Crunches on Ball
· Side Twists with Ball
· Crunches (bent knee, legs straight, crossing to either side, leg lifts)
It’s not just what exercises you do, though. How you lift makes a difference, too. The main concepts in our Level Three workouts are:
1. Do a comfortable 10-15 minute cardio warmup.
2. Exercise your entire body (Pushing, Pulling, Lower and Core) three days a week, typically Mon, Wed & Fri.
3. Once you start the workout, never take a break—keep moving.
4. Alternate between Pushing, Pulling, Lower and Core exercises to give one muscle group a rest, while working another.
5. Drink plenty of water before and during your workout.
6. Keep things interesting, by changing your routine often.
Here’s an example of how this routine could go. On Monday, after a 10 minute cardio workout, you start by doing a set of DB Chest Presses on the exercise ball. As soon as you’re done, do a set of Body Squats, alternating back and forth two or three times before getting a quick drink.
Then, you do a set of DB Pullovers on the exercise ball, alternating with Walking Lunges, for two or three more sets before taking another quick drink break. Next, do a set of DB Shoulder Presses, followed immediately by a set of DB Biceps Curls and a set of Triceps Overhead Presses. Alternate back and forth three times.
Finally, finish up with three sets of Ab Crunches and Side Twists back to back. See how it works? Next time, you might choose some different exercises, or do them in a different combination. It’s all about keeping the intensity high during the workout.
During the Friday night workout, I also showed them how to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio workouts. They started with a 5 minute warmup on either the bike, elliptical, or treadmill. On an “intensity scale” of 1-10, it should have felt like about a “5” or a “6.”
Then they increased the intensity by going faster, going uphill, or raising the resistance level to what felt like a “7.” After exactly a minute, they took it back down to around a “6.” After another minute to recover at that level, they took it up to what felt like an “8.” Then they took it back down to a “7.” They repeated that several times.
Finally, they did a couple one minute intervals at what felt like a “9.” This was tough, but it was only for a minute, followed by a minute at an easy pace. After 20 minutes, they took it down and coasted for a few minutes to cool off. Try it—it works.
With HIIT in your routine on cardio days, you’ll burn more calories in less time. You’ll also improve your ability to use and deliver oxygen quicker. It also gives you something to think about, which helps you pass the time.
Our winner this week was Heidi Walls, who lost 2.3% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Heidi is one of the smaller gals, and has to work extra hard to lose weight. The smaller you get, the harder it is. Heidi won a $20 Joe’s gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Melissa Bradley, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 4.0 lbs. Melissa has impressed me because she’s had serious problems with her lower back that have kept her from working out before. This time she told me that there were some things she could do and some things she couldn’t, so she’d just do the things she could do twice as much!
Finally, third place was a two way tie between Margo Yeargin and Ellen Newlin, who both lost 1.7% of their body weight. Margo lost 3.0 lbs and Ellen lost 3.2 lbs, making the top four spots a clean sweep for women!
So we want to keep increasing the work and help them burn more calories. This is possible, because after seven weeks, they’re getting stronger. The goal is to be as lean as we can be—as strong as we can be.
This week we asked the group to turn it up again. They had three weeks to get familiar with the other two routines, so now they’re ready to combine the two into one larger routine. Here are the exercises, and all you need are dumbbells (DB) and an exercise ball.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps (Pushing Exercises):
· Chest Press on Ball
· Pec Fly’s on Ball
· Shoulder Press
· Overhead Tricep Press
· Tricep Kickbacks
Back & Biceps (Pulling Exercises):
· Pullovers on Ball
· Single Arm Rows
· Bicep Curls (together)
· Bicep Curls (one arm at a time)
Legs, Hips & Back (Lower Body Exercises):
· Body Squat
· Walking Lunge
· Bent Knee Deadlift
Abs & Core:
· Crunches on Ball
· Side Twists with Ball
· Crunches (bent knee, legs straight, crossing to either side, leg lifts)
It’s not just what exercises you do, though. How you lift makes a difference, too. The main concepts in our Level Three workouts are:
1. Do a comfortable 10-15 minute cardio warmup.
2. Exercise your entire body (Pushing, Pulling, Lower and Core) three days a week, typically Mon, Wed & Fri.
3. Once you start the workout, never take a break—keep moving.
4. Alternate between Pushing, Pulling, Lower and Core exercises to give one muscle group a rest, while working another.
5. Drink plenty of water before and during your workout.
6. Keep things interesting, by changing your routine often.
Here’s an example of how this routine could go. On Monday, after a 10 minute cardio workout, you start by doing a set of DB Chest Presses on the exercise ball. As soon as you’re done, do a set of Body Squats, alternating back and forth two or three times before getting a quick drink.
Then, you do a set of DB Pullovers on the exercise ball, alternating with Walking Lunges, for two or three more sets before taking another quick drink break. Next, do a set of DB Shoulder Presses, followed immediately by a set of DB Biceps Curls and a set of Triceps Overhead Presses. Alternate back and forth three times.
Finally, finish up with three sets of Ab Crunches and Side Twists back to back. See how it works? Next time, you might choose some different exercises, or do them in a different combination. It’s all about keeping the intensity high during the workout.
During the Friday night workout, I also showed them how to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio workouts. They started with a 5 minute warmup on either the bike, elliptical, or treadmill. On an “intensity scale” of 1-10, it should have felt like about a “5” or a “6.”
Then they increased the intensity by going faster, going uphill, or raising the resistance level to what felt like a “7.” After exactly a minute, they took it back down to around a “6.” After another minute to recover at that level, they took it up to what felt like an “8.” Then they took it back down to a “7.” They repeated that several times.
Finally, they did a couple one minute intervals at what felt like a “9.” This was tough, but it was only for a minute, followed by a minute at an easy pace. After 20 minutes, they took it down and coasted for a few minutes to cool off. Try it—it works.
With HIIT in your routine on cardio days, you’ll burn more calories in less time. You’ll also improve your ability to use and deliver oxygen quicker. It also gives you something to think about, which helps you pass the time.
Our winner this week was Heidi Walls, who lost 2.3% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Heidi is one of the smaller gals, and has to work extra hard to lose weight. The smaller you get, the harder it is. Heidi won a $20 Joe’s gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Second place went to Melissa Bradley, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 4.0 lbs. Melissa has impressed me because she’s had serious problems with her lower back that have kept her from working out before. This time she told me that there were some things she could do and some things she couldn’t, so she’d just do the things she could do twice as much!
Finally, third place was a two way tie between Margo Yeargin and Ellen Newlin, who both lost 1.7% of their body weight. Margo lost 3.0 lbs and Ellen lost 3.2 lbs, making the top four spots a clean sweep for women!
Sunday, November 09, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK SIX
Well we’ve made to the half-way point of the twelve weeks. We started with 53, but only 33 made the weigh-in on Friday. It was Halloween, and I know some of them had to go trick-or-treating. Even fewer people made the workout—just 10 people. Yikes!
Of course, the workouts keep getting tougher. The whole goal is to teach them how to continually raise the intensity of their workouts—and that’s what we’re doing.
In week five, we introduced our Level Two training with free weights into their routine. Free weights are better than machines because machines guide the work, give you a leverage advantage, and provide support for the body.
Those sound like good things, but here are the benefits you get by using dumbbells (DB), barbells, and exercise balls:
1. There is nothing to guide the weights—you have to do all the work.
2. There is no leverage advantage—again, you’re doing all the work.
3. There are no supports, so your core muscles are much more active.
4. All the additional stabilizer muscles work harder to balance the weights.
This means that you’ll be using more and different muscles, especially your core, to lift the free weights than you would on machines. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be lifting more weight.
Let’s say you’re a lady that can lift 60 pounds on the bench press machine. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to press two 30 lb dumbbells. Typically, we cut the weight in half (one for each arm), and then cut it in half again because you have to balance it now.
Then, we make it even tougher by having you do the movement on an exercise ball. The instability of it forces you to use your core muscles even more. This means you’ll be burning more calories too.
So, it would be reasonable to expect to be able to bench press two 15 lb dumbbells starting out. We might even drop down to 12 lb dumbbells, until you get a sense of how to do the movement, and how to control the weights.
At some point, you’d bump it up to 15’s, and then even 20’s. Don’t be afraid to try a heavier weight once you understand how to do the motions. We’ve had lots of women amazed when we show them they can lift 25 lb, 30 lb, 35 lb, and even 40 lb dumbbells (after lots of training)!
This doesn’t mean that you’ll get big like a body-builder, either, so don’t worry about it. My goal personally, and for most of our clients, is to get as lean as possible, as strong as possible.
It’s not easy to get big, especially women, because most people won’t train hard enough, long enough, and eat anywhere near enough to put on that kind of muscle. And women don’t have enough of the human growth hormone, testosterone, either. What you will do, is get lean and strong, tone up, and feel amazing.
It doesn’t even take that long. Most of our advanced workouts last 20 minutes, or 30 minutes at most. Some are even quicker. We did a killer routine last Friday that took around 18-20 minutes.
A few finished in around 15 minutes, and a couple young studs knocked it out in just over eleven minutes! Of course, they were totally trashed afterward. I even had a personal best that day (13:15). Not bad for a papaw! Anyway, here are two of the beginning Level II workouts to get you started:
FREE WEIGHT WORKOUT #1
1. Body Squat—Hips, Legs
2. DB Bench Press on Exercise Ball—Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
3. DB Deadlift (slightly bent legs)—Hips, Legs
4. Single Arm DB Rows—Upper Back, Biceps
5. DB Lateral Raises—Shoulders
6. DB Bicep Curls (alternating)—Biceps, Forearms
7. DB Tricep Overhead Press—Triceps, Shoulders
8. Ab Crunches on Exercise Ball
9. Side to Side Twists holding a weight or heavy ball.
FREE WEIGHT WORKOUT #2
1. Walking Lunges (with bent knee)—Hips, Legs
2. DB Pec Flys on Exercise Ball—Chest, Shoulders
3. DB Deadlift—Hips, Legs
4. DB Pullovers on Exercise Ball—Chest, Upper Back, Shoulder, Triceps
5. DB Shoulder Press—Shoulders, Triceps
6. DB Bicep Curls (together)—Biceps, Forearms
7. DB Triceps Kickbacks—Triceps
8. AB Routine #1-5: Ab Crunches—Knees Bent, Legs Straight, Crossing (both sides), and Leg Flutter Kicks
Do the workouts three days a week, in place of the machines. Start with Workout #1. When you’re familiar with it, switch to Workout #2. Then start alternating then each time you lift weights. Next week, I’ll tell you how to make these workouts even better.
Our winner this week was Weston Hughes, who lost 2.1% of his bodyweight and a total of 5.3 pounds of fat. Weston received a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Don’t forget that Terry and State Farm are sponsoring the grand prizes the group is competing for: $250 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place. Right now, Weston is in first place overall, having lost 11.3% of his body weight, and a total of 32.4 pounds—in just six weeks!
2nd place for the week went to Jean McConkey, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs, and 3rd place went to Carol Cline, who lost 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs.
Of course, the workouts keep getting tougher. The whole goal is to teach them how to continually raise the intensity of their workouts—and that’s what we’re doing.
In week five, we introduced our Level Two training with free weights into their routine. Free weights are better than machines because machines guide the work, give you a leverage advantage, and provide support for the body.
Those sound like good things, but here are the benefits you get by using dumbbells (DB), barbells, and exercise balls:
1. There is nothing to guide the weights—you have to do all the work.
2. There is no leverage advantage—again, you’re doing all the work.
3. There are no supports, so your core muscles are much more active.
4. All the additional stabilizer muscles work harder to balance the weights.
This means that you’ll be using more and different muscles, especially your core, to lift the free weights than you would on machines. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be lifting more weight.
Let’s say you’re a lady that can lift 60 pounds on the bench press machine. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to press two 30 lb dumbbells. Typically, we cut the weight in half (one for each arm), and then cut it in half again because you have to balance it now.
Then, we make it even tougher by having you do the movement on an exercise ball. The instability of it forces you to use your core muscles even more. This means you’ll be burning more calories too.
So, it would be reasonable to expect to be able to bench press two 15 lb dumbbells starting out. We might even drop down to 12 lb dumbbells, until you get a sense of how to do the movement, and how to control the weights.
At some point, you’d bump it up to 15’s, and then even 20’s. Don’t be afraid to try a heavier weight once you understand how to do the motions. We’ve had lots of women amazed when we show them they can lift 25 lb, 30 lb, 35 lb, and even 40 lb dumbbells (after lots of training)!
This doesn’t mean that you’ll get big like a body-builder, either, so don’t worry about it. My goal personally, and for most of our clients, is to get as lean as possible, as strong as possible.
It’s not easy to get big, especially women, because most people won’t train hard enough, long enough, and eat anywhere near enough to put on that kind of muscle. And women don’t have enough of the human growth hormone, testosterone, either. What you will do, is get lean and strong, tone up, and feel amazing.
It doesn’t even take that long. Most of our advanced workouts last 20 minutes, or 30 minutes at most. Some are even quicker. We did a killer routine last Friday that took around 18-20 minutes.
A few finished in around 15 minutes, and a couple young studs knocked it out in just over eleven minutes! Of course, they were totally trashed afterward. I even had a personal best that day (13:15). Not bad for a papaw! Anyway, here are two of the beginning Level II workouts to get you started:
FREE WEIGHT WORKOUT #1
1. Body Squat—Hips, Legs
2. DB Bench Press on Exercise Ball—Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
3. DB Deadlift (slightly bent legs)—Hips, Legs
4. Single Arm DB Rows—Upper Back, Biceps
5. DB Lateral Raises—Shoulders
6. DB Bicep Curls (alternating)—Biceps, Forearms
7. DB Tricep Overhead Press—Triceps, Shoulders
8. Ab Crunches on Exercise Ball
9. Side to Side Twists holding a weight or heavy ball.
FREE WEIGHT WORKOUT #2
1. Walking Lunges (with bent knee)—Hips, Legs
2. DB Pec Flys on Exercise Ball—Chest, Shoulders
3. DB Deadlift—Hips, Legs
4. DB Pullovers on Exercise Ball—Chest, Upper Back, Shoulder, Triceps
5. DB Shoulder Press—Shoulders, Triceps
6. DB Bicep Curls (together)—Biceps, Forearms
7. DB Triceps Kickbacks—Triceps
8. AB Routine #1-5: Ab Crunches—Knees Bent, Legs Straight, Crossing (both sides), and Leg Flutter Kicks
Do the workouts three days a week, in place of the machines. Start with Workout #1. When you’re familiar with it, switch to Workout #2. Then start alternating then each time you lift weights. Next week, I’ll tell you how to make these workouts even better.
Our winner this week was Weston Hughes, who lost 2.1% of his bodyweight and a total of 5.3 pounds of fat. Weston received a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance.
Don’t forget that Terry and State Farm are sponsoring the grand prizes the group is competing for: $250 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place. Right now, Weston is in first place overall, having lost 11.3% of his body weight, and a total of 32.4 pounds—in just six weeks!
2nd place for the week went to Jean McConkey, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs, and 3rd place went to Carol Cline, who lost 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK FIVE
We lost a few more this week. I guess things happen, but it’s still disappointing. Just like at the center. I’ll see people get started, but then something happens, and they just fade away.
Why is it so hard to overcome the inertia of the things we’ve done in life? Sometimes it seems like I’m just another barking dog in some strange Pavlovian world—I see the stimulus and just mindlessly respond—even though I know better.
Try to kick a habit. You know what I mean. Take for instance, smoking. For years, when things get a little tense at work or at home, you’ve just stepped outside for a quick one. You might not even know why you’re doing it all the time—you just do it.
Some of us eat to feel better. I’ve done it. You get a little bored, or perhaps are a little depressed about something, so you hit the refrigerator or pantry, just for something small—that can easily turn into something big. At least when you’re eating, you’re doing something.
A scarier habit on the rise involves the internet, and images that used to be a little harder to come by. Once only available in that “dirty” corner of the store (and you didn’t dare walk over there), now you get daily email invitations.
And if you respond, you’ll start to head down a slippery slope of addiction that can end marriages and create such disfunction that can you take years to overcome. There’s danger there.
Finally, there are the things that lead to more obvious social difficulties that can directly hurt other people—even jail-time. As a part-time police officer, I still get amazed at the things that some people do, even when they know better. And they keep doing it.
I think ultimately, everything’s related. We’re all the same, although some of our “habits” are more obvious, or more public than others. We all have things we struggle with. We all face demons of our past. But why do some people seem to be able to overcome them, and finally move on—and others don’t?
One of the first steps is to realize that often, we like doing the things we shouldn’t. It’s comfortable; it’s fun, perhaps even exciting. We like it—especially at the time.
We like smoking, eating, looking at internet porn, drinking, hanging out with those friends, stealing, thinking those thoughts, etc… (fill in the blank). And we’re going to do what we want to do—what we like, until the pain of doing it outweighs the benefit we get from it.
When we get so fat that we don’t like the way we feel anymore, then we might start making some changes. But if the “pain” of making the changes is too high (exercise, eating better), then we might just waver when confronted with the temptation again.
We need something more to help us get through the tough times, or every time they ring the bell, we’ll salivate, just like Pavlov’s dogs, and jump right into the old way of doing things.
Personally, I believe it takes more than just a strong will to get this done. I think it takes prayer and God’s help to overcome years of conditioning, and years of wrong desires. Even then, recovery can take a long time.
It can be a real battle. But it’s worth it. That’s when all things become new. That’s what I want. And what I’ve learned is that one of the ways God helps is by bringing you what you need, when you need it, if you ask.
There are lots of people who are more than willing to give you a hand. They’ve been there and done that. Listen to them.
There are also lots of great books out there, written by people who know. Use them. Keep trying to learn more. Figure out what’s going on.
Learn from your mistakes, and pick up and move on. Find and follow a plan that you’ve seen is working. Use others as an example of how you can get things together.
Then, once you start down that road, don’t quit. If you’ve finally had an epiphany, realized what you’d been doing to yourself, and actually took action to try to turn it around, what a shame if you then just throw it all away.
Look for and find a new nature that will allow you to overcome these things and become a new you. The old one’s not working anyway. Why not just put it away?
You can clean a pig, but if you leave it alone for awhile, pretty soon you’ll find it back in a puddle somewhere. It can’t change what it is. It’s a pig.
But we’ve got the ability to get a new nature. To become more than what we are. We just have to be willing to work at it a little bit. And realize that God does the giving on that one.
Things can change. I’m living proof, and I see it all the time in others. But you have to admit that they need changing. Then you have to want them to change. And you have to want that more then you want the things you’re doing.
I talked to a friend the other day. He hangs with people that get in trouble, drinking and drugs and the like. He knows better. He used to do that himself.
But they’re his friends, and he kind of likes that. So he’s got one foot inside the pig pen. Even though he’s got one foot outside, part of him is still getting dirty.
Another guy I met in the police academy had a drinking problem. He liked going out and partying, but he was also a cop. Having a few drinks is one thing, but getting blasted, belligerent and out of control is quite another.
After a stern warning and disciplinary measures (and the offer of help with the drinking problem he said he didn’t have), he found himself under arrest again, this time for felony charges. The department fired him, he was booted out of the academy, and his career was over.
We’ve got to take things seriously, because things have serious consequences. Don’t let those old “habits” control you. You deserve better than that. That’s why I love working with these guys in the Biggest Loser. They’re getting it done.
It’s kind of like the Paris Tigers football team. They’re getting it done, too. The years have been pretty tough on them. But this year, after a few early losses, things started coming together. With all their hard work, they got some momentum and started playing up to their true potential.
That led to excitement, which led to confidence. Then they had a setback. But they found a way to overcome it and came out growling on Saturday, making them the first Paris team ever to make the playoffs. It wasn’t an easy game, early on, but they stuck to their guns, and then things broke wide open. It can happen that way.
This week’s winner was a sleeper—Gayle Dailey, who lost 2.2% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. She’d been flying under the radar, but at age 59, Gayle’s our oldest (by a year), and is proving that you can do what you really want to do.
I know she’s tough, because she took kickboxing classes from me a couple years ago. And we work really hard and hit things in that class! Gayle won a $20 Joe’s Pizza gift certificate from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance for all her hard work.
We had a tie for 2nd place between Weston Hughes and Erika Hollis, both of whom lost 1.6% of their body weight. For Erika, it was 3.0 lbs, and for Weston, it was 4.2 lbs.
Next week, I’ll tell you about how the Biggest Losers are using free weights to burn even more calories, and make even more changes in their body—and their life. What kind of changes do you need to make?
Why is it so hard to overcome the inertia of the things we’ve done in life? Sometimes it seems like I’m just another barking dog in some strange Pavlovian world—I see the stimulus and just mindlessly respond—even though I know better.
Try to kick a habit. You know what I mean. Take for instance, smoking. For years, when things get a little tense at work or at home, you’ve just stepped outside for a quick one. You might not even know why you’re doing it all the time—you just do it.
Some of us eat to feel better. I’ve done it. You get a little bored, or perhaps are a little depressed about something, so you hit the refrigerator or pantry, just for something small—that can easily turn into something big. At least when you’re eating, you’re doing something.
A scarier habit on the rise involves the internet, and images that used to be a little harder to come by. Once only available in that “dirty” corner of the store (and you didn’t dare walk over there), now you get daily email invitations.
And if you respond, you’ll start to head down a slippery slope of addiction that can end marriages and create such disfunction that can you take years to overcome. There’s danger there.
Finally, there are the things that lead to more obvious social difficulties that can directly hurt other people—even jail-time. As a part-time police officer, I still get amazed at the things that some people do, even when they know better. And they keep doing it.
I think ultimately, everything’s related. We’re all the same, although some of our “habits” are more obvious, or more public than others. We all have things we struggle with. We all face demons of our past. But why do some people seem to be able to overcome them, and finally move on—and others don’t?
One of the first steps is to realize that often, we like doing the things we shouldn’t. It’s comfortable; it’s fun, perhaps even exciting. We like it—especially at the time.
We like smoking, eating, looking at internet porn, drinking, hanging out with those friends, stealing, thinking those thoughts, etc… (fill in the blank). And we’re going to do what we want to do—what we like, until the pain of doing it outweighs the benefit we get from it.
When we get so fat that we don’t like the way we feel anymore, then we might start making some changes. But if the “pain” of making the changes is too high (exercise, eating better), then we might just waver when confronted with the temptation again.
We need something more to help us get through the tough times, or every time they ring the bell, we’ll salivate, just like Pavlov’s dogs, and jump right into the old way of doing things.
Personally, I believe it takes more than just a strong will to get this done. I think it takes prayer and God’s help to overcome years of conditioning, and years of wrong desires. Even then, recovery can take a long time.
It can be a real battle. But it’s worth it. That’s when all things become new. That’s what I want. And what I’ve learned is that one of the ways God helps is by bringing you what you need, when you need it, if you ask.
There are lots of people who are more than willing to give you a hand. They’ve been there and done that. Listen to them.
There are also lots of great books out there, written by people who know. Use them. Keep trying to learn more. Figure out what’s going on.
Learn from your mistakes, and pick up and move on. Find and follow a plan that you’ve seen is working. Use others as an example of how you can get things together.
Then, once you start down that road, don’t quit. If you’ve finally had an epiphany, realized what you’d been doing to yourself, and actually took action to try to turn it around, what a shame if you then just throw it all away.
Look for and find a new nature that will allow you to overcome these things and become a new you. The old one’s not working anyway. Why not just put it away?
You can clean a pig, but if you leave it alone for awhile, pretty soon you’ll find it back in a puddle somewhere. It can’t change what it is. It’s a pig.
But we’ve got the ability to get a new nature. To become more than what we are. We just have to be willing to work at it a little bit. And realize that God does the giving on that one.
Things can change. I’m living proof, and I see it all the time in others. But you have to admit that they need changing. Then you have to want them to change. And you have to want that more then you want the things you’re doing.
I talked to a friend the other day. He hangs with people that get in trouble, drinking and drugs and the like. He knows better. He used to do that himself.
But they’re his friends, and he kind of likes that. So he’s got one foot inside the pig pen. Even though he’s got one foot outside, part of him is still getting dirty.
Another guy I met in the police academy had a drinking problem. He liked going out and partying, but he was also a cop. Having a few drinks is one thing, but getting blasted, belligerent and out of control is quite another.
After a stern warning and disciplinary measures (and the offer of help with the drinking problem he said he didn’t have), he found himself under arrest again, this time for felony charges. The department fired him, he was booted out of the academy, and his career was over.
We’ve got to take things seriously, because things have serious consequences. Don’t let those old “habits” control you. You deserve better than that. That’s why I love working with these guys in the Biggest Loser. They’re getting it done.
It’s kind of like the Paris Tigers football team. They’re getting it done, too. The years have been pretty tough on them. But this year, after a few early losses, things started coming together. With all their hard work, they got some momentum and started playing up to their true potential.
That led to excitement, which led to confidence. Then they had a setback. But they found a way to overcome it and came out growling on Saturday, making them the first Paris team ever to make the playoffs. It wasn’t an easy game, early on, but they stuck to their guns, and then things broke wide open. It can happen that way.
This week’s winner was a sleeper—Gayle Dailey, who lost 2.2% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. She’d been flying under the radar, but at age 59, Gayle’s our oldest (by a year), and is proving that you can do what you really want to do.
I know she’s tough, because she took kickboxing classes from me a couple years ago. And we work really hard and hit things in that class! Gayle won a $20 Joe’s Pizza gift certificate from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance for all her hard work.
We had a tie for 2nd place between Weston Hughes and Erika Hollis, both of whom lost 1.6% of their body weight. For Erika, it was 3.0 lbs, and for Weston, it was 4.2 lbs.
Next week, I’ll tell you about how the Biggest Losers are using free weights to burn even more calories, and make even more changes in their body—and their life. What kind of changes do you need to make?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK FOUR
Well, it’s been a quick four weeks and we’re a third of the way through the twelve week program. That means it’s time for a look at how everyone’s doing.
We started with 53 people who’d signed up for Biggest Loser “5” and we have 47 people still on the books. Of those, 40 people made the weigh-in at the end of week four.
Of the seven who missed the weigh-in, I think a few have called it quits, but the rest are still participating. We’ll find out this week.
That’s actually a pretty good percentage at this point. Typically, we lose about a third in the first month, due to life intruding in various ways. So how is everyone doing?
I told you last week about the ladies. This week the men came roaring back with some great numbers, but two out of the top three losers still were women.
The Biggest Loser in Week Four was Shawn Bowers, our winner back in week one. Shawn lost an amazing 3.0% of his body weight and a total of 8 lbs. That brings him to a total weight loss of 18.8 lbs in the first month.
For his hard work last week, Shawn won a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. I know how hard he’s been working, because he does his group workouts with me three days a week, and is running on the other days.
Shawn’s situation actually demonstrates something I talk a lot about to the group—the need to eat enough food when you’re trying to lose weight. After having a great first week, things slacked off a little bit for him.
When people have dieted over the years, especially women, they’re often scared to eat, thinking that anything they eat will be put on as fat. Nine out of ten women I work with start out not eating enough—often as little as 1,000 calories a day—or even less!
Guys usually have the other problem, typically being over-eaters, but once in awhile, we’ll need to add calories—especially if they’re very active, like Shawn. The American College of Sports Medicine strongly recommends that women never drop below 1,200 calories and that men get at least 1,800 calories each day.
This is to ensure that they hit their minimums, and give their body enough fuel to keep things going. If we drop below our minimums, our body slows down, thinking that we’re starving, and making it very difficult to burn fat for fuel.
What we’ve found, though, is that active people need even more. Most average women need at least 1,650 calories a day to feel great and still lose weight. Men need around 2,400 calories.
Shawn’s a big boy, standing around 6’4, but was only allowing himself around 2,400 calories, which is usually correct. As active as he was, he needed to bump up the calories to around 2,700 and sure enough, his body responded, letting him burn fat for fuel.
I see it all the time, and it sounds crazy, but it’s true—eat more, and you’ll start losing weight. Now, if you’re an over-eater (most guys), you probably have to back off the calories. But for most women, and a few guys (especially active ones like Shawn), you’ve got to hit your minimum.
Second place was a two-way tie between two ladies: Shirley Fiscus and Erika Hollis. Both lost 2.1% of their body weight and 4.0 lbs. I think this is Shirley’s fourth Biggest Loser, and Erika was the winner back in Week Two. Both ladies are hard workers.
Before we go over the results for the first month, there are a couple more things to talk about. Even though it’s exciting to get those big numbers, and everybody wants them, that’s not going to happen to everyone.
There are a lot of factors that play into how quickly you can lose weight. I keep telling everyone that one pound a week is good, two pounds is great, and three or more pounds is fantastic. That means four pounds in a month is good, but even then, there are other considerations.
Everybody is different, and some people can push themselves harder. Sometimes, we just have to get you stronger first, and then you can turn it up. Plus there’s the issue of eating enough, as we looked at earlier.
Age has a lot to do with it, too, as does your current health when starting a program. The younger and healthier you are, the more you can do. Finally, the closer you are to your ideal weight, the harder it is to lose.
Here’s what I think is important. How do you feel? That’s first and foremost. Do you feel better? If you’re feeling good, you’re doing good, and weight loss will eventually come.
Next, how are your clothes fitting? People are always telling me that they’re losing inches, but it’s not showing up on the scale. That’s O.K. It will.
Then, what’s your body fat doing? If it’s going down, even though your weight isn’t changing much, that’s O.K. too. You’re burning fat, building muscle, and the scale will show it soon.
Finally, what does the scale say? If you lose just a pound a week, in a year, that’s over 50 pounds. That’s enough to change anybody’s life. Stay with it and you’ll get what you want. That said, I’m proud of everyone who’s made it this far.
1. Erika Hollis 8.6% 18.0 lbs
2. Weston Hughes 8.0% 22.9 lbs
3. Logan Graves 7.5% 23.0 lbs
4. Shawn Bowers 6.5% 18.8 lbs
5. Steve Jones 5.7% 12.8 lbs
6. Kelly Lynch 5.6% 10.0 lbs
7. Amanda Posey 5.1% 11.1 lbs
8. John Rigdon 4.9% 10.1 lbs
9. Dan Lynch 4.6% 10.9 lbs
10. Pam Ogle 4.3% 10.0 lbs
11. Shirley Fiscus 4.3% 8.6 lbs
12. Brant Walls 4.3% 11.2 lbs
13. Sue Sheeran 4.3% 9.4 lbs
14. Heidi Walls 4.1% 6.0 lbs
15. Margo Yeargin 4.1% 7.6 lbs
16. Kelli Stidham 4.0% 10.8 lbs
17. Jennifer Bowers 3.9% 8.0 lbs
18. Melissa Bradley 3.8% 8.0 lbs
19. Ellen Newlin 3.7% 7.4 lbs
20. Jean McConkey 3.5% 7.0 lbs
21. Carol Cline 3.4% 7.8 lbs
22. Teri Dennis 2.7% 6.0 lbs
23. Amy Elmore 2.7% 4.4 lbs
24. Megan Gill 2.7% 5.6 lbs
25. Cherise Murphy 2.5% 5.8 lbs
26. Renee Colvin 2.3% 4.4 lbs
27. Kevin Branson 2.2% 5.9 lbs
28. Kelly Reed 2.2% 4.0 lbs
29. Gayle Dailey 2.1% 3.0 lbs
30. Lynn Holloway 2.0% 2.8 lbs
31. Megan Sellers 1.8% 3.5 lbs
32. Stacey Reed 1.5% 2.6 lbs
33. Robert Davis 1.4% 3.8 lbs
34. Darren German 1.4% 4.0 lbs
35. Pam Kelly 1.4% 3.6 lbs
36. Doug Hasler 1.2% 2.8 lbs
37. Theresa Finley 1.0% 2.1 lbs
38. Mary Jo Becher 1.0% 1.8 lbs
39. Lavonna Davis 0.7% 1.2 lbs
40. MaryAnn Heinrich 0.5% 1.2 lbs
We started with 53 people who’d signed up for Biggest Loser “5” and we have 47 people still on the books. Of those, 40 people made the weigh-in at the end of week four.
Of the seven who missed the weigh-in, I think a few have called it quits, but the rest are still participating. We’ll find out this week.
That’s actually a pretty good percentage at this point. Typically, we lose about a third in the first month, due to life intruding in various ways. So how is everyone doing?
I told you last week about the ladies. This week the men came roaring back with some great numbers, but two out of the top three losers still were women.
The Biggest Loser in Week Four was Shawn Bowers, our winner back in week one. Shawn lost an amazing 3.0% of his body weight and a total of 8 lbs. That brings him to a total weight loss of 18.8 lbs in the first month.
For his hard work last week, Shawn won a $20 Walmart gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. I know how hard he’s been working, because he does his group workouts with me three days a week, and is running on the other days.
Shawn’s situation actually demonstrates something I talk a lot about to the group—the need to eat enough food when you’re trying to lose weight. After having a great first week, things slacked off a little bit for him.
When people have dieted over the years, especially women, they’re often scared to eat, thinking that anything they eat will be put on as fat. Nine out of ten women I work with start out not eating enough—often as little as 1,000 calories a day—or even less!
Guys usually have the other problem, typically being over-eaters, but once in awhile, we’ll need to add calories—especially if they’re very active, like Shawn. The American College of Sports Medicine strongly recommends that women never drop below 1,200 calories and that men get at least 1,800 calories each day.
This is to ensure that they hit their minimums, and give their body enough fuel to keep things going. If we drop below our minimums, our body slows down, thinking that we’re starving, and making it very difficult to burn fat for fuel.
What we’ve found, though, is that active people need even more. Most average women need at least 1,650 calories a day to feel great and still lose weight. Men need around 2,400 calories.
Shawn’s a big boy, standing around 6’4, but was only allowing himself around 2,400 calories, which is usually correct. As active as he was, he needed to bump up the calories to around 2,700 and sure enough, his body responded, letting him burn fat for fuel.
I see it all the time, and it sounds crazy, but it’s true—eat more, and you’ll start losing weight. Now, if you’re an over-eater (most guys), you probably have to back off the calories. But for most women, and a few guys (especially active ones like Shawn), you’ve got to hit your minimum.
Second place was a two-way tie between two ladies: Shirley Fiscus and Erika Hollis. Both lost 2.1% of their body weight and 4.0 lbs. I think this is Shirley’s fourth Biggest Loser, and Erika was the winner back in Week Two. Both ladies are hard workers.
Before we go over the results for the first month, there are a couple more things to talk about. Even though it’s exciting to get those big numbers, and everybody wants them, that’s not going to happen to everyone.
There are a lot of factors that play into how quickly you can lose weight. I keep telling everyone that one pound a week is good, two pounds is great, and three or more pounds is fantastic. That means four pounds in a month is good, but even then, there are other considerations.
Everybody is different, and some people can push themselves harder. Sometimes, we just have to get you stronger first, and then you can turn it up. Plus there’s the issue of eating enough, as we looked at earlier.
Age has a lot to do with it, too, as does your current health when starting a program. The younger and healthier you are, the more you can do. Finally, the closer you are to your ideal weight, the harder it is to lose.
Here’s what I think is important. How do you feel? That’s first and foremost. Do you feel better? If you’re feeling good, you’re doing good, and weight loss will eventually come.
Next, how are your clothes fitting? People are always telling me that they’re losing inches, but it’s not showing up on the scale. That’s O.K. It will.
Then, what’s your body fat doing? If it’s going down, even though your weight isn’t changing much, that’s O.K. too. You’re burning fat, building muscle, and the scale will show it soon.
Finally, what does the scale say? If you lose just a pound a week, in a year, that’s over 50 pounds. That’s enough to change anybody’s life. Stay with it and you’ll get what you want. That said, I’m proud of everyone who’s made it this far.
1. Erika Hollis 8.6% 18.0 lbs
2. Weston Hughes 8.0% 22.9 lbs
3. Logan Graves 7.5% 23.0 lbs
4. Shawn Bowers 6.5% 18.8 lbs
5. Steve Jones 5.7% 12.8 lbs
6. Kelly Lynch 5.6% 10.0 lbs
7. Amanda Posey 5.1% 11.1 lbs
8. John Rigdon 4.9% 10.1 lbs
9. Dan Lynch 4.6% 10.9 lbs
10. Pam Ogle 4.3% 10.0 lbs
11. Shirley Fiscus 4.3% 8.6 lbs
12. Brant Walls 4.3% 11.2 lbs
13. Sue Sheeran 4.3% 9.4 lbs
14. Heidi Walls 4.1% 6.0 lbs
15. Margo Yeargin 4.1% 7.6 lbs
16. Kelli Stidham 4.0% 10.8 lbs
17. Jennifer Bowers 3.9% 8.0 lbs
18. Melissa Bradley 3.8% 8.0 lbs
19. Ellen Newlin 3.7% 7.4 lbs
20. Jean McConkey 3.5% 7.0 lbs
21. Carol Cline 3.4% 7.8 lbs
22. Teri Dennis 2.7% 6.0 lbs
23. Amy Elmore 2.7% 4.4 lbs
24. Megan Gill 2.7% 5.6 lbs
25. Cherise Murphy 2.5% 5.8 lbs
26. Renee Colvin 2.3% 4.4 lbs
27. Kevin Branson 2.2% 5.9 lbs
28. Kelly Reed 2.2% 4.0 lbs
29. Gayle Dailey 2.1% 3.0 lbs
30. Lynn Holloway 2.0% 2.8 lbs
31. Megan Sellers 1.8% 3.5 lbs
32. Stacey Reed 1.5% 2.6 lbs
33. Robert Davis 1.4% 3.8 lbs
34. Darren German 1.4% 4.0 lbs
35. Pam Kelly 1.4% 3.6 lbs
36. Doug Hasler 1.2% 2.8 lbs
37. Theresa Finley 1.0% 2.1 lbs
38. Mary Jo Becher 1.0% 1.8 lbs
39. Lavonna Davis 0.7% 1.2 lbs
40. MaryAnn Heinrich 0.5% 1.2 lbs
Sunday, October 19, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK THREE
Something’s going on. I’d been suspecting it, but this week it was confirmed. We’re in for something special with this group.
I knew the ladies were doing better than normal, and then last week, three out of the top four losers were women. This week, they swept the top three—with all different women too. Not only that, but eight out of the top ten spots went to women!
This is big news. Typically, it’s harder for gals because guys have a different hormone mix—more testosterone (which builds muscle), which lets them push harder in their workouts, burning more calories. That in turn lets them build more muscle, which repeats the cycle.
Ladies have very little testosterone. Instead, their hormone mix causes them to store fat around the middle, as protection for their ovaries, and other internal parts. These two things usually make it much more difficult for them to lose fat.
I just tell them that they need to work hard and do their best. They must be listening, because the ladies are doing very well.
If you look at total weight loss for the last three weeks, one is in the top three overall, which is usually unheard of. Two guys have lost 17.8 lbs and 17.2 lbs respectively, and then a lady is in third place, losing 14.0 lbs.
Another is tied with a guy for fourth place at 10.8 lbs, followed by another lady with 10.6 lbs. And this is just in the first three weeks. As usual, I’ll show you the entire field next week after they finish their first month in the program.
Unfortunately, this success might be having another effect. Some of the other gals are getting discouraged, because they’re (only) losing around a pound (or two) a week.
This is crazy, and like Barney used to say, “We’ve got to nip it—nip it in the bud.” Not the dinosaur, the other Barney. And he’s right. We’ve got to.
Self talk is very powerful. You are what you think you are. And you’re not what you think you’re not. When you start believing you’re down and out, you stay down and out, because that’s the way you think it’s supposed to be—but it’s not.
Instead, when you start seeing someone else have success, a much better strategy is to start thinking, “why can’t I do that?” Or, “if they can do it, I can do it.” The difference is all in your mind, but it’s a big difference.
For years, I went to Taekwondo training seminars for instructors around the country. These were taught by seniors and masters around the U.S. The goal was to learn how to be an even better instructor, and broaden our skill set, giving us more to teach.
I’d come home teaching like they did. I don’t mean teaching what they taught me. I mean teaching like they did. Somehow, I’d realized that I didn’t need to become a master instructor to teach like one.
All I needed to do is say what they said, demonstrate like they demonstrated, and act like they acted. Of course, many years later, they made me a master instructor in my own right.
The same principle applies in success coaching. We’re told to get around people who are positive, and avoid people who want to pull us down. And to find someone having success like you’d like to have, and emulate them.
You also have to believe that it’s possible for you, too. Not just them, but you. If they can do it, you can do it. We might have to tweak things a little bit to get it working, but they did it—you can do it.
Remember, if you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right—you can’t. So don’t get bitter when someone else is winning.
Ask yourself, how can I start winning too? What else could I be doing that they’re doing? Or, is their something they’re doing that I’m not? Success is often just a breakthrough away.
Finally, we need to learn to be content sometimes. For normal weight loss, one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds a week is fantastic.
If you’re making progress, that’s good. It’s predictable, and you know you’re going to get what you want. Take some comfort in that—even while you’re looking for ways to do better. You’ll be happier.
It’s a biblical concept. Paul said he’d learned how to be content in all things, whether he was abased or abounding. This is a guy who was the foremost apostle to the Gentiles (you and me), who was content to be living in jail, preaching to his jailers.
I’ve learned that God has given me (and you) the ability to strive for all kinds of things, and he always helps me along the way. But some of my biggest blessings have come when I’ve learned to be content, too—and grateful for all the things I used to take for granted.
If it’s a pound, take it. Try for two, but be glad you lost a pound. If it’s zero pounds, how do you feel? Do you feel better? Take it and be happy that now you can do more than you did before.
This week, our Biggest Loser was Melissa Bradley who lost a whopping 2.8% of her body weight, and a total of 5.6 lbs. Melissa has had some serious back issues for years, but she told me something when we got started.
She said there were a lot of things she couldn’t do, but she could walk, and only do a few machines, so she was going to do those things more, to make up for the things she couldn’t do. That’s why she’s winning.
Melissa received a $20 Joe’s Pizza gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry stopped by to encourage everyone and told them that if they were trying, they were all winners, and he’s right.
Second place went to Ellen Newlin, who lost 2.7% of her body weight, and a total of 5.2 lbs. Third place went to Margo Yeargin (who’s 50 I might add). Margo lost 2.0% of her body weight, and 3.6 lbs.
Fourth place went to Logan Graves, who lost 1.9% of his body weight, and a total of 5.4 lbs, while firth place went to Weston Hughes, who lost 1.8% of body weight, and 4.8 lbs. Weston and Logan are neck and neck for most pounds lost (17.8 and 17.2 respectively) in the first three weeks.
I knew the ladies were doing better than normal, and then last week, three out of the top four losers were women. This week, they swept the top three—with all different women too. Not only that, but eight out of the top ten spots went to women!
This is big news. Typically, it’s harder for gals because guys have a different hormone mix—more testosterone (which builds muscle), which lets them push harder in their workouts, burning more calories. That in turn lets them build more muscle, which repeats the cycle.
Ladies have very little testosterone. Instead, their hormone mix causes them to store fat around the middle, as protection for their ovaries, and other internal parts. These two things usually make it much more difficult for them to lose fat.
I just tell them that they need to work hard and do their best. They must be listening, because the ladies are doing very well.
If you look at total weight loss for the last three weeks, one is in the top three overall, which is usually unheard of. Two guys have lost 17.8 lbs and 17.2 lbs respectively, and then a lady is in third place, losing 14.0 lbs.
Another is tied with a guy for fourth place at 10.8 lbs, followed by another lady with 10.6 lbs. And this is just in the first three weeks. As usual, I’ll show you the entire field next week after they finish their first month in the program.
Unfortunately, this success might be having another effect. Some of the other gals are getting discouraged, because they’re (only) losing around a pound (or two) a week.
This is crazy, and like Barney used to say, “We’ve got to nip it—nip it in the bud.” Not the dinosaur, the other Barney. And he’s right. We’ve got to.
Self talk is very powerful. You are what you think you are. And you’re not what you think you’re not. When you start believing you’re down and out, you stay down and out, because that’s the way you think it’s supposed to be—but it’s not.
Instead, when you start seeing someone else have success, a much better strategy is to start thinking, “why can’t I do that?” Or, “if they can do it, I can do it.” The difference is all in your mind, but it’s a big difference.
For years, I went to Taekwondo training seminars for instructors around the country. These were taught by seniors and masters around the U.S. The goal was to learn how to be an even better instructor, and broaden our skill set, giving us more to teach.
I’d come home teaching like they did. I don’t mean teaching what they taught me. I mean teaching like they did. Somehow, I’d realized that I didn’t need to become a master instructor to teach like one.
All I needed to do is say what they said, demonstrate like they demonstrated, and act like they acted. Of course, many years later, they made me a master instructor in my own right.
The same principle applies in success coaching. We’re told to get around people who are positive, and avoid people who want to pull us down. And to find someone having success like you’d like to have, and emulate them.
You also have to believe that it’s possible for you, too. Not just them, but you. If they can do it, you can do it. We might have to tweak things a little bit to get it working, but they did it—you can do it.
Remember, if you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right—you can’t. So don’t get bitter when someone else is winning.
Ask yourself, how can I start winning too? What else could I be doing that they’re doing? Or, is their something they’re doing that I’m not? Success is often just a breakthrough away.
Finally, we need to learn to be content sometimes. For normal weight loss, one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds a week is fantastic.
If you’re making progress, that’s good. It’s predictable, and you know you’re going to get what you want. Take some comfort in that—even while you’re looking for ways to do better. You’ll be happier.
It’s a biblical concept. Paul said he’d learned how to be content in all things, whether he was abased or abounding. This is a guy who was the foremost apostle to the Gentiles (you and me), who was content to be living in jail, preaching to his jailers.
I’ve learned that God has given me (and you) the ability to strive for all kinds of things, and he always helps me along the way. But some of my biggest blessings have come when I’ve learned to be content, too—and grateful for all the things I used to take for granted.
If it’s a pound, take it. Try for two, but be glad you lost a pound. If it’s zero pounds, how do you feel? Do you feel better? Take it and be happy that now you can do more than you did before.
This week, our Biggest Loser was Melissa Bradley who lost a whopping 2.8% of her body weight, and a total of 5.6 lbs. Melissa has had some serious back issues for years, but she told me something when we got started.
She said there were a lot of things she couldn’t do, but she could walk, and only do a few machines, so she was going to do those things more, to make up for the things she couldn’t do. That’s why she’s winning.
Melissa received a $20 Joe’s Pizza gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry stopped by to encourage everyone and told them that if they were trying, they were all winners, and he’s right.
Second place went to Ellen Newlin, who lost 2.7% of her body weight, and a total of 5.2 lbs. Third place went to Margo Yeargin (who’s 50 I might add). Margo lost 2.0% of her body weight, and 3.6 lbs.
Fourth place went to Logan Graves, who lost 1.9% of his body weight, and a total of 5.4 lbs, while firth place went to Weston Hughes, who lost 1.8% of body weight, and 4.8 lbs. Weston and Logan are neck and neck for most pounds lost (17.8 and 17.2 respectively) in the first three weeks.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK TWO
This week 45 people weighed in—down from the 52 that started. Unfortunately, that’s normal. So, I thought it was time for some straight talk.
After everyone had finished with their first assignment, walk/run a mile and had gathered in the room, I pointed to a large stack of papers on the center table. “Can anyone tell me what those are,” I asked.
There were several guesses about the foot-tall stack, and then someone guessed that they were files of people who had quit. “That’s right,” I said. There were probably 300 membership files sitting there.
So we talked about some of the reasons people had started and stopped over the past few years. Some people had moved away. At least two had passed away.
I told them about Buddy, who used to come in with his oxygen tank. He worked out almost everyday. Even though he was fighting a losing battle, he wanted to do what he could—and did almost to the end.
They learned about my friend Bob, who was dragged in kicking and screaming by his wife. His first words were “I don’t want to be here and I’m not going to do anything!”
I remember saying, “That’s O.K. Just sit here on one of the bikes and watch TV. If you feel like pedaling a little bit, go ahead.” Before long, Bob was riding the bike 30 minutes, and finally, he worked up to coming in twice a day.
Others have left to join the Y. That’s O.K. too. A third of the Biggest Losers this time work out at the Y. The important thing is that they’re doing something.
Some had purchased equipment to use at home, and that’s fine, too—if they’re using it. Unfortunately, most home gym equipment goes unused, and sooner or later gets moved out to the garage, sold in the paper, or even given away.
The real shame is that every one of those people had a goal—a reason for starting. Most of them had reasons for stopping, too. But most of them didn’t get what they wanted.
The hardest thing is starting. Once you’ve done that, the hardest thing is continuing with an exercise program, a healthy diet, or anything else you’re trying to change.
We are creatures of habit, and old habits are hard to break. Experts say it takes 21 days to make something new a habit. We’re 14 days into this thing, and have already lost 7 people.
If experience holds true, before it’s over, we’ll lose close to half of the group for some reason or other. So I asked them, “Which half are you going to be in? The half that quits, or the half that sticks it out and gets what they want?”
You see, life is going to intrude. There will be emergencies, inconveniences, scheduling conflicts, kids getting sick, high gas prices, working late, vacations, and so on. But do you let those things keep you from getting what you want, or do you impose your will on things?
You decide what you’re going to do. I’m so proud of one of our Losers. He’s been a busy executive for years and just never thought he had time to do it, even though he knew he needed to.
He’s hitting it on his lunch hour. I told him to let people know that’s where they can find him if they need him—and not to bring in his phone, either! If it’s that important, they can come get him. And you know what? Things are fine that hour without him. He’s getting it done.
I’ve got one gal who’s getting up at 3:30 AM to get in her early mile. I’ll say. That’s an early mile. You won’t see me in here at that time. But, she works in Indiana, and wanted to get it done. Once she gets to her goal, it’s likely that she’ll back off a little bit and just hit it after work, but for awhile, more power to her.
I finally met the woman I’ve seen running while pushing a double baby carriage, two dogs on leashes running along on each side—and a little one riding a bicycle in front. Now that’s multi-tasking!
She took everyone’s excuses away just by running by. We’ve got her husband involved now. You know he’s going to get plenty of encouragement at home.
Once you’ve started, you’ve got to make the commitment to stay with it, and not let down your guard. Change doesn’t come easy, and the old you will rear up and try to shut things down.
Don’t let it. Stay focused. Have the big picture in mind—you getting smaller. Anything worthwhile never comes easily. There’s always a price to pay, but it’s worth it.
Looking good and feeling good is there for everyone, if you’ll just stay with the program. It doesn’t take nearly as long to take it off as it did to put the weight on.
Still, that’s not fast enough for some people, especially when they see others putting up those big weight-loss numbers on TV, or even here each week. I’ve got to keep reminding them that losing one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds is fantastic.
Even a pound a week will turn into 50 pounds in a year. Most people can double that, if they do everything right. That’s 100 pounds. For most people, they’ll have hit their ideal weight before then.
That brings us to our Biggest Loser this week, Erika Hollis. It’s rare for a woman to put up the higher numbers, because the guys usually have more to lose, and more muscle to help them lose it with. Women also have a different hormone mix that makes it more difficult.
Erika lost an astounding 3.0% of her body weight, for a total of 5.8 pounds. Her two week total is 11.6 pounds lost, putting her in 3rd place for overall weight loss.
She won a $20 Walmart gift card from our sponsor, Terry Elston & State Farm Insurance. Terry is the high school boy’s basketball coach, and is all about helping people achieve their goals!
Second place went to John Rigdon, who lost 2.2% of his body weight and 4.4 pounds. Third place was a tie between two other women woman, Jennifer Bowers and Stacey Reed. Jennifer lost 2.0% of her body weight and 3.9 pounds, and Stacey also lost 2.0% of her body weight, which worked out to 3.4 pounds.
Next week, I’ll give you the skinny on why they’re getting the results they’re getting, and how to put together the perfect meal to keep you eating right, all the time. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
After everyone had finished with their first assignment, walk/run a mile and had gathered in the room, I pointed to a large stack of papers on the center table. “Can anyone tell me what those are,” I asked.
There were several guesses about the foot-tall stack, and then someone guessed that they were files of people who had quit. “That’s right,” I said. There were probably 300 membership files sitting there.
So we talked about some of the reasons people had started and stopped over the past few years. Some people had moved away. At least two had passed away.
I told them about Buddy, who used to come in with his oxygen tank. He worked out almost everyday. Even though he was fighting a losing battle, he wanted to do what he could—and did almost to the end.
They learned about my friend Bob, who was dragged in kicking and screaming by his wife. His first words were “I don’t want to be here and I’m not going to do anything!”
I remember saying, “That’s O.K. Just sit here on one of the bikes and watch TV. If you feel like pedaling a little bit, go ahead.” Before long, Bob was riding the bike 30 minutes, and finally, he worked up to coming in twice a day.
Others have left to join the Y. That’s O.K. too. A third of the Biggest Losers this time work out at the Y. The important thing is that they’re doing something.
Some had purchased equipment to use at home, and that’s fine, too—if they’re using it. Unfortunately, most home gym equipment goes unused, and sooner or later gets moved out to the garage, sold in the paper, or even given away.
The real shame is that every one of those people had a goal—a reason for starting. Most of them had reasons for stopping, too. But most of them didn’t get what they wanted.
The hardest thing is starting. Once you’ve done that, the hardest thing is continuing with an exercise program, a healthy diet, or anything else you’re trying to change.
We are creatures of habit, and old habits are hard to break. Experts say it takes 21 days to make something new a habit. We’re 14 days into this thing, and have already lost 7 people.
If experience holds true, before it’s over, we’ll lose close to half of the group for some reason or other. So I asked them, “Which half are you going to be in? The half that quits, or the half that sticks it out and gets what they want?”
You see, life is going to intrude. There will be emergencies, inconveniences, scheduling conflicts, kids getting sick, high gas prices, working late, vacations, and so on. But do you let those things keep you from getting what you want, or do you impose your will on things?
You decide what you’re going to do. I’m so proud of one of our Losers. He’s been a busy executive for years and just never thought he had time to do it, even though he knew he needed to.
He’s hitting it on his lunch hour. I told him to let people know that’s where they can find him if they need him—and not to bring in his phone, either! If it’s that important, they can come get him. And you know what? Things are fine that hour without him. He’s getting it done.
I’ve got one gal who’s getting up at 3:30 AM to get in her early mile. I’ll say. That’s an early mile. You won’t see me in here at that time. But, she works in Indiana, and wanted to get it done. Once she gets to her goal, it’s likely that she’ll back off a little bit and just hit it after work, but for awhile, more power to her.
I finally met the woman I’ve seen running while pushing a double baby carriage, two dogs on leashes running along on each side—and a little one riding a bicycle in front. Now that’s multi-tasking!
She took everyone’s excuses away just by running by. We’ve got her husband involved now. You know he’s going to get plenty of encouragement at home.
Once you’ve started, you’ve got to make the commitment to stay with it, and not let down your guard. Change doesn’t come easy, and the old you will rear up and try to shut things down.
Don’t let it. Stay focused. Have the big picture in mind—you getting smaller. Anything worthwhile never comes easily. There’s always a price to pay, but it’s worth it.
Looking good and feeling good is there for everyone, if you’ll just stay with the program. It doesn’t take nearly as long to take it off as it did to put the weight on.
Still, that’s not fast enough for some people, especially when they see others putting up those big weight-loss numbers on TV, or even here each week. I’ve got to keep reminding them that losing one pound a week is good, two pounds a week is great, and three or more pounds is fantastic.
Even a pound a week will turn into 50 pounds in a year. Most people can double that, if they do everything right. That’s 100 pounds. For most people, they’ll have hit their ideal weight before then.
That brings us to our Biggest Loser this week, Erika Hollis. It’s rare for a woman to put up the higher numbers, because the guys usually have more to lose, and more muscle to help them lose it with. Women also have a different hormone mix that makes it more difficult.
Erika lost an astounding 3.0% of her body weight, for a total of 5.8 pounds. Her two week total is 11.6 pounds lost, putting her in 3rd place for overall weight loss.
She won a $20 Walmart gift card from our sponsor, Terry Elston & State Farm Insurance. Terry is the high school boy’s basketball coach, and is all about helping people achieve their goals!
Second place went to John Rigdon, who lost 2.2% of his body weight and 4.4 pounds. Third place was a tie between two other women woman, Jennifer Bowers and Stacey Reed. Jennifer lost 2.0% of her body weight and 3.9 pounds, and Stacey also lost 2.0% of her body weight, which worked out to 3.4 pounds.
Next week, I’ll give you the skinny on why they’re getting the results they’re getting, and how to put together the perfect meal to keep you eating right, all the time. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "5" WEEK ONE
Before we take a look at how Biggest Loser “5” is shaping up, I wanted to tell you about the Honeybee 5K race held last Saturday at Twin Lakes Park.
Named in honor of Shawna M. Morrison, who gave her life serving in Iraq several years ago, the 3.1 mile run couldn’t have been held on a more perfect day. Sunny and cool, it was a great day for people to get some exercise and test themselves, while contributing to a very worthwhile cause.
Lots of people I know had personal bests. Even I had my best time. I’d been trying to break 26 minutes, and finally did it with the help of a couple friends. Not bad, for a 46 year old snail.
I felt pretty good about that, especially after running through some asthma in the first mile and needing to hit a porta-potty for the last 2 miles. It’s funny how the body always keeps a certain time for things (I could use a later start time, thank you), and running always shakes things up a bit.
Hats off to the YMCA for organizing a great event—the t-shirts were awesome, and I heard they had to order more, after seeing all the registrations. Next year, I’ll bet it will be even bigger. Nice job, everyone that participated! I think Shawna would have been proud.
Now on to Biggest Loser “5.” After getting 52 registrants, we had 48 make it through the first week to the first weigh-in. I don’t know where the others were, or if they’re continuing. We’ll have to see.
I always tell everyone that there will be two groups: one that finishes and one that doesn’t, and ask them which group they’ll in? Starting a massive weight loss campaign is hard. It’s inconvenient and messy, and life intrudes.
Circumstances will always conspire against you (recall the asthma attack & porta-potty issue during my 5K, or my knee during the long run last week). It’s what you do then, that really determines how successful you’ll be. Do you keep trying, or do you let set backs control you?
We also talked about how the results on the TV show aren’t very realistic. No one here gets to live on a ranch without the hassles of work and taking care of the kids. As far as I know, no one has a chef either, and I know no one’s working out for hours a day!
We’re shooting for a mile walk each morning (20 minutes), and a more rigorous, dedicated workout each afternoon or evening. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they’re hitting the weight machine circuit, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, they’re hitting the cardio room for 30-45 minutes.
This week was about getting everyone moving, and we certainly did that during the Friday night workout. Earlier groups have called the room “Tom’s House of Pain.” That might be a little extreme, but basically descriptive.
Everyone did 50 pushups, 50 crunches, and 50 squats, broken up in sets of 10. I told them that while it may seem pretty tough then, in 12 weeks, they’ll be wondering why it was such a big deal. Tough workouts today will be easy ones tomorrow.
Then they did several sets of walking lunges (forward & backwards), monkey runs (on hands & feet), and some stretching. The whole workout is designed to have them doing more and more each week.
As they do things they didn’t think they could do, it gives them confidence. It also makes them stronger. That’s another good reason for everyone to try a 5K walk/run at some point.
The other major goal this week was to get them thinking about their minimum. Regular readers will recognize this term “minimum.” Actually their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), I came up with the term “minimum” to help people understand this is the minimum number of calories your body needs everyday to thrive and survive.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (the established authority on exercise and diet standards), women should never go below 1,200 calories a day, and men should never get under 1,800 calories. This is because most women have a minimum somewhere around 1,250-1,350.
Petite women might be closer to 1,200 and taller, bigger-boned women might be closer to 1,400. This means you need to hit that first, just to provide the body the energy it needs to get through the day.
To feel really good, especially when working out, you need to add another few hundred calories. Stay below your minimum, and your body will think you’re starving, making it very difficult, if not impossible to burn fat for fuel.
This is the number one problem with women trying to lose weight. I already talked with several women who had been eating 800-900 calories a day. One took it up to 1,400 calories and lost 5 pounds this week. 9 out of 10 women don’t eat enough.
1,500 to 1,650 calories a day seems to be just about right for women to feel great while losing weight. For guys, it’s somewhere around 2,250-2,400 calories. It’s usually flipped for guys, though. 9 out of 10 guys tend to overeat, so while the gals need to eat more, we need portion control.
If you’re following along at home, the group is supposed to do 2 circuits on the weight machines. This is not a set followed by a rest, and then another set. Instead, they’re supposed to do a set of each machine, in a row without stopping, and then do it again.
The main goal is to keep their heart rate up, helping them burn more calories. They’re also supposed to turn it up in the cardio room too. Remember, if you can already do it, your body has no reason to change. You’ve got to work hard to drive those calories off.
This week’s winner was Shawn Bowers, who lost an amazing 3.9% of his body weight, for a total of 10.8 lbs. I might also add, that he was one of the ones I was very proud of at the 5K run. Shawn’s a big man, and he ran the 3.1 miles in just over 30 minutes—with all those hills!
Shawn won a Joe’s Pizza gift certificate from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry has graciously come aboard as our sponsor and will be standing with us all the way through to the end with a $250 prize for the winner, $150 prize for 2nd place, and a $100 prize for the 3rd place finisher in 12 weeks.
We’ll have Shawn’s picture in the paper sometime this week. Stay tuned for more results from Biggest Loser “5” next week!
Named in honor of Shawna M. Morrison, who gave her life serving in Iraq several years ago, the 3.1 mile run couldn’t have been held on a more perfect day. Sunny and cool, it was a great day for people to get some exercise and test themselves, while contributing to a very worthwhile cause.
Lots of people I know had personal bests. Even I had my best time. I’d been trying to break 26 minutes, and finally did it with the help of a couple friends. Not bad, for a 46 year old snail.
I felt pretty good about that, especially after running through some asthma in the first mile and needing to hit a porta-potty for the last 2 miles. It’s funny how the body always keeps a certain time for things (I could use a later start time, thank you), and running always shakes things up a bit.
Hats off to the YMCA for organizing a great event—the t-shirts were awesome, and I heard they had to order more, after seeing all the registrations. Next year, I’ll bet it will be even bigger. Nice job, everyone that participated! I think Shawna would have been proud.
Now on to Biggest Loser “5.” After getting 52 registrants, we had 48 make it through the first week to the first weigh-in. I don’t know where the others were, or if they’re continuing. We’ll have to see.
I always tell everyone that there will be two groups: one that finishes and one that doesn’t, and ask them which group they’ll in? Starting a massive weight loss campaign is hard. It’s inconvenient and messy, and life intrudes.
Circumstances will always conspire against you (recall the asthma attack & porta-potty issue during my 5K, or my knee during the long run last week). It’s what you do then, that really determines how successful you’ll be. Do you keep trying, or do you let set backs control you?
We also talked about how the results on the TV show aren’t very realistic. No one here gets to live on a ranch without the hassles of work and taking care of the kids. As far as I know, no one has a chef either, and I know no one’s working out for hours a day!
We’re shooting for a mile walk each morning (20 minutes), and a more rigorous, dedicated workout each afternoon or evening. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they’re hitting the weight machine circuit, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, they’re hitting the cardio room for 30-45 minutes.
This week was about getting everyone moving, and we certainly did that during the Friday night workout. Earlier groups have called the room “Tom’s House of Pain.” That might be a little extreme, but basically descriptive.
Everyone did 50 pushups, 50 crunches, and 50 squats, broken up in sets of 10. I told them that while it may seem pretty tough then, in 12 weeks, they’ll be wondering why it was such a big deal. Tough workouts today will be easy ones tomorrow.
Then they did several sets of walking lunges (forward & backwards), monkey runs (on hands & feet), and some stretching. The whole workout is designed to have them doing more and more each week.
As they do things they didn’t think they could do, it gives them confidence. It also makes them stronger. That’s another good reason for everyone to try a 5K walk/run at some point.
The other major goal this week was to get them thinking about their minimum. Regular readers will recognize this term “minimum.” Actually their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), I came up with the term “minimum” to help people understand this is the minimum number of calories your body needs everyday to thrive and survive.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (the established authority on exercise and diet standards), women should never go below 1,200 calories a day, and men should never get under 1,800 calories. This is because most women have a minimum somewhere around 1,250-1,350.
Petite women might be closer to 1,200 and taller, bigger-boned women might be closer to 1,400. This means you need to hit that first, just to provide the body the energy it needs to get through the day.
To feel really good, especially when working out, you need to add another few hundred calories. Stay below your minimum, and your body will think you’re starving, making it very difficult, if not impossible to burn fat for fuel.
This is the number one problem with women trying to lose weight. I already talked with several women who had been eating 800-900 calories a day. One took it up to 1,400 calories and lost 5 pounds this week. 9 out of 10 women don’t eat enough.
1,500 to 1,650 calories a day seems to be just about right for women to feel great while losing weight. For guys, it’s somewhere around 2,250-2,400 calories. It’s usually flipped for guys, though. 9 out of 10 guys tend to overeat, so while the gals need to eat more, we need portion control.
If you’re following along at home, the group is supposed to do 2 circuits on the weight machines. This is not a set followed by a rest, and then another set. Instead, they’re supposed to do a set of each machine, in a row without stopping, and then do it again.
The main goal is to keep their heart rate up, helping them burn more calories. They’re also supposed to turn it up in the cardio room too. Remember, if you can already do it, your body has no reason to change. You’ve got to work hard to drive those calories off.
This week’s winner was Shawn Bowers, who lost an amazing 3.9% of his body weight, for a total of 10.8 lbs. I might also add, that he was one of the ones I was very proud of at the 5K run. Shawn’s a big man, and he ran the 3.1 miles in just over 30 minutes—with all those hills!
Shawn won a Joe’s Pizza gift certificate from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. Terry has graciously come aboard as our sponsor and will be standing with us all the way through to the end with a $250 prize for the winner, $150 prize for 2nd place, and a $100 prize for the 3rd place finisher in 12 weeks.
We’ll have Shawn’s picture in the paper sometime this week. Stay tuned for more results from Biggest Loser “5” next week!
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