Mr. IZ Reveals himself, (whisper) and tells all.

"Hi, my name is Jim, and I am a biggest loser."

"I kick started the competition by using a low carb approach similar to the first two weeks of an Atkins diet, basically limiting carbs to 30g per day.  For me that equates to a couple of eggs with cheese in the AM, some beef jerky for lunch, and a salad with meat for dinner.  The only snacking was in the form of low carb root beer floats.  That lasted a couple weeks. Then I got sick. That was good for another 5 lbs. A week long backpacking trip did wonders for my metabolism and that got me through the middle portion of the contest. Week 7 and 8 were really difficult. I gained.  The last two weeks, I finished with a protein diet."

"I have lost over 150 lbs in the last 10 years....gained about 140, usually 15 lbs. peak to trough. I am hoping that another team will pick up the mantle and start another competition so that I can use the extra motivation to lose the next 15 lbs before I gain the next 15 lbs." 

Anybody up for another contest?"


- Jim

Rachel's Secret Fitness Plan! - Declassified

"I originally started the weight loss competition by counting calories, but that wasn't giving me the results I wanted. I hit a plateau after about 5 lbs."


"So, halfway through I joined weight watchers online, and that helped me start losing again. It changed the way I looked at food, and it's been really easy to figure out which foods needed to be added to my diet, changed to a different portion size, or cut altogether."

"For exercise, I have an elliptical machine at home that I get on two or three times a week, and I also horseback ride two or three times a week. With that much working out, it does slow the weight loss down because I'm building muscle too, but it's worth it in the long run!"


-Rachel

New Fitness Craze?

And the Winners Are...

Showing amazing commitment and determination to her fitness routine, our Number 1, for not only the women but the OVERALL Lochner Biggest Loser is...

Rachel G.!!!

Our winner for the men needs no introduction...? However he did come back from a really bad week, multiple orange frosted doughy thingies, and an unimaginable deficit for an awesome photo finish victory (movie rights are being negotiated)... 

MR. IZ!!!

(up to date)

Both of these two have proven to be amazing losers. If you get a chance go by and congratulate them for becoming Lochner's first potential Cover Models. Maybe we'll have to do a calendar of them playing beach vollyball at Pineview or something. But seriously, it's fun to see how fit people are looking. Next time there should be required to take "before and after" pictures.

Thanks to everyone for participating. I'm summarizing but, I think David F. said it best when he pointed out that winning the competition is always nice but the real success is the healthy lifestyle changes that we all gain by being a part of this "exclusive" Lochner Club. 

Interesting side-note, Jason P. says we may be getting our "I'm on my last diarrhetic" iTeam™ Biggest Loser Competition t-shirts at this year's Christmas Party. Keep your fingers crossed. He even came by my cubical to pose for the graphic. Thanks Jason.

PS

If you're wondering... It was my girlfriend's birthday this weekend and I don't in any way regret taking her out to eat multiple times to celebrate... that said, she OWES me some major kissage. $140 worth.

Week 9 Results

Final Weigh-Ins Are Today and Tomorrow

We have come to the end of our competition. Today and tomorrow we are having "Weigh-Outs". The last weigh-in. 

• Please come by Barbara's office sometime today or tomorrow to perform your final weigh-in. 
• Ideally you'll want to wear roughly the weight equivalent of what you wore to weigh in. 
• The final weigh-in time will be 5pm on Tuesday. 

We'll then have everyone come outside to a giant hydraulic scale that we've specially had shipped in. Everyone will get a chance to stand on one side or the other and see who are our two top losers are. (just kidding, for the sheer spectacle, and to see everyone's faces, we WOULD have a scale shipped in but it's copyrighted and really really really heavy). 


Comedy aside, we will have the winners shortly after final weigh-outs.

A New Hope… Loser Competition?

I'd also like to point out that this doesn't have to be the end. I don't know if iTeam™ is presently planning do more fitness competitions but there have been some whispers, from others in the competition, of doing a Fall competition. Things are getting cooler outside but it's a beautiful time of the year to take walks and go run. Now that everyone has found a rhythm of their own and have tested their weight loss skills it may be a good idea to reboot and have another go at it. Start a clean slate.

I haven't heard of anyone or any teams asking to become the organizer of another round but if you would like to take up the fun, I highly recommend not waiting too long in jumping in and starting something right away, while everyone is still in the fitness mindset. 

If anyone wants to ask about what we did, or wants help organizing their own biggest loser competition then feel free to ask. And if there are suggestions from any of you on things iTeam™ could have done to have made it more fun or more fair or more frustrating, let us know. Post your thoughts and comments on here. Maybe the next group that does one of these will learn from the advice.

Week 8 Results

Back on track! 
one more weigh-in before the end 

This was a hard week for almost everyone. But I want to commend everyone that has kept at it and improved. In the end that's going to be the real sign of success, that you keep working at it- even after a bad week.

Big late-hour props go out to:

Vickie

Jennifer

David

and Brian

This week everyone in the top brackets either leveled off or took a hit. It's time to get excited about a COME BACK. The Rebellion did it in Return of the Jedi and you don't have to deal with insufferable Ewoks! 

As my dad would always say. GET ON THE STICK!

PS


I spoke with Barbara and we're going to restructure the winnings. Originally we talked about having either A) 1st, 2nd (and maybe) 3rd place, or B) we'd have a shared first place, for the lead male and lead female. Apparently the second option was much more popular. Which makes sense, since, in my case, I'm mostly just losing weight in the number of male brain cells I lose watching Family Guy or Ultimate Fighting.


So we're going to cut it down the middle. Which if my math is right, turns out to be $130 for both the top female and top male.


So, it's on!

Week 7 Results

Sorry it's late again. 

We're having some troubles tracking down people's numbers. 

Don't give up guys. 

We've still got 3 more weeks. 

Keep in mind that it's easier now to get out and exercise while it's still warm. Early Fall is a good time to get your weight down, before the holidays. Trust me. Consider this a window of opportunity.

And send in those weights.

And to those of you that are still going strong, I salute you. Keep it up.

Week 6 Results

There has been some huge improvements from the start of this competition. The blue bars are from the first weigh-in and the orange bars are where everyone is at now. That's a whole lot of improvement. 

Good job

Week 5 Results

Half way there!

There's still 5 more weeks to lose weight. You could potentially lose another 15 lbs or so.

Here are some helpful ideas: 

1. Snacking every 2-3 hours is a good thing if you're eating something healthy. I have some oranges by my desk. They're not the best option, as fruit goes, but it keeps my hunger down and my metabolism running. 

2. At lunch time, take a walk around the neighborhood. Head over to Kohl's or Office Max and see what you want to buy with your winnings.

3. Broccoli! I buy a frozen bag of broccoli from Costco. When I feel hungry I throw some in a microwavable dish with some water. Heat up in 6 mins. Strain it. I add some salt (didn't say it was perfect - but it is tasty). 

4. Buy bottled water. I didn't start drinking water until they started bottling it and selling it at Costco. I used to drink a lot of soda. I couldn't quit soda because there was something cathartic about popping a can or bottle of something. I get a little of that back now from cracking open some bottled water. I buy a couple of $4 36 packs from Costco. I put half of one in my car trunk, half of one at the office, and one in my refrigerator. 

5. Do 45 mins of walking or running each day, preferably outside. I find it's a better workout than a treadmill. And every week have a new goal of either doing it faster, farther or at a higher incline. Seek out interesting areas to explore. And if you can get your hands on a heart rate monitor, do it. It'll keep you honest. 

Lochner Poll 03

The numbers don't lie. 

50% (2/2) of Lochnerites say we should have won at Ultimate Frisbee this year and 50% say we're just too pretty to care. Brava everyone.

Week 4 Results

Way to go! We've got some strong losses this week.

This was a tough week for several, including myself, however it leaves room for some really strong rebounds for next week. We were missing a few weigh-ins, so next week we're probably going to see some big jumps. Just in time for our the half-way hump. 

Week 3 Results

Way to go. Keep up the good work!

Keep at it, everyone. As proven by the graph, every week is a different story. One week someone will level out only to make big gains the next week. The biggest key to all of this is to just not give up. Sooner or later you'll hit your stride if you just keep trying.

Lochner Poll 02

The numbers are in. 3/5 Lochnerites. 


While Weight Watches is much appreciated, nothing beats just eating a bad lettuce wrap from Carl's Jr. 


As the good book says, "Carl's giveth and it taketh away."

I like to think that it's smiling at us.

Week 2 Results

Cowabunga, everybody! Good job. It's ON!

Let's all say a prayer for Jason P.,
who has obviously acquired a tape worm
from another planet.

Five Ways to Lose Weight Without Dieting

Losing weight can be stress-free and fun. How? It all starts by banning that ugly four-letter word that haunts us after a weekend of over-indulging: diet. Use these simple ideas to shed pounds without the dreaded "d" word.

To read more, click here.

Lochner Poll 01

WHAT'S THE BEST MOTIVATION FOR LOSING WEIGHT?

Winning Answer - 5/11 Lochnerites want to live longer

Word on the street is that Lochner employees are sexy regardless of health.

Week 1 Results

Good job everybody! Keep up the Good work.

The Downside of Diet Soda

I know...we live off of soda these days. It practically gets us through the day. What is the real story behind diet soda? Is it as bad or as good for us as we think? You decide:

Three Reasons to Rethink that Diet Coke You're About to Drink

The Downside of Diet Sodas

The Disadvantages of Diet Sodas

Drink More Soda, Gain More Weight?

Websites To Help You Manage Your Goals

Motivation gets us started, but it's dedication that pushes us through. Check out some of these fitness / nutrition-friendly sites to help you set and achieve your goals:

Plus Three Network:
A new spin on working out and giving back. Sign up for free at Pluss Three where you can select a sponsor and charity. Your sponsor will donate to the charity of your choice based on the amount of exercise you log into the site.

ExRx.net:
ExRx.net provides fitness assessments, a fitness libary, and acts as a general resource for your fitness needs.

FitDay.com:
Helps you with one of life's biggest hurdles--tracking your food and calorie intake.

SparkPeople.com:
This site helps you with everything from tracking your food intake to providing healthy recipes. Members can sign up for email alerts that will send you daily recipes, motivational posts, etc. One of their best features is the website's chef who transforms popular, non-heart healthy dishes into healthy (and tasty) foods.

Interval Training...A Quick Way to Burn Calories

Physical fitness doesn't necessarily mean spending hours in the gym. Check out some ways by Shape Magazine you can get your cardio / strength training in without giving up all of your free time.


Interval Training: Short Workouts That Really Pay Off

Blueberry Muffins That Won't Give You A Muffin Top

Have blueberry muffins ballooned recently? These are sneaky little treats that pack on the calories (500 calories on average) but make you think you chose a healthy option. Here's a guilt-free option that will let you satisfy your sweet tooth.

For the Muffins

1 1 /2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tsp sugar, divided

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp low-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried

For the Topping

1/4 cup blueberry jam

24 fresh blueberries, washed and dried

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
2. Combine flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg, oil, and vanilla.
4. Toss blueberries with flour mixture.
5. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir gently so as not to break blueberries.
6. Divide batter evenly among a 12-count muffin pan; sprinkle with remaining sugar.
7. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until tops are just set. Remove pan from oven; top each muffin with 1 tsp blueberry jam and 2 blueberries.
8. Bake 3 - 5 minutes more or until golden.
9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and serve.

For a zangy twist, substitute blueberry jam for lemon curd. A much more popular option!




173 calories per muffin

Welcome to the team...

This is it. The iTeam fitness challenge. You are now on the front lines of your fitness future.

While losing weight and getting in shape can feel like a war sometimes, it doesn't have to be. Getting in shape as part of a group, where you can get advice, offer helpful reminders and pose a little friendly competition can take you from being ambiguous about your fitness goals to Fitness Driven.

This challenge will give you focus. You will have a little extra motivation to finally get started and stick to whatever fitness goals you've been meaning to start. This challenge will push you to find ways to reduce your calories, increase your energy output and learn to have fun doing it. Not every method works for each individual. Everyone struggles to find a certain "rhythm" to their own weight loss at first. However if you stick with it through the tough times then the reward of watching your weight decrease, confidence expand and your energy increase will reward you every week you keep at it.

The Rules:

1. The competition will begin the 19th of July and go until September 28th. You may weigh in anytime during the competition, however keep in mind that the sooner you start the longer you'll have to lose weight. Final weigh-ins (weigh-outs) will be anytime before September 28th.

2. Everyone will sign up with a designated "weight tracker", who will weigh you with their designated scale. This same scale will also be used to weigh each participant at the end of the challenge. Using one scale to weigh everyone will help to keep a single weight standard. When weighing-in please plan to remove shoes, accessories, cowboy hat and possibly a belt/cowboy buckle. We want the each individual's weight to be as accurate at the start of the competition as it is at the finish of it.

3. At the time of weigh-in you'll be required to pay your entrance fee of $20 (cash please). This is not only to help you feel like you're committed to competing, but it will go into a pool that will be used to pay the winners at the end of the competition. All fees must be paid at the initial weigh-in. We are expecting to have a first and second place... and maybe a third place, if enough people sign up. While Lochner will not directly be sponsoring this competition they have given permission to have Lochner Teams use their team money to participate if they like. You may want to discuss it with your team managers.

4. It's up to you to find your preferred method of diet and fitness. Whether you prefer to walk, run, swim, bike or lift weights- find something that will help you lose the weight but will be enjoyable over the next couple months (and beyond?). When possible seek out working out in teams. You win as individuals but we're all on a team... the iTeam™

5. Every Thursday you'll email over your current weight, as weighed by your own personal scale. The weight tracker will then put your weight into a spread sheet that will calculate your new percentage. Then we'll post the percentage (weight of each individual will remain SUPER secret and hidden in a lock box, under a birch in my grammy's backyard, in Rupert Idaho). Everyone will be able to gauge where they are in the competition before the weekend.

It's important that everyone send in their weight each week. And it can be a pain to track down the weights. So everyone will be responsible for their own submittals. If you miss more than 3 submittals then you'll forfeit your chance at winning the challenge.

6. Final weigh-ins will decide how much of an overall percentage of weight you've lost,... and the winners.

7. Anyone who participates and gains knowledge about fitness and diet will be a winner.