It has been a fantastic week. I've learned a ton, made several new friends, and worked out like crazy! The food was good, the hotel was amazing, the pool was rocking. I'm really glad I came here this week and I appreciate all the support here from the trainers and fellow guests, and out in the real world from texts, emails and phone calls. The journey is just beginning and now I have a plan!
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Biggest Loser Resort Chicago - Day 8 - Sunday
Saturday night - the dinner was so-so. I had cucumbers and pickles instead of salad. They had turkey enchiladas which were a little spicy and the turkey was too dry. The cauliflower was OK. The dessert made up for it though. They were peanut butter cups covered in chocolate. Really good!
I went swimming with friends and had a nice sleep
Sunday Morning
Weigh In! The scale says I lost 3.7 lbs. This is 5.5 lbs of body fat loss and 0.9 lbs of muscle gained. I'm pleased with the results.
5 lbs of fat in yellow
5 lbs of muscle in red
We had breakfast in the atrium today instead of the Shiraz West building. It was omelets, grapes and half an english muffin. I ate the english muffin and the grapes. I ate about half of the omelet.
Sunday Morning
Weigh In! The scale says I lost 3.7 lbs. This is 5.5 lbs of body fat loss and 0.9 lbs of muscle gained. I'm pleased with the results.
5 lbs of fat in yellow
5 lbs of muscle in red
We had breakfast in the atrium today instead of the Shiraz West building. It was omelets, grapes and half an english muffin. I ate the english muffin and the grapes. I ate about half of the omelet.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Biggest Loser Resort Chicago - Day 7 - Saturday
Saturday Schedule:
7:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am Last Chance Workout
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Graduation
1:30 pm Double Dip
5:15 pm Dinner
Today's schedule was a half day with a half day recovery. For those of us who are not leaving today, we got to sleep in! Breakfast was at 7am and we had nothing before breakfast. If people were leaving today, they had to weigh in. Before I tell you more details, I just have to share this picture of wall art that is hanging in the hotel lobby. It bothers me considerably that at the seam, it does not match up correctly from one panel to the next. The seam is vertical, at the left side top corner of the red pillow.
7:00 am Breakfast
Breakfast was my usual ezekial toast, peanut butter, and half banana. We had watermelon today. it was sweet!
8:00 am Last Chance Workout
Last Chance Workout - we went to the beach! It was a lovely day. Not too cold and not hot anymore. I dressed in layers and brought my music. The warmup was to walk all the way down to the picnic shelter, and then all the way down to the beach. Then walk back up to the picnic shelter and back up to the vans to help carry stuff. I got to carry a big roll of mats. They were kinda heavy but I played it tough and carried it the whole way down to the picnic shelter.
They divided us into 2 groups. My group, led by Sue, got to do a combination of slam balls (throwing large foam balls at the ground repeatedly), squats, and walking up and down a large incline. yowza that hurt! I think the slam balls and squats were easier than the inclines. But the music in my headphones helped it all!
My group then went down to the beach where Lindsay led us in several exercises involving the weighted bars like lunges, squat and press, and fire axe. I am much better at a fire axe move on my right side than my left side. I get confused on my left side.
Then we did some core exercises - my favorite was the swimmers. I lay down on the ledge and pretended like I was swimming. There weren't enough mats for everyone so I did most of mine standing. But the swimming one, I tried the ledge. I didn't even get wet!
11:30 am Lunch
Artichoke and Potato Soup - this was tasty. I like artichokes so I enjoyed the soup.
Risotto with mushrooms and barley - I actually had quinoa. I guess the risotto had onions in it. I liked both options - i tried someone else's risotto.
Chicken - basic baked or grilled chicken. nothing too special
asparagus - it was asparagus. I liked it. but nothing special.
12:30 pm Graduation
weep fest!!!!
we all got a chance to talk about our experience or what we had learned. Several of the people had been here multiple weeks. Patrick was here 11 weeks and Sarah was here between 8 and 10 weeks. They had a special video for Patrick and he even made a video himself of his time. There was also a video of our week. I was in it a few times! I'll try and upload it here later. A few people were leaving right after graduation so the goodbyes have started.
1:30 pm Double Dip
This was the last workout for our group. It was optional. Kathy, Lisa, Stephanie and I did the workout. Andra, one of the trainers did the workout too. And Altamino led the workout. It was boxing, but not kickboxing. I enjoyed it. It's a good way to get stress out!
Several of us went to "The Cave" - a bar in the middle of the lobby, for a celebratory drink. I hung out for awhile.
5:15 pm Dinner
tbd.... I'm writing this before dinner. I'll update more tomorrow morning after the weigh-out and breakfast.
7:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am Last Chance Workout
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Graduation
1:30 pm Double Dip
5:15 pm Dinner
Today's schedule was a half day with a half day recovery. For those of us who are not leaving today, we got to sleep in! Breakfast was at 7am and we had nothing before breakfast. If people were leaving today, they had to weigh in. Before I tell you more details, I just have to share this picture of wall art that is hanging in the hotel lobby. It bothers me considerably that at the seam, it does not match up correctly from one panel to the next. The seam is vertical, at the left side top corner of the red pillow.
7:00 am Breakfast
Breakfast was my usual ezekial toast, peanut butter, and half banana. We had watermelon today. it was sweet!
8:00 am Last Chance Workout
Last Chance Workout - we went to the beach! It was a lovely day. Not too cold and not hot anymore. I dressed in layers and brought my music. The warmup was to walk all the way down to the picnic shelter, and then all the way down to the beach. Then walk back up to the picnic shelter and back up to the vans to help carry stuff. I got to carry a big roll of mats. They were kinda heavy but I played it tough and carried it the whole way down to the picnic shelter.
They divided us into 2 groups. My group, led by Sue, got to do a combination of slam balls (throwing large foam balls at the ground repeatedly), squats, and walking up and down a large incline. yowza that hurt! I think the slam balls and squats were easier than the inclines. But the music in my headphones helped it all!
My group then went down to the beach where Lindsay led us in several exercises involving the weighted bars like lunges, squat and press, and fire axe. I am much better at a fire axe move on my right side than my left side. I get confused on my left side.
Then we did some core exercises - my favorite was the swimmers. I lay down on the ledge and pretended like I was swimming. There weren't enough mats for everyone so I did most of mine standing. But the swimming one, I tried the ledge. I didn't even get wet!
11:30 am Lunch
Artichoke and Potato Soup - this was tasty. I like artichokes so I enjoyed the soup.
Risotto with mushrooms and barley - I actually had quinoa. I guess the risotto had onions in it. I liked both options - i tried someone else's risotto.
Chicken - basic baked or grilled chicken. nothing too special
asparagus - it was asparagus. I liked it. but nothing special.
12:30 pm Graduation
weep fest!!!!
we all got a chance to talk about our experience or what we had learned. Several of the people had been here multiple weeks. Patrick was here 11 weeks and Sarah was here between 8 and 10 weeks. They had a special video for Patrick and he even made a video himself of his time. There was also a video of our week. I was in it a few times! I'll try and upload it here later. A few people were leaving right after graduation so the goodbyes have started.
1:30 pm Double Dip
This was the last workout for our group. It was optional. Kathy, Lisa, Stephanie and I did the workout. Andra, one of the trainers did the workout too. And Altamino led the workout. It was boxing, but not kickboxing. I enjoyed it. It's a good way to get stress out!
Several of us went to "The Cave" - a bar in the middle of the lobby, for a celebratory drink. I hung out for awhile.
5:15 pm Dinner
tbd.... I'm writing this before dinner. I'll update more tomorrow morning after the weigh-out and breakfast.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Biggest Loser Resort Chicago - Day 6 - Friday - (add on)
I forgot to post these:
pics of me doing bicycles
video of me on our assessment walk this morning
pics of me doing bicycles
video of me on our assessment walk this morning
Biggest Loser Resort Chicago - Day 6 - Friday
Thursday night continued with the Biggest Loser episode on TV. It was good to watch it with friends. I went down to meet with Emily on nutrition. it was one of my consultations. It was a good conversation and I got a good action plan for food.
This is Friday's Schedule:
6:00 am Yoga Flow
7:15 am Breakfast / Updates
8:00 am Outdoor Activity
10:30 am Become Your Own PT / Plan Your Workout
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Planning Strategies
1:45 pm C3
3:00 pm Zumba
6:00 pm Dinner
6:00 am Yoga Flow
This was a yoga class similar to the yoga we had on Tuesday. It's nice to try yoga but I don't think it's something I'll seek out once I'm home.
7:15 am Breakfast / Updates
I took this to go - ezekial bread, peanut butter, half banana - we had pineapple today!
Alex and I met one-on-one about Wellness. A private consultation was part of my package. We talked about The Circle of Balance and using my strengths to help my weaknesses. It made sense and I could see how it could fit into my life for fitness, health and other areas.
8:00 am Outdoor Activity - redo assessment
we went back to Spring Creek park and re-did the assessment. I don't have my numbers of how many more I did, but I improved in all of the land exercises - planks, wall sits, situps, push ups, burpees (off the bench). The big achievement of this assessment was the loop. I was able to jog 5 times on my first lap and 2 times on my second lap (for longer distances). And I shaved off 3 full minutes from my total time. here are some pics from my run - with commentary
This is Art Normal. He is with us this week and does reporting for the local NBC channel. His wife Terri is also with us this week. It's been fun talking with them about our strategies and this blog.
the open road
I am A-OK!
it was a beautiful sunny day today.
Ready to get this assessment going!
The mats we used for our assessment. It was better than going on the parking lot asphalt.
Wait for me!
Just Kidding - hey there's a bench I didn't sit on.
a closeup
yes it is beautiful today
there are more fallen leaves today than Monday - or maybe it's cause the ground was still wet from a recent rain on Monday.
There were a LOT of these little caterpillars all over the ground. Somebody counted 40 that she saw.
Bench? not gonna happen
one of the few times I stopped - to take a picture.
10:30 am Become Your Own PT / Plan Your Workout
This was our time to discuss our specific workout plan going forward. On Monday I do this, Tuesday I do this, etc. She asked us each to share with the rest of the group.
11:30 am Lunch
This was a red pepper soup - a hearty soup with some good thickness; and a california turkey wrap. Both were excellent.
12:30 pm Planning Strategies
This was our wrap up nutrition lecture, basically re-confirming everything we had learned in our previous nutrition lessons.
1:45 pm C3
3 minute bursts of time focusing on either Speed work, Resistance work, or Core exercises on the mats. I used the treadmill and then the bike. I was able to jog some on the treadmill and on the bike I was able to get up to 80 RPM and maintain it.
3:00 pm Kettlebell
We did this outside on the tennis courts. Teel and I paired together for this. It was in place kettlebell exercises - kettle pop, figure 8s, bicep kettlebell curls, and lawnmower arms; with movement by the partner - go to the first cone and do 10 squats, run back; go to the 2nd cone and do 10 squats and run back. run to the 3rd cone, do 10 squats and come back - changing the squats to another exercise on each full run.
4:15 pm Zumba
I am not a fan of zumba. I have walked out of zumba classes before. But I knew this was not an option at BLR so I stuck it out. I did simple steps, tried to just keep moving and enjoyed the music. we did the Cupid Shuffle and a country song "Wagon wheel" at the end of class.
We were done at 5 and I didn't know what to do with myself. Class was over for the day and dinner wasn't until 6. I went upstairs and turned on the TV. I heard applause and looked outside my window down to the lobby. There's a wedding going on!
I saw the bride thru the window as I was getting on the elevator but not long enough to get a picture.
6:00 pm Dinner
Salmon - should have had some more seasoning. It was good, but a little bland. The dessert was something rasberry crunch. There was some blob of white moussy stuff on a swirl of raspberry sauce. It was good.
Here are some selfies I took with the trainers:
Becca & Alex (Yoga & Wellness)
Andra (Fitness director) & Becca
Sue (Fitness Trainer) & Becca Take a class with Sue - her pool and outdoor classes are killer!
Lindsay (Fitness Trainer) & Becca
rest Time!!!
Last Chance workout is tomorrow...
This is Friday's Schedule:
6:00 am Yoga Flow
7:15 am Breakfast / Updates
8:00 am Outdoor Activity
10:30 am Become Your Own PT / Plan Your Workout
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Planning Strategies
1:45 pm C3
3:00 pm Zumba
6:00 pm Dinner
6:00 am Yoga Flow
This was a yoga class similar to the yoga we had on Tuesday. It's nice to try yoga but I don't think it's something I'll seek out once I'm home.
7:15 am Breakfast / Updates
I took this to go - ezekial bread, peanut butter, half banana - we had pineapple today!
Alex and I met one-on-one about Wellness. A private consultation was part of my package. We talked about The Circle of Balance and using my strengths to help my weaknesses. It made sense and I could see how it could fit into my life for fitness, health and other areas.
8:00 am Outdoor Activity - redo assessment
we went back to Spring Creek park and re-did the assessment. I don't have my numbers of how many more I did, but I improved in all of the land exercises - planks, wall sits, situps, push ups, burpees (off the bench). The big achievement of this assessment was the loop. I was able to jog 5 times on my first lap and 2 times on my second lap (for longer distances). And I shaved off 3 full minutes from my total time. here are some pics from my run - with commentary
This is Art Normal. He is with us this week and does reporting for the local NBC channel. His wife Terri is also with us this week. It's been fun talking with them about our strategies and this blog.
the open road
I am A-OK!
it was a beautiful sunny day today.
the picnic shelter where we met before our assessment.
Just Kidding - hey there's a bench I didn't sit on.
there are more fallen leaves today than Monday - or maybe it's cause the ground was still wet from a recent rain on Monday.
one of the few times I stopped - to take a picture.
10:30 am Become Your Own PT / Plan Your Workout
This was our time to discuss our specific workout plan going forward. On Monday I do this, Tuesday I do this, etc. She asked us each to share with the rest of the group.
11:30 am Lunch
This was a red pepper soup - a hearty soup with some good thickness; and a california turkey wrap. Both were excellent.
12:30 pm Planning Strategies
This was our wrap up nutrition lecture, basically re-confirming everything we had learned in our previous nutrition lessons.
1:45 pm C3
3 minute bursts of time focusing on either Speed work, Resistance work, or Core exercises on the mats. I used the treadmill and then the bike. I was able to jog some on the treadmill and on the bike I was able to get up to 80 RPM and maintain it.
3:00 pm Kettlebell
We did this outside on the tennis courts. Teel and I paired together for this. It was in place kettlebell exercises - kettle pop, figure 8s, bicep kettlebell curls, and lawnmower arms; with movement by the partner - go to the first cone and do 10 squats, run back; go to the 2nd cone and do 10 squats and run back. run to the 3rd cone, do 10 squats and come back - changing the squats to another exercise on each full run.
That's Teel & Becca
4:15 pm Zumba
I am not a fan of zumba. I have walked out of zumba classes before. But I knew this was not an option at BLR so I stuck it out. I did simple steps, tried to just keep moving and enjoyed the music. we did the Cupid Shuffle and a country song "Wagon wheel" at the end of class.
We were done at 5 and I didn't know what to do with myself. Class was over for the day and dinner wasn't until 6. I went upstairs and turned on the TV. I heard applause and looked outside my window down to the lobby. There's a wedding going on!
I saw the bride thru the window as I was getting on the elevator but not long enough to get a picture.
6:00 pm Dinner
Salmon - should have had some more seasoning. It was good, but a little bland. The dessert was something rasberry crunch. There was some blob of white moussy stuff on a swirl of raspberry sauce. It was good.
Here are some selfies I took with the trainers:
Becca & Alex (Yoga & Wellness)
rest Time!!!
Last Chance workout is tomorrow...
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