Fat Camp – Part 3

The Finish Line?

As you know from Part 1 of Fat Camp, six members of our family have undertaken a friendly competition of exercise and diet as a way of motivating ourselves to lose some excess weight and improve our overall health.  Travis and I have gradually taken the lead but, as I’ve said before, anybody can still win.

The final five weeks of the contest will tell the tale.

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01/01/2022 – Initial weigh-in

Name              Starting Weight

Dad                 255.4

Mom               168.6

J.B.                  193.8

Travis              234.2

Danielle         165.2

Andy               242.8  

As you will probably remember from Part 2, in week ten of the contest, Andy had an impressive weight loss, to get him back in the running, and Travis told me after the “official” weigh-in that he actually lost a staggering seven pounds!

Besides his cardio and weight-lifting workouts, and paying more attention to how he feeds his body, he and Danielle have started another cleanse, which helps explain the massive weight-loss for T that week.

As the old saying goes, “what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”  In other words, any of us can choose to go on another cleanse, even though we may be pushing it to undertake another so soon after the first.

You may get tired of hearing this but, “We’ll see.”

03/20/2022 – eleventh week of contest

Name              Strt Wt            Crnt Wt           Ttl Lbs Lost    Ttl % Loss

Dad                 255.4               221.6               33.8                 13.23%

Mom               168.6               159                  9.8                   5.69%

J.B.                  193.8               184                  9.8                   5.06%

Travis              234.2               203.2               31                    13.24%

Danielle          165.2               157.4               7.8                   4.72%

Andy               242.8               233.0               9.8                   4.04%

Total lbs. Lost                                                 102.0

This week was pretty much more of the same.  Annie dropped an impressive two pounds while Danielle managed to top that by losing 2.2.  Good job ladies!

Travis and I built on our leads.  I lost four pounds exactly while T managed to trim off 5.8 pounds!  Wow!  If he keeps that up he’ll be nothing but skin and bones by week fifteen!

T’s big loss included, of course, the extra three he lost last week but didn’t count until this week.  His total loss this week allowed him to take over the percentage lead…officially.  That doesn’t mean it’s not close though.  He is ahead of me now by 0.01% . 

Yes, it’s that close.

Even more important, this week the family collectively passed the 100 pound mark.  Yes, we have now lost a total of 102.0 pounds!

I’d say that’s not bad.

03/27/2022 – twelfth week of contest

Name              Strt Wt            Crnt Wt           Ttl Lbs Lost    Ttl % Loss

Dad                 255.4               221.6               33.8                 13.23%

Mom               168.6              158                  10.6                 6.29%

J.B.                  193.8               182                  11.8                 6.09%

Travis              234.2               199.8               34.4                 14.69%

Danielle          165.2               154.0               11.2                 6.78%

Andy               242.8               234.0               8.8                   3.62%

Total lbs. Lost                                                 110.6

I knew Travis did a great job before the previous weigh-in, but this one still came as a bit of a surprise.  While he was ahead of me percentage-wise last week, this week he took back the overall lead, both weight loss and percentage.

I know, the fact that I didn’t post a loss this week helped him out but, this close to the final weigh-in and pretty much everyone is stalling to one extent or another.  It looks like T just might be able to hang on for the win.

Don’t worry though, I’m not ready to surrender just yet.

After T.J., his wife, Danielle, was this week’s biggest loser with 3.7 pounds!  Wow!  J.B. dropped two pounds and Annie one so we’re all still struggling on.

Andy and his dear wife and their two daughters just spent a few days in Kansas City, taking in the sights and enjoying the good food.  I don’t blame him, and the fact that he only gained one pound back is a testament to his strength and determination.

Hey, the group as a whole just passed the 110 pound lost mark!  Great job everyone!

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Interestingly, even though I’m eating a lot less than I did before the competition, I don’t get all that hungry.  Also, even though I’ve denied myself a few things I’ve wanted to eat, those wants have not become true cravings.

One negative effect I have noticed is less energy.  Maybe I should explain what I mean by that.

Those times I have to do strenuous work, like tearing the old, rotten siding off my chicken house, I’ve notice I run low on energy.  I get tired.  So far that has been limited to the times I’ve done work, as I said, more strenuous work than normal.

Other than that, I’ve been just fine. 

One big, positive side effect is that my meals are a LOT more enjoyable.  I find myself taking smaller bites and savoring them.  For example, to keep from feeling like I’m depriving myself, which could end up leading me to cheat, I still eat dessert, just a lot smaller than before.  One of my favorite, low calorie deserts is some little sugar-free candies that total about 100 calories.  Each is about half-dollar size…about bite sized.  Now, instead of popping one in my mouth and chewing it just enough to swallow it, I may bite or break it into four to six pieces and just let them sit in my mouth one at a time, slowly melting.  Man, they are SO much more delicious now than they were before.

With only three weeks left in the contest I’m pretty sure everyone is ready for it to be over. 

Maybe it’s just me.

04/03/2022 – thirteenth week of contest

Name              Strt Wt           Crnt Wt           Ttl Lbs Lost    Ttl % Loss

Dad                 255.4               219.0               36.4                 14.25%

Mom               168.6               158                  10.6                 6.29%

J.B.                  193.8               ?                      11.8                 6.09%

Travis              234.2               197.2               37                    15.80%

Danielle          165.2               152.8               12.4                 7.51%

Andy               242.8               229.6               13.2                 5.44%

Total lbs. Lost                                                 121.4

Last week Travis suggested to our group that we hold off reporting our weight until the final weigh-in.  He thought it would motivate everyone to keep trying rather than getting complacent and slacking off. 

I disagreed, saying that I would rather everyone weigh-in weekly as we have been.  Seeing how well I am doing and noting that everyone is still trying to lose weight motivates me to “man-up” and keep trying.

Nobody else expressed an opinion so I’m not sure what they all think.

When Sunday rolled around, everyone called in their weights except J.B.  I understood because J.B.’s work temporarily transferred him to Montana, leaving him with no access to scales.

Anyway, since I didn’t have a new weight for J.B. this week, I just didn’t change his from last week.

I was back on track, losing 2.6 pounds, but Travis equaled that to maintain his overall lead in the competition.

My greater body-fat percentage going in led me to predict a win but I wasn’t factoring in Travis’s grit and determination.  With two weeks to go, what I saw as an advantage going in is now working against me, as I will have to lose more pounds of fat to improve my percentage than he will.

The competition has heated up again.

Oh, well, as baseball legend Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

As for some of the other contestants, Danielle continues to amaze.  As I told you earlier, she really didn’t have much noticeable fat at the onset of the contest, yet she still manages to lose, dropping 1.2 pounds this week!

Andy got back on track after his trip to KC, losing an amazing 4.4 pounds this week!  Wow!  Great job, son!

Did you notice?  We have now lost more than 120 pounds as a group!

Two weeks to go!

04/10/2022 – fourteenth week of contest

Name              Strt Wt           Crnt Wt           Ttl Lbs Lost    Ttl % Loss

Dad                 255.4               217.2               38.2                 14.96%

Mom               168.6              160                  8.6                   5.10%

J.B.                  193.8               ?                      11.8                 6.09%

Travis              234.2               193.4               40.8                 17.42%

Danielle          165.2               151.8               13.4                 8.11%

Andy               242.8               226.2               16.6                 6.84%

Total lbs. Lost                                                 129.4

Well, with only one week left in the contest, we can get a good feel for how things will turn out in the end.

Travis has built on his lead and has pretty well cemented his win.  Unless he has an absolutely horrible week, there’s no way he can lose at this point.  I don’t see him letting that happen. 

Danielle and T are on their natural colon cleanse.  Their cleanse has proven its effectiveness.  They both like to eat vegetables and don’t seem to mind the strict diet it entails.  Also, anyone who has ever been on a strict weight-loss diet knows how it can leave you very low on energy.  They don’t seem to be suffering from lack of energy. 

Believe me, with four children nine and under, if they were short of energy life would be miserable.

Travis’s age is a huge advantage for him.  He is running quite a few miles every week and lifting weights.  I quit lifting because of the arthritic pain in my shoulders, but have been building on the miles I walk and run.  Still, my miles run are way, way behind my thirty-plus years younger closest competitor.

Dang this younger generation.

Annie is back on track, dropping two pounds for this weigh-in.

Andy had another tremendous week, losing a very impressive 3.4 pounds this week.

J.B. is still in Montana and, while he continues his running streak (What is it now, six years since he missed a single day of running?), diet is more difficult.  He is often faced with eating out or not eating at all.  Also, he still doesn’t have access to a set of scales, so I’m left with using his last recorded weight (from two weeks ago) rather than leave him with a blank entry this week.  I just hope he is able to find some scales at the end of the week.

In second place, I continue to lose weight, but at a slower rate than Travis. 

I predicted that my greater percentage of bodyweight going in to the contest would work to my advantage, and I still believe it did.  However, while it wouldn’t be too difficult for me to lose enough to catch up the 2.6 pounds I am behind Travis, the difference in percentage lost would be really, really difficult.  My higher body fat percentage is now working against me rather than being the advantage it should have been.

At this point I would have to experience a phenomenal week, along with Travis having a very bad one, for me to pull off a win.

I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Just sayin’.

The contestants have now lost just short of 130 pounds total.  Not bad, right?

04/17/2022 – final week of contest

Name              Strt Wt            Crnt Wt           Ttl Lbs Lost    Ttl % Loss

Dad                 255.4               213.4               42.0                 16.44%

Mom               168.6               158.0               10.6                 6.29%

J.B.                  193.8               180.0               13.8                 7.12%

Travis              234.2               189.0               45.2                 19.30%

Danielle          165.2               151.2               14.0                 8.47%

Andy               242.8               226.4               16.4                 6.75%

Total lbs. Lost                                                 142

Avg Wt Lost                                                   23.67               11.27%

Easter morning dawned rainy and wet for those of us in Piggott, but it couldn’t have been a prettier day.  The contest was over and the pressure was off.

As I predicted last week Travis carried through for the win.  T wasn’t content just to know he would win, though.  Sure, he was in it to win it.  More than that, he was in it for the health of it.  He wanted to lose all the weight he needed to and it looks like he has achieved that.  He came in to this week with a decided lead over the rest of the pack, and yet he managed to build on it, dropping another 4.4 pounds.  That makes his total weight loss 45.2 pounds, or 19.3% of his original weigh-in poundage.  He pared off almost 1/5^th of his starting weight.  Is that incredible or what?

Way to go T!

In second place, I managed to lose almost as much as Travis, dropping 3.8 pounds.  I might possibly have lost as much at T, except that Andy brought his two darling daughters to visit yesterday and Ann cooked one of my favorite meals.  She grilled T-bone steaks and, when Annie makes T-bones, she makes a man-sized meal.

Andy is welcome to blame his mom for the fact that he gained a few ounces this week.  He won’t get any argument from me.

Most everybody else lost more poundage this week.

Our competitors did a great job in the 15-week contest.  Despite the expected slip-ups and bad weeks the six of us lost a total of 142 pounds.  We averaged 23.67 pounds each for an average loss of 11.27% of our original bodyweight.

I hope everyone continues the healthy habits they took up or re-started for the contest.  As for me, I certainly plan to.

For my readers, if you need to lose some weight or get back into shape, I hope you can glean some useful ideas from what my family was able to.

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As I said when we started the contest, it was about health rather than money.  I know I feel a lot better with the loss of 42 pounds of useless weight that I don’t have to carry around all day.  I don’t get out of breath as easily as I did before and, when I finish my run, it takes me less than five-minutes to breathe normally again.

Obviously, those who were healthier and had less to lose to begin with are feeling less positive differences than I, but I’m sure they are benefiting health-wise.  Travis’s victory was partly due to the fact that he has gotten back into running and weight-lifting.  Those benefits are very real too.

In a way, I’m actually a little glad that I lost the contest to him.  At the very least I can say that I’m not the biggest loser in the family…and I have proof!

All kidding aside, congratulations to everyone who took part in our contest.

Way to go!

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