The Biggest Winner

By Len Larson
I can personally say that I have never known a gooey homemade Christmas cookie or chocolately piece of delicious fudge that came my way in which I have not embraced it and quite frankly devoured it along with several of its' friends. Once again this was the case this past month. Now that January is here it is back to working out and working in some better choices for nutrition. Stress seems to play a part also. That is the bad news.
The better news is that Godwin Odior, my personal trainer, continues to train me and is pushing me towards increasing weight training strength and conditioning. I feel more power in my arms and shoulders and at certain times will add on 5-10 more pounds onto the weight machine.
I still am adjusting my cardio workout schedule and am trying to work out more in the early morning when I am more refreshed and have more energy.

Greetings to all,
It is winding down and i'm still at 25 pounds lost, 4 inches lost on my waist, and a 5% loss of body mass. I've been told that since i have maintained the 25 pound loss that that is good. I was hoping for many more pounds lost but 25 is good for right now. It has been very hard to lose the weight, much harder than I expected. I have learned some things about myself during this ordeal.
#1. I'm a stress eater! The more stress in my life, the more I eat.
#2. If everyone in the household isn't on the same page as you, I will cheat.
#3. If there is junk food in the house, i'll eat it!
I pretty much know what to eat and how much i should be eating, but knowing and doing it are two totally different things. I'm going to keep this short for now but I will write after christmas. I hope you all have a blessed and merry christmas.

Until later,

...Greg

BY LEN LARSON
I have been trying lately to get my workouts and nutritional regiment into useful routines.
There have been several areas that I may have finally found a solution for myself.
The past 2 months I have concentrated on strength and weight-lifting machines. I feel pretty good having some nicely sculpted triceps and biceps with some good shoulder tone. I am able to lift more weight and for longer repetitions than back on January 12, the first day of this incredible mission.

Routine 1: Cardio, well that was lacking. The past 2 weeks I have started to run and walk to go along with strength training, usually at 4:45 in the morning at the Healthplex. Although I can be found sometimes in the late afternoon working out there, it seems that my time to workout is early, early, early. This week, I have even worked out two times a day!

Routine 2: Nutrition, always a concern. We have had a couple of meetings with our nutritionist which have been quite informative. One was a trip to a grocery store to compare products and labels. Not all foods listed fat free are necessarily good for you.

Routine 3: Stress, although some stress is good, it can take you down for the count. Exercise and taking time for hobbies seem to help.

Well, time to think about hitting the gym again. Until then.

By: Carolyn Roesner

Well, it's certainly been awhile and for that I apologize. I've been riding the bench when it comes to the gym. For 6 weeks I've been battling a pinched sciatic nerve. The pain is not pleasant. Today I saw my 3rd doctor, and we took xrays, and some Cortisone shots are probably in my future. I did return to the gym last Monday, just for pool classes, but it felt good to get back.

My good news is I've now lose 56 lbs, and I'm feeling really good about that. I haven't weighed this little since my son, Andy was in kindergarten, and he's now 30. Even though I have missed exercising I've been able to exert some control over my diet, and make good choices, and it has paid off. I'm very thankful for that.

Last week was the first anniversary of the dreadful day we lost my husband, Ron. My son, Dave and I joined Ron's brother, Jerry, and his wife, Norma for breakfast in honor of Ron. We toasted to the memory of the best husband, father and brother ever.

But these last several days have been tough for me, and I've found myself reflecting on the last year, and thinking about the things I have learned during the last 365 days.

So, dear reader, if you allow me I'd like to share a few of my insights with you.

First, and foremast; you cannot hide from the hard work of grief. When I started seeing John last July I began to regain my joy, and even felt a little giddy. I said now I can be happy again, and i won't be sad and lonely any more. Well. I do feel sheltered and safe when I am with him, and I can forget for awhile, and that's a good thing, but my grief at losing Ron, and my longing for him is just as strong as ever, and I have to work through that if I am ever to be truly happy again. For that process to succeed I need time to myself to work through those feelings, and I will tend to that with the help of my sons, my friends, and John.

Second, you need to organize all the stuff in your life,if you hope to gain inner peace. My house was pretty messy, I really hadn't thoroughly cleaned it since Ron died, and I could barely bring myself to be here. So, I called in Jeannie the Organizer from Naperville. I've worked with Jeannie several times over the last several years, She helped me get control of my Mom's house. She is worth her weight in gold, and already things are neat and clean. What a joy to be here now. Thanks, Jean.

Third, it is possible to lose weight while eating in restaurants 3 or 4 times a week. John loves to eat out, and has dined at just about every eatery in the greater Aurora area. and he has been eager to take me on his restaurant tour. So, this was a dilemma for me, but here's how I tackled it. I tried hard to order the lighest entree, and then only eat half of it. We'd take the rest home, and sure enough by the next day John would have eaten it. The perfect solution, well for me, anyway.

Fourth, when you lose a lot of weight you need new clothes. The 1970 fashions I've saved just don't look quite right; bell bottoms and fringe just aren't in now. So, what's a girl to do? I have recently donated at least 15 bags of "too big clothes" to Good Will, and by golly I have found a fabulous new wardrobe there and at the Salvation Army Store, all for pennies. If you haven't tried this resource I sure recommend it.

And last, but far from least I have rediscovered what a wonderful family and friends I am blessed with. My sons, Andy and Dave, and Dave's girlfriend, Jessica have been wonderfully patient with me as I went through a kind of second adolescence. It has not been easy for them to see their Mom with someone else, but they have been kind and understanding and ever polite to John. I couldn't love them more.
And I have the best friends in the world. Even though I've sometimes not given them the time they deserve they are always here for me. I am a very fortunate woman.

Well. that's about all I have for now. Thank you for stopping by my blog.
Carolyn

BY GREG JACKMAN

Hello,

I know its been awhile since i blogged last. Sorry. I'm still holding at 25 pounds lost. I'm disappointed because I lost the 25 poinds quickly and now i'm not losing any more. But My nutritionist said that is o.k. as l've maintained the loss for a couple of months now. My problem is still the diet part of all this. I like to eat! I've also realized i am a stress eater. The more stress i have, the more i eat! It is also very difficult to eat only the good things you are supposed to eat if you have bad things in the house. There can be fresh fruit and healthy choices for a snack but chips, pretzels, and candy taste sooooo much better.

It was nice to meet with the others recently as I think we all came away feeling pretty much the same way. Although Carolyn has lost the most and doing real well. Congrats Carolyn. Carolyn also has a new significant other in her like and maybe that is what is helping her lose more weight. I hinted to my wife that maybe that is what I needed, another significant other, but she said no way. So I guess i'll have to lose more on my own.

I had been doing a new cardio workout with my trainer Joe. It was boxing and man is it a great cardio workout. Unfortunately I hurt my wrist and it has taken forever to heal so i'm back on the treadmill. 45 minutes on the treadmill and 15 to 30 minutes of free weights and that is my workout now. I'm hopeful that i can end this on a positive note and lose some more weight. That's all for now

Greg

BY MICHELE ALVAREZ

Well it's been awhile since my last blog. I haven't been going to the gym as much as I should and I have been struggling with food. Cold weather and I want carbs, especially potatoes, mashed with butter no gravy. But, I am still taking tap on Monday nights.

I met with Rhondi today after a 2 week break and we did the weight and measure. My least favorite thing next to trying on swimwear, but the news was good. I have lost 2 lbs and another six inches.

Slow and steady progress. I'll take that.

BY MELISSA STRASSER

I've been waiting and waiting to announce my big news to people who were not my boss or my trainer, and the time has finally come. I am so totally pregnant, and it's a boy.

I can't believe how many people have come up to me in the past week and said, "I can't believe I found out in the paper that you're expecting!" I really wanted the Beacon to share that with viewers of this blog before I did, as I think they (and Rush Copley) are almost as excited as I am.

What a whirlwind year. Next week, my family will commemorate the anniversary of Nate's death. And what a weird time to be alive. I can't think of another time in my life that I've been on a roller coaster quite so wild. A lot of ups, and a lot of downs.

As for the Biggest Winner circuit, I'm moving along just fine. As a matter of fact, everyone's being really easy on me, which hurts a little. At the beginning of this journey, I was pushing myself really hard, and it felt GOOD. The sweat felt like I was wringing out the vinegar that was rampant in my veins from a life too sedentary and a brain too overwhelmed. And I'm never really happy with myself if I don't accomplish a goal, so only losing 30 pounds doesn't feel like I've actually "won", per se. My biggest hope, and my midwives seem to think it will happen, is that being this active will help me recover from delivery quickly. And hopefully, a quick recovery means not wanting to sit on the couch for two months after this baby is born.

But Lee, my trainer, told me that she is proud of me, which is awesome. I still meet her every week, and she knows that I'm there a few other days during the week for Zumba or pilates or Ballet Bootcamp (or even prenatal yoga), and she said she's impressed that I still go. She is convinced that I have successfully undergone that all-important "lifestyle change", and I am inclined to agree. I am at the point that I really enjoy going to the Healthplex and asking my body to do the things that I don't get to do in my sit-at-the-desk Library job.

I can't say there aren't days that I think, "I don't have to go...no one would know the difference...I am pregnant", but I really try to not let myself get away with that. Something that has been hard, and I suppose should be totally expected, is that you just can't do the things you used to be able to do. I was really keen on being able to jog a mile by the end of this year. Not gonna happen. I'm having some minor joint troubles due to the stretching of my pelvis that make jogging kinda painful. Squats and lunges have been put to rest for the same reason, though truthfully, I wasn't nearly as upset about that.

The other thing that's pretty great about being pregnant, at least for me, is that I feel totally okay about treating myself well. It doen't feel indulgent to eat good food or to sleep an extra hour. And I'm not really talking about Ben&Jerry's here...I mean food that is good for you. My midwives are big on lean protein and lots of vitamins, and you really can't accomplish that with fast food. I'm probably still not on a diet that our nutritionist would gold star, but I feel confident that my body and my baby are getting the right things right now.

so now you know...that belly isn't because I've quit on the Biggest Winner...it's because we have another, litttler biggest winner.