BIGGEST LOSER "18" -- PREVIEW

This week I thought I’d tell you a little bit about what to expect in Biggest Loser “18” which starts a week from Monday on Sept. 16th. For those of you that won’t be able to participate, I’m going to use this column to give you the full rundown each week, so you can follow along on your own if you like!

The first thing we’re going to do is weigh-in. Most people know they need to lose weight, but it’s often a wake up call. For sure, some of them will have been avoiding the scale, which I understand, but that’s really the wrong approach.

That’s like knowing you’re overdrawn at the bank, so you just don’t open your statements. Or knowing you can’t pay all your bills, so you just let them pile up unopened. How can you fix something if you don’t know how badly it’s broken? You need the truth, so it can set you free.

It gives you a starting point, so you know where you need to go. It also lets you know how bad things are from a risk standpoint. Being overweight can cause some problems, but being obese can kill you.

So we’ll weigh-in, and then also do their body fat percentage, along with several other measurements, including using an actual tape measure. I’m also going to encourage them to take a “before” picture from both the front, and the side, in skimpy clothing (sports bra & shorts, or just shorts for the guys). That will give them something to compare to in a month, two months, and at the end of the 12 weeks.

Then we’re going to do several fitness assessments, including a sit & reach test, a minute of push-ups, a minute of sit-ups, a minute of body squats, a minute of burpees, and finally, a 1 mile walk/run! Then, at the end of the 12 weeks, we’ll do them again, and they’ll be amazed at how much they’ve improved in most of the categories.

We’ll go over the basic game plan, which is always to get moving, and keep moving. They more they move, they more they’ll lose. It’s that simple. They’ll also get some examples of simple meal plans that have worked well for people in the past, and learn what workouts to do during the first week.

Then every week after the weigh-in, we’ll talk about something different about food, and then I’ll kick their butts with a new workout for the week. The goal there, will be to keep increasing the level of intensity each week, so they can burn more calories each time.

I’ll also encourage them to do a separate, second workout, usually first thing in the morning. This can be as simple as walking for 20 minutes (a mile), or riding the exercise bike. It doesn’t have to be hard. It just gets them moving, and will be the difference in losing more weight.

The most we’ve seen in twelve weeks was 60 lbs, on two different occasions, and several others have lost in the 40’s and 50’s. They were killing it though. The vast majority of people tend to fall somewhere between 15 and 25 lbs, which is still pretty good, don’t you think?

In the end, it’s always up to you, how well you do. But if this sounds like something that might be good for you, I’d love to see you this time in Biggest Loser “18.”

For more information about getting involved in this community-wide program, you can reach me at the gym, email at tomdolanfitness@gmail.com, or through Facebook at www.facebook/tomdolanfitness!