Biggest Loser Finale

Our Biggest Loser week ended on Tuesday. I averaged 4 hours of workouts each day, and I brought intensity to them. On Wednesday, I only worked out 2 hours, and I felt as if something were missing. Alas, real life continues around me--work, writing, chores and errands, kids' activities, church, classes, and the like--so it will be difficult to get those long workouts in on a regular basis.

Some things I learned:

The recommendation to get 30 minutes of activity each day is fairly bogus for healthy people. In the days of hunting and foraging, our bodies would've moved much more, and we still have essentially the same physical design as our forefathers and foremothers. Even when I was obese, I enjoyed working out. It seems my body always knew it should be in motion.

It can be okay for a healthy person to take their workouts to what most people would considered an extreme level. Perhaps I would've run into injuries if I'd continued, but I believe that listening to my body would help me to avoid that.

Prolonged exercise creates feelings of ecstasy. In all likelihood, this had a lot to do with the fact that I stuck with activities that I loved. The positive mental attitude, along with the brain chemistry initiated by exercise, was a winning combination.

Sleep problems can be alleviated by giving the body the level of activity it craves. This may not be true for everyone, but I found that I fell asleep faster, and slept more deeply and consistently during my Biggest Loser week. I woke up refreshed and without the aid of the alarm clock.

There's enough energy to go around. I'm sure that eating a Raw diet, including green superfood smoothies, contributed to my quick recoveries and tolerable levels of soreness. I had plenty of energy left to accomplish other things. I took an occasional nap, but that's nothing new for me. Obviously my body was able to do the workouts and still complete my other tasks. I'm no Superwoman. Though I was a slim teenager, it wasn't because of any effort on my part. I didn't get into running until I was in my 20's, and started weight training after that. I'm not physically superior in anyway to the average woman. If I can do it, most anyone can, given time and planning.

I encourage everyone to push your body and see what it accomplishes. Don't be ridiculous and try to curl 20's when last week you were curling 8's, but do look for ways you can diversify, intensify, and even extend your exercise. Book a few sessions with a trainer, if you don't know how to do it safely.

Our modern culture is so incredibly sedentary. Even if I spend 5 hours working out, I'm spending at least 8 sitting down (driving, teaching, writing, surfing the internet). Going forward, I'll continue to workout about 2 hours each day, but I also plan to include at least one Biggest Loser day each week. Just for the sheer joy of it!

My Biggest Loser Week

It's the middle of the week, and I'm having a blast! Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I've averaged 4 hours of serious exercise. This has included the stairs at Laguna Beach, treadmill on the highest incline, the stationary bike, walk/jogs all over my hilly neighborhood, weight training (of course), jumping rope, and calisthenics/body weight exercises. It's been fun to include LB, Wonder Girl and my girlfriends in my workouts. I do need to bring yoga back in though.

One of the interesting discoveries: learning what fuels my body best. Today, I stocked up on Young Thai coconuts. They do my body good! Superfood smoothies, green smoothies, salads of various types--interestingly, my appetite seems to have decreased. Perhaps I'm just too busy to focus on food as much. Most evenings, I'm satisfied with a liquid dinner.

Four days left. I'm going to continue to push and try to get at least one 6-hour exercise day. "What's the point?" you ask. Self-discovery!

Biggest Loser Week - Warm-up Day

Though our official BL week starts today, since LB worked in L.A. on Monday, I decided to go ahead and get a warm-up day in, so Day One wouldn't be such a shock to my system.

Monday's workout - Treadmill: 7.5 miles at 10.0 incline
Bike: 20 miles at levels 1-4
Abs: 15 minutes of training

Yesterday, Raw Model posted about why Raw Vegans still need to workout, and Terilynn invited us to think about what our bodies are really capable of doing. Timely, no?

"We need a change
Do it today
I can feel my spirit rising
We need a change
So do it today
'Cause I can see a clear horizon

What have you done today to make you feel proud?"
- Biggest Loser theme song

Take It To the Limit!

For a while now, LB and I have talked about taking some kind of physical vacation, the kind where you take a week to go hiking, take gym classes, get massages, weight train, do yoga and focus primarily on your physical being. I did one years ago at Canyon Ranch, in Arizona, and it was a paradigm-shifting experience. Unfortunately I was so out of shape at the time--considerably overweight, stiff, suffering frequent muscle spasms--I didn't get to fully immerse myself.

Realistically, such a vacation doesn't fit our budget or our time constraints right now. So this week, we've decided to bring the wellness retreat home to us. Granted we'll still have real life to do. The bills, errands, work projects and chores can't be set aside, but we will be streamlining those areas to focus on physical challenges.

My favorite reality show is The Biggest Loser. Even with all the editing and time-condensing, and the occasional drama, it's a show that's about taking control of one's life and health. In the end, every Loser is a winner. I love that! Inspired by the fact that the shows participants work out 4-6 hours each day, and even more than that as the finale draws near, we've decided to take on something similar.

While we won't have their trainers or facilities, we've got more than enough to get in intense workouts. This week will be a good push toward June's Bikini Challenge. (Okay, it's really the Swimsuit Challenge, since the guy's are participating, but I find Bikini more motivating.) It will also be interesting to see how far we can push ourselves.

Because a sudden increase in physical activity can lower the immune system, we'll be eating particularly Raw and well, with lots of greens. I'll continue to use my green superfood powders, probiotics and multivitamin. I'm also throwing in some DHA (an omega-3 supplement from algae), and enzymes. It wouldn't do to get sick during our Biggest Loser week.

I'm excited about this! As the theme song says: What have you done today to make you feel proud?