And the Beat Goes On...Biggest Loser Update #3

KIRKWOOD IS STILL IN THE LEAD!

In the Kirkwood-Webster Biggest Loser contest, Kirkwood employees have lost a combined 3.41 percent of body weight, while Webster Groves employees have lost 2.95 percent of body weight (week four results).  Kirkwood teams have lost a combined 406.2 pounds.

Your blogger has lost 7.5 pounds, which is an average of 1.87 pounds per week.  I'm not unhappy with that loss, but this is hard work, so naturally I'd like to see a bigger loss.  And I think I have a plan. 

Today, I got an email from one of our employees, Kirkwood PD Lt. Scott Bailey.  He said to me:  "Beth:  How are you only eating 1300 calories per day and working out that much?  The weight should be falling off of you guys."

My immediate reaction was, yeah, I've been working really hard.  Why isn't the weight just falling off?  So I thought, well, first, I'm over 50 so it takes longer these days, and, you know, those three beers Saturday night probably didn't help this week at all.

According to Calorie-Count.com, I should only be losing one to two pounds a week (for my size, weight, and health, etc.), and they recommended the 1300 calorie goal, which sounded like a realistic but healthy goal to me, so that's what I aim for.  Some days I probably go a bit over while on other days I’m a bit under.  I typically work out five days a week.  During the first two weeks, I didn’t make my work-out goals due to sinus headaches.  So I'm not where I want to be, but I am feeling a lot better, my knees and back don't hurt as much, and I'm taking the stairs a lot faster.

Scott, who does a lot of fitness stuff himself (he runs 40 miles a week, bikes about a hundred miles a week, and swims too!), suggested that I work out for LONGER periods of time.  He stressed that I look at the total hours per week I'm working out, as opposed to how many days.  He also said that my running speed is not as important as the distance - slow and long will burn more fat.

So that's what I'm gonna do.  I had already noticed that when I increase the speed on the treadmill, I'm more likely to stop sooner, but if I reduce it just a bit, I can keep going.  Of course, I hate running on a treadmill and can't wait for the days to get longer so I can run outside again (something I hope to do this weekend if the warm weather holds).

So that's how I'm doing.  How are YOU doing with your fitness and wellness efforts?  What's working and what's NOT working for you?  Leave me a note here in the comments section.  And have a great weekend!