Ok.

So I heard that a bunch of people aren't even doing this anymore. Either that or no one is sending their weekly hours in to Stephanie.
Disappointing.

Benefits

So over the past few weeks, I have been mentally making a few notes on the benefits of exercise. I'm pretty sure we're all acquainted with the usual "you're healthier, your heart is stronger, etc." Those are all true but here are some of my own personal benefits I find I get from exercising:
1. I can basically eat whatever I want and not have to worry about gaining weight when I'm regularly exercising.
2. I sleep so great at night.
3. You just feel better about yourself because you know you're doing something beneficial for your body.

There are my three things. Now I'm curious as to what personal benefits everyone else feels like they receive from exercising. It can be just one benefit or thirteen but as we're coming to an end I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts.
We don't have much longer so just endure it and push through to the end. It may hurt or you may get tired of it but as someone wise once said, "Pain is weakness leaving the body." So Happy Thanksgiving and keep pushing through!
-Emaline

Countdown!

We have just a month left of this competition!!! How is everyone doing? We know Emmaline is the exercise machine, but what about the rest of us? I don't like seeing a zero by name, so I try to get at least get 1 or 2 points. Has this also helped any of you to get some exercise in each week? Whenever I see the 'Biggest Loser' on TV, I think how nice it would be to have someone yelling at me to do better. Good luck for the coming month, and hopefully this has helped some of us improve our lifestyles.

Maybe its just me

To me it seems like no one is really putting a lot of effort into this whole weight lost thing. Myself included. People may be exercising, but the point was to bring the family closer together and live better. People are not contributing to the blog that Deric and Stephanie put time and effort into. Only 'D & S' and 'The Nicholes' seem to be contributing the most to the blog. No one seems to be supporting each other. Maybe its just me who feels this way, but I think we should all do better to contribute, support and help those trying to live a healthier life.

Determining Ideal Weight Loss Goal

I thought I would post some info I got from College relating to determining caloric intake and weight loss goals. Let me know if anyone has any questions!

Determining Weight Goal

WOMEN: Start with 100 lbs for five feet, then add 5 lbs for every inch over five feet

Ex: 5’2” = 100 + 2 (5) = 110 lbs

MEN: Start with 100 lbs for five feet, then add 6 lbs for each inch over five feet

Ex.: 5’8” = 100 + 8(6) = 148 lbs

**Note: These estimates give you a general idea of your desired weight if you have an average-sized frame. Your weight may be 10 % less if you are small-boned or 10 % more if you are large-boned.

To determine your size frame, wrap your right thumb and right middle finger around your left wrist.

• If the two digits do not touch, you are large-boned
• If the two digits touch, you are average-boned
• If the two digits overlap, you are small boned.

Determining caloric intake

To determine a daily caloric intake, take your desired weight and multiply it by kcal.

Ex: 180 lbs x kcal = 1800 kcal/day

**Note: if your desired weight is more than 10 lbs from your current weight slowly decrease your caloric intake.

Ex: Desired weight 120 lbs

Current weight 150 lbs

1500 kcal to maintain weight

Or

1400 kcal until reach 140 lbs, then 1300 kcal until reach 130 lbs, then 1200 kcal until reach 120 lbs and remain on 1200 kcal/day.

You must exercise and decrease calories slowly or your body will go into a “Starvation Mode” and will conserve fat by decreasing its metabolism.

Week 4 Standings

Ok folks, here are the weekly standings of our friendly competition. Emaline has locked in 1st place at 77 points. That girl is an exercise fiend. 2nd place goes to Liz with a total of 19 points and Todd is not far behind her in 3rd place with 18 points. It's anybody's game now (well at least for 2nd and 3rd place it is) so everyone keep it up and push yourselves just a little more this next week.

Good Exercising!

Ashley and Layton's Excuses

As for the two of us....... well, there really isn't a valid excuse for us. Ashley has to be to work by six every weekday morning, so she is up and out of the house by five forty She is on her feet all day and by the time she is off it is usually time to take a nap... After that it is usually cleaning or laundry or time to start dinner. Around six is usually when I gets home, and I am hungry and tired and not motivated to really do anything. Depending on the day we both have to rush off to meetings for our callings.. so we are luck if we get dinner. Ashley does have a ballet class on Wednesday nights. She hasn't been able to go because of meetings the past two weeks, but is going this week. We have also been waiting for her dance studio to start up so we can take a class together.
As for me, well, I get up around seven thirty, shower, eat, watch tv before I head off to work. Depending on the day I either sit or stand at work... Thursdays I have physical therapy for my shoulder. Maybe run some errands after work.. We do try to talk a walk together at least one a week. We park further away in the parking lots. We make sure to have veggies or fruits with all our meals...... We even have an exercise room in our complex, we talk about going to all the time.

What is standing in my way?(well besides the halloween candy we were suppose to be giving away)

Okay, first off this is Tyler. I am trying to be motivated to lose some weight and get in shape. Usually what stops me is that even when I set my alarm for 6, I still wake up and turn off the alarm and sleep an additional 30 minutes. At night I get home to late and spend my time playing with Spencer (which could be considered exercise, although I don't count it.). I then eat dinner and then get on the computer, watch TV or read a book. I have decided some things that might help me to exercise is to set up a time to exercise with someone else. Like tomorrow I am going to go running with one of my bosses, who happens to live down the street. This is pretty good motivation because one I know someone is counting on me to be there. The second reason is because he is one of my bosses, I don't want him to get mad at me for failing to show up. So hopefully that will help.

Another tactic I am going to try, since I really like candy is I will not eat any candy, unless I have worked out that day. So wish me luck, I wish you all luck as well.
Tyler

All about me:)

Ok, so I have not done a great job of keeping up with this blog! I'm sorry to one and all. I'll first talk about where I am and where I want to be.

Where I am now:

I am around 140 lbs. I eat what I want when I want. I don't eat healthy foods. I like to eat junk food, especially chocolate. I do not exercise. I mostly sit around all day and hold my baby.

Where I want to be:

I want to weigh what I did prior to my pregnancy or around there. I want to be in shape and tone my muscles a little. I use to be very flexible. I want to be in the same state I was in my senior year when I danced everyday. I know it may not be exactly the same since my life has drastically changed since then, but I would like to be as close as possible. I want to eat better as well. I need to eat more on a regular basis and eat healthy foods.

How am I going to achieve this?

I am going to try to exercise everyday for 30 minutes when I get the ok from my doctor. I'm going to warm up like I did in dance. That way I can get flexible again. I am going to try and use the treadmill for my choice of exercise since the weather is getting bad. As for food I just need to make better choices and think before I eat.

As for mom's challenge......The things that are making it hard to achieve my goals are....
1: I am just too tired to do anything else but sit around and sleep
2: I have a newborn who is not on a schedule yet so its hard to exercise. I finally get him to sleep put him down then he wakes up.
3: I want to wait till Jeff is home to watch the baby so I can exercise, but that is late at night and by that time I just want to spend time with him and then sleep.
4: I still am having some pain so I don't want to exercise and make things worse.
5: I love junk food and it makes me happier especially since I'm so tired.
6: The season for fresh fruits is coming to a close so its hard to eat healthy for me when I love them so much.

Those are my excuses. They are not that valid I guess but they are the reasons why I am having problems. I just need to get motivated.

Haylee

Challenge to all!

I am challenging all of you who are part of this to make a post this week telling what you do that helps you achieve your goals OR what stops you from doing things to reach your goal.
Mine is afternoons, I am usually really tired at that time of day and I just want to sit on a chair and read a good book or watch something on TV. But the problem is that once I sit, that is all I want to do. Then next thing I know the evening is over and I have done nothing. One thing that helps me is if there is nothing to watch on TV. So right now is a bad time, since there is baseball playoffs, Amazing Race, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, football, and even pre-season basketball. What is a girl to do????

Not a good time for Monopoly

I think that now there is no way I can win the weight loss contest, I was doing really good untill today. Jenelle and I have always been big on the McDonolds Monopoly game, so I now hardly resist going to Mcd's for lunch. So today I had a large fry and large sprite for lunch, and then on the way home I got dinner for the fam there. I told myself I was going there to get the rest of the little Wizard of Oz toys but I know the real reason, and lucky for me (or unlucky) they only had 3 of the 7 we still need, so I will have to go to the one by my work tomorrow to see if they have the rest of them. I guess if I win the money who cares about losing weight? Wish me luck so I do not get fat for nothing.

Clarification on Contest

I just wanted to send out a clarification with the contest. The points that you all will be counting each week are JUST FOR EXERCISE. We will count additional points for pounds lost at the very end since weight fluctuates weekly. So there will only be two weigh in's. The first one that you all should have sent me by now and the final weigh in on Dec 20th. You can continue to weigh yourself in between but there is no need to send that info to us. All we need is your points from your physical activity.

Additionally, please keep in mind that when you go to the gym for an hour or so, if 20 min (for example) is for changing clothes, stretching, or long rest periods, etc. you should not be including that to give your 30 min increment. Again, this is all on the honor system so you can make the judgment on how much time you spent with your heart rate elevated.

Thanks, and let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

Week 1 Recap!

We are almost two weeks into the competition and right now Tyler and Deric are neck in neck for 1st place just after one week. Who will it be next week? We will only know if you send us your info? Don't forget I need your results by Sunday morning. Just email them Saturday to make your life easier. For those of you who have not weighed yourself, you need to do that and email me the info to be considered for the competition. I don't have any fun stories to share with this recap. If you want to share something you did with your exercise regiment during the week that is noteworthy or any tips, just email it to me along with your weekly points.

p.s. There has been some confusion on who to send your weekly results to. Let me clear this up by saying all points should be sent to me (Stephanie) each week. It just makes it easier if it's going to one person to record the info. Also, if you would like to check everyone's points check out the excel spreadsheet via the following link:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p5lq2AymaFdJAYQ8sp6-Cdg&hl=en

Happy exercising!

Actions do speak louder than words

Like Jeanne said, Actions do speak louder than words and I have yet to receive any emails this week. As I mentioned before I will not make exceptions for any one person. However for this week I will give EVERYONE an extension to get me their emails by Monday evening. This is a one time exception in the event that everyone does not have my email address. If you don't have my email address, please let me know. Also, when you give me your starting weight, please let me know if you wish to keep that information private.

Thanks,

Welcome Welcome

Welcome to all those who have joined this great endeavour of ours. So far I have received money from Bianka, Jill and Liz. Todd and I have our money already in the account I have. ALee and Jason had asked if they could get me their money when they come north in 2 weeks. So for the rest of you, get me your money. Then we know you are serious. "Actions speak louder than words".

USAF Warrior Fitness

As I am sure most of you know, I am in the USAF. An everyday part of life in the AF is fitness. We have to take a physical assessment once a year and receive a score better than 75%. It is such a part of the AF way that I get about a hour and a half everyday during work to go and work on my fitness, so I apologize in advance for suckering all of you guys into this competition knowing full well that I would win because it is really my job to win. You could even say I am getting paid to win, well cause I am.

So because I feel kind of bad to get you all to just give me some money, I have decided to include some help and tips that I have learned and received myself in the course of my AF career of trying to be fit. This first post just gives a good overview of some basic fitness components. Please read and take what you can from it.

Next post from me will be a treadmill workout that should increase your endurance and running speed.

P.S Disregard any of the superfluous references to PTL and any of the AF lingo/terms.


BACK TO BASICS
WARRIOR FITNESS PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION

This program provides a basic walk/jog/run, sit-up, and pushup template utilizing the necessary components of a complete fitness program to include the warm up, aerobic phase, cool down, muscular strength/endurance, and stretching. This is also the recommended sequence of activity. Program can be used as an individual or group program. In a group format, unit Physical Training Leader (PTL) should lead warm up, cool down, and stretching.

DESCRIPTION

Duration: 45 min to one hour
Exercise Intensity: Participants should work at their own pace
Types of Exercises: Warm up, brisk walking, jogging, running, crunches, pushups, stretches
Equipment Needed: Appropriate, supportive running shoes
Target Audience: Beginning to experienced exercisers

WARM-UP (5-10 min)

The warm up phase consists of low intensity exercises which physically prepare the body for elevating the heart rate, improving blood flow to muscles, and increasing joint mobility. Proper warm up decreases the potential for injury. Warm up can also include a few stretches for the major muscle groups (see STRETCHING).

Neck Rolls: Roll neck side/front/side.

Shoulder Rolls: Roll shoulders forward then backward (individually and/or together).

Arm Circles: Rotate laterally extended arms forward then backward.

Knee Lifts: Alternate knee raises. Can also bring alternate elbows to knees as they are lifted.

Half Jacks: Step heel with alternate legs. Raise arms as in a normal jumping jack.

Trunk Rotation: While keeping pelvis forward and hands on hips, rotate trunk side/front/side.

Hip Drop: Grabbing ankles, lower hips to 90 degrees (chest on thighs). Raise hips while holding ankles.

Ankle Circles: Extend alternate ankles in front and draw a clockwise and counterclockwise circle with each ankle.

AEROBIC PHASE (20-30 min)

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 20-60 minutes of continuous aerobic activity at least three times a week for cardiovascular improvement. Participants should choose the appropriate exercise below for their current level of fitness, and gradually increase to the next level of activity. Be sure to monitor exercise heart rate. For group program, divide into separate ability (fitness level) groups, and bring group back together at designated time.

Brisk Walking: Fitness walking usually begins at 3.5 mph (17 min. pace) or faster. At this pace, calories burned from walking begin to equal calories burned from jogging. Walk at least 30 minutes.

Walk/Jog: Combination of brisk walking and a slow jog for 30 minutes.

Jog/Run: Jog and/or run 20-30 minutes. Use standards for the 1.5 mile run for age and sex to set pace goals.

Run: Maintain a steady run for a minimum of 30 minutes. For experienced runners whose goal is to achieve the 90th percentile standard, incorporate interval training (short bursts of speed) into current running program.

COOL DOWN (3-5 min)

The cool down phase can be a low-level walk or exercises from the warm up phase. Cool down is important to slowly decrease the heart rate and prevent blood from pooling in the extremities.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH/ENDURANCE (5-10 min)

Crunches: Crunches should be performed with bent knees, heels flat (with no anchor or anyone holding feet) lifting just the shoulders off the ground, looking upward to keep the head and neck aligned with the body. Arms may be crossed over the chest (beginner), bent behind the head with fingers behind ears, not locked together (added intensity), or arms crossed over the chest holding a small amount of weight (2-10lbs). Perform one set of slow, controlled crunches, rest for one minute, and repeat.

Crunch Variation: Begin with bent knees, heels flat, one arm at side, and one arm behind head, elbow out to the side. Perform crunch lifting shoulders off the ground then cross elbow to opposite knee. Repeat with opposite arm.

Pushups: Pushups should be performed with arms fully extended and the body in a straight line from head to knee (bent knee pushup) or head to feet (full pushup). Perform one set of pushups, lowering the body until elbows are at a 90 degree angle. Repeat.

Pushup Variation: Perform pushups at an incline with arms on a box/step (low intensity), decline with feet up on a box/step (higher intensity), or stability/fit ball push ups (high intensity).

STRETCHING (5-10 min)

Stretching relaxes the body and reduces muscle tension, helps to prevent injury, increases joint flexibility and range of motion, and helps to prevent muscle and joint soreness. Stretching is especially important after exercise. It is the time when stretching has the greatest potential to increase flexibility. Stretching exercises should be held (no bouncing) for a minimum of 10 seconds.

Abdominal stretch: Interlock fingers, extend arms above the head with palms facing up. Push hands up and lean back slightly until a little tension is felt in the abdominal area.

Latissimus Dorsi (back) and Oblique (side) stretch: From Abdominal stretch position, extend one arm overhead and place the hand of the other hand on the hip. Bend to the side opposite the lifted arm. Extend the other arm overhead and repeat to the opposite side.

Pectoralis (chest) and Anterior Deltoid (front shoulder) stretch: Reach arms straight back; interlace fingers with palms facing toward the body. Raise the arms as far up as possible until a slight tension is felt in the chest muscles.

Medial and Posterior Deltoid (side and back shoulder) stretch: Reach one arm across the body, with the opposite hand grab the elbow and pull until a slight tension is felt in the deltoids. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Tricep stretch (back of the arm): In an upright position, place your hand behind the head to touch in between the scapula (shoulder blades). With opposite hand, lightly grab the elbow and pull until a slight tension is felt in the triceps.

Quadricep (thighs) and Iliopsoas (hip flexor) stretch: In an upright position, bend your right leg and hold the top of the foot between the toes and ankle joint with your right hand. Gently pull the right foot toward your buttocks and lean forward until a slight tension is felt in the hip flexor and front of the thigh. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Gastrocnemius (calf), Soleus (lower calf), Achilles Tendon stretch: In an upright position, extend one leg in front of you; place your hands on your hips or in front of you for stability/balance. Slowly and gently lean forward until you feel a slight tension in your lower leg. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Hamstring stretch: Sit on the floor with one leg extended. Bend the knee of the other leg and turn that leg inward toward the leg that is extended. With your back straight, lean over the extended leg and reach towards your toes until a slight tension is felt in the hamstring muscle. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Tibialis Anterior (shin) stretch: In an upright position, extend one leg behind you and place your toes of that extended foot on the ground; you can put your hands on your hips or in front of you for stability/balance. Slowly and gently lean forward until you feel a slight tension in your tibialis anterior (shin). Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Erector Spinae (lower back) and Abductor stretch: In a seated position with your upper torso upright, extend your right leg and pull the left knee into the chest with your right hand and across your extended right leg. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

Adductors (inner thigh): In a seated position, place the soles of your feet together and pull your heels in as close to the buttocks as possible. Slowly press the knees down toward the floor as you lean forward until a slight tension is felt in the inner thigh. Switch to the opposite side and repeat.

I hope you have found this helpful and easy to understand. If there are any questions you know how to reach me.

Just a Quick Tip

Everyone has made some really great points but one thing I think we've failed to mention is: STRETCHING. Stretching is probably one of the most important things to do before and after you exercise. It may sound like common sense but as someone very wise once said, 'common sense isn't so common.' ;) It helps avoid injury and loosens your muscles for a smoother, more beneficial workout. So sorry if the response to this is: "DUH, Bianka. [insert rolling of eyes here]" I just felt it important to reiterate.
-Bianka

Bianka AKA Emaline.

So for those who may be confused, Bianka=Emaline. Maxfield.
Anyway.
I eat three meals a day. For breakfast every morning I have orange juice and something else. For lunch it's usually a sandwich, fruit cup, veggies, and sometimes something sweet (e.g., a cookie). Dinner....depends what day it is. Usually meat, veggies, fruit, and water. I try to have fresh fruits and fresh vegetables everyday. I try to have two water bottles a day. I don't really care for meat, the taste isn't that great and the principle still hits me as harsh. In the morning I take a lysine which produces an amino acid for your body, a vitamin C, and an iron supplement. The vitamin C and iron go together because vitamin C helps your blood cells carry more iron and oxygen. I am borderline anemic.
Currently I am 5'9" tall and weigh 117 pounds. I don't think I need to lose weight but I would like to gain some muscle mass, particularly upper body. (Some tight abs would be nice...) How am I going to achieve this? Well I swim six days a week so I'm hoping in the long run swimming will prove to be efficacious. I think I eat too many sweets and to few healthy snacks (fruits/vegetables) so I think I'll try to get more of those in my diet.
Let the competition begin!!
-Bianka

Contest Spreadsheet

Dannon's turn

Where I am

So currently I am a fat, fat, fatty. I have gained some weight since I have changed jobs and am now in the office. When I was working in the store depending on the day I walked 10-15 miles each day and that has been tracked. So I now currently weigh around 195. I would also like to be around 175. My eating habits are not as bad as Tyler's. I usually have an english muffin in the morning, a lean cusine for lunch, and different things for dinner. Where I really get bad is on the weekends and that the candy buyer is right down the hall from me and he always has lots of candy sitting out to eat. I do take my cholesterol medicine and am not a wimp and take it without water, so Tyler that is not a good excuse. My last cholesterol check was around 230 but it is coming down, I just need to exercise and I think it will get much lower.

Where I would like to be

I would like to have a flat belly and weigh around 175. I need to cut down on the sugar intake and my portions. I tend to just keep eating untill all the food on the table is gone.

How will I do it

I too will wake up at 6:00 every morning and much to my wifes displeasure run for 30 minutes on our tredmill (which is in our bedroom) I will also run at night or jump on the trampoline with my girls when I get home from work. If will definetly run when I am watching one of the TV shows I watch. Like Heroes season 3. For food I will continue eating about the same stuff but I will not eat the junk food as much. I have no aspirations to run a 5k or anything like that so I do not have that as a goal.

GOALS

Okay, so I think it is important that maybe we share our current lifestyle with each other, and what we want our lifestyle to be in a few months so I will start and everyone else is encouraged to do the same.

Current Lifestyle:
Okay currently I am around 185 lbs, not too bad for someone who is 6'3" but I am not in shape. I used to be a cross country runner and play basketball alot. Not anymore. I currently work out about once a week, but there was a small stretch during the summer that I was out running along the Congo River. My diet isn't horrible, except I eat too much candy, pizza and a think called a Schwarma (lebanese bread rolled up with french fires, lettuce, mayonnaise, and chicken. For those who have visited Deric, this is kinda of like a donner kabob.) I definitely need to eat more fruits and eat smaller meals. I am not taking my cholesterol medicine, mainly because I am too lazy to take our water bottle over to the water distiller and fill it up. I have a belly, and I don't like my belly.

WHERE I WANT TO BE:
I really don't want to lose much weight, but I do want to get rid of the fat. I would like to be down to 175 lbs, but more importantly I want to be in Shape. My goal is to be able either this winter or next summer when I am home to run a 5K and actually perform well, meaning finishing under 19 minutes. I want to lower my cholesterol below 200, I don't know what it is right now, but hopefully it isn't too high.

HOW AM I GOING TO GET THERE:
Well to start off I am going to start waking up at 6 every morning and work out 30 minutes on our Gazelle why I watch the second season of Heroes on DVD. This will be Monday through Friday. After a month of doing this, I will start going outside and running around the river, this will be getting me ready for my 5 K. Next, when I get home from work, if it isn't too late I will try to convince Spencer to either go swimming with me or do the wii fit. Then before going to bed I will do a set of pushups and crunches. Okay on to food, I need to start buying more fruit and stop eating so much candy. In fact I am about to eat a candy bar, and instead of eating the whole thing, I am only going to eat half of it. I will stop eating so much, and will actually ask Becca to tell me when I am starting to eat too much. As for my cholesterol I am going to start taking my medicine. In fact yesterday I went to the Doctor to get my prescription to get refilled and I will, no matter how tired I am make sure I have a bottle of water in the bathroom. Okay so those are my goals. Good luck to everyone
Tyler

I really don't know anything!!!

• Water: Deric told me awhile ago that drinking 16 oz of water first thing in the morning helps boost the metabolism. I've been trying it, but I can't tell if it has help yet. But it certainly can't hurt, since we all need to drink lots of water.


• Food: I've always heard and I believe that not eating past 6:00ish pm. helps to keep from gaining weight. But I'm sure portion control throughout the day has to take place also. A little treat every now and then might be okay!!!!


• Exercise: We all don't exercise like we should each day, but there are small things we can do to help; park further away in parking lots, take stairs instead of elavators. Every little bit helps, right?


• Soft drinks: I've heard and read many reports lately saying how bad soft drinks are for us, and that includes diet drinks.

I really don't know much of what I'm talking about. But I wanted to post this so that Deric knows we want to do this with our family and have lots of fun and support each other.

Workout Playlist

If anyone has a favorite workout song, send me the title and I will see if I can add it to the blog (depending if it's available on playlist.com). Deric and I have already started with the two songs that are on there right now.

Rock on!

A little motivational poster I made for our competition. Enjoy!

The Games are still on...official rules

Hello everyone,

Since we have not received confirmation from everyone who said they would participate and time is short, we have decided to alter the competition. The reasons are varied. I apologize if this is disappointing to those who were already geared up but we both feel that this is what we should do. Ok, enough anticipation. Here it is, the fine print in all its glory:

*The games have officially begun as we said they had on September 20th
*The money obligation has been reduced to $5 per person which will go towards door prizes and other prizes at a fun after-competition party in December. There will be prizes for different categories, ie: Most pounds lost, Most exercise points, etc. We will try to accomodate everyone with the date of the party. Jeanne Nicholes is still our Treasurer for the biggest loser. You can submit your entry money to her within the next two weeks. Monday Oct 2nd is the last day to turn in money.
*Essentially everything else has remained the same. You will receive a point for every 30 min of vigorous exercise, and five points for every pound lost. What is vigorous? Something that gets your heart pumping good. You are all encouraged to write in the blog, share stories, healthy recipes, tips, and tools for helping everyone achieve a healthier lifestyle. There will be some bonus prizes for those who participate wholeheartedly in the competition and it will be reflected primarily from the blog. We have already granted author access to those of you who have entered the competition.
*Again, this competition is based on the honor system. You must submit to us your total points for the week via email by the following deadline: Sunday 1159am Pacific/Mountain/Eastern/and Congolese time. Sorry to be strict, but we must all play by the same rules which means if you don't email us by that time it doesn't count. NO EXCEPTIONS, sorry. If you have church during that time, email us Sat night. This rule is set in place so that we (in Germany, 8 hrs ahead) can update the blog with everyone's progress by Monday. This makes it fun for everyone when you can see where you stand with everyone else. Don't worry, we will not be posting weight or measurements, just points. It's as plain and simple as that. We will however be tracking it on our end (for competition purposes only), but your information will remain anonymous between Deric and I. If there is anything else interesting you would like to share regarding your workout, ie: how far you ran, swam, biked, etc then put that in the email too.
* With that in mind, please remember to email me this Sunday with your points as well as your starting weight. For everyone to remain equal, please record your weight on Friday the 27th and include the time of day. If I don't hear from you then I will assume you are not competing. But please do not let that discourage you from not participating, even if you are just doing it to do it.
*Remember the purpose of this to promote a healthier lifestyle. With that said, do not push yourself to endless limits which may have a reverse effect and be a detriment to your health. Use common sense. Be safe, stretch before and after each workout, don't over do it, and make sure you are fueling your body with fluids and proper nutrition to prevent any injuries.
*Good luck and happy exercising!

Love your biggest loser team,

Let's get it on!!!

Let's get it on!!! Yes, I am talking to you. In fact not just you, but everybody. There are alot of people missing from that spreadsheet you need to get in on this competition. We need to reach out to the whole family and get everybody to participate. Sure, they are going to give you excuses, but I will provide you with the answer to their excuses.

1. I don't have the $20 to participate? They don't need money to participate, they can still win and claim the bragging rights, without getting the money prize. They can participate just to help the others be motivated.

2. I don't have time? Everybody can carve 30 minutes out of the day.

3. I won't win, especially with Emmaline and some of the other exercise fanatics participating? This isn't about winning the competition and getting the money, but winning in life. This is about working as a family to be healthier. So if you are part of the family you need to participate, track your progress and encourage those around you to stay motivated.

4. I just had both my legs amputated, so I really can't work out? Well you still have you arms, so use those to exercise.

5. I don't want people to know my weight? We can work with you and make your weight private, or you can not participate in the weight challenge and just worry about the exercise challenge.

6. I don't want to commit and then feel like a failure when I become unmotivated and rarely workout? If you are not working out at all and the beginning of the competition and then because of the competition you end up working only 1 hour every month, well then you succeeded. You exercised one more hour then you would have. So just because you don't end up losing 20 lbs and don't get in enough shape to enter the Iron Man competition, doesn't mean you didn't succeed. So stop worrying about failure and sign up.

Know that I have provided you the training, go out there and get people involved in this, talk to them on the phone, in person, over email. Send them invites to this blog. Even if they don't join today, or this week. They can still participate. If I have to I will start targeting those in the family who have not already signed up and I will wake them up in the middle of the night with a phone call reminding them they have not signed up. And don't worry there is a 7 hour time difference so I will be able to call you during my lunch, but it will be early in the morning for you.

Mom, Dad, and Dannon, we are going to have rely on you alot to get people doing this since Deric and I are overseas and won't be able to harass people in person. Can we count on you?

Remember this is a family activity, there is no excuse for anyone. As Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living" so examine your life, find out what is stopping you from participating and fix it. If you think you have a good excuse as to why you can not participate, then tell me your excuse and I will find a way to still get you involved.
Let's get it on!!!
Tyler

The Competiton begins Sep 20 2008, will you compete?

More to follow.... stay tuned.