My apologies if any of my previous posts were misleading, but people interpreted Al's "bonus points" rule for ECG VI differently. Since there's been some question, we've got an official ruling: The 3 bonus points are ONE TIME ONLY. You're welcome to do as many races as you want during the competition, but you'll only get 3 bonus points ONCE.
Week 2 results are in.**
Congrats again to Chris Brand who remains the weight loss percentage leader. Though Erica Sorg is close behind with 3 bonus points and almost 2% weight loss so far!
**A note to anyone who doesn’t respond with weights--other than my Wednesday morning email, I won’t chase you down, so if I don’t have weights by Wednesday night, on Thursday I will report using your last weigh-in weight with an asterisk noting non-reporting for the week. This seems fair to me, but let me know if you have a problem with that--or, just email me your weights.
First of all, I don’t want anyone to think I am knocking a method that works for them. I’m just trying to present something that made a lot of sense to me when I saw it. This was years ago and I was watching an old Food Network show, whose title I can’t remember and that no longer exists, but it was about a chef who used to be morbidly obese and then she lost a ton of weight because she learned to make delicious low-calorie foods. So, this chef was visiting the home of a woman who was a chronic “dieter.” When they opened the woman’s fridge and freezer, all you could see were weight loss shakes and boxes of diet meals. There was nothing fresh to be seen. By contrast, the chef loaded the woman’s kitchen table with low-calorie fresh foods she’d made with relatively simple ingredients. The chef’s comment was, “You can’t eat out of a box or can forever. You’re going to have to eat real food if you want to be healthy for the rest of your life, so you might as well get comfortable with it.”
I had actually never been tempted by shakes or frozen diet meals, I’d never even tried them (Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas clearly don’t count, but damn I loved those), but I realized that it’s something that a lot of people try or even rely on in their lives. Lean Cuisine, SlimFast, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig (side bar: if when you encounter me drunk, I do an awesome Jenny Craig impression, just ask Annie). Again, I’m not saying these things are bad, but it made so much sense to me that “real” food, not prepackaged meals and supplements, would always be my go-to. I’m also not one to opt for non-fat (low-fat is fine), but that’s another story.
There are a few real food items that are staples on my shopping list, including tomatoes, whole wheat pita, plain low-fat yogurt, baby carrots, eggs, lettuce, apples, 2% milk. What are your go-to food items in your house?
Steve & I were up bright and early on Saturday morning too, but I must say that the weather in Miami was WAY kinder than what you experienced.
This 5K was organized in memory of Colin Myrtetus, an Epiphany and Columbus Alumni who passed away suddenly last year at age 38.
The day was perfect for the event - cool & overcast. Steve has been battling a bad cold and so the morning of the 5K he made the wise decision to walk with me instead of run. He's still slightly upset about that.
I will say that for someone who has been pretty much sedentary for the last 4-5 months, I did pretty well, with an average 14:39 mile. But I was POOPED by the end of it. Somehow I convinced Steve to grab breakfast at McDonald's for us and the kids after the race (big ECG mistake) after which I proceeded to take a long nap. LOL
I am not looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in. I have been completely indulgent in my diet and Valentine's day was just another excuse to eat poorly. But, tomorrow is a new day!
***I've tried everything, the finish line photo will only publish upside down. And that's NOT our actual finishing time--it's just when we took the photo****
I woke up at 6am on Saturday to frigid temperatures (23F) and gusty winds and snow--perfect weather for a 5K along the Hudson River.....
After warming ourselves with a healthy breakfast of steel cut oats and fresh ginger tea, Erica and I braved the snow to complete 3.2 miles with about 2000 other runners. Though the weather was miserable, we had a good time overall. Earning 3 bonus points wasn't bad either!
Mary and Steve--we hope your race was just as fun--would you blog about it as well?
For those interested in doing other races, I'll be scoping out some others in NYC. Erica is already aiming for the NYC Dualthon (2 mi run, 10 mi bike, 2 mi run). What races do you have planned?
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
The results are in, except for our one non-reporter....
Congrats to Chris Brand, weight loss percentage leader! He’s already down 3% which means he’s got 3 points so far. But don’t get complacent Chris—4 ECGers (myself, Erica, Steve, Mary)** have signed up for races this weekend, and each will be earning 3 bonus points!
**UPDATE: Chris and Kristi have signed up for the Disney Family 5K on February 25, so we'll all have a lot of catching up to do!
No doubt, over the years, portion sizes have grown tremendously. For example:
* hamburgers expanded by 23%
* a plate of Mexican food got 27% bigger
* soft drinks increased by 52%
* snacks (potato chips, pretzels, crackers) grew 60%
We don’t always realize this, and sometimes, companies are kind enough to remind us (thank you, Kettle Brand’s “sharing size”).
In addition to a Workout Tracker, another tactic I used in last year’s ECG was the half-portion when eating out. No matter where I was, and unless I ordered something small like an appetizer as my main dish, I cut my meal in half and packed it up or shared it. I know it might seem like a waste when you spend money to go out and not eat all of it, but in the long-run, it really pays off. I actually never felt hungry when I was done. And because I’m an infamously fast eater (a terrible habit), it forced me to slow down and savor what I did have. I confess, since ECG V ended, so has this particular habit, but it’s one I’m ready to embrace again with ECG VI.
While at home, my measuring cups and spoons are always on hand for things like cereal (1 cup), salad dressing (2 tbs), trail mix (1/4 cup), rice (1/4 cup) and dinner servings (1-2 cups). This is another thing that doesn’t work for everyone, but it really helped me understand serving sizes.
Unlike Helen Gurley Brown, the skeletal editor of Cosmo who extolled the beauty of waifs and whose idea of a “sensuous meal” was “a scallop and a packet of Sweet N Low”) (shout out to Annie who did a killer impression of this ancient SNL skit), I believe in satisfying meals with more realistic portions.
Maybe 1/2 portions when dining out will help as you start week 2 of the competition?
One method that lots of people who are trying to lose weight use is the food journal. I used to keep one for months at a time, adhering to the If you bite it, you must write it. mantra. But I hated those occasional, and sometimes frequent entries that read something like, “six pints of beer and a quesadilla” following a night out. I loathed writing that, even though it was true. But to me, it was obvious. I knew that was not a shining moment, so why did I need a permanent record of it? I mean, what would your food journal say about yesterday’s Super Bowl parties?
Actually, starting with last year’s ECG, I opted instead for what I call the “Workout Tracker.” There’s an app for that [for iPhone; for Android, though there are literally hundreds of others], but for me, it was a simple spreadsheet with every day of the year, and what I did for physical fitness on each day. That way, at the end of each week, I could see, whoops, I only worked out twice, I should go for a run right now! Or I could see that my 6 days of working out lead to a greater weight loss that week.
It showed the good things I was doing each week, my accomplishments, not my failures. To this day, even the act of entering my workouts into Excel feels like a small victory.
It’s different for everyone, but please don’t let the weekly weigh-ins be the only measure of your life for the next 12 weeks!
Head to the comments to share what works for you!
These are the official starting weights.
I'll email you each Wednesday to ask for your weights and the updated spreadsheet will be posted each Thursday.
Erica and I have signed up for the Cupid's 5K--anyone else signed up for a race?
Welcome back gordos and gordas!
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sandy and I’ll be your ECG VI moderator for the next 12 weeks. I know that participation/commitment levels vary among the group, so hopefully my posts will motivate you to do your best, whatever that may be, throughout the competition.
Last year, I lost over 25lbs—almost 13% of my body--doing ECG, and thanks to continued workouts and making exercise a priority since last April, I’m close to my same weight and wearing the same size as I was when I finished ECG V.
You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I still workout 5-6 times per week and I run anywhere from 8-16 miles per week—I’m not saying this to brag, it’s to show how I’ve made fitness a priority and to show that age/job/whatever is no limitation for getting healthy. I’ve found the things that work best for me (thank you, Physique 57 DVDs) and I know where my pitfalls are (hello, binge drinking at The Blarney Cove!). Still, I’m feeling good physically and mentally, and that is priceless.
Please feel free to email me anything you want brought up on the blog, or even an achievement you want highlighted among the group. Let’s be here to support each other as we do what we can to improve our health and lives.
Sandy
P.S. For those in the NYC-area who want to start earning bonus points—how about one or both of these races? Walkers welcome!
Cupid’s Chase 5K in Manhattan (Hudson River Park at Charles Street) on Saturday, Feb 11. Start time 10am, entry $35. More details: http://www.active.com/5k-race/new-york-ny/cupids-chase-5k-run-manhattan-at-10am-2012
Valentine’s Day 5K in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on Sunday, Feb 12. Start time 10am, entry $21. More details: http://www.active.com/running/brooklyn-ny/valentines-5k-run-2012
Another ECG has come to an end and a whole lot of pounds have been shed. Here are the final results. I'd like to give a special shout out to Sandy Gade, who was first overall for weight loss--an awesome 25.6 pounds! She was (closely) followed by Steven Lee, who lost 24.6 pounds, and Danny Diaz, who lost 20 pounds. I'd also like to acknowledge the Miami quartet of the three Diaz brothers and Ralph Rosado, whose team--Team 5--was tops in weight loss (68.8 pounds).
However, the winning team was determined by percentage of weight lost, and that award goes to Team 4 (Steven Lee, Ian Lee, Chris Brand and Ashley Ageeb), who lost 7.77% of their weight. Congrats, guys! You've got a nice check coming your way to splurge on a highly caloric evening out.
Please note there are two tabs on the Google doc. The second tab (labeled Sheet 3) is organized by teams.
While not everyone has provided me with updates this week, the biggest contenders have and there is now a NEW leader! Check it out.
Here are updates for Week 14. For those who haven't given me an update lately, I've included their last reported weights. I hope everyone noticed the comment from Anonymous last week that says, "I look forward to winning." Anonymous, please present yourself. I hope you're not one of the non-reporters, because then I'll be really annoyed.
Here are the stats for week 12. Still missing a few updates (Miami crew, that means you!).
Finally, an update. I've posted everyone's latest reported weights--a few contestants are a little behind on their reporting...
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AmGwP3Z4bY6VdG1NSFNjaDB0dFRfZUYyX0xfQ2ZyWnc&hl=en&authkey=CNXP2qUL
Bottom line
Miami > NYC
Guys > Girls
Nice blog post, Chris (see below). That would certainly motivate me, and for the love of God if you've mailed that check get moving! Here are the results from week 6.
There is no doubt a variety of motivations at work among our various ECG competitors -- look better, feel better, get healthier, don't let teammates down, win the money! Here's a gym that provides a novel form of motivation (you pay more if you don't go!)... http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/01/24/gym_pact_bases_fees_on_members_ability_to_stick_to_their_workout_schedule/
Another interesting form of (negative) motivation: In an email response to the "pay more for not going to the gym" concept, someone wrote: "My sister once lost several dozen pounds after writing a large check to the David Duke campaign and giving the check to my brother with instructions to mail it if she didn't lose the weight by a set date. It worked."
Given I've been in last place in ECG and need some more motivation, I think I'll try this latter strategy. So: Annie - my check to Sarah Palin's presidential campaign is in the mail. If I do not weigh 190lbs or less by May 15, then please proceed with mailing it in. No turning back now!
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