Jim Wood is a graduate of the Huizenga Business School in Business Administration, holds a Master of Science in College Student Affairs from the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences and is a member of Enrollment Services in the Huizenga Business School. He and his fellow participants lost a total of 337 pounds during the 2011 Biggest Loser program at NSU.
When I was asked to do this “Diary of” article by a friend at the paper, I felt a tremendous need to let people know how much “The Biggest Loser” changed my life. However, I have never written in a diary. I do not journal and I am surely not a journalist. So I turned to the people with whom I shared this experience for their input, my fellow participants in “The Biggest Loser.”
It was quite a diverse group, 13 male and female NSU students, faculty and staff of different ages, races and nationalities. We all had something in common, though; we were fat, terribly unfit and needed help. You may have heard a motivational phrase commonly used by fitness trainers “pain is weakness leaving the body.” It is definitely true but what they don’t tell you is that the weakness does not go away easily.
The pain for us began last December when we completed our fitness assessments with our trainers. We were weighed and our body fat and fitness levels were tested. Each of us was given extensive reports on areas needing improvement (pretty much everything) but what shocked me most was my true body age. The report said I was actually nine years older than my chronological age. I am sure I am not alone in saying that I am already older than I want to be so this was too much to bear. The pain of this, though, turned out to be nothing in comparison to what came next — the workouts.
Early in January we were divided into three teams and each team met with one of the three primary trainers three days a week for 90 minute workouts. Each trainer has their own unique brand of torture — I mean training.
Maria specializes in an almost infinite variety and quantity of the most universally hated exercises on the planet; lunges and squats. Lourdes, Queen of the RecPlex (she is going to kill me for writing that), targets muscles you have either forgotten or never knew you had with her body sculpting techniques. She simultaneously motivates you with cute little movie paraphrases such as “Say hello to your new little friend, Mr. Tricep,” or whatever the muscle of the minute was.
Anthony is the outdoorsman of the trainers. He frequently took us out to the basketball courts behind the RecPlex and we pushed and pulled weighted sleds and other large objects around like a pack of sled dogs. I poke fun at them here but they are truly amazing and without their motivation and expertise none of us would have had the success that we did.
The impact of that first training week on our bodies cannot be understated. Our muscles felt like over tightened guitar strings ready to snap, but they never did. We commiserated with our teammates and fellow participants over what hurt the most. In the end, I think it was our face muscles from laughing about how much it hurt to sit or stand or even lie down. No one seems to remember when the pain began to recede and was replaced by a growing sense of pride, but it did.
Each week the difficulty of the training increased along with our performance. We also began regular challenges between the teams at places such as: The Davie Fire Academy, a fitness course at the beach and Central Park in Plantation. At every one of these events we had a lot of fun and cheered for all as we competed against each other.
Every two weeks we had a weigh–in and the results were impressive. It wasn’t just because of the physical training. We also had regular private and group sessions with Marilyn, our nutritionist, who taught us how to make much better food choices and that eating right is 70 percent of the battle. We met regularly with our motivational coaches who helped us figure out why we got this way in the first place, so we don’t repeat our mistakes in the future.
And as the weight came off, the conversations among the participants began to change. Clothing was a frequent topic. Many overweight people have wardrobes in all sizes and we were no exception. As we lost weight we “shopped” our closets for clothing to wear. By the end of the program many of us had exhausted our fat wardrobes and were forced (I don’t think the ladies looked at it as I did) to actually purchase new, slimmer fitting clothing. It’s not always easy, though, making major changes.
Our final weigh in and fitness assessments were impressive. We all lost weight but many other positive things occurred. A few people were able to stop taking medications they previously needed. One contestant wanted to lose the weight because her doctor told her it would improve her chances of conceiving a child. She is now 24 weeks pregnant—go Amy! For me, the biggest difference was on the true body age I mentioned earlier. It dropped from nine years above my age at my first assessment to nine years younger than my chronological age at the final assessment. That’s an improvement of 18 years in only six months. I feel that much younger, too. We lost a lot of weight, but what we gained in confidence and control over our lives was far more valuable.
NSU’s Biggest Loser winner, Debbie, said, “The most amazing thing about the program was that everyone we worked with at the RecPlex: trainers, coaches, coordinators, staff and our nutritionist, accepted us as we were. They never made us feel bad when we couldn’t do something, and never set us up for failure. Overweight people are often judged and treated poorly. From day one everyone had a supportive, kind and amazing way with us.”
I agree.
They are accepting applications for the 2012 Biggest Loser Program right now. If any of you are looking for a team of experts to help you achieve your fitness goals, I highly recommend the RecPlex trainers. For those of you who need even more help and we all do, “The Biggest Loser” program can put you on a temporarily painful, but unforgettable and successful path to a better you.
