Louisville’s Biggest Loser Contest

*****RULES AND SIGN-UP SHEET ARE AT BOTTOM OF POST*****

Spring 2009 LOUISVILLE BIGGEST LOSER CONTEST
Brought to you by FIFTH AVENUE SPA & SALON….and…..FITNESS 19 Gym

Launch party Sunday April 19^th 4:45pm
Fitness 19 Gym
(502) 244-0919
109 Blankenbaker Pkwy
Louisville, KY 40223

Contest Coordinator, Lucy Waddell Beach, cell 423-605-2251, email LouisvilleBiggestLoser@yahoo.com

• $50 buy-in per participant
• Official weigh-in/measurements will take place at Fitness 19 gym by Lucy Waddell Beach before the launch party April 19^th. Email or call her directly to make arrangements
• Contest lasts for 12 weeks
• At the end of the contest the winner, 2^nd and 3^rd place will receive a cash prize
• An Achievement Award will be given to the person who accumulated the most Points who is not a 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd place winner
• Each participant will be placed on a team
• Each team will have a Fitness 19 exercise & nutrition Trainer as their coach
• Each team will have a Fifth Avenue Spa & Salon body makeover Consultant

Contestants compete in 3 ways:

1. As an individual:

Each contestant competes to achieve the most Percentage Weight Lost. This is the official measurement for Louisville’s BIGGEST LOSER. Contestants will compete for this award both weekly as well as overall.

2. As a team:

Each team will compete against the others every week to win most percentage weight lost.

3. Point System:

Each participant accumulates points for completing certain activities and will be awarded weekly as well as overall. The point system is reserved to award those who have worked hard but may not have lost the measured weight.

Each Sunday 4:45pm at Fitness 19 we’ll gather for our weekly weigh in to announce the weight loss winner, weight loss team, and point system winner. From time to time, our Sunday gatherings will also reveal incentive “SURPRISES” donated by our sponsors. Please see the attached BIGGEST LOSER RULES for more detailed information.

 

Master Cleanse – Day 6

Boy, did I do it wrong today. I got up, had my salt water flush, and then it was nearly 5 hrs before I could manage to get even my first lemonade (limeade today) of the day. I feel weak, light headed and I know I haven’t done myself any favors. I even have a bit of a headache. However, it has taught me tht while people may think you’re not getting enough nutrition and energy from the juice, you absolutely are. Today is proof of that. I will try and catch up on my juice for the day before bed, but it’s already 7 pm and we’ll just have to see.

I’ve also decided that I’m not sure I can go the whole 20, but I have decided to go through the end of the month, which is 15. That gives me time to integrate properly back into eating before the amazing Derby parties and seasonal activities of Spring start around here. Day 7 is around the corner and the one pre-confessed cheat of the fast… well, it’s here.

 

Master Cleanse – Day 5

I made it through yesterday without any real cravings for chewing. It was still a bit of a tough day, but I was able to focus so much on my business that I didn’t really have time for anything else. I can also say I’ve been a little bad as far as taking my baths or getting to the sauna. It’s tough doing this, running a business and taking care of a friend who is in the hospital. I’ve had to take a couple days off from going to the hospital, just to focus on some of my own things. It’s tough to realize that, but all must be sure to take care of ourselves and make it a priority.

 

Master Cleanse – Day 4

Ok, so the first three days are supposed to be the hardest. I’m finding today to be the most diffcult so far. The day isn’t over yet, and I’m not really hungry, but I just want to taste something other than lemonade or mint tea/water. And I want to chew something. I miss the social aspect of eating. I miss the habit of eating. I appreciate eating good food and good for me food even more. Does anyone else feel this way? Most would think it would be the hunger that would send one over the edge, but for me, it’s really just the feel of eating… I hope that makes sense to someone.

On another note, people keep expressing their concern for me on my facebook profile, where I’ve been keeping status updates. All are supportive for the most part, but there’s a concern for nutrition, vitamins and caloric intake. So I did a little more research and discovered that in drinking 6-12 glasses a day you get roughly 660-1320 calories a day on the fast. On the high end, that’s about the same as some lo-cal diets, which usually leave one feeling more deprived than this has. Plus, there’s the high manganese, zinc, Vitamin A and C that one gets – all good,especially for the immune system. Of course, the salt water flush and laxative tea have their own benefits as well over just being about a replacement for fiber, the one thing truly lacking from the cleanse.

I’m sure I can make it to Day 10. Day 20, not so sure yet.

 

Master Cleanse – Days 2 & 3, fasting’s toughest days…

…Or so they say. I’m at the end of day 3 of my cleansing and so far, so good. I have to admit, I’m surprised it’s been as easy as it’s been. Which, don’t get me wrong, doesn’t mean it’s been easy, just not as difficult as I had imagined. I’m also surprised at the amount of support I’ve been getting. And according to most, the first three days are the hardest… we shall see.

The results/details to date:

• I’ve lost three pounds
• I haven’t experienced the “evacuation” process most talk about. I think I was doing alright in that department beforehand
• I’m not really hungry. I was hungry the first night before going to bed, and couldn’t sleep with the slight headache and hunger pains I had, but I still had energy the next day and hopped out of bed with no hunger at all.
• Day 2: I had temptation at Euchre as that’s where I always have a bag of popcorn and a cocktail. It was tough to sit and smell that deliciousness, but I did it with little suffering. Body-wise nothing of note.
• Day 3: I am finally getting that slightly metallic taste in my mouth. I drank some water infused with a couple of drops of Young Living Peppermint essential oil in the place of mint tea to help my breath and system. I’m not hungry, slight pangs, but nothing striking. Energy is good. A bit more mucus than the day before; hopefully this is part of the process and not just standard allergies with this Spring Ohio Valley crud.

I’ve been intrigued by the questions people are asking. I’m used to people sneering or not taking a fast seriously, but it seems people are curious and supportive more than anything this time around. People are asking if I am fasting for health, physical or spiritual reasons. I’ve responded by saying I think they’re all tied together. I started this fast for a couple of reasons.

I’ve been going through a bit of an evolution over the last couple of years. A culmination of things past as well as the new roads that lie ahead. Most of the emotional upheaval is actually good, but there’re still things from the past that need freeing to allow the good to settle. My work with Jenny started the healing and re-patterning process last summer. We’ve had three or four sessions now and each one is like years of therapy in two hours. After one of our last sessions, which involved some healing of my heart chakra, I noticed a great deal of physical purging my body seemed to be doing on its own. I called Jenny and asked her if this would be related to the emotional changes that were taking place (more to confirm my suspicions than anything else) which led us to another session and her recommendation of doing the Master Cleanse. So here I am, day 3.

That’s the spiritual/emotional component and on the physical side, it’s about my weight and metabolism. Years ago I was prescribed a ridiculously high dose of Prednisone (40mg daily) for a misdiagnosis of Lupus. I was on that for a year and in that time I went from 135 lbs to 175 back to 125 inside a 14 mo period – and my body has never been the same. I’ve tried other fasts, diets, healthy eating, working out with a trainer, on my own… you name it. And yet, I continually gain weight. I even gained weight on most fasts I’ve tried in the past. So, this is now a chance to reset my body. Let it heal itself and start from scratch. I’m not doing this to lose weight, but I’m certainly hoping for a chance to regain the health and activity level I have missed in the last few years. I’ll keep you posted, promise. Only 17 more days to go…

 

Master Cleanse – Day One

So, I’ve started. Day One of the Master Cleanse. My friend Jennifer, who works with me, via phone, on Resonance Repatterning, has suggested I do this cleanse for 20 days. Try as I might, I’m not sure I can do it for that long honestly. I already know I’ll need to break it on Monday a small bit for one of my events (the hell of running a Dining Club and trying to do a fast/cleanse). But I’m giving it my best and figured I’d share my experience here.

The benefits of doing this particular cleanse are not focused on losing weight as much as it is re-setting the digestive system and flushing toxins. Losing weight is usually an added benefit for those trying to lose weight, but for those trying to put weight on, it also manifests in that way as well. You are not supposed to take any supplements or medications while detoxing, though one should always check with a doctor before embarking on the cleanse. I’m still using my essential oils for my biorhythms (which my friend Jenny is also a wonder at helping), but other than that, oral supplements are sitting on the shelf for the duration of the fast.

I have found that most sites are rather gimmicky when trying to google any information on my own, but this site has been the best and most informational by far, with no ulterior motive. Also, I have found very little as far as real life reviews/commentary. So, for what it’s worth, here’s my account…

Day one. Well, it didn’t seem very hard – at first. To be fair, I haven’t had the full amount of lemonade I’m supposed to have, or could have. So, I’m a bit hungry as I get ready to lay down for the night. The taste is good. The tea, Swiss Kriss, is good. The salt water flush is tough, but doable. I have a bit of a headache, which is to be expected. I haven’t had quite the “living in the bathroom” that many claim, but my diet was pretty good going into this. Supposedly, if you can get through the first three days, the next bit should be easier as the body adjusts. I’ll let you know.

 

Lessons from my Childhood

As I sit here tonight watching my DVR’d episode of ER ‘The Family Man,’ I am reminded of the confusion and hurt surrounding my mother’s death and how it not only affected me as a child, but also as an adult. In this episode, a mother and daughter are in a car crash and as her mother’s heart starts to fail. Initially, they’re letting her be a part of all that is happening and explaining it step by step. But eventually, as the situation worsens, the daughter is taken, screaming, from the emergency room.

I know they believe they are doing right by the daughter. It seems the obvious choice to shield her from what most would consider scarring memories. We are not taught how to act in these situations. They remove her as an act of love and protection. I wish I hadn’t been protected. I couldn’t have voiced that opinion at 10, but I can voice it now.

My mother had MS (multiple sclerosis). She was 80% diagnosed when I was seven and 100% diagnosed six months before she died. We did not have a good relationship. That’s another story. When she finally went into rehab, it was only a couple weeks after my 11th birthday. She went downhill rapidly. Very rapidly. She spent two weeks in the rehab center – to the day. And she died in a nursing home two weeks later – to the day. Within a couple of days in rehab, she gave up. She went from talking and walking – not well, but she could still be recognized as a ‘whole’ person – to complete vegetative in less than two weeks time.

Once my mother was moved into the nursing home,  my father fianlly set me down and said my mother would most likely die before summer was over. This was actually close to after the two weeks she was in there and the last day of 5th grade for me. We left on a short vacation the next day – and she died. They (my dad and grandmother) decided that it would be better for me to be out of town when she passed. They gave me one whole day to reconcile that she wouldn’t make it through the summer – I hadn’t quite done that when she passed.

I may tell the story of my mother’s passing another time, but for today, I can only say that they thought they were protecting me from her death. I needed to see her. I should have seen her dead. It took me years of dreaming that she would come back to life only to die all over again – usually in a heroic act. These dreams didn’t stop until high school.

I know they thought they were making the best decision. I don’t begrudge them that. However, I think we sell our children short. Kids can handle a lot more than most would give them credit. Honesty is a blessing, even when it hurts. Because then, at least they (we) know). If you think this doesn’t affect us into our adulthood, you’d be wrong.

 

It’s true… just $1 could help many

If everyone who makes it to this site clicks on the “donate here” link on the right sidebar, we could raise $1000s for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It’s true. You’ve seen the FM Message statistics on LouisvilleMojo. Thousands of people click these great little messages. And just $1 from you could make a world of difference in the life of a family with a child or loved one with leukemia. All donations are tax deductible and you’re helping families of both survivors and those who have lost someone to these diseases. See how far the money goes and other ways you can help here. Learn more about my campaign here.

Thank you in advance for your support and for your donation! Together we really can make a difference!

 

2008 Woman of the Year Campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

I’m excited to be a part of this year’s Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s 2008 Woman of the Year fund raising campaign. I’m elated to receive the nomination and am more than happy to accept this challenge not only in honor of this year’s Boy and Girl of the Year, Conor Minogue and Madison Harper, but also my father, David Self, who passed away December 26, 2000 from Acute Myelodysplastic Leukemia. When he passed, all donations were to go to both LLS as well as Kosair’s Children’s Hospital since he believed strongly both in research and in helping children above all others as well.

The annual Man & Woman of the Year contest is a fun and friendly competition designed to raise resources for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is judged solely on a philanthropic basis – the candidate raising the most funds wins. Each dollar contributed during the competition will go toward the mission of The Society: to cure blood cancers and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

My father, David, battled a tiring, rare blood disease for nearly 10 years before succumbing to leukemia. He was originally diagnosed with Sideroblastic Anemia from which there are only 10,000 known cases in the world. Little was known about how to treat this disease and eventually, as he was unable to produce red blood cells properly, he developed leukemia. Once he fell ill it was a short 30 days before he passed.

And now, allow Madison and Conor to introduce themselves…

My name is Madison McKenna Harper. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on December 14, 2001. I am now in remission and have been off treatment since February 2004. I am currently in 7^th grade at JTMS. I like to read and play soccer. My message to kids with cancer is to push on. You’ll make it! Never lose hope! My message to the candidates as you are fundraising is to try to imagine if one of your families was diagnosed with blood cancer

My name is Conor Minogue. On December 2, 2003 I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when I was 7 years old. My treatment lasted 3 years and 2 months and on January 29, 2008 I celebrated my first year off treatment. I am currently in the 6^th grade at Holy Spirit School and I played football for the first time this past fall. My team won the Toy Bowl! I also play baseball and I am taking bass guitar lessons. I like to read, listen to my ipod and play video games.

 

Please feel free to leave a personal story in the comments below on how Leukemia and Lymphoma may have touched your life. I would love to hear from you.

 

Hope, faith and choices

All too often I am reminded of how hope, faith and the power of choice can be taken for granted or altogether neglected. There is power in our words, our actions and the ways we affect others. This is most obvious and perhaps receives the most attention when someone is economically disadvantage, perhaps ‘not smart enough’ or fighting an illness. It’s where the films of Hollywood and sometimes our own lives choose to focus. If we’re well off and things are ‘ok’ what more could we want? That may be true, but when things aren’t ok and aren’t the way we like, how often do we project that emptiness or sadness onto someone else?

Here in Ecuador I have had the opportunity to visit several orphanages, and while I cannot claim to know what each little child needs, it frequently is as simple as a little attention and some love. Sadly, I don’t just see this in orphans or the poor. I see this in the children of people I know, men I have dated. Children are told what they can and can’t do, told they’re smart or not smart enough. They frequently have no boundaries. They don’t know whether they’re coming or going. I’m digressing. This could be another topic entirely. Getting back on track, what I see most is a lack of faith and hope… in themselves or from their loved ones. Some are strong enough and have the fortitude to fight against it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t leave a mark on the soul. Never feeling your loved ones have faith in you can be forever damaging.

And if you’re sick, perhaps terminally, hope, faith and choice are our best weapons to fight it. But sometimes, one word, one phrase, from one person can turn those lights out. It happened to my mother, so I know. A woman who had fought with every breath she had against Multiple Sclerosis – at a time when little to nothing was known about the disease – and in the blink of an eye, her doctor took everything away from her. He said she had no hope of ever being any better than she was at that moment. Those who were in the room with her said you could see the light go out from behind her eyes. She deteriorated rapidly. She was dead 5 weeks later. She had hope. She had faith. But she chose to stop when the doctor chose his words poorly. There’s honesty and then there’s tact.

As a parent, or an adult, we have a bad day. We’re angry, we’ve been stepped on all day by a tough workload, demands from all directions and we snap. We say something in the heat of the moment that has a lasting impact. Your daughter is singing and you tell her to stop, you can’t stand her voice. She believes you and never sings again. You tell your boyfriend or your husband to stop cuddling and get away. It may be the last time they do. We have a choice in those moments. We have the power to choose our words. Sometimes, nothing is better.

You’re child receives all A’s and one B. But why was there a B? Why wasn’t everything an A? You haven’t even mentioned how proud you are of the As and all the hard work that went into that area. We can’t all be fantastic in every area of our lives. Are you? Believe in your children. Believe in each other. Believe in your employees. What we say has an impact. Too many dreams are squashed before they even have a chance to begin.

We hope for better things. We should. Hope is what gives us our strength for faith – faith in God, faith in each other, faith in ourselves – to keep going, no matter how hard the path. And choice, that’s the most powerful of all. We choose our path every day. If we’re sad, we can choose to be happy. If we had a tough day, we can choose for the next one to be a little better. It sounds simplistic, but it’s not. I promise you. But it can be done. I do it everyday. Things go wrong. But I have the choice to make it a blessing or a lesson. Either way, my life is richer for the experience. So it pains me, to see so many opportunities to share hope, to share a kind word, but feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. I can’t do it alone. So when a chance meeting or a random encounter presents itself, I grab it and hope that something I say may bring a smile to someone’s face. I hope you will do the same.

It only takes an idea to start a revolution.

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