This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Oh My Knees, Oh My Hips, OMG: Kirkwood Biggest Loser Week Six

Week six update on Kirkwood's Biggest Loser efforts.

That is literally what I said (the headline) last night as I lowered myself into my soft, comfy leather recliner after running for an hour.  It was only my second hour of running this week, but I was feeling every microsecond of it.  The good news:  Because the weather was so warm yesterday, I did my run outdoors instead of on a treadmill at the gym (yay!).  The bad news:  It was pitch black by the time I finished running at the park near my home.  The police, who close the park at dusk, were patiently waiting for me as I rounded the last bend in the path, my cell phone set to flashlight so I wouldn't trip on any gumballs (hate those things!).

Ah, the delights of exercise.  A couple of ibuprofen and a 20-minute-heating-pad treatment later and I was up and making dinner.  This week's results:  I am an additional 1.4 pounds lighter than last week (despite a girlfriends' lodge getaway last weekend), for a total weight loss of 9.2 pounds over six weeks.  My biggest obstacles this week were: 1) two days of sinusitis this week (I'm a chronic sufferer), and 2) too much wine at the lodge Saturday night (alcohol has a TON of calories). My biggest success:  Running for an hour AFTER work last night.  It's one thing to get up and run for an hour in the morning when you're fresh; it's completely different (and much harder) to do so after an 8-hour workday. It felt good.

But I was not the only Biggest Loser this week.  Kirkwood Councilmember Paul Ward lost two pounds. He had a big smile on his face after his weigh-in today.  "I love the competition," he said.  "It motivates me!"  (He's on MY team, btw.)

Find out what's happening in Kirkwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For Week Five, Kirkwood's combined weight loss dropped off a bit.  We lost 30.3 pounds last week, which is about half as much as the previous weeks (my loss last week was 0.3 pounds). But judging from the energy I saw this morning, Kirkwood Biggest Losers are back on track for Week Six (we'll have the results early next week).  We're at the halfway mark in the competition with Webster, so it was a good thing to see folks so determined this morning - and to see them looking leaner and feeling better!  One of our guys has lost more than 30 pounds, and he had this to say:  "I feel great!"

My goals for this week:  Keep up the hour-long runs (long and slow is the best way to burn fat) and add more veggies to my diet (I've been slacking off a bit in that department).  I realized this morning that I have now gone six weeks without pizza (my favorite food), bacon (2nd favorite), or any Starbucks drinks. Old habits have been broken and new ones established.  To quote my Kirkwood teammate: I FEEL GREAT!

Find out what's happening in Kirkwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Kirkwood