BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 10

When we began the 12 weeks, we started the group with what I call Level I training (circuit training with machines) for a month. Then we introduced them to Level II workouts (single exercises with free weights and dumbbells).

After that, they started on our Level III training (compound exercises with free weights). The goal was to keep the workouts progressing so their bodies would never get used to the training—that way they’d keep changing.

The Level III training helps them get great workouts fast—none of them take longer than 30 minutes. They also burn more calories because you’re working several muscle groups at the same time.

Here’s the final week of workouts for the group, in case you want to give it a try.

• Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
• Do each numbered exercise 12-15 repetitions in a circuit, four times, without stopping.
  Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!
  
  Level III Workouts—Week Four

Monday
Pushups on Rings (or Ball)
Jumping Pullups
Ab Routine #1-4 (Crunches, Legs Up, Crossing, Leg Lifts)
*Single Arm Cable Lateral Raises (1 set to max)

Wednesday
Thrusters with Bar
Reverse Pullups
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)

Friday
Jumping DB Clean & Presses
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)

This week’s Biggest Loser was Bill Lewis, who lost 3.8% of his body weight and a total of 8.0 lbs. That’s impressive, even if he was taking off most of the 10 lbs he’d put on during his recent vacation.

He’s not the first one to face that problem this summer. As soon as he got back from vacation, he got back to work and took off eight pounds. Bill won a $20 Walmart gift certificate from Dimond Brother Insurance.

2nd Place went to Pam Kelly who lost 2.1% of her body weight and a total of 5.6 lbs. Any other week, she probably would have won, but this happened to be the week Bill got back!

Pam was in the last group of Biggest Losers also. She recently took me up on a challenge I made at the end of the last group. She ran/walked a 5K race a few weeks ago and plans to do another one soon.

Next week I’m going to introduce the group to Level 4 training. Believe it or not, many of the workouts are done in 20 minutes, and one in particular takes less than 10 minutes, but it’s intense. I’ll tell you more later. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 9

At the last meeting we talked about continuing to turn up the cardio intensity with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and in their weight workouts with our Level III training. This last month is all about turning up the intensity.

The main mistake I see people make is that they do the same things that they’ve gotten used to—that they’re comfortable with. But if you’ll change it up, your body will continue changing too. That will help you get past the normal plateau’s you’ll find along the way.

I taught them the next two week’s Level III workouts, so here they are in case you’d like to try them. Each workout will hit your entire body—the pushing muscles (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps), the pulling muscles (Back & Biceps), your lower body, as well as your core.

Remember, the goal is to do everything back to back, with no breaks, except for water. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to do the exercises, so you can do them safely.

• Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
• Do each numbered exercise 10-12 reps (guys) or 12-15 reps (gals) in a circuit 4 times!
• Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!
  
  Level III Workouts—Week Two

Monday
DB Thrusters (Squat & Press)
Ring Pullups
Floor Wipers
*DB Curl 21’s (1 set to max)

Wednesday
DB Single Arm Clean & Press
DB Curls (both arms, together)
Ab Crunches on the Ball—one leg raised
*Ball Pushups & Knee Curls (1 set to max)

Friday
EZ Bar Deadlift, Curl & Reverse Press
Pilates Crunches
*DB Lateral Raises (1 set to max)

Level III Workouts—Week Three

Monday
Jumping Squats with Bar
Pullover Presses on Ball
SA Dumbbell Curls
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)

Wednesday
Push Presses with Bar
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)

Friday
Jumping Lunge with SA DB Press
DB Curl 21’s
Pilates Crunches
*SA Cable Curl (1 set to max)

This week’s Biggest Loser was Denise Cravens, who lost 2.8% of her body weight and 4.2 lbs. Denise has been working hard for months and was pretty happy to be in the winner’s column! She received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

This will be the 3rd twelve week Biggest Loser we’ve done in a row and I’m wondering if it’s time to take a break. I’d bring it back in September to coincide with the TV show like we did last fall.

It’s really up to you, though. We started with 68 people this time, and 57 people last time. If there’s enough interest to do a 4th one this year during the summer, I’m willing. It would start on 7/11 if we did it.

The other idea I had was to take a smaller group of say 20 people, and personally train them for the summer—no contest—just hard work and results. We’ll have to see what develops. You’ll have to let me know.

See you next week. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 8

It’s been eight weeks and it’s time for another update on everyone’s progress. We started with 68 people and 36 people made the weigh-in last Friday.

As usual, the contestants have divided themselves into three groups. The first group is made up of people who have quit for one reason or another. They’re not around anymore.

The second group is made up of people that are still involved, but I don’t see them much. Quite a few of them have been on vacation this summer. Some make a Friday workout and weigh-in, and then miss another. Some have been sick. At least one had knee surgery.

Finally, we have a core group of people left who are really pushing hard. I see them in the gym all the time, doing more and more. Around 20 to 25 of them make the regular Friday night workouts to learn how to turn it up.

This time, after the weigh-in and announcements, I spent about 10 minutes explaining the new exercises. In the first four weeks, they did Level I exercises on the machines. In weeks 5 to 8, they did Level II exercises on the free weights.

If you’ll remember, free weights cause you to use more stabilizer muscles and engage your core more—burning more calories and giving you a better workout.

This week, they’ll be starting on Level III. Instead of simple one-movement exercises that primarily focus on a single muscle group, this time, they’ll be doing compound movements that combine different exercises.

The Clean-Jerk and Press is a good example. You bend down and pick up the bar, jerk it up to shoulder level, move yourself slightly so you’re underneath the bar, and then press it overhead.

Another example is the Walking, Lunge, Curl & Press. Holding 2 dumbbells just light enough for you to be able to shoulder press them, take a walking step forward (lunge). While maintaining that position, curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders, and then turn your hands and press the dumbbells up over head. Lower the weights, take another long lunging step and repeat.

These exercises are demanding because you’re using so many different muscle groups all at the same time. They have a huge influence on your metabolism and are awesome calorie burners. They also engage your core the whole time.

I gave them four weeks of workouts to finish out the 12 weeks. Each workout is different, causing your body to respond more dramatically. In case you’d like to try them on for size, here’s their Level III workout for Week Nine:

Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
Do each primary exercise 10-12 reps (guys) or 12-15 reps (gals) in a circuit 4 times!
Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!


Monday
Clean Jerk & Press
Standing EZ Bar Curl
Pilates Crunches
*Single Arm Cable Curl

Wednesday
Walking Lunge, Curl & Press
Ab Routine #1-4: (Crunches, Legs Up, Crossing, Leg Lifts)
*Dumbbell Lateral Raises

Friday
Box Step Ups with Curls
Single Arm Dumbbell Press on Ball
Hanging Knee Raises
*Tricep Overhead Press

While half the people tried out the exercises, I took the other half of the group into the cardio room and showed them how to do high intensity interval training (HIIT).

Basically, HIIT is a way to pack 40-45 minutes worth of work into 20-24 minutes. It doesn’t matter what equipment you use. They used the treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes, rotating on each after 7-8 minutes.

What you do is take a perceived exertion scale of 1-10, where 1-4 would be about like lying on the couch. Level 5 and 6 is pretty easy and you could do it indefinitely. Level 7 is where we started—not too hard, but you can definitely feel it. That was their 2 minute warmup—at what felt like a “7.”

Then they cranked it up to what felt like an “8” on their perceived exertion scale. This meant they were jogging on the treadmill, or walking up a very steep grade. On the bikes and ellipticals, they cranked up the levels until it was pretty hard, but they could still do it.

After a minute of working at what felt like an “8”, they backed it down to a 6 or 7 to recover for a minute. Then, they took it back up to what felt like an “8” for another minute, and so on.

After 8 minutes, they switched to a different piece of cardio equipment so they could see how it felt while doing other things.

When they’d done several intervals at an “8”, they did one at what felt like a “9.” A nine is very difficult. You can do it for a while, but only for a little while (a “10” would be too difficult to continue). They were all watching the clock, cause it was killer—but they did it!

Finally, after about 20-22 minutes, they did one final interval at a “9”, but for two minutes! This one was brutal. I could really hear them breathing hard, grunting and groaning, with focused intensity—exactly what it takes to get what you want. One of them told me “I thought I was about ready to die, at the end of those two minutes.”

They stayed on for a couple minutes, and backed it down around what felt like a “5” to cool down a little bit. One other important note: make sure you have your water bottle with you, and every time you are on a resting interval, take a sip or two of water. By the time you’ve finished your workout, you should have finished the bottle. This will keep you hydrated.

Well there’s their workout strategy for the next four weeks to finish out the contest: HIIT training on cardio days, and Level III workouts (compound exercises) in the weight room. Of course they’ve got to keep watching what they eat.

The winner this week was Theresa Finley, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. Theresa won a $20 Kroger gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for her hard work.

Remember, for most people, losing a pound a week is pretty predictable. Two pounds a week is doable if you’re walking a mile in the morning and then getting your real workout in later in the day. Anything over two pounds a week is outstanding. Here’s the breakdown after Week 8:

1. Josh Rigdon 14.3 % 38.8 lbs
2. Tracy Rush 11.4 % 27.2 lbs
3. Rodney Rodrick 11.1 % 27.2 lbs
4. Judy Rush 10.3 % 19.6 lbs
5. Julie Reed 10.1 % 17.3 lbs
6. Kelly Reed 10.0 % 19.8 lbs
7. Darren German 8.3 % 25.0 lbs
8. Mike Elledge 8.1 % 24.4 lbs
9. Steve Jones 7.0 % 17.8 lbs
10. Shawn Bowers 7.0% 21.4 lbs
11. Kellie Gates 6.9 % 15.4 lbs
12. Jeannie Kaufman 6.8 % 11.0 lbs
13. Janet Tyler 5.7 % 10.0 lbs
14. John Kaufman 5.5 % 11.6 lbs
15. Kelli Stidham 5.2 % 14.0 lbs
16. Alta Cary 5.1 % 12.3 lbs
17. Karen Kerrick 4.3 % 6.6 lbs
18. Lynn Anderson 4.2 % 8.2 lbs
19. Lisa Eskew 4.2 % 7.6 lbs
20. Julie Wieland 3.9 % 7.6 lbs
21. Pam Kelly 3.6 % 9.6 lbs
22. Laura Whitaker 3.5 % 10.2 lbs
23. Samantha Wombles 3.4 % 10.0 lbs
24. Denise Cravens 3.4 % 5.4 lbs
25. Sheri Hackett 3.3 % 7.4 lbs
26. Theresa Finley 3.0 % 6.6 lbs
27. Gary Lane 2.9 % 8.0 lbs
28. Tina Cooper 2.8 % 5.0 lbs
29. Jasmine Camp 2.8 % 6.0 lbs
30. Rosa Wolfe 2.7 % 6.2 lbs
31. Bridgett Trover 2.2 % 4.0 lbs
32. Mandy Neal 2.1 % 4.8 lbs
33. Shirley Fiscus 1.2 % 2.4 lbs
34. Penny Spinner 1.1 % 1.8 lbs
35. Loretta Morgan 0.1 % 1.4 lbs
36. Kathy Rhoads 0.1 % 0.8 lbs

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 7

Have you ever been so proud of someone you just wanted to burst? Of course you have—if you’ve ever had kids or grandkids.

Well, last Friday, I took 22 of the Biggest Losers out to the H.S. football field and laid down a challenge: 8 laps around the track (2 miles), with 25 body squats, 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups after each lap (200 total)!

The challenge was actually a mental one as much as a physical one. To my amazement, no one said anything—not one complaint, not one argument, no one bargained. They all just kind of gave me that faraway look and said O.K. What a great group!

My plan was actually to have them do half that much—4 laps around the track (1 mile), and 100 total body squats, pushups and sit-ups. I wanted to see how they’d react though. Plus, when it got tough, I wanted them to remember that it could have been twice as much, and that would keep them going.

Don’t think I was taking it easy on them. Even a mile is tough when you throw in 25 squats, pushups & sit-ups in between each lap—try it sometime. In addition, they were supposed to run anytime they could.

If they were pretty good at running, they were to run the whole thing, as fast as they could. If they hadn’t been running much, then I wanted them to at least try to jog at times down the straight-aways.

After they got back in from the 1st ¼ mile, I let them in on the secret and they were all pretty happy about it. But you know, I think they would have done it even if I hadn’t cut it in half.
This is that kind of group.

Take Judy Rush for example. She’s lost 22.2 pounds to date in 7 weeks. That’s great, but she’s lost 70 pounds total, including the 47 pounds she lost before we ever met her. You could see why, if you watched her working out with the group.

Judy has some pretty serious knee problems, but she never quits. She even does the squats with everyone else, although she has to modify them, going just halfway down on the one side. I even saw her sprinting down the back straight-away!

No wonder she’s lost 70 pounds. She might never win this contest, but she’s still a winner, and a great example. She also takes your excuses away.

Everyone finished the workout, and they all agreed it was pretty tough. I challenged them to try the 2 mile version sometime. Anytime you put some running intervals in between full body exercises in a workout, you’ll burn a lot of calories.

This week’s winner was Gary Lane, who joined us at the start of Week Two. Gary lost 2.0% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs during the week. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

Next week, I’ll give you everyone’s two-month totals and tell you how we’re going to turn it up yet again. We’ve got to keep things moving—and these guys and gals can take it. Right now, it’s time for my workout!

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 6

So we’re at the halfway point for Biggest Loser “4.” It always amazes me how fast these things go. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. My cutie-pie is 7 ½, I just turned 46—life seems to be moving faster than ever.

Remember when we were younger and things seemed to take forever? Sometimes weight loss is like that, but you have to realize that things didn’t get this way overnight.

What if it takes six months or even a year? Time is going to pass anyway—you might as well spend it doing something that helps you get what you want.

I was wearing my singing and speaking hat this morning at a church up in Chrisman. One of the things I believe is how we’re here for a purpose. It’s not supposed to be all about us.

But if we’re not healthy, it can become all about us. Diabetes and heart disease will make sure of that. But how can you spend your time helping others when you don’t feel good enough to help yourself?

There’s another area we need to take responsibility for, though it may not seem related: our “financial health.” Just like learning how to eat right and exercise smart, fixing your finances takes great discipline. And just like overeating and not exercising, the consequences of not addressing our spending and saving habits can have grave consequences.

We’re a fast food society, and that mindset permeates our entire culture. We want things now, and we want them fast. We’re encouraged to buy now and pay later, but boy do we pay later! One little credit card charge here, a car payment we can’t afford there, and “all of a sudden” when things get bad, we’re in too deep to get out.

Just making the minimum payments can be tough and it can take years to pay down something that has long since lost its value. Soon, we’re trapped in a cycle that holds us prisoner—just like when we’re overweight, out of shape and our health is declining.

If we can learn to live on less than we earn, though, and save a little for a rainy day, we can be prepared for when times get tough. Just like eating right and exercising smart, it takes a total transformation of how we think, and how we live.

We have to learn to say “no” to things we don’t really need. We’ve got to learn to make tough choices, and think long term, instead of in the “right now.” Like Dave Ramsey says on his radio show and in his book “The Total Money Makeover”… “You’ve got to live like no one else, so someday you can live like no one else.”

For full details, I totally recommend his book, but here’s how it works. First, you’ve got to create an emergency fund of $1,000 that you keep on hand for—emergencies. That’s what Dave calls Baby Step #1.

The second thing Dave teaches is the Debt Snowball (Baby Step #2). Here’s how it works:

Arrange all your debts from smallest to largest.
Make minimum payments on everything except the smallest one. That one you’re going to attack with all your energy and extra resources.
If you don’t have any extra in the budget to attack the debt, sell something. Sell lots of things. Get an extra job if necessary.
When you pay it off, you move on to the next one and so on.

Cut up all your credit cards—Dave calls it a “plasectomy.” Learn to live on a debit card—if you don’t have it, you can’t spend it.

Make a commitment to incur no new debt. Nothing. This is going to catch a lot of people, but it’s the key to everything. A diet only works if you stick to it. An exercise program only works if you show up. No new debt. Period.

If you can’t afford things, sell them. Quit making payments. Monthly payments are “death by a thousand cuts” and they’ll suck the life out of you.

I have to tell you, that this can be incredibly liberating if you’ll do it. It may seem impossible—just like losing 80 or 100 lbs. But it is possible. I’ve seen people do both, and I’m working to lose the financial weight, myself.

It’s tough, if not impossible, helping someone when you’re worried about paying your own light bill. Once you start getting rid of some of those payments, you’ll have the ability to do more for the people you care about. You’ll be able to respond when you see a need, and that’s very cool.

Dave’s Baby Step #3 is a little tougher. After you’ve eliminated all debt (except the house), fully fund your emergency fund with 3-6 months expenses. Then, if something really comes along to rock your world, you’ll have the capacity to deal with it.

Did you know that people in good health have a much greater chance to survive serious, traumatic injuries? Their bodies apparently have a reserve and strength that get them through it.

It’s the same thing with our financial health. Just like our bodies, we’ve got to get our house in order. Then, when the storm comes, we might be shaken, but we’ll survive.

Back to Biggest Loser “4.” This week’s winner was Shawn Bowers who lost 3.2% of his body weight and an incredible 9.6 lbs! Shawn had been losing a lot of weight early in the contest, but had just gone on vacation, and put some of those pounds back on.

We’ll be watching closely to see how he does next week. My prediction is that he’ll continue his losing ways, and probably come in around 4-5 lbs lighter. Shawn won a $20 Walmart gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. He earned it!

For those of you who already are in good health—whether it’s physically, or financially, I want to encourage you to use your gift. Get out and do something. Help someone, cause remember, it’s not all about us.

Those of you that aren’t quite there (me too), that’s O.K. It might need to be about you for a little while so you can get some things fixed. But let’s do it. Let’s get moving!

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 5

This week the group really had a treat. Remember Camilla from the last set of articles for the last group? Camilla’s a registered dietician at Terre Haute Regional, and she came back in to talk to our latest group of people in Biggest Loser “4.”

Because her presentation is so good, instead of paraphrasing, I’m going to reproduce her Top Ten Tips word for word:

“Ten Tips for Healthy and Conscious Eating”
Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD
Terre Haute Regional Hospital

Be aware of your calorie requirements. Many software programs and websites will give you a close estimate. Try www.mypyramid.gov and click on My Pyramid Plan.

To lose weight, many sources recommend taking in 300-500 calories less than your estimated needs. Most active women should not eat less than 1500 kcalories, most active men no less than 1800. If you find yourself hungry, unsatisfied, or constantly thinking about food, than you are most likely depriving yourself too much!

Keeping a food log for a few days can be helpful. Be thorough and write down everything. Self-evaluate by estimating calories (www.calorieking.com). Or simply compare your food choices to a suggested eating pattern based on food groups and serving sizes (www.mypyramid.gov). Limit food logs to a few days or one day every once in a while. Focusing on every bite over a long period of time is not healthy.

Plan meals around fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen, or canned (light syrup or juice-packed fruit) are all good choices.

Include good sources of protein with your meals and snacks: chicken, fish, beans, nuts or peanut butter, eggs, lowfat yogurt or milk, soy products, and lean meats. Protein is very important but small portions (2-3 ounces, 8-12 ounces lowfat milk or yogurt) is plenty. Think of protein as an important side dish, not as the main entrée.

Never “save” your appetite for a huge meal or to allow yourself more calories in the evening. The effect on appetite, satiety cues (feeling full or satisfied), and metabolism are counter-productive when trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain!

Eat with 2 hours of getting up in the morning. Even if you are not hungry, a light healthy snack that includes some protein will do. People who skip breakfast tend to consume more calories throughout the rest of the day and are more likely to have weight issues.

Don’t give up your favorite foods, no matter how indulgent they may be. Just don’t keep them too handy! If you must have it, make a special trip to the store or order it as a special treat when eating out.

Choose calories you can chew – limit juices, sports drinks, regular soda, alcohol, and specialty coffees. And remember the best diet drink of all – water!

Don’t snack or eat meals in front of the tube, while reading, or using the computer. Make eating its own activity, enjoy it, and then move on to another activity.

(Adapted from RD411.com website, which contains education tools for dietetic professionals.)
Thanks, Camilla!

This week’s winner was Bill Lewis (finally) who lost 2.5% of his body weight and 5.0 lbs. Bill has been the runner up for quite a few weeks. You might recall that Bill lost 52.5 lbs in the last group, and has lost another 26.0 lbs in the last 5 weeks. That’s 78.5 lbs total in 19 weeks! Bill received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, our weekly sponsor.

Second place went to Alta Cary, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs, with third place going to Jasmine Camp, who lost 1.7% of her body weight, and 3.6 lbs. Nice job, girls!

Those who missed the Friday night workout missed a good one. Most everyone agreed it was the toughest so far. Quite a few commented how they would never have been able to do it just five short weeks ago.

About 25 people showed up for it, and they learned a new free weight routine and how to turn it into high intensity interval training. Remember, last week they moved from the machines to free weights, using dumbbells (which recruit all the accessory muscles) and exercise balls (which work your core more).

Basically, I showed them how to alternate the dumbbell exercises with core exercises such as ab crunches on the ball, or planks and the like, to build intensity into the workout. This way, they never quit moving.

I call this active rest. While one muscle group is resting, another’s working. We even threw running into the mix, between sets.

Try it. It really boosts the intensity, and that means you’ll be burning more calories. That means you’ll lose more weight. I’ll tell you more about this next week. Right now, I’ve got to go for a run!

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 4

Last week we talked about being intentional about things. You know, doing things on purpose for a purpose. If you take enough steps in the right direction, well, then you get there.

If you want to accomplish anything in your life, you need to have desire. You need a dream. You’ve got to take action and get things started. And then you need to do things intentionally each day that will help you get to your goal.

But once you get past the problem of getting started, something else often gets in the way. You’ve heard the old saying—“we have met the enemy and he is us.” Life intrudes and old habits die hard.

Here’s where you need to have staying power, because things will try to throw you off track. You need consistency. You need to be like Chris and Cheryl from Biggest Loser “3.” You remember Chris. He was the biggest loser ever to not be the Biggest Loser!

He lost 56.5 lbs during the 12 weeks. Cheryl did pretty well too, losing over 36 lbs. Sometimes, people do the next one so they can keep things going. In their case, they knew they’d learned enough to keep it going. They’ve also learned how to be consistent.

Friday night, I was talking to the group about having what it takes, and in the other room there were just two people working out doing cardio. Guess who? The Redmons. I swear you can’t plan this stuff.

Chris told me he just hit the 75 lb mark this week and was shooting for 100 lbs. Cheryl’s at just under 50 lbs. It was Friday night, their contest has been over for a month and a half, and they’re the only two in the whole gym (except for the Biggest Losers).

Then after our meeting, I took the whole group back to the free weight room to get them going on Level II, and guess who was coming out. The Redmons. You could tell they’d really been hitting it. What a great example.

Folks, that’s consistency. I can set my clock by those two, and some others I see everyday. They’ve learned how to not let anything get in the way of them getting what they want. They know what they need to do, and they do it.

I believe that God inspires and makes things possible, but God won’t do it for us (except for those things too big for us to do). In the end, it’s up to us.

Right now, we’ve got over 50 people still going on Biggest Loser “4” (we started with 67). It’s been a month, and we’ve lost 17. Several signed up but never even showed up to the first weigh-in. Then, each week, we’ve lost a few for various reasons.

This week, our winner was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.8% of his body weight and 7.0 lbs. Josh has been hitting it pretty hard, and received a $20 Kroger Gift Certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

Here’s a list of the top 25 losers (that made the last weigh-in) for the first four weeks. They’re ranked in order of percentage of weight loss and are for just about half the group. Most of the others have lost between 2 and 4 pounds.

Next week, we’ll look at how the remaining contestants are turning it up. Right now, it’s time for my work out.

1. Josh Rigdon 9.8% 26.2 lbs
2. Bill Lewis 9.4% 21.0 lbs
3. Tracy Rush 8.3% 19.8 lbs
4. Rodney Rodrick 8.1% 19.8 lbs
5. Darren German 6.5% 19.4 lbs
6. Mike Elledge 6.3% 19.1 lbs
7. Kelly Reed 6.3% 12.4 lbs
8. John Kaufman 5.8% 12.2 lbs
9. Judy Rush 5.5% 10.4 lbs
10. Jeannie Kaufman 5.2% 8.4 lbs
11. Stacey Reed 4.3% 8.4 lbs
12. Shirley Duniphan 4.1% 9.0 lbs
13. Shawn Bowers 4.1% 12.6 lbs
14. Ed Motley 4.0% 9.6 lbs
15. Julie Reed 3.8% 6.6 lbs
16. Kelli Stidham 3.6% 9.6 lbs
17. Janet Tyler 3.5% 6.2 lbs
18. Kelli Gates 3.5% 7.8 lbs
19. Barb Board 3.3% 6.4 lbs
20. Lisa Eskew 3.3% 6.0 lbs
21. Nancy Motley 3.2% 4.6 lbs
22. Steve Jones 2.8% 7.2 lbs
23. Julie Wieland 2.8% 5.8 lbs
24. Lynn Anderson 2.7% 5.2 lbs
25. Gary Lane 2.3% 6.4 lbs

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 3

This week I want to talk about being intentional. This is where you do certain things on purpose, with an overall goal in mind. You’re trying to achieve or accomplish something.

We send kids to school with the intention that they learn something. We go to the doctor with the intention of getting better. Most people come up and exercise with the intention of shape, or stay in shape.

Intention can also be a bad thing. As a police officer (in my spare time) I’ve learned that intent can be the thing that makes a crime more serious.

For example, if you’re in a store, and the impulse overcomes you to take something, it’s shoplifting. But if you plan the act outside, and then go in the store with the intent of taking something, that crime is now called burglary—with much stiffer penalties.

Here’s another example. If you lose your cool and pop someone during a heated argument (and they’re not hurt too bad) you committed simple battery. But if you hide in their home with the intent of committing a battery, now that’s home invasion—a Class X felony!

Lack of intent can also get you in trouble. Let’s go back to our school example. We can send our kids to school, but if they just sit there, and never really work at it, well, you know what’s going to happen. If that same kid applies him or herself, studying hard, doing all the assignments, extra readings and the like, that child is going places.

Here’s another example from my other job. If I’m in a position to help somebody keep from being harmed, and had the ability to do so but didn’t—I’d be in trouble. Did you know that?

Intention is a powerful thing. If we can learn to do things (good things) with intent, we can accomplish a lot. During our Friday meeting, I asked the top two Biggest Losers to tell us how they did so well.

Bill Lewis came in 2nd place again. He’d lost 52.5 lbs in the last Biggest Loser, and in the 1st three weeks he’s lost 16.0 lbs! This week he lost 2.1% of his body weight, and 4.4 lbs. He said that he just works out twice a day and watches what he eats.

Sounds pretty simple, right? But think about it. Every day (twice) he has to intentionally get his butt down to the YMCA, get on that treadmill and start moving. He says he walks about an hour each time. He’s had some injuries, so he hasn’t been able to run as much. He’s also 67.

Each day, each meal (and even between meals), he has to intentionally avoid things that might trip him up. If he wants to eat something that might not help him, he has to intentionally say no and make a better choice. He also has to seek out good choices in the right amounts. This is intentional too.

There are plenty of people that know they need to do something, but don’t pursue it with the intention of making it happen—each day, each time. They won’t get what they want. Bill does, because he’s very intentional about it.

Our 1st place winner this week was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.2% of his body weight, and 5.8 lbs. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for his hard work.

Josh told us he’s been working out twice a day (every day), and has been intentionally pushing himself harder. Sometimes he’ll run, and then go back and lift weights, and then come back and run.

He’s also being pretty careful with what he eats. He and a friend had to go out for pizza twice in the same week! They told me they drank lots of water, had a big salad and got the thinnest crust they could get. They also had to act with intention when a friend put a basket of bread sticks down right between them!

Folks, this is doable. Make a decision. Then every day, with intention, do things designed to help you achieve your goal.

Intentionally get your butt to the gym, or outside for a walk. Intentionally push yourself by going farther or faster. Intentionally avoid things you know are going to mess up your diet. You Intentionally choose things you know are good for you.

Once in awhile, intentionally have a “cheat day” and enjoy something that you intentionally avoid most of the time. Start walking through life with intention about the things you know you really need to do.

Remember, making no choice today is still making a choice. It’s really a choice to do nothing (at least today). It may or may not be intentional, but either way it has consequences. Choose to do something for yourself today. O.K?

BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK TWO

Something’s up. It seems like everyone’s expectations are higher than they used to be. Don’t get me wrong—I’m still proud of how everyone did in Biggest Loser “1” and “2”, but there was a difference between the first two groups and the third one. Group 3 raised the bar pretty high.

It was a tough act to follow, but after two weeks, I think this group can do it again. The top ten people have lost 14.4, 13.8, 13.2, 13.0,12.6, 11.8, 11.6, 11.0, 10.2, and 9.4 lbs respectively. That’s an average weight loss of more than 6 pounds a week!

To put that in perspective, the top three losers from last time, Chris, Bill and Joe (56.5 lbs, 52.5 lbs, 49.5 lbs) averaged “just” 4.4 lbs a week over the 12 weeks. Our top ten so far are averaging almost 2 pounds a week more. Of course, it’s just week two, and a lot of things can happen in the next ten weeks.

But it begs the question, “Why are these guys and gals losing so much more weight than those who have gone before?” I’d like to say it’s me, the program, the advice, etc…, but I don’t think so. I think what’s happening is that people are seeing other people do it, and they get inspired.

They see other people, just like them, having success and it turns something on inside them. They start to get a belief that “if they can do it, maybe I can do it.” It gives you hope, and hope is a powerful thing. It’s also powerful when you start believing in yourself—when you’re willing to take a chance.

I’m seeing people that have tried for years to make a change, actually doing it this time, and that’s a great thing. I remember when it was like pulling teeth trying to get some of them to the gym. Now I’m seeing them on weekends, working out at odd hours, doing whatever it takes to get it done.

Something else that seems to be working is the group dynamic. There’s great power in numbers. It takes on a momentum of its own. That’s why if you want to be successful it always helps to get around successful people. Something rubs off.

I was so impressed with this group on Friday. First of all, over 60 of them showed up, and this after last week’s workout. I deliberately make it tough—they were sore afterward. It’s a proving ground. They need to learn that they can take it, and apparently they did.

They didn’t even blink when I asked them to run (or walk/run) down to the park at the corner of Main & Jasper. We all went right down Main St. and we all did 3 sets of 20 squats, 20 pushups, and 20 sit-ups. We did planks, burpees, and even sumo wrestling right there in front of God and everyone.

If they cared if anyone saw them, they didn’t let on, and that’s what it takes. You can’t worry about what other people think. You have to focus on the goal and do it. At some point, I’m sure they all realized that they still have to make it back the eight or nine blocks too. This group can take it and come back for more.

These first two weeks, it’s been about getting them moving, and learning what their minimum was—the minimum number of calories they need to eat. Next week, their goal is to turn up the intensity on the machines, to push the cardio a little harder, and to start recording what they eat so they can see where they stand. Then, we’re going to talk about how to start eating better, too.

Our Biggest Loser for Week Two was Ed Motley, who lost 3.0% of his body weight and an amazing 7.0 lbs. He received a $25 gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for all his hard work.

Ed was followed by (surprise) Stidham again who lost 2.6% of his body weight and 4.8 lbs. Joe also hit another amazing milestone. You recall he won the last contest by losing 49.5 lbs. He also reached his long-term goal of losing 100 pounds, that very morning! That’s like the folks on TV!

3rd Place was claimed by Tracy Rush, who lost 2.4% of his body weight and 5.6 lbs. Tracy is our pounds leader, having lost an incredible 14.4 lbs in the two weeks!

Look. These guys and gals are normal people who we all know. They’re doing it. You can too. Don’t let this chance slip away. Take their energy and momentum and claim it for your own, too. Get around them. See what they’re doing. Start doing it yourself.

Things are shaping up to be quite a contest around here. They can shape up for you too!

BIGGEST LOSER "4" -- WEEK ONE

Well, we’re off again. 65 people met last Friday night for the 2nd time, following their 1st week in Biggest Loser “4”. We met for the 1st time a week ago for the initial weigh-in and 1 mile walk/run, 1 minute max pushups, and 1 minute max situps.

This time we started the Friday night workouts. After the weigh-in, Joe Stidham (the winner from Biggest Loser 3) took them out for a little run while I figured up the results for the week. Astonishingly, our Week One results might even be better than last time, but more on that later.

The goal in the first week is always to just get everyone moving. Remember, we’re asking them to work out twice a day. Walk a minimum of a mile every morning (20 min max), and then hit the real workout in the afternoon or evening.

That workout consists of lifting weights three times a week on M, W, F, and a focused cardio workout three times a week on T, TH, and Sat. For the first month, the weights will be on the machines.

This week, they were supposed to just do the circuit once, picking a weight they could lift comfortably 12-15 times. For cardio, they were supposed to warm up for 5 minutes, and then pick up the pace, incline, speed, etc… for 20 minutes or so, and then cool down for 5-10 minutes.

The goal next week is to turn up the intensity. On the weight machines, instead of one circuit, they’re supposed to hit it twice, and try to keep moving the whole time—no rest breaks. On their cardio days, they’re supposed to boost the intensity, and possibly keep going a little longer.

In the boot camp, they did pushups for a minute, situps for a minute, and then 5 sets of 10 body squats mixed up with a bunch of core exercises like planks, plank extensions, knee-ins, and an entire ab routine. Then they ran the dots (always a group favorite)—remember the “suicides” you did in school?

It was a tough workout, and most of them were pretty sore over the weekend, but the key is to get up and start moving and stretching, and the soreness leaves pretty quickly. They don’t believe me, but it will probably never be that bad again. The body is wonderfully made, and its ability to get stronger quickly is amazing.

We also told them how to measure their body fat, and they were supposed to go to the website (tomdolanfitness.com) and plug in their numbers. This would tell them their minimum—the amount of calories they need to eat, just to exist.

Then, they set a reasonable calorie goal, somewhere about that minimum. You might recall that I always say that 9 out of 10 women aren’t eating enough (and I can prove it). The goal here is to get them thinking about how much they’re eating this week.

Next Friday, I’ll talk to them about the quality of their food. Once they start dialing that in, plus all the workouts, we’ll start seeing some great results, if the first weigh-in is any indication. I’m also going to raise the bar in the Friday night workout.

The winner this week was Rodney Rodrick, who lost an amazing 4.6% of his body weight, which works out to -11.4 lbs! He received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, who is once again sponsoring the contest.

The second place winner was another newcomer, Tracy Rush, who lost 3.7% of his body weight and 8.8 lbs. We were unable to get a picture of Rodney at the time, so Tracy stood in for him in the picture.

Third place went to—surprise—Bill Lewis. Remember our runner-up from last time? He’s off to a strong start, losing 3.4% of his body weight and -7.6 lbs. Other great showings include Mike Elledge (-9.1 lbs), Jim York (-8.2 lbs) Josh Rigdon (-7.8 lbs), and Darren German, (-7.4 lbs).

Another 14 people lost at least four lbs and many lost 5 or 6 lbs, quite a few of them women! I don’t know, but this seems to be an even better start than last time, and you know how well that turned out. It’s a great new beginning for each of them. How about you? Why not follow along and do what they do? You could have a new beginning too.

USE IT OR LOSE IT

As I look around, I find that people seem to fall into two different categories: those that can move and those that can’t. The difference between them also seems to become more pronounced the older they get.

In their 30’s and 40’s, you start to see it. People are less and less active and have more and more aches and pains. Often, a condition has become chronic and they’re dealing with it. Many times, they’ve had to limit activities, and it really starts to slow them down.

It gets really obvious with people in their 50’s and 60’s, however. In many cases, all activity has ceased except for basic walking and standing, and often times, those are difficult.

I think the differences are most pronounced with people in their 70’s and 80’s. At this point, you’re either up and moving around, or you’re not.

Come to think about it, it’s pretty common to see skids and teenagers having a hard time moving these days. Youth obesity is rampant—just go to the mall and watch for awhile. What kind of future do they have, even as early as their 20’s?

And this isn’t the way it was supposed to be. If you look at the human body, we’re fearfully and wonderfully made. We’re made to move and specially designed. When healthy, we can walk and run, bend and lift, turn and throw things.

Just watch a one or two year old. They can squat down and stay that way. Pick their feet up and stick them in their mouth (try that in your 40’s). They not only can run, they want to run—everywhere. That’s how I want to be (except the feet thing).

I know a guy in his 60’s who’s a national champion in running. He can get there in a hurry. Is he just a fluke? Or has he worked at it.

My dad will be 85. Sure, he’s moving slower than he used to, but he can bend down and pick something up if you drop it—before you can. He never misses his workout. If he does, he makes it up—two in one day!

Somewhere along the line, many of us quit moving, and that’s where the downward spiral begins. The old saying is true. Use it or lose it.

If you don’t make a point to staying active, at some point, you’ll lose muscle tone. You’ll get weaker. Your bones will weaken. Ultimately, your metabolism will slow. You’ll put on fat.

At some point, you’ll do even less because it’s harder than it used to be. Finally, even going up and down stairs will get difficult. Reaching up into cupboards above your head will be harder. Forget picking up your grandkids, you won’t even be able to get into the car to go see them.

I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. And it’s so unnecessary. Studies show that people in their 80’s can increase strength and muscle tone in as little as 6 weeks! We had a 67 year old come in 2nd place in the last Biggest Loser “3”. He lost 52.5 lbs and signed up for the next one!

I see people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s working out every day—they do it not because they want to (although many enjoy it)—they do it because they know they have to.

Look, I know there are things you can’t control, like genetics, and accidents, and even many illnesses. They just come on and you have to deal with it. But it’s funny how some people can still keep moving, even through adversity, if they want to.

There’s a lot of evidence that what we eat might keep many illnesses at bay. Fruits and greens are believed to give us a measure of immunity against illness and disease.

Other foods with protein help us improve strength and muscle tone. Still other foods like quality whole grains and other good starches (in moderation) Give us the energy we need to get through your day.

But most of us don’t even come close to eating the way we should. We eat too many things we shouldn’t, and not enough things that we should eat.

It’s clear that regular exercise can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, onset or worsening of osteoporosis. But still, many of us don’t do that either. We’re too busy and don’t have time for it. It’s inconvenient and messy. It’s too hard.

What’s hard is not being able to do the things you want to do. Being in a constant state of decline, where little by little, you feel things slipping away.

How do you want to live the next 10 years, or 20 or more? How do you want to live this year? We have a record 65 signed up to take on the 12 week challenge in our “Biggest Loser 4” starting next week.

These are people that want to change the way they feel. They want to change the way they feel about themselves, too. Of course, they also want to change the way they look.

I really admire them. It takes courage to face things. To admit you need to change. It takes even more courage to take action and do something about it. It takes courage, knowing things are going to change, and it won’t be easy.

But think about how things could be—how they will be—once you get started on that new journey. You can have your life back. You can be what you were really designed to be, and do what you were designed to do.

You are unique and special with a unique and special job to do. Nothing feels better than knowing you’re right where you need to be, doing right what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s pretty hard to do when your joints ache and your back hurts cause you’re carrying too much weight around.

God has given us a unique chance to be the story in our own book. The pages haven’t all been written yet, and guess what—you hold the pen in your hands. That’s right—you. What are you going to do about it?

DR SUESS & YOU

I got to see something special this past weekend. Originally, I was just going to see my Cutie-Pie in her first role as one of the smaller “Who’s” in the Paris High School production of Seussical the Musical. I ended up seeing so much more (as great as she was).

Within two minutes they had totally pulled me in. From the awesome performances of the “Cat in the Hat,” and “Horton,” to one of my former student’s delightful role as a bird who dupes Horton into sitting on her egg, this was an amazing thing to see.

Outside of the great songs, rhymes and gags, I was struck by the sheer volume of work involved. While my granddaughter was making her acting debut, my daughter was making up faces, and my son-in-law was working with the props backstage.

That was just one family. There were many involved. According to the director, Dan Lynch, there were well over a hundred kids involved in the performance. One fourth of all the high school students were involved in some way with the musical.

Imagine all the potential energy they had to harness—all the different talents and personalities, that came together to make this thing work—and work it did. Dan and the assistants did a remarkable job, and so did all the kids.

Well over a year ago, Dan had a vision of what could be done. The team spent a year imagining it (thinking a thought as the writers and Dr. Seuss would say). Then they started recruiting help in each area. My granddaughter knew she was going to be a “Who” for many months before they began practicing.

They got help from the art department, the music department, and many other volunteers in the community. The kids got together and practiced—and practiced. And you know what? It all came together. Boy did it come together. I’m guessing it was just like Dan “thinked it.”
So what’s this got to do with losing weight, or with our next group of “Biggest Losers” starting this Friday, or with you? It’s simple.

While we might not all be able to get up on a stage and make everyone smile, we all have our own potential. We can all think a thought about something we’d like to do, like Dan did, like the writers did, and like Dr. Seuss tried to teach us so many years ago.

We have but to think a thought, dream a dream. And then, just like these great kids and volunteers did, get to work on it. Getting help where we need it, and practicing our part in it. Sure it might be difficult. It might be inconvenient. But nothing great comes without great effort.
You can even tell your own story. What thought do you dare to think? And what do you think might come of it when you try? I can’t wait to see it.

Nice job Dan, Cutie-Pie, Hannah, Amanda, T.J., and everyone else. And by the way, I don’t mind green eggs and ham, and I’ll take some whole wheat toast with it. Butter side up.

BIGGEST LOSER 3 -- WEEK TWELVE

It’s been a great 12 weeks and the final results are in. I have to say, that while I’ve been proud of all our Biggest Loser groups over the past year, this group has really raised the bar. There were several new records along the way. Our Biggest Loser, and the winner of the $500 was Joe Stidham who lost an amazing 21.324% of his body weight (49.6 lbs).

We started with 57 people and ended up with 21 people at the final weigh-in. Probably nine others (that I know of) were still active although they didn’t make the weigh-in. Three were still participating, but missed the weigh-in.

Perhaps six more had conflicts on Fridays, but were continuing with their workouts and improved eating habits. A couple others had had serious injuries that kept them from participating.

Cheryl Redmon lost more weight than any other woman (36.4 lbs) in 12 weeks. Four guys lost more than 40 lbs: Cody Redmon (40.2 lbs), Joe Stidham (49.6 lbs), Bill Lewis (52.2 lbs), and Chris Redmon took top honors and set a new record for weight loss (56.2 lbs).

Another nine people lost more than 15 lbs during the 12 weeks: Penny Spinner (15.5 lbs), Tiffany Gann (16.4 lbs), Jane Graham (16.6 lbs), Jasmine Camp (17.8 lbs), Donnie Bartos and Carla Sinclair (19.4 lbs), Janet Tyler (21.4), Stacey Reed (22.2 lbs), and Tony Haupt (27.8 lbs).
Finally, another six lost 10 lbs or close to it: Angel Lumpp (9.2 lbs), Rita Haupt (9.6 lbs), Shirley Fiscus (9.8 lbs), Dawn Stewart (10.0 lbs), Sherree Hutchings (10.2 lbs), and Pam Kelly (10.9 lbs).

I have to also mention the Redmon family again. As a family, Chris, Cheryl and Cody lost a combined total of 132.8 lbs. That’s more than amazing. Talk about changing their family tree! What a great example to set for the community. Nice job guys.

You should have seen them Friday afternoon out at the high school track for the final 1 mile walk/run. They’ve been improving their times each week, and the goal this time was to really let their hair down and show everyone what they could do.

It’s very typical to see a 3-4 minute improvement in the 1 mile walk/run time over 12 weeks. I have to say that this time, I was astonished. Stacey Reed went from 21:00 to 12:13, about a 9 minute improvement! She’s been doing everything. If we offer the class, she’s in it.

Denise Cravens went from 19:00 to 11:04, an 8 minute improvement. While she hasn’t yet seen all the weight loss she’s looking for, she is much stronger. You should see her during our power lunch workouts—I know she’s going to get what she wants.

Pam Kelly went from 21:12 to 14:12, exactly a 7 minute improvement. And our oldest competitor, Bill Lewis (age 67) went from 16:58 to 11:04; Sherree Hutchings, 18:37 to 12:47; and Donnie Bartos, 13:41 to a smokin’ 7:26, each about a 6 minute improvement.

The final competitors saw great improvements in their ability to do pushups and situps, too. Bill couldn’t do a single situp 12 weeks ago and posted 20 this time. Pam couldn’t get one at the first test and finished with 41. Many competitors doubled and some even tripled their ability to do pushups in a minute.

The great thing is all the competitors are so much stronger now—both physically and mentally and that’s going to serve them well in the future. So here are the final results from Biggest Loser “3”:

Name % Wt Loss Lbs Lost
1. Joe Stidham -21.324 -49.6
2. Bill Lewis -18.940 -52.2
3. Chris Redmon -17.218 -56.2
4. Cheryl Redmon -17.218 -36.4
5. Cody Redmon -12.036 -40.2
6. Carla Sinclair -10.948 -19.4
7. Janet Tyler -10.797 -21.4
8. Tony Haupt -10.611 -27.8
9. Jane Graham -10.197 -16.6
10. Stacey Reed -10.091 -22.2
11. Donnie Bartos -9.566 -19.4
12. Penny Spinner -8.944 -15.5
13. Jasmine Camp -7.646 -17.8
14. Tiffany Gann -7.509 -16.4
15. Angel Lumpp -5.875 -9.2
16. Rita Haupt -5.811 -9.6
17. Sherree Hutchings -5.484 -10.2
18. Shirley Fiscus -4.799 -9.8
19. Dawn Stewart -4.739 -10.0
20. Pam Kelly -3.921 -10.9
21. Denise Cravens -1.284 -2.0

When these guys and gals started a weight loss program, they were really fighting themselves—their own bodies, and their old habits. Now they’re stronger, weigh less, and their bodies have started working for them.

In the future, they’ll be able to do more work, burn more calories, and this will make it even easier to help control their weight. They truly are in the driver’s seat.

Some of the competitors are close to their ideal weight and will have to learn how to maintain. Some of them still have a way to go. At this point, they just need to set another 12 week goal and …do it again.

They’ve done it once, they know what to do. Now, they need to do it again. For some, they’ll want to do it again for another 12 weeks after that. Perhaps a few might need to do it again one more time. Then, everyone will be at their ideal weight, and they all can do it.

I want to thank Dimond Brothers Insurance for their fine support during this Biggest Loser “3”. They put up some great prizes each week (often more than one) so everyone had something to shoot for. At the end, they also put up another $100 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place, which was really unexpected—and a really classy thing to do!

We have 40 registered for Biggest Loser “4” which starts Friday, April 11th. I was going to cut it off, but we’re going to go ahead and open it up to however many want to do it. You’ve got 2 weeks to get registered. $25 to participate, $500 prize for the winner, and you can have a gym membership anywhere you want. This will be the last one for awhile, so you better do it now!

BIGGEST LOSER 3 -- WEEK ELEVEN

Well with one week to go for this group, we’ve seen some pretty amazing results. It seemed like most everyone has been able to step it up in their workouts, and that’s going to go a long way to helping them get what they want.

Last week, Chris asked me if lifting weights would interfere in his weight loss, which has been outstanding. I told him that it wouldn’t. In fact, it would help, because more muscle means a faster metabolism, and that makes you a better fat burner all the time. It also helps you burn more calories during your workout.

Think about it. If you get stronger, you can push harder. If you can push harder, you can burn more calories. That’s what I call the “cycle of success.” At first, when you’re trying to lose weight, you’re really fighting your own body.

It’s like pushing a car that won’t start. It’s really hard at first because you have to overcome inertial. Once you get it rolling, though, it’s easier to keep it moving. Same thing with your body. Lose a little weight, put on some muscle, get stronger, and you’ll be able to lose more weight later. It’ll also be a lot easier to keep it off.

Well, Chris proved the concept to be true, because this week he lost 7.4 lbs, and I’d seen him and his wife hitting the free weights. He also said that he never quit moving—another important concept—while working out.

This is another key concept. If you are trying to become a body builder, or are lifting heavy, for maximum power, then you should take breaks in between sets. What I’ve found for most people, though, is that if they’ll keep moving, they’ll burn more calories, and they get better weight loss results.

We also use that concept in our Level 3 and 4 training for people wanting to take it to the next level. We raise the intensity so you never stop moving. You get more for less. Less time, but more calories burned. Sounds pretty good to me.

Ironically, even with that great 7.4 lb loss, Chris didn’t win this week—a problem that’s been plaguing him this whole time. While he’s lost the most weight by far (-54.8 lbs in 12 weeks), others have been pulling off a slightly greater percentage of weight loss.

This week it was Joe Stidham again, posting an incredible -3.21% of body weight, and a weight loss of 6.2 lbs. This is pretty hard for Joe, because he’s lost so much weight, he’s little now!

He definitely turned it up, though, running longer distances. His goal is to run a 5 K (3.1 mi) run in a couple weeks, and then to possibly run a half marathon (13.1 mi) with me in May. Joe won another $20 cash prize from Dimond Brothers Insurance for being the Biggest Loser for week 11.

Right now, he’s on track to win it all (-19.690%), followed by Bill Lewis (-17.489%), and Chris Redmon (-16.789%). Anything can happen though, and we’ve seen it before. Have a bad week (gain), and let someone else have a great week, and it can turn pretty quickly. It will be pretty interesting as we come down to the wire.

And as Biggest Loser 3 is coming to a close, we’re in the final registration process for Biggest Loser 4, which starts Friday, April 11th. We’ve got about 25 registered so far, and have room for about 15 more. If you’re interested, you better get signed up, because this time I’m capping it at 40.

Same rules as before: $25 entry fee, and you can be a member anywhere, but you’ll need to be working out somewhere. Twice a day workouts. You know the drill. This will be the last one I do for awhile. These guys are wearing me out! Whew. Good thing I workout.

Next week, the final results from Biggest Loser 3. Who’s it going to be? How much weight did they lose overall? Stay tuned!

BIGGEST LOSER 3 -- WEEK TEN

I stirred up the pot this week for the Friday night workout. After everyone weighed in, I told them we were going outside for a run. Since this group started in January, we hadn’t been able to get outside due to the weather. This was our chance to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and for me to make a couple points.

Two actually left before we started. I never heard why. Someone said it might have had something to do with walking/running outside.

Anyway, we walked down Wood St. for a couple blocks and then I told them to jog down to the stop sign at 5 points, over to Court St., and then come back up that really nice hill to the center.
They were to do it at their own pace. If they had to walk, that was fine, but I wanted them to try to keep jogging. Half the group had already been doing some running so they took off. For the other half, this was quite a departure from their routine, and that was exactly what I wanted.

Jogging involves your entire core—much more than walking—and it burns way more calories. Recent research has even shown that jogging won’t hurt your knees any more than any other exercise, unless you’ve already had some knee problems, so most people can do it.

It’s the ultimate in interval training, too. After walking a few minutes to warmup, pick up the pace and jog a minute, then walk two, before jogging another minute, walking two more, and so on.

As you get in better shape, start jogging two minutes, walking two, jogging three minutes, walking one, or whatever. Soon, you’ll be able to jog an entire mile, or two or three, and controlling your weight will get a lot easier.

Our bodies are designed to propel us forward, jogging, efficiently. We’ve just quit doing it. What do kids do, instinctively? Run. Somewhere along the way, most of us have left that behind, and we’ve gotten fatter as a result.

Give it a try. Start slowly and work your way into it. It will get easier each time. The guys and gals that found that first one tough will see a quick improvement, if they’ll just get out there and do it again.

If it’s nice next week, we’ll do it again, only farther. Hopefully, it won’t be the next time they get out there to practice.

This week our winner was Joe Stidham who regained the overall lead. He said he worked really hard this week and it showed, with a percentage weight loss of 2.92% and -5.8 lbs. He won $20 as this week’s prize from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

With two weeks left, it’s a pretty tight race. Astoundingly, we have two people at over 40 pounds lost, and another one almost there. Another two are over 30 pounds, and quite a few have lost around 15 lbs.

After the run, we went back in the weight room and I showed them a bunch of new exercises that take simple movements and combine them into compound movements: Walking Lunge, Curl, Press; Split DB Cleans; Power Cleans; Thrusters; Floor Wipers; Clean, Jerk & Press; and Tractor Tire Flips. These new movements will get them even better results because they’ll be using more muscles at the same time. This means they’ll be burning more calories, helping them stay on track to their goal.

As always, the key is turning it up a notch, and these compound movements will do the trick. Anyone can do them—it just takes a little help getting started—and just like running, you start out easy and work your way up. See you next week!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK NINE

We just started our last month with this group. So far the results have been the best ever. While we’ve lost over half of the original 57 that started, the ones who are left seem to be doing really well.

Many of the remaining contestants have asked me about doing another group, so I guess we’ll do one more (Biggest Loser 4) starting Friday, April 11th. The 57 we started with was a little much to handle, so I’m going to limit this group to the 1st 40 that come in and sign up as soon as possible.

We’ll have the same deal. You can work out anywhere: at the Y, Curves, Tom’s, or even at home. $25.00 entry fee and a $500 prize for the Biggest Loser based on greatest percentage of weight loss. This will be the last one we do until next fall, so if you’re interested, you better get in and sign up!

During the Friday night workout, we talked about interval training in the weight room and divided up into three groups. Group One started on the exercise ball with the DB Chest Press with dumbbells. While they were doing this, Group Two performed “Burpees” an evil exercise where you squat down, thrust your legs out behind you, and then do a pushup before quickly getting back to your feet and jumping in the air.

At the same time, Group Three performed “Woodchoppers” with a medicine ball, a weighted ball that looks like the basketball but is heavier (8-25 lbs). For this exercise, they bent over with legs shoulder-width apart, holding the ball on the floor between their legs with two hands. They then straighten up their body, lifting the ball over their shoulder to one side, before bending back over and touching the ball to the floor again. Then they straighten up and lift the ball over their shoulder to the other side.

Once they were finished, they each rotated until each group had performed all the exercises. After several sets of each, we switched up the exercises on the ball for Group One to DB Pullovers, DB Squat Thrusters, and DB Curls. We also kept switching up the core exercises for Groups Two & Three with “Mountain Climbers”, a variety of “Planks”, and other Ball Twisting exercises.

In this fashion, they went through their workout with very little breaks for an hour. The goal was to keep them moving in a more intense fashion, without taking any rest time. I call it active rest. While one muscle group is resting, you’re hitting another. This type of workout is tough, but it burns the greatest amount of calories.

Their goal is to start putting those core exercises in between sets of their primary free weight exercises in their workouts during the week. If they do, they’ll keep things moving and burn more calories. This will help them stay on track to their goal.

This week, we recognized two winners: One for the gals, and one for the guys. Both received a $20 cash prize from Dimond Brothers Insurance. Once again Cheryl Redmon took top honors for the women with a percentage weight loss of 1.81% and 3.6 lbs lost. Cheryl has lost 29.2 lbs in nine weeks!

When I asked her how she did it, she said she just kept doing what she’d been doing. Previously, she’d been adding jogging to her cardio workouts, but this week, she wasn’t able to run, having pulled a muscle the previous week. She said she just focused on doing the elliptical instead, with more intensity than before. It goes to show you that sometimes you just have to work around things.

For the guys, and Biggest Loser overall, Bill Lewis took top honors with a percentage weight loss of an incredible 3.05%, which works out to a weight loss of 7.4 lbs. He’s lost 40.2 lbs overall in just nine weeks. He says he stepped it up this week. I guess he did.

He also pulled into 1st place in the contest with a total weight loss of 14.586%, just ahead of Joe Stidham, who has a total percentage weight loss of 14.531% with the Redmon family right on their heels. Folks, this might go down to the wire. Stay tuned!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK EIGHT

We’ve just finished 8 of the 12 weeks so it’s time for our monthly summary. We started out with 57 people. There are about 30 left, and 23 made the last weigh-in. Of those 23, all have lost at least a half a pound a week.

Remember, if you can lose a pound a week, that’s great. A half a pound a week still works—it just takes you a little longer to get there. Two pounds a week is fantastic, and anything over that is just amazing.

The other thing to remember is that it’s the long haul that matters. Some of the folks who lost a lot of weight early have slowed down a bit. Some of the others who struggled early on have found their stride, and are doing better now.

Most everyone’s eating pretty well. At this point, it’s going to be about turning it up in the gym, at home, or wherever.

A great example is Janet, who lost 3.0 lbs this week. When I asked her what she did differently, she said she realized she needed to turn it up, so she dusted off some old Richard Simmons tapes. You’ve got to do different things, and that sure was different!

The main thing I’m seeing is that those who lose the most weight are doing two workouts a day (most days). That gives them a calorie burning edge—in the end, it’s just math. Add up enough calories burned and your end gets smaller.

The other thing is that most of the Biggest Losers are running. You don’t have to be like Joe, who’s running several miles a day. It can be as simple as jogging a minute and walking two, then jogging another minute and walking two more, and so on. As you get stronger, jog a little longer and walk a little less.

I still walk when I run. Today I ran 9 miles, but walked a minute at the end of each mile. I couldn’t do those longer distances without that little walk break. It gives me a chance to get a drink, towel off, and mentally gear up for another 9-10 minutes of running. And knowing that break is coming up helps me keep going a little longer when it’s getting hard.

We also had another visit from our resident nutritionist, Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD from Terre Haute Regional. Camilla talked about the differences between good and bad choices when eating out at fast food restaurants.

One thing we learned was to watch out for the high sodium content in many fast foods—even the healthier ones. Each of the main fast food places had a couple choices that were O.K., although they all had a bunch of things to avoid. Check the menus and product facts to be sure you know what you’re getting.
Here’s the monthly summary of where everyone is (of those who weighed in).
Name % Loss Lbs
1. Joe Stidham 14.015 32.6
2. Bill Lewis 11.901 32.8
3. Chris Redmon 11.458 37.4
4. Cheryl Redmon 11.418 25.6
5. Tony Haupt 9.008 23.6
6. Cody Redmon 8.862 29.6
7. Donnie Bartos 8.235 16.7
8. Penny Spinner 8.021 13.9
9. Stacey Reed 7.636 16.8
10. Tiffany Gann 6.868 15.0
11. Janet Tyler 6.559 13.0
12. Robert Sanders 6.470 18.0
13. Jasmine Camp 6.443 15.0
14. Mike Slaven 5.990 16.4
15. Becky Slaven 5.978 9.6
16. Rita Haupt 5.327 8.8
17. Angel Lumpp 4.163 6.5
18. Denise Cravens 3.979 6.2
19. Shirley Fiscus 3.526 7.2
20. Carrie Witmer 3.365 7.0
21. Pam Kelly 2.842 7.9
22. Mary McFatridge 2.475 5.0
23. Dawn Hopper 2.222 4.0

Our weekly winner for week eight was Angel Lumpp, who lost 2.29% of her body weight, and 3.5 lbs. Angel won a Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

Angel had struggled a little bit early on, but she’s been very determined to continue, and very consistent in getting to the gym. I think she’s figured out what works for her, and she’ll continue to see pretty good results from here on out. See you next week!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK SEVEN

Week seven left another group of people who dropped out for one reason or another. Most of them simply just stopped coming and I never heard from them. I think they’re embarrassed and just want to avoid an awkward moment.

But it isn’t me that makes it awkward. I mean, I’m not accusing or confrontational. Actually, I just smile and ask how things are going—normal behavior. But in reality, I’m like a mirror.

When they see me, they’re forced to remember that they quit. At least in that moment, they have to face it. And most people feel bad about that.

I’ve even had people move to the other side of the street, go down the next aisle, or just pretend they don’t see me. It’s a little comical, but it’s also quite sad. I was never against them, and only wish them well.

Once in awhile, folks will go to the other extreme, and when they see me, they’ll start complaining about one thing or another. The best one I’ve heard is that “I’m not sensitive to women’s needs.”

That might be true to some extent, but you’d have to talk to my wife to get the real scoop on that one, and we have had plenty of women do really well. In the end, I think it’s another good example of how we fall victim to self-deception.

It’s in our nature to make excuses. It’s been happening since the very beginning when Adam tried to cover things up. “It was Eve over there who made me eat that apple. I didn’t want to do it…” And they both covered themselves when they felt naked and ashamed.

I’ve done it myself at times. It’s tough facing the truth. And the truth is that sometimes we don’t want to do what it takes to fix things. We’d rather cover things up. We’d rather drape a sheet over that gigantic elephant in the room instead of trying to make it leave.

This program is difficult. It’s tough working out twice a day. But if you want to make the biggest changes in the shortest period of time, that’s what you do.

But it’s O.K. to take it slower. You can still lose a half a pound or even a pound a week. That’s fine by any standards, and certainly fine by me.

The problem is that people want it quicker than that. But it’s tough stuff making it happen that way. Like my long-time martial arts master always tells me, “people want to be champions but they don’t want to train like a champion.”

Myself, I never really cared about being a champion. I never thought I could be one anyway, but figured that I could at least train like a champion. So, that makes me feel like a champion anyway, and that’s always been good enough for me.

Another good friend of mine calls it BS 101. How you talk to yourself and others. Perhaps that’s what I do. I’ve learned that how you talk to yourself has a lot to do with how successful you’ll be—especially with new challenges.

When it doesn’t go your way next time, you might try this. “It’s alright if I fail this time, because I’m going to keep trying. One of these times, I’m going to get it.”

Or, “I didn’t make it this time. I dropped the ball. That’s O.K., because I’m not giving up. I just have to try harder.”

You’ve got to take your head out of the sand or you’ll never even see it coming. If you’re feeling a mass inside your abdomen, ignoring it won’t make it go away. You need to get it checked out by an expert.

Likewise, if you tend to quit things—never finishing what you started, ignoring it won’t get you anywhere. Instead, it will keep you exactly where you are, and that’s no good either, right?

Find someone who won’t let you quit. Or learn how to talk yourself into starting again. Get back on the wagon. Get back with the program. Or try something different—but keep trying.

Don’t worry about being embarrassed. Remember, we’ve all been quitters at something. We’ll understand. Heck, we’ll just be happy to see you again.

This week’s winner was Jane Graham, who lost -2.85% of her body weight and -4.4 lbs. Another good week for her, and she won a $25 gift Casey’s gift certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

She was followed by Tony Haupt in 2nd Place who lost -2.04% of his body weight and 5.0 lbs. Tony picked up the pace this week by adding some running to his cardio work. Great job guys. Next week, we’ll give you the 2nd month totals—I think you’ll be pretty impressed. See you then.

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK SIX

Well here we are, halfway through the 12 weeks. We’ve lost a few more people this week. Some are probably too busy, and others are hurt in some way or another. Others are finding it hard to stick with the program.

The bottom line is that change is difficult. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable—painful even. For some people, it’s just not worth it.

Say you’ve been given a special anniversary present—a week away on your own small island somewhere in the Pacific. White sandy beaches, beautiful palm trees. There’s no one around except you, your spouse, and a servant that takes care of your every need. You’ll have incredible meals, sunsets—just the perfect getaway.

The problem is getting there. You’ve got to catch a four hour flight to Miami, with a 12-hour layover before catching a smaller jet and 8 hour flight to Guam. Then it’s another 12-hour layover before you take a puddle jumper to another larger island.

After another 12-hour layover, you finally get in a boat and ride on a choppy sea for 4 hours before getting to the island. It’s taken you more than two days to get there and you’re exhausted. You also had to pay for the flights. Is it worth it? How many people would say forget it—it’s too much trouble?

Let’s say you were coming home from Iraq after serving there for a year. Sure, the flights would be free, but it’s still a hassle. No question it’s worth it, though? You couldn’t wait to go.

It’s all about your perspective. You have to want the destination badly enough to put up with the hassles along the way. And when you can learn to enjoy the journey, it gets even better.

We’ve got about 45 people left out of the original 57 who started six weeks ago. For the remaining contestants, it’s becoming as much about the journey as it is the destination, and that’s a wonderful thing to see.

SPECIAL GUEST NUTRITIONIST:
This week we had our guest nutritionist back for another session. Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD, from Terre Haute Regional spoke to the group about how to make better choices when looking at calories in their meals and snacks.

She had some powerful visual aids that helped her make the point that “some foods marketed as “diet” foods may actually be poor choices because of unhealthy additives and/or being overly processed.”

Camilla went on to compare an actual 1 oz baggy of baked potato chips (120 calories) with a 1 oz baggy of regular potato chips (150 calories). The 30 calories savings “is hardly enough to bother with.”

She also pointed out that the potato chips had just three ingredients: potatoes, salt, and oil. In contrast, the baked chips had around 15 ingredients, most of which are chemical compounds that are hard to pronounce, and had to determine exactly what they are!

She goes on to say, “It certainly doesn’t justify eating more baked chips than regular chips, especially considering that the baked chips are higher in sodium and loaded with additives to artificially enhance flavor and texture.”

Another great example Camilla gave was with a popular name brand protein bar marketed as a diet bar as a “meal-on-the-go.” “It weighs a measly 2 ounces and provides 220 calories.” Not very filling.

She continues, “First of all, 220 calories should be considered a snack, not a meal. Even when you’re trying to lose weight, a balanced meal should provide 400-500 calories to provide enough energy to get through your day, provide fuel for exercise, and allow you to burn fat instead of muscle.” That’s exactly why I wanted them to hear what she had to say.

Camilla said that the bars might work fine in a pinch, but that there were far better choices, as she held up a baggie with a cup of strawberries and blueberries, an 8 oz cup of light yogurt, and yet another baggie with Kashi granola—grand total, 220 calories!

In one hand she had the diet bar—in the other, all that fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. Which one do you think would fill you up more? Which would have more vitamins and minerals? And which would have a bunch of ingredients you couldn’t pronounce—which to me can’t be as good?

It was a pretty powerful demonstration that you “have to look beyond the numbers when trying to make life-long improvements in your eating habits.” Camilla ended with “Lean more towards whole foods or food with minimal processing such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads and cereals, balanced with lean sources of protein and lowfat or nonfat dairy.”

THIS WEEK’S WINNERS:
This week we had two $20 Walmart gift cards provided by Dimond Brothers Insurance for the top two losers. First place went to our oldest contestant, Bill Lewis, who lost the largest percentage of body weight (-1.97%) and a weight loss of 5.0 lbs. Bill is 67, and has lost an amazing 27.2 pounds in just six weeks! Bill said his secret is working out twice a day. He’s also pretty careful about what he’s eating.

Second place went to Jane Graham, who lost the 2nd largest percentage of body weight (-1.65%), and a weight loss of 2.6 lbs. This is pretty impressive since Jane’s one of the smallest people here. Whenever I see her, though, she’s busting it pretty hard, whether it’s on the treadmill, in the weight room, or in kickboxing class.

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING:
I also gave them a group training session on the cardio equipment, where they learned how to do high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. After a warmup, they learned how to evaluate their effort on a scale from 1 (Couch Potato) to 10 (Have to Quit).

Couch Potato Very Easy Light Work Moderate Tougher Very Hard Have to Quit!

The secret to HIIT workouts is to get a good warmup by starting at a 5 or a 6. After about 5 minutes, crank the intensity up to a 7 by increasing the speed or grade (hills) on the treadmill, or the speed or resistance on the elliptical or bike.

After another few minutes, crank it up to what feels like an 8 for a minute. Then back it down to a 6 or 7 for a minute to recover. Take it back up to an 8 for another minute before lowering it to what feels like a 7. After a few of those intervals, crank it up to what feels like a 9 for a minute before going back down to a 6 or 7 to recover.

Do a couple of those intervals! If you really want to drive a stack through it’s heart and call it dead, do your last interval for twice as long (2 minutes)! Or, shoot for a 10 and see if you can make it for a full minute.

If you don’t have much time, doing HIIT for 20 minutes will burn more calories than regular cardio for twice as long. Plus, it has a much longer after burn—giving you a calorie burning bonus over the next couple hours. Give it a try. Make sure you get have a recovery day in between HIIT workouts—you’ll need them. See you next week!

BIGGEST LOSER 3--WEEK FIVE

If people make it into the second month of a fitness program, I’ve found that they’ll usually be successful. But getting past that first month can be a problem for some people. This week, I’ve had several of the 57 let me know they were stopping, and there are several others who haven’t been coming, so I figure they’re done too.

There are lots of reasons why. The best reason I heard is that one of the gals was pregnant, and couldn’t continue to workout at that pace. I totally agree with that. She’ll still be exercising for another few months, but not at the frenzied pace these guys are doing.

Remember, you can lose weight slowly if you like. There is nothing wrong with that, and I recommend it. It might even be more permanent. Simply start walking everyday, and increase your speed and distance over time, and you’ll see results.

Start watching your portions and eating more fruits and vegetables, and you’ll see even better results. Most people want quicker changes though, especially when they see those huge transformations on TV.

Some of the other reasons were pretty good, too. Sometimes your body isn’t ready for such a dynamic and total change, and running and jumping. That’s O.K. Just start easy and do what you can. Work up to it, but do something.

The real concerns I have are for the people that start and stop altogether. Something clicks and they want to do it, but then they somehow lose momentum. Life starts to intrude. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Here’s what you have to do.

You have to be deliberate about things. Each day you deliberately choose to do certain things and to not do other things. In this case, you have to deliberately set aside time each day to get in your workout—for best results, twice a day. Walk a mile in the morning and then get your workout in that night.

But if you let each day determine whether you’ll get your workout in, you’ll never really get started. Things will come up. You’ll miss one workout, then another. Finally you’re missing more than you get. Then you surrender. You have to be deliberate about it.

You have to be deliberate about what you eat, too. Each day, on purpose, with a plan, you’re eating better. I mean come on; those Twinkies don’t just jump in your mouth. Fruits and Greens aren’t going to jump off the shelf into your shopping cart! You have to be deliberate about it.

Next, and it’s a subtle difference, you have to be consistent. Doing things the same way each day gives you power. You do it today because you have to. You do it the same way tomorrow because you have to. It gives you momentum, and then you start to see changes.

People often complain they’re not getting the results they’d like. When I ask them “have you been getting in all your workouts?” “Both workouts?” “Well, no. Not both of them, but I did really well Tuesday.” “Are you hitting your minimum—getting enough calories in?” “Uhm… yeah, most days, but yesterday, I was really busy and missed breakfast and lunch too.”

This is not being consistent. Consistent means you do the same things every day. Here, in town, when you travel. Whether you’re at home or eating out. You have a plan and you stick with it.

Finally, sometimes it just takes time. Some medicines can make it harder for you to lose weight. That’s unfortunate, but it’s the way it is. Roll with it. Keep trying and get over the fact that it’s going to take you longer. That’s no reason to quit. You can still get what you want if you’ll just stick it out. I call it “winning through stamina.” You just outlast em.

You also keep changing the program—building intensity—using your body in different ways. That’s why I taught them another workout routine this week. Here’s the second routine they’ll be doing.

Make sure you know how to do each movement correctly. Perform 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions (gals) and 10-12 reps (guys). If you are doing some jogging or running now, you can omit the Calve Raises.

FREE WEIGHT ROUTINE #2:
1. Walking Lunge (with or w/o weights—Hips, Buns & Thighs
2. DB Pec Fly’s on the Exercise Ball—Chest & Shoulders
3. DB Dead lift (with slightly bent knees)—Hips, Buns & Thighs
4. DB Pullovers—Upper Back & Biceps
5. Calve Raises (on a step with or without DB)--Calves
6. DB Shoulder Press—Shoulders & Triceps
7. Standing DB Curls (together)--Biceps
8. DB Tricep Kickbacks—Triceps
9. Ab Crunches (knees bent, feet flat on floor)
10. Ab Crunches (legs straight and pointed up in the air)
11. Ab Crunches (knee bent, other leg crossed, both sides)
12. Leg Raises (on back with shoulders up, alternate raising straight legs 12” off floor)

This week’s winner was Cheryl Redmon. You may recall last week she won 1st place for the ladies. This week she led both the gals and the guys with a percentage weight loss of -2.10%, and 4.4 lbs lost, with 19.4 lbs lost to date. She won $20 cash from Dimond Brothers Insurance.

I think her husband Chris was just a little frustrated, as he’s lost the most weight so far (-29.4 lbs), and the most weight this week (-6.0 lbs). He realized that he could lose the most weight, but still lose the contest and he wasn’t happy. I mean he’s been running on the treadmill—just busting it, and it shows. Six pounds is awesome.

I explained it’s based on size. It’s harder for someone 200 lbs to lose 4.5 lbs than it is for someone 300 lbs to lose 6.0 lbs. That’s why percentage of weight loss levels the playing field. Now, it’s “game on!” And Cody’s right in the thick of things too (-5.2 lbs this week, and -23.2 lbs overall).

This one family has lost 72 lbs in 5 weeks! Any way you slice it, they’re all going to be big winners, even if they’re not the biggest loser.

Think about it. What if other families started competing to see who could lose the most weight? Maybe they take a vacation to that person’s favorite destination. Or that person gets the new thing they’ve been wanting and the others have to pay for it. What if your house could lose…?