This week marked the 12th and final week of Biggest Loser “9.” It was a pretty small group this time, and we started with 28, while 11 made the final weigh-in. Two didn’t make it to the weigh-in that I think are still involved, so that leaves us with 13 out of the original 28, so we lost just over half the people.
On the first day, I told them the same thing I tell every group: “Before this is over, half of you are going to quit. Which group are you going to be in? The half that quits or the half that sticks it out?” No one ever starts, thinking they’re going to be a quitter, but things happen, life intrudes, and it becomes easy to slip away.
If fitness hasn’t become a habit, a daily lifestyle, then it’s easy to slip back into the old ways of doing something. That’s why it’s critical to try to stick it out for at least 12 weeks. After that, if you’re still going, you’ve probably turned the corner and made it a lifestyle change.
That’s why once you start toward a goal the most important thing you can do afterward is simply choosing to continue. Or put another way, not stopping. Every day, you make a decision to keep going. That’s what will make the difference between making just another New Year’s resolution and getting a new life.
At the start of the twelve weeks, everyone walked or ran a mile for time, did pushups for a minute, and also did sit-ups for a minute. At the final workout, we had them do all three tests again. While not everyone had the chance to take the post-test, those that did showed nice improvements in all three areas.
For the twelve and final week, our winner was Cindy Irish, who lost 1.7% of her body weight and 2.8 lbs. Jennifer Bowers came in second, losing 1.6% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Third place was a tie between Rob Irish and Michelle Nugent who both lost 1.4% of their body weight. Rob lost 2.4 lbs and Michelle lost 1.8 lbs.
Since Rob wasn’t present at the final weigh-in, Michelle received the $15 gift card from Terry Elston and State Farm Insurance. At the start of the twelve weeks, State Farm provided pedometers to all the participants, and Terry Elston provided Walmart gift cards as prizes each week to all the weekly winners. Thanks Terry!
For Biggest Loser “9,” Michelle Nugent was the overall winner, losing 20.1% of her body weight and 33.0 lbs. Her original goal was to lose 35-40 lbs, and she got very close to it. Now she’s just seven lbs away from her original goal. Then she’ll need to slip into maintenance mode.
Significant weight loss means working out every day, some days twice a day. Once you’re where you want to be, it’s easier to maintain it. You just need to dial in your calories and can drop back to working out four to five days a week. If you feel you’re slipping backward, you can always adjust your calories a little, and add in a workout.
Michelle was also the only one to lose weight every week. Some weeks it was more than others, but that showed a very consistent approach. Some weeks she won, but in the weeks she didn’t, she was still up there in 3rd, 4th or 5th place. That accounts for her final result of losing 33.0 lbs.
Second place overall went to Karen Brown, who lost 15.4% of her body weight and an amazing 42.8 lbs. This gave her the distinction of being our first woman to lose more than 40 lbs in 12 weeks, and also the most weight overall. Previously, Erica Hollis had the record, losing 37.0 lbs in BL “5.” Karen has just raised the bar substantially. But she’s not done yet.
Karen is planning on continuing her routine in the next Biggest Loser and has set a new goal. That’s important. Now she knows what to do, and working with another group will help keep her motivated and accountable. I think it will also let her be an inspiration to others.
Third place overall went to Nita Comstock, who lost 11.1% of her body weight and 17.6 lbs. Nita learned that she likes running, and took 4 minutes off her 1 mile walk/run time. Fourth place overall went to Rob Irish, who lost 10.5% of his body weight and 19.4 lbs. Fifth place went to Tammi Hewitt, who won the last Biggest Loser. This time, she lost 7.4 % of her body weight and another 10.4 lbs.
Sixth place went to Renea Mullins, who lost 7.3% of her body weight and 20.4 lbs. She also took about 4 minutes off her 1 mile walk/run. Seventh place was a tie between Cindy Irish and Cathy Kemper, who both lost 5.3% of their body weight. Cindy lost 9.2 lbs and Cathy lost 10.0 lbs. Vicki Riggen ended with 6.2 lbs, and Jennifer Bowers finished with 5.8 lbs.
Our holiday strategy is pretty simple. Don’t gain any weight! If you watch what you eat and get most of your workouts in, it’s pretty easy to maintain your weight, even with all the extra temptations around. Just enjoy things in moderation. Remember, Vicki lost weight in BL “8” on a cruise ship!
Once the holidays are over, we’ll get back in the swing of things with Biggest Loser “10” and “11.” Yep, we’re going to try to run two different ones at the same time. One group will meet on Friday nights from 6:30-7:30, and the other will meet Saturday mornings from 10:00-11:00.
We might even have them compete against each other! You need to come in and reserve your space. The cost is still just $50 to participate, and you don’t have to be a member here, although you really need to be a member somewhere so you can get your workouts in. You’ve got to be working out.
Don’t miss this chance to make 2010 the year you get your body back! The year will come and go before you know it. Have a Merry Christmas and I’ll see you next week!
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