For the last few years I have been a closet, well probably not so closet, fan of the TV Show "The Biggest Loser" and have not missed many episodes. I guess I like to hear the stories of how people just lost control of their eating habits and then how with hard work and some education about eating habits they lose enormous amounts of weight and also gain significant amounts of self-confidence and drive. Usually these people are surrounded by families or cultures with long histories of heart illness and diabetes and many are young people.
In their time on "the ranch" they go through amazing transformations and what really impresses me is those people who leave early in the show, but continue to lose weight at home. Obviously, these people learned a great deal about the importance of diet and working out in weight loss. No pills, fad diets, just good old hard work and commitment to healthy eating in appropriate portions.
As I watch the show, I can easily see how people can lose control and the energy to stay healthy. I look at how crazy my life has been over the last four years from commuting for two plus years to the stress of being without a boss and then without a job. Before the family came down I was working long hours, eating at my desk and not getting much sleep - all things that are bad for your health. When you add in high blood pressure and cholesterol, that is a recipe for disaster.
With Liz working at Brick Bodies, I thought that with my time off it would be great to try and get in some exercise. Sadly, I had ballooned to over 240 mostly due to inactivity and eating too much food and the great things my daughter bakes - she loves to make cookies and cakes. To start I really did not have a game plan and was not really losing much weight but at least getting some aerobic exercise. Fortunately, the gym offered a special eight week program "Extreme Brickover" modeled after the TV show. I figured that I would at least learn some things and maybe be more focused on what I was doing.
On the first weigh-in they took a number of assessments, including initial weight, body fat and waist to hip ratio. On the back of the sheet they had a chart that assessed the measurements. It is never good when yours comes back as obese. Now, I new that I was not in great shape and overweight, but did not think it was obese. I think that was the shock that I needed to make a change. In reading through the material they provided, the thing that caught my eye was the importance of knowing how many calories you burn and how many you eat. So I started tracking what I was doing and making more conscious decisions about food and portions and was committed to getting at least 30+ minutes of exercise a day.
Unfortunately, I missed the first weekly weigh-in as I was travelling for a job interview and was excited to see where I stood at the second weigh-in. I knew that I had to have lost some weight, since I was on the last notch in my belt and I was spending a lot of time pulling up my jeans. I was very happy to see that I had lost 12 pounds in two weeks, I was hoping to be below 230, but I was still happy and dropped 5% of my body weight. One thing that was really helpful was the calorie counter on my blackberry, it allowed me to track my calorie intake as well as my workout and calorie burn. I look forward to the next 6 weeks, although I hope I have a job by then since I will need some new clothes!
#BrickBodies, #
