Closure...

I must admit it's getting harder and harder to keep thinking of new things to write in this blog, particularly concerning weight loss. Up a little, down a little, up a lot, back down... I was grousing to my wife today how tiring it is to try and keep my weight within that little 2-pound window that PHC set for me. One can be up two pounds after a decent meal. She reminded me that this year I have with PHC will fly by, and then it will be all up to me to maintain my weight, without that external accountability. After all, we are already coming up on the one-year anniversary of our selection to participate in the contest, which is only about 7 weeks away.

 

I was also grousing about how my kids never really got on board with what I was doing - neither one of them has looked at a copy of the magazine featuring the Augusta's Biggest Loser competition. Brenda said, "They're probably sick of hearing about it..." So I have come to the conclusion that it's probably time to stop writing about the journey. My entire body of work regarding the competition will remain online - the blog, the photos, etc. are all available on facebook, as well as on my website, http://edchavis.net. I have uploaded a short video of my journey onto youtube, in the hopes that someone who is searching for "weight loss" or "biggest loser" will find some hope and some help. The last bit of publicity is over with - Liz Hill spoke briefly about the magazine on the news Friday morning - but there are no more commercial shoots, interviews, or photo sessions. In my visits to PHC, I see the photos from our contest scattered around the lobby, and I remember every moment when each picture was taken. We have hopes of being involved in the next season of Augusta's Biggest Loser, and when a decision is finally made about the future of the program, I will either be up to my elbows in ABL all over again, or it will be relegated to the memories of the 32 of us who were privileged enough to be given the opportunity of a lifetime. There is the possibility that I will be featured on a national news program, but that will take some months to unfold, if it does happen. We shall see.

 

To those of you who are currently on your own journey, I will continue to stay in touch with you through facebook, your blogs, and email. If there is something noteworthy to report, I will post a new blog entry, or put something on facebook. I remain available any day, anytime you need me.

 

To those of you who simply followed my journey through the past 10 months, I thank you for reading along. Many of you prayed for me, cheered me on, and offered words of encouragement that kept me accountable and moving forward. I am convinced that losing weight is one of the hardest things to undertake in life, and overeating is one of the hardest addictions to break. You can live without cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and an immoral lifestyle, but you can't live without food. One cannot simply divorce themselves from it; one must master it.

 

I want to take one more opportunity to thank those who were directly involved in my journey, many of whom will never read this, but they deserve to be thanked anyway.

 

*NBC Augusta for sponsoring the Augusta's Biggest Loser contest; Jay Jefferies, who handled nearly all the TV interviews and made us feel welcome; Liz Hill, who ALWAYS had something encouraging and positive to say every time I came to the studio, even when she was busy; and Mariah Gardner, for working so hard on the contest as the promotions manager.

 

*Omni Club for their part in sponsoring the contest; Johnnie Hughes for his guidance, encouragement, and counsel as he trained our team; Barry Allison for his diligence in running the weigh-ins and his encouragement to all of us. We didn't always want to hear what he had to say in his post-weigh-in speeches, but if you listened closely, there was always something you could take away from it.

 

*PHC, also for their part in sponsoring the contest. Mark, Donna, Savannah, Pricilla, and Pat - you people are brilliant, caring, and effective. Savannah did most of our counseling; Mark and Donna did our off-the-record counseling when they came to work out at the gym. These people are like family to me, and I look forward to continuing my relationship with them in the future. Also a big thanks to Rob Baker, who manages the location that the blue team worked with. Rob was a constant encouragement even to those of us who weren't on his team, because he understood that ultimately, this wasn't about the teams, it was about the life change that he wanted for all of us.

 

*The Red Team for an amazing 7 months of shared experiences. We usually saw each other about 15 minutes after we dragged ourselves out of bed at 5 AM. Jokes, frustrations, pains, drama, highs, and lows - we experienced all of that, and more, as we worked out together and met at PHC every other week for a group session that usually turned into two hours of counseling. I was closest to Nandy and Charles (Nandy being the co-leader, and Charles being the only other male our our lopsided team), but I will always love and respect all of them. Nandy, Tammy, Bronnie, Lisa, and Charles - if you guys happen to read this, you are the best! Although I never get to see or talk to any of you, there are pictures of you guys in my office, and I think of you all constantly.

 

*The Blue Team - wish we had had more opportunities to do stuff together besides watch each other stand on the scale every Monday. But I learned to really appreciate all that you guys were doing, and in some ways, you guys had a tougher road to travel than we did. Thanks for hanging in there during some hard times. Colin, Tim, Tanner, Ashlee, and Laycee - you guys will always be a part of my experience and memories, as well.

 

Thanks also to my Lumpkin Road Baptist Church family for their encouragement and support. Some of them still tell me that I'm "too skinny" - I know better, but appreciate the advice!

 

This is not the last you will hear from me, but now that everything is over and done, I just wanted to bring a little closure to my experience as an Augusta's Biggest Loser competitor. I got everything I wanted out of the experience, and much, much more.

Uh-Oh....

I wrote last time that I am in my first prolonged struggle with my weight - I'm still there. Many of the obstacles that hinder weight loss (and cause weight gain) all ganged up on me this past weekend. They are the same enemies that prevent many of you from seeing the change on the scales that you want, and I want to write briefly about each factor.

 

1. Lack of proper rest. If you are not getting adequate amounts of rest and sleep, two things occur. One, in order to keep moving and functioning, you substitute food for sleep. Of course, food is not an adequate replacement for sleep, but for many of us, food can produce a small burst of energy or alertness simply because we are participating in an activity that we enjoy. Less sleep = more food. The other negative impact is that a lack of rest pushes your body into survival mode, during which it holds onto fat stores and fails to release excess fluids. More food plus less burn equals weight gain.

 

2. Busyness. When we are busy, it's easier to rationalize eating poorly and not getting any exercise. This may partially explain why, although people are busier than ever, obesity is rampant.

 

3. Lack of accountability. Accountability doesn't have to be in the form of a partner, or a support group. It can be as simple as frequent meetings with the bathroom scale. I read arguments for and against weighing in often; I have found that for me, if I know exactly what the number on the scale is, it directly affects my food choices. The most dangerous place for me is "comfortable", because if my weight is on the low end, I tend to work harder to push it down; if it's up "just a little", I'm not quite as careful with my diet ("one more won't do any more damage"). I have found for me that if I don't weigh every single day, I get more careless. Only one time have I skipped daily weigh-ins and been pleasantly surprised.

 

There are many other reasons for being stuck, but these are the ones that are affecting me right now. The question is, how do I fix it? I just do what I know to do, and stay motivated to change. I subtract out of my diet some of the things I had let back in; I increase my exercise; I increase my fluid intake; and I keep regular (daily, at least) appointments with the scale. For me, it's almost always about the fluid. Yesterday at PHC I was up 5 pounds; that will just about be gone by tomorrow morning.

 

(Insert a 24-hour pause here...)

 

It is now Thursday; Tuesday I was up 5 pounds at PHC; today, I was back down by the same 5 pounds. These spikes don't ever last very long with me, but they have to be dealt with right away.

 

In totally different news, I blogged a while back about a photo shoot and a three-hour interview with Nandy and me. It was announced via facebook yesterday that the new issue was out. Two Kroger stores and PHC did not have them yet, but I hit the jackpot at Kroger in Evans. I grabbed about eight copies off the newsstand, and, after lunch with my bride, I took a few of them over to PHC. They were closed for lunch, but I caught Mark outside, and he, Donna, and I looked through the issue. If you haven't heard or seen by now, Nandy and I are on the cover, and there's about 8 pages in this issue dedicated to the Augusta's Biggest Loser competition. For my out-of-town friends, I'm hoping they will have it posted online before too long.