WEEK 8: Biggest Winner is Done!

Tonight the BYU-Idaho Biggest Winner program ended.   It was a great experience these past eight weeks.  I enjoyed getting to know my teammates, working hard, finding my inner athlete again, and just establishing a daily lifestyle of eating healthy and exercising.    This evening was the closing ceremonies for the program.  It was a fun night.  Here are some highlights from the evening.  

We ate a small soup and salad for dinner.

Two contestants from the reality TV Biggest Loser came to speak to us.   Moses and Kaylee from season 11 were there to talk about their weight loss journey.  After the program we were able take a picture with them and we talked to Moses for a little bit before we headed home.

Next the program handed out awards for the winning team.  They also awarded the biggest weight loss for a  guy and girl.   Well the winning team was.... My Team.    The Biggest Winner for the guys was..... ME.    I lost the most weight among the guys.   The official weight was 255.8.  It was a 26.7 weight loss for the program.   I won some prizes. I won a back pack, a water bottle, and a crock-pot.  I also received a biggest winner shirt.

Here are my before and after shots for the program.  When I started the program I weighed in at 282.  I ended at about 255.

Before:

After:

The Biggest Winner program was just a catalyst for my weight loss.   This is not the end but the beginning of living a healthy life.   It feels good to have lost the weight that I did.  I plan on getting down to 210.  I'm only 45 pounds from my goal weight.  The one thing that I have learned is that to live a healthy lifestyle needs to become a top priority.  I look forward to a healthier life.  

Week 6&7: 5K and 30 pounds

It's me, Ben again.   This is another update for the Biggest Winner Program.  The past two weeks, I have training myself to do a 5K.   During the training, I lost some more weight.   So far in this program I have lost about 30 pounds.  It feels nice to lose this much weight.

I feel healthier and have a lot more energy.   I have noticed that I can do certain exercises longer and with more reps.     Saturday was our challenge for the Biggest Winner Program.  It was a 5K.  The route followed the parameter of campus.   The first half of the 5K consisted of a really steep hill to the top of campus.   The second half of the route was all downhill.

I did finish the 5K.   I finished the route in about 31:00 minutes.   It was awesome.   It was great to push myself to the end.  Every time I wanted to stop,  I encouraged myself to keep going and keep moving. It was great to see how much better shape I was in.   

This following week is the last week of the program.  My goal is to lose 10 more pounds by the end of the week.  I want my ending goal weight next Monday to be 245.  I look forward to a continued weight loss after the program ends.   It is an exciting adventure but well worth the journey to a healthier body.   

WEEK 5: A Minute to Win it Challenge!

This week was a good week for exercising.   The one thing that I have been enjoying the past two weeks is running.   Two or three days this week,  I have ran/ jogged 3 miles.   It feels good to put the headphones in the ears and just run to the beat of the music.

My goal with running in the future is to participate in a marathon by next summer.  But this year, I have a focus to  slim down while training by running.  I love running!

Saturday, March 3,  I had a team challenge with my Biggest Winner Team.   The program called it a "minute to win it" challenge. Here is what we did:

Warm-up: Each team ran a mile.

1. 1 minute of high knees
2. 1 minute of push-ups
3. 1 minute of sit-ups
4. 1 minute of jumping jacks
5. 1 minute of lunges
6. 3 minutes of crab walking
7. 5 minutes of running lines in the basketball court
8. 1:minute of squats
9. 1:minute of squat jumps
10. 3 minutes of a balloon race: This consisted of interlocking arms with a partner and holding a balloon by using the back and no hands.

After we did each exercise challenge, we did one minute of jumping jacks, push-ups, squats, high knees, and situps.  I don't know which team won the challenge but I know that I got a good workout in.  I was exhausted afterwards.

The Biggest Winner Program has been a blessing in my life.   The ability to lose weight and eat right is helping my body to be healthy in the future.