Week 9 Updates

And Then There Were 4...

Great news for Darrell,  Raquel, Mary Kay and Julie L (reinstated this week)…. No weigh-ins the next 2 weeks.  These are the 4 finalists for the track 1 challenge and will battle it out over the next 21 days to see who loses the highest percentage of weight between weeks 9 and 12 to be crowned track 1 champ!

All in all however, we’re here for total weight loss and lifestyle development, so huge congratulations to all our challengers for continuing to work hard, eat right, and establish a foundation of healthy living that is going to last for years to come.  Track 2 saw some pretty huge numbers from Susanne (2 pounds), Julie B (3.2 pounds), and Anthony (1.8 pounds) this week which brought the group total to 27 pounds of weight loss for the week! 

We also can’t help but give a shout out to Lisa, who has dropped 22.2 pounds (12.21%) already despite being manually eliminated in week 1, refused reinstatement in week 6, and again not reinstated in week 9 because she works in our clinic.  Her trainer Kelly adds that “For being one of our smaller and younger competitors she sure is a bulldog!  She brings it every workout, logs every bite of food, and focuses as hard on behavior change as she does in her workouts.  She’s the total package!”

Another shout out to Darrell who has lost 43.6 pounds and is likely to shatter the previous 12 week weight loss record of 48 pounds.  After the workout, we did overhear Darrell a bit and he let the cat out of the bag…. Sorry Darrell, we had to post your secrets:

1) Hard Work in the Gym
2) Diligence in the Kitchen
3) Consistency on #1 and #2

Also sorry to the fad diet industry—the secret is out.  Both initial and long term results can be summed up in 3 quick bullets.

Class Notes:

Over the past few months we have surveyed many of the people who have lost > 10% of their body weight in our program and kept it off to see what they had to offer for “maintenance pearls.”  I was excited to report that they ALL came back with pretty much the same exact answers:

1) They Think Like an Egyptian:

(Think Pyramids…. Strong foundation).  They all have a solid base or foundation of healthy living. This incorporates a general healthy pattern of eating and moderation in lifestyle.  Some comments included “I’m not perfect all the time, or even most of the time, but I find that if I eat pretty good during the week and enjoy myself a bit on the weekends I’m totally fine.”

2) They have a “Bone Reason”

We coined the term “bone reason” after realizing that everyone we spoke with mentioned something about THEMSELVES that made their health important.  It wasn’t about looking good in a dress, it wasn’t about being able to do 50 pushups.  Bone reasons are things that strike us deep down to our core.  They included “I want to keep chasing my grandkids around,”  “I want to be able to enjoy life and go on vacation when I’m in my 70’s… and 80’s!”  “I want to be a model of health for my kids,”  “I’VE GOTTEN MY LIFE BACK AND I WANT TO KEEP IT!”  “I’m off my cholesterol and blood pressure meds and I’m never going back on.”  The list keeps going, but every one of them was about their health, themselves, and/or being there for their family.  That’s a bone reason and as one person put it, “it’s more important than eating a double cheeseburger on the way home from work every day.”

3) They put their Heart into it:

Every single one of them reports that working out has been key. Most of them don’t work out even remotely as hard as they did in the program, but they note that they’re working out more effectively by combining specific training principles and monitoring quality not quantity.

4) They have an accountant:

Accountability was the other key.  Some are accountable to us in the Fit Club, some are accountable to their spouse, some to their kids, others to their friends they battled with in the program.  A couple even mentioned “I’m on the wall, I can’t exactly gain the weight back because you’ll take me down.”  A few people actually mentioned all of the above.  Whatever it is, get an accountant!