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Health & Fitness

KIRKWOOD RULES (so far...): 'Biggest Loser' Contest Update

Week Two Results for the Kirkwood/Webster Biggest Loser Contest

Week Two results for the Kirkwood-Webster Biggest Loser contest are in:  Kirkwood is in the lead!  Kirkwood employees have lost a combined 284.2 pounds over the two weeks, or 2.38 percent of body weight.  Webster has lost 1.9 percent of body weight. Go Kirkwood!

That's the good news. The less-good news is Kirkwood employees only lost 65.6 pounds the second week, down from 218.6 the first week, but as anyone who has ever dieted will tell you, the second week is usually the hardest. Some people actually gained weight this week, and that was hard for them to see, but most of them took it as a sign that they needed to get back to being on a serious wellness track...and stay there!

My personal loss for this week was 1.7 pounds, for a total of 5.4 pounds lost over the two weeks (no, all you math geeks out there, I am not telling you my percentage lost). As I menioned on the Kirkwood City Blog last week, I was visited by a cold virus last week so exercise was minimal (that was my obstacle for the week), but I stuck to my 1300-calorie-per-day goal. It helped that I wasn't feeling up to eating much last week, although at 1300 calories, you really don't want to fall too far below that, or that whole starvation thing kicks in (your body starts storing fat because it thinks you're experiencing a famine). So it was a tricky week, but I survived it. Now I just have to do some morale-boosting for my teammates, all of whom gained weight. We have 14 Kirkwood teams participating, and mine came in last for Week Two. But we'll get there. Onward!

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Exercise Tip of the Week:  Going out for a walk on one of these gorgeous winter days? Take along a pair of lightweight weights (like the pink, two-pound ones I'm holding in the accompanying photo), and swing your arms lightly for a greater calorie burn!

Healthy Food Tip of the Week: Don't forget the chocolate! Dark chocolate contains flavanols - antixoidants that seem to have a blood-thinning effect and may have a cardiovascular health benefit. Also, a little chocolate every day (about 1.4 ounces) may reduce stress hormones, including cortisol, in highly stressed people. But be careful: 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate contains 235 calories! You don't want to get stressed about extra pounds. [Source: Eating Well Mobile Site, eatingwell.com.

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