The End of the Beginning

Sunday/Monday, August 2/3, 2009
Last days and home

The Results
After 2 weeks of 1200 calories a day, early morning mountain hikes, and 6 hours a day in the gym and pool, I’m sure that you’re anxious to hear the results - some surprising, some not so dramatic, but all really encouraging. Not so much weight loss as might be expected but pretty impressive reduction in fat percentages, meaning that we’ve been converting fat to muscle.

Betsy
Weight loss – 7 pounds
Waist reduction – 1.25 inches
Body fat – 44.9% reduced to 39.2%
BMI – 29.2 reduced to 27.8

Ray
Weight loss – 7 pounds (from 211 to 204)
Waist reduction – 2.5 inches (one belt notch!)
Body fat – 30.4% reduced to 22%
BMI – 30.3 reduced to 29.3

So much fitter and “funner” – a local Utah term – and much more self-righteous.

Take Aways
So what did we learn? Well, everything we already knew rationally, we experienced in reality.

It really is no more complicated than calories in/calories out – if your body needs only 1200 calories a day and you put in 2,000, and you do no exercise to burn those calories off, then you will put on weight, and it takes an awful lot of effort to get rid of those calories so why ingest them in the first place (other than incredible enjoyment and satisfaction!)

It is a matter of mind over matter – whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right. It was great pushing myself again physically and I don’t want to get away fromf that.

Read labels – the stuff we put into our bodies is pretty gruesome when you read the ingredients (not just the nutrition tables but the actual ingredients) – there’s barely anything these days that has not been fully or partially hydrogenated.

It’s very hard to feel full on processed food – there’s so many calories packed into small amounts, for example, 800 calories in a bag of chips, that it’s easy to keep inhaling them and still not feel full. Try eating 800 calories of cauliflower – not so easy.

The value of the group was really brought home to me – it’s so much easier to do this with a team and a support system rather than on your own. It keeps you going through the hard times and is supportive even when you slip.

The Close
We had to fly back from Las Vegas and of course the contrast hit us right between the eyes. We sat in the airport for about 5 hours in front of half a dozen fast food restaurants: McDonalds, Taco Bell, the Jose Cuervo bar, Wolfgang-Puck-To-Go, Round Table Pizza, and so on. We stared at them. They stared back, sending out death eaters clutching triple chocolate shakes, bags of French fries, slices of pizza, giant chocolate pretzels, wafting them in front of noses and sending siren calls of decadence tempting us back to follow the evil path. We managed to resist but we know that it will not be easy. We won’t be able to rely on supercilious superiority forever! I guess it’s going to be one day at a time.

Thank you to everyone for your support and advice, your emails, and your Facebook comments. So not the end; not even the beginning of the end; but, definitely the end of the beginning. Here endeth the reading.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Day 12

The Hike
Today’s hike was the timed one we do each week. Just under a half undulating on a paved path and just over a half straight up the road to the most photographed Stop sign in the US. I finally broke through the 1 hour barrier to finish in the top four, and Betsy knocked several minutes off her personal best too. So I guess it’s working. Probably not so much weight loss this week as fat is definitely being turned into muscle mass.

After the hike I was so excited that when I was standing still, I tried to take a photograph and felt flat on my face. A few people rushed over to my rescue but I just rolled on my back laughing. I couldn’t believe that I’d done all this hiking, rock climbing, and jogging without incident only to fall over when I was stood still. The only thing that I hurt was a little bit of pride.

LDS
With the exercises finished, and Saturday afternoon to ourselves, we went into St. Georges, named after George Smith, prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (Mormons) or simply LDS. We visited Brigham Young’s winter home where he lived for just 4 years, a modest 2-storey house built around 1870 which he used (and fathered several of his 57 children) while the temple in St. Georges was being completed. I guess you had to make your own entertainment in those days! It was sold several times after his death and fell into disrepair for a long time until the Church repurchased and restored it relatively recently in 2003. A lot of the furniture, linens, and utensils were handmade as it was considered dutiful to use whatever God-given skills you had.

A lot of the guides and instructors are LDS and are totally over the top nice; but genuinely nice. They don’t push their religion at all but are happy to answer any questions you put to them. It’s been quite a revelation (no pun intended). LDS is also not uniformly practiced as our taxi driver pointed out, an ex-LA wanna-be-but-never-quite-made-it-bass-guitar-plaging rock star, (his group was named Fast Eddy), who left and returned to LDS, and although he doesn’t agree with or follow all tenets, still considers himself LDS.

A lot of the boutique art galleries we visited had romanticized versions of peasant girls picking flowers, angelic teenage boys, fishing; proud parents looking devotedly at their young, with a biblical simplicity that was just too good to be true, especially at $25,000 per painting. Very interesting to see an art genre that we never knew existed. Also a lot of red rock landscapes in oils (the water colors were just too weak for this kind of rugged country) and also quite a bit of modern cowboy art, with just a few native American Indian themes.

Close
Lots of good byes today. I don’t think that we became close friends with anybody but there will be a few that we’ll continue to stay in touch with by email and by Facebook Fitness Ridge Alumni. Also we had a farewell last dinner together and watched all the photographs and videos of this week’s exploits. I’ll set them up so that everyone can see them after I get back.

Tomorrow is our last day and final check in. Our strategy so far has been to stay above the yellow line but we hope to be “pulling big numbers” tomorrow to avoid the drop. However if I don’t, I have several alliances with the remaining guests and will definitely be voting to send Betsy home! (If you’re not a Biggest Loser fan, just ignore the whole last paragraph.)

Friday, July 31, 2009
Day 11

The Hike
It’s weird to be saying that the 8 mile hike today although our longest, (I haven’t run or walked 8 miles since my days at Lambeth), was an easier one but it was. I chose this one to regroup and save some energy for the timed hike tomorrow. It was on a gravel trail the whole way, and although undulating a lot, there were no major hills and no sand! Betsy and I walked together for the first time and chatted with the guide all the way there and back and the time just flew by especially as you didn’t really have to pay a lot of attention to where you were putting your feet and we could gaze around in wonder at the magnificence of West Canyon in Snow Canyon National Park. It was also a wonder to me to gaze up at these magnificent peaks and know that I actually climbed many of them over the last two weeks.
Betsy was in the wars a little as you can see from her scarred legs. I guess bare flesh, gravel, and cactus don’t really go together. She did great today and made the full 8 miles there and back.

Close
Meals are taken communally on long refectory tables in a cafeteria-like setting and the classes are always taken in groups (individual coaching is available but is extra.) It’s very much like summer camp: people are exchanging emails and promising to write; the ones leaving are concerned but happy to go; the ones left behind now have to create new friendships all over again; and the really long term residents are hunkering down to get through their own individual trials.
Our two weeks are almost over, one last hike and a few classes on Saturday morning and we’re done. We feel great, have absolutely no regrets, and are already considering coming back again next year.

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Day 10

The Hike
Fabulous 5 mile hike today named Slots. Lot of red sandstone, lot of up and down, and not too much sand – yehhhhhhhh! It’s amazing how your values change. Right now my favorite words are “Stop” – it means the end of the time trial; “Dip” it means that the next few hundred yards are downhill; and “cold wet towel” which means the hike is over. Nothing else matters – food, wine, TV are all of very distant secondary significance.

Today’s route took us past petroglyphs which are rock engravings and images that are created by carving into or scraping off the surface of the rock, not painting on the rock. They are supposed to be anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 years old, although one of our party thought they dated from a 2nd grade school outing in 1998.

Today we also came as close to rock climbing as I want to do: down a ravine for about 150 feet that was so narrow that we had to leave our back packs at the top and then climb back out to retrieve them. I don’t know what was worse: climbing down or climbing up and out. And it was so comforting when the guide would point out hand holes for us with the reassuring words “Doesn’t look large enough for a rattle snake, but watch out for any scorpions.” You know, there are just some places and times where no joke is funny.

More Exercise Classes

Last time I talked about the exercise classes, I missed a few. With 80 equipment workstations plus free weights in the gym, it was easy to do.

Kick boxing – not that any of us were budding Bruce Lees, but this 45-minute session was a great cardio and strength building exercise ,and a lot of fun, how could it be otherwise when done to the pulsating beat of Dance Compilations of the 80’s, Vol. 892.

Exercise balls – I was going to leave this one to your imaginations, but for the avoidance of doubt, we use one of those large bouncy semi-inflated balls that you see a few people at work sitting on, to do all kinds of good stuff – using light weights and heavy weights, for strength – bouncing on it for core and cardio – and stretching over it, on the side of it, and under it for who knows what. You can even use it between your legs for that ever important inner thigh strength , just in case you should ever run into Suzanne Summers.

Yoga – I’ve never taken a yoga class in my life and this one I’m told was more stretch than yoga but I think that all stretch classes are built on classis yoga positions. I’m so inflexible that I barely made a distant approximation to any of the positions the instructor got herself into. However, over the week we all improved and I actually touched toes yesterday – they weren’t mine, but it was a start!

Close
Laundry night tonight so no great philosophical prognostications. Just remember, calories in, calories out, and similar to Mr. Micawber in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield: ““Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery“. Similarly, daily intake 1400 calories, daily burn rate 1600 calories, result happiness; daily intake 1600 calories, daily burn rate 1400 calories, result misery.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day 9

The Hike

”Completed a 5.3 mile hike over petrified sand dunes at a pretty fast clip, but this time they did allow us to stop a few times and admire the spectacular views. So much more interesting than constantly staring at a spot 4 to 6 inches in front of your leading foot.

The Music
One of the more intriguing aspects of Fitness Ridge is the music. It ranges from disco mania compilations played at 240 decibels, to the barely audible Sounds of the Sea Shore type calming mood music. Unfortunately, all I can think of when I hear the gently lapping of water while we’re in the middle of a high plains desert is “Has the building sprung a leak?” It’s so incongruous. Still I’m now an expert on sounds of the river, jungle rustling, pine needles falling, and my personal favorite, strings for bald eagles masticating and regurgitating dead voles to feed to their young.

The Storm
A spectacular storm blew over last night – very high winds, towels, deck chairs, and dust everywhere, and the most varied and incredible lighting. One half of the sky from the horizon to the heavens was covered with sheet lighting, and forked vertical and horizontal lightening strikes, sometimes one a time, sometimes two, three, four at a time. I’ve never seen anything like it or been that close to such a natural pyrotechnic display.

Close
Definitely getting used to that gratifying tiredness that only comes after physical exhaustion. Now starting to think about how to replicate it when we get home. Being on sabbatical from work for another 4 weeks will certainly ease the transition to normal life.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Day 8

5.6 mile fast hike at 6:30 am this morning, exercise all day, where I sprinted on the treadmill for the first time in 40 years, and got to touch my toes for the first time in 20 years! Actually, if the truth be told, it’s been the first time since I’ve even seen my toes in 20 years! Evening finished with volley ball with the “kids” (the teens and twenty-somethings) in the pool from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

Not surprisingly, exhausted but very, very, content. (But how could she choose Ed?)

Week 2

Monday, July 27, 2009
Day 8

Week 2 Begins
And so the week begins all over again except this time we’re vets. We have our “I survived Fitness Ridge” t-shirts, we have a week under our belt, we know what to expect, where to go, what to do, and it’s fun acting the elder statesmen with all the new kids on the block, the new guests who have that wide-eyed “What the hell have I got myself into” look that we had only 7 days ago.

The Exercise Classes
Exercising for 6 days a week, they have to make it fun and interesting for us (and for them) so we’ve had a pretty good variety of exercise classes and instructors.
Circuit Training – 2 minutes of cardio, change machine; 2 minutes of resistance training, change machine; 2 minutes of cardio, change machine; 2 minutes of resistance training, change machine; and so on through 45 minutes of changes.
Treading – cardio on any machine (treadmill, elliptical, etc) with 5 minutes flat out, 5 minutes eased off, 4 minutes flat out, 4 minutes eased off, 3 minutes flat out and so on
Mountain – steady cardio, building up to a higher and higher levels
(Note: all cardio classes are totally saturated by Sounds of the 70’s” compilation CDS)
Step class – disco-isn’t- dead step class
Tai chi – grand master of Tai Chi took us through some basis steps under incredible control with amazing flexibility
Stretch classes – lots of different instructors teach us lots of different stretches which are paradoxically so exacting that you need another stretch class immediately after. I also discovered who buys all those Windham Hill “Sounds of the Jungle” “Sounds of Nature” “Sounds of Waterfalls” records.
Water aerobics – it’s amazing what you can do with 6 foot foam rubber number “noodle” under water. When it’s 108 degrees, it’s great to be in the pool and it’s surprisingly strenuous – the resistance of the water means that it takes about 4x the effort to do an exercise as it does on dry land. It’s an amazing and fun workout.

The Facial
There are lots of spa treatments here and I finally broke down and had my first facial ever. What an incredible experience. What have I been waiting for all these years? I had memories of my teenage years when the barber used to give me these wonderful, hot, steaming, towels to clear up my spotty little face. It’s a vivid sensation that’s stayed with me to this day, but tonight gave a whole new meaning to hot towels. So many exfoliates, I felt sure that we were going to hit bare bone any second. So many wonderful oils and of course what hands. Her hands had the delicacy of Delilah and the strength of Samson. And not just my face: my neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. I need to bring her back to work with me. I’m sure that I could sign up 750 willing clients within a matter of minutes.

Close
So, tired, burnished, and glowing, I return to my room to the most dramatic finale EVER of the Bachelorette, and blissful sleep.

End of Week 1

Sunday, July 26, 2009
Day 7

The whole day off, how heavenly! I wasn’t going to post today but strains of the last verse of “Hello Mudder – Hello Fadder” keep drifting in and out of my consciousness:

Wait a minute - it's stopped hailing
Guys are swimming - guys are sailing
Playing pool games - gee that's better
Fellow bloggers - kindly disregard these postings
(with apologies to Tom Lehrer and Allen Sherman)

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Day 6

Today’s schedule:
· 6:15 am Meet
· 6: 30 am Hike
· 9:30 am Breakfast – English muffins and jam and strawberry smoothie
· 10:15 am Circuit training
· 11:15 am Stretch class
· 12:45 pm Lunch – Garlic potato soup, garlic salad nicoise
· 1:30 – 4:30 Free time
· 4:45 pm Video of our weeks achievements and graduation for people leaving
· 5:45 pm Dinner – Meatball sandwich and veggies, 2 cookies (or side salad)

Stop Sign Hike
And the weigh in results will ……………………………………..have to wait until next week. This is as bad as the television show. You don’t reweigh until you leave here. It’s to take the focus away from just weight loss and refocus on fitness. Well, we’re definitely getting fitter.

This morning’s 4.5 mile hike was a repeat of the time trial we did last Monday. It’s partly on an undulating paved trail through part of the National Park with the last 2 miles being straight up on the roadway. It ends at a STOP sign Betsy improved her time from 1hr 28 to 1 hour 22 minutes – pretty good after only one week; I moved from 1 hour 15 to just over the hour at 1 hour and 2 minutes. Goal for next Saturday is to get under the hour. The program is definitely working.

We had a few exercise classes in the morning but the rest of Saturday we had off – and it was much appreciated. Did a little art gallery window shopping in a nearby artist’s community (pottery, art, photographs, sculpture) – it was a cute little place and hardly anybody there - all local artists and not a “Made in Macedonia” sticker to be seen.

Thoughts for the Week
At the end of today, they showed us a DVD of all the photographs and videos they had taken of us during the week. It was amazing to see how far we had all come. There are some pretty heavy people here and very few are our age. There’s a lot of young kids ranging from 18 to 22 who are bordering on morbidly obese and it’s just incredible to see them running up a hill. If you ever needed inspiration for what you can do, this is the place. As they say, whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.

It’s also a pretty interesting example of immersive learning – you’re in an environment where you’re totally focused on eating less, eating more healthily, exercising more, longer, and harder than you’ve ever done before and making it routine, instinctive, and second nature. It’s the only thing that concerns us all week. It’s physical, mental, and emotional. You’re learning using all modalities: visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK). It’s learned behavior; it’s muscle memory. It’s positive reinforcement. And the best thing is that it’s all about ME! (I’ll fix the world after I get back.) Self-indulgent yes, but also very successful (if it sticks, but that’s for another time.)

Close
We’re both pretty tired but very happy that we’re doing this program. We’re not changing into calorie Nazis and it’s obviously going to be different for us when we get back – you don’t get to spend 6 hours a day in the gym in real life. We’ll happy to point to info about what we’ve learned after we get back, and you can check it out if you want.

Sunday is a day off from exercise – even the good Lord rested for one day – so no post tomorrow. I’ll be back online again on Monday evening.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Day 5

Today’s schedule:
· 6:15 am Meet
· 6: 30 am Hike
· 9:30 am Breakfast – Fritata and fruit (300 calories)
· 10:15 am Feedback on week 1 and planning for week 2
· 11:15 am Stretch class
· 12:45 pm Lunch – Vegetable soup, chili-filled baked potato (450 calories)
· 1:15 pm Lecture: emotional eating
· 2:30 pm Total workout
· 3:30 pm Circuit training
· 4:30 pm Disco-isn’t-dead cardio
· 5:45 pm Dinner – BBQ chicken sandwich and brownie (550 calories)

Hike

My heart had been playing up at the end of yesterday and overnight so I thought that I’d take an easier hike today. It was really enjoyable – the terrain was just as hard but it was at a much slower pace so that we could talk and encourage each other along the way, and we had time to stop and look around and really take in the majesty of this place. The other hikes were at such a pace that it almost turned into a race. Next week I’ll definitely alternate between faster and slower routes.

Food
The food has really been the only disappointment here and it’s not just because we’re spoilt living in the Bay Area and having the best produce and amongst the best cuisine in the world. Everything here is unnecessarily complicated – Betsy rightly calls it “over produced.” Take the BBQ chicken sandwich tonight – we expected a simply grilled chicken breast with a bit of drizzle over it but instead got this engineered dog-food-consistency filler chopped up with who-knows-what, and squished together with “veginase” – a low fat, lo cal, no taste, mayo substitute. It was completely unnecessary. Fortunately there is a salad bar available every night, so if you don’t like anything, you can substitute a plate of veggies and salad, which is pretty much what I’ve starting doing. Some things have been OK, like minestrone and vegetable soup, and breakfast is hard to mess up, but most of it is definitely below par.

Today’s Celebrities
Finally got to meet Ron and Mike from the Biggest Loser. They’re really nice guys and still very embarrassed when people come up to them, but that didn’t stop us! They’re still looking incredible, keeping with the program, and look smaller than on TV. They’re pretty inspirational. They’re here to pick up the younger brother who’s going home early. He looks good too but still has a way to go, and being only 17 and the first time away from home, it’s been pretty hard. Good luck to him.

Close
The big event on Saturday is the repeat of the hike we did on Monday to see whether we’ve improved or not. Also, they will be checking all our vitals once again, so tune in tomorrow for the most dramatic weigh in, EVER!

Snow Mountain (view from the top and the summit)

Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 4

Today’s schedule:
· 6:15 am Meet
· 6: 30 am Hike
· 9:30 am Breakfast – French toast and fruit (400 calories)
· 10:15 am Anatomy workshop
· 11:15 am Yoga
· 12:45 pm Lunch – Minestrone soup, pita bread with chicken, salad (300 calories)
· 1:15 pm Cooking demo
· 2:30 pm Ball works - on one of those large bouncy balls
· 3:30 pm Treading (interval training)
· 4:30 pm Stretch class
· 5:45 pm Dinner – Stuffed chicken and chocolate cherry pie (500 calories)
· 6:15 pm Lecture on increasing your caloric expenditure

Hike

Sheesh, this is supposed to be getting progressively easier not harder. They seem to always push you just further than what you can comfortably cope with and then a bit more. We hiked in Snow Mountain today, which is about 4,000 ft above sea level. The hike was a 4 mile jaunt with a 1,000 foot rise. The first couple of miles was straight up a dry creek of river rocks, followed by the last vertical 500 ft of sand, during which all I could think was “That must have been a hell of a tsunami to get this beach all the way up here.” Sand is just the pits, not just because it’s a major quad, ankle, and calf pain to get through, as soon as it gets inside your shoes and socks, you just know that pain and blisters are not far away. And yes, I do still consider this a vacation. The views from the top again did not disappoint and definitely worth the effort, plus the hike back down was naturally a much easier and faster although more dangerous as rocks that looked solid as the proverbial, gave way as soon as you put any weight on them.
All this outdoors stuff changes your ideas on life and what’s important. Right now the two greatest things that I look for each day are large flat rocks that stay still when you step on them, and an ice cold wet rag out of the cooler in the van after each hike. Who would have thunk it.

Geocaches

One interesting aspect of the lore and traditions of the mountains is the notion of geocaches. These artifacts are small, tobacco tin sized boxes that are left at specific locations around the mountains and they contain time-capsule type stuff, favorite souvenirs, photographs, and little note books for people to add their thoughts and comments as they come across them. They’re usually located at the summit of mountains but they can be located anywhere. One we came across had the photograph of a guy holding a mountain bike aloft above his head, and a note explaining how he died of a heart attack. I think that this was not the most inspirational geocache that the guide could have shown us, but hey, what does an urban dweller from the North of England know.

Close

Hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of the week and we’re still surviving. What a totally different lifestyle: 5 mile hikes, 6 to 8 hour s in the gym, and only 1200 calories each day. Not sure what will happen after we return to a “normal” lifestyle, but we’re really glad that we’re here and proud of ourselves for sticking with it. And there’s another week ahead! There’s also still a few vacancies in case anybody wishes to join us – email applications accepted!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 3

Today’s schedule:
· 6:15 am Meet
· 6: 30 am Hike
· 9:30 Breakfast – granola, yoghurt, fruit
· 10:15 Open gym
· 11:15 am Stretch class
· 12:45 pm Lunch – green chili soup, BBQ chicken pizza (a half slice)
· 1:15 pm Lecture: Breaking eating barriers
· 1:45 pm Open gym
· 2:30 pm Mountain gradated interval training
· 3:30 pm Kick boxing
· 4:30 pm Water aerobics in the pool
· 5:45 pm Dinner – salmon, strawberry shortcake
· 6:15 pm Lecture on different types of eaters

Hike
I moved up a level to moderate intermediate and there were 6 of us plus two guides and we tackled a route named Camel Back, so called because the 1,500 ft high peaks that you can only see with binoculars represent the two humps on a camel’s back. It was our usual 6:30 start and the morning sky was flooded with red tinged cirrus cloud formations hanging low in the distance. Red sky in the morn, sheep be warned. It’s truly spectacular and for one nanosecond wondered what it would be like to live here before we got out of the air-conditioned van and hit the usual barrage of full on hair dryers.
The trail was much tougher this time and the pace a little faster. The slip of a girl guiding us in front who weighed about 24 ounces, slid up and down rocks as if she was moving on an escalator at Heathrow. The rest of us were in the Sharapova grunt parade bringing up the rear. Again amazing rock formations of different kinds of stratified sandstone left behind when the huge lake that covered most of Utah dried up about a gazillion years ago. It had rained briefly during the night and along the way there were lots of little rock pools especially in areas where there were shading overhangs, and a scattering of ponds were inhabited by these tin y frogs that were about the size of a bumble bee.
After about an hour, the rocks the subject of our destination loomed into view (Why do things always “loom” into view? Why don’t they just appear?) I couldn’t believe that we had travelled so far so quickly. The views from the summit were well worth the exertion and this time no signs of civilization for as far as the eye could see in the full 360-degree panorama, and for the first time I could truly appreciate why mountain climbers climb mountains. We descended quite rapidly because one of the great benefits of sandstone (the others escape me for the moment) is that when you’re on the large rocks, it’s quite sticky – it’s the same effect when you pour sand into paint on front door steps to make them non-slip – so you’re shoes never slip even on almost vertical faces. Now the shale, sand, and small rocky surfaces are a completely different matter – you have to watch every step you make. You only have to be off center on one smallish rock and you’re flat on your face. That’s why I’ve never understood the supposed joy of mountain biking – you have to have your eyes totally fixed to a spot about 1 foot in front of your front wheel – there’s no chance of taking a look at the view or that will probably be the last view you take. Anyway, we made it up and down and despite nursing one blister from sand in my shoes, it was well worth it, definitely the most enjoyable part of the day.

Food
The food is a little disappointing and not what I expected although it turns out to be no big deal. Going down to 1200 calories a day, I thought that I would be starving nearly all day, climbing up the walls figuring out how to get to the nearest 7-11, and wondering if I took out a loan on the house it would be enough to bribe the guide to smuggle in a Snickers bar. Quite the opposite happened – we’re so exhausted at the end of the day, it’s hard to get down everything they serve us and most nights we end up leaving some food on the plate. The disappointment in the food was that I thought that there would be more fresh produce and simpler meals. They seem to go to a lot of trouble to make everything from substitutes: soy milk, whole grain this, no salt, and so on. So they end up cooking something and then adding a bunch of chili pepper or cayan pepper to it to “spice” it up but it can’t mask the fact that there really is no flavor there. Today was not too bad – real chicken for lunch and real salmon for dinner in the evening, but most days the concoction is not that great. When you’re feeding 60 people at a time, I guess it’s harder to make things that are more individual.

Close
For those of you wondering where Betsy is, I can reassure you that she has not met any untimely “accident” in the mountains. She is on a different hike schedule on different routes and sometimes takes different exercise classes. She’s enjoying it too and has gone to downtown St. George tonight with a bunch of other guests to do a TARGET run for some things that she forgot to pack. I trust that she will keep on the straight and narrow while outside the compound and I will tell all tomorrow should she slip off the wagon (or is it on the wagon?).

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 2

Today’s schedule:
· 6:15 am Meet
· 6: 30 am Hike
· 9:30 Breakfast – Muffin and fruit
· 10:15 Core strength workshop
· 11:15 am Yoga
· 12:45 pm Lunch – turkey sandwich and salad
· 1:15 pm Cooking demonstration
· 1:45 pm Open gym
· 2:30 pm Cardio intervals
· 3:30 pm Total Training
· 4:30 pm Stretch class
· 5:45 pm Dinner – burrito casserole and 2 chocolate covered strawberries (yehhhhh!)
· 6:15 pm Lecture #2 on calories/carbos/protein

Hike
The hike on Monday was partly on a paved path and partly on the road. Today’s hike was totally off road. I chose one of the easier ones to start with as I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a great hike through wonderful scenery. It was up hill and down gulley, on sand, on river rocks, on rocky outcroppings, sometimes scrambling, sometimes speed-walking depending on the terrain, and it turned out to not be as hard as I expected.

It was a great feeling of accomplishment to make that first major ridge after a couple of miles, with spectacular views over the national park in one direction, and even more “wonderful” views of grotesque St. George subdivisions in the other direction. It’s sad to see the encroachment of civilization (and I use that term very loosely) onto previous pristine land. One of the subdivisions has this huge rock up front to mark the ceremonial entrance to a gated community and I discovered that even the rock is artificial – I can assure everyone that there’s no shortage of rock out here – why they had to create one out of concrete and then spray it red sandstone rock colored I have no idea.

People
There’s an incredible mix of people here – young and old, professionals, white collar-blue collar, East Coast, West Coast. There is no pretense about why we’re all here and no pretentiousness. Target and Wal-Mart t-shirts and shorts are de rigueur, and definitely no “outfits” – so my carefully matched Adidas and Nike sweats will have to remain hidden in my suitcase. There are a lot of really big people around and more power to them that they’re tackling their issues head on. We also have a few “celebrities” – for Biggest Loser fans, Ron’s other son Matt (Ron and Mike were the dad and son from the last season of Biggest Loser) is here. He’s lost a ton of weight and is looking great but still has a way to go. I haven’t talked to him yet – I think that he’s supposed to be here for 3 months and he keeps pretty much to himself. He looks a bit fed up – I think that I would be too if I had to be sequestered in the desert for 3 months without family or friends, and the friends that he does make are normally only here for 2 or 3 weeks. NBC will also be here on Wednesday to film a girl named Erin Egbert, a recent college graduate who auditioned but did not get on the show, to see if she can do it on her own without all the hype and support of the Biggest Loser program. I did not sign up to get on camera as I’m still not quite ready for my closeup!

Close
Almost 8 hours of exercise a day is a really weird way to spend your life. I still haven’t got to grips with it yet, and am already starting to wonder what happens when we return home.

First blister appeared today so I’m carefully tending to that and hoping that it will heal by tomorrow. I was able to keep my footing all through the hike and finished with the leading guide well ahead of the rest of the group, so I’ll be going with a different group on a harder, longer trail at a faster pace tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 1
Up at 5:30 – pitch black and a mild 80 degree morning!

Today’s schedule:
- 6:15 am Meet
- 6: 30 am Hike
- 9:30 Breakfast
- 10:15 Lecture on calorie burning
- 11:45 am Stretch class
- 12:45 pm Lunch/break
- 1:15 pm Workshop on calculating calorie burn
- 2:00 pm Intro to circuit training
- 2:30 pm Circuit training
- 3:30 pm Step class
- 4:30 pm Aerobics in the pool
- 5:30 pm Dinner
- 6:15 pm Lecture on calories/carbos/protein

Hike
The meeting was like a first prom – everybody comparing water bottles and checking out each other’s Camelbak water irrigation systems – but after a briefing on the route, we were off in vans to the foothills. The actual hike was great – 4.5 miles – first couple of miles a fairly gentle climb but undulating so you got to catch your breath every so often on the down side; the last couple of miles however, was a 1,0000 ft climb straight up. I managed a respectable 1 hour 15 minutes with Betsy not far behind for us both to finish in the top third. The scenery of course was spectacular and it was great chatting to everyone that you walked with for a while and either passed or fell behind depending on the pace. There were guides all along the way making sure that you didn’t get lost and it was great to see that final guide at the top of the ridge.
Most people walked part of the way back down the hill (some ran both ways, but we’re ignoring such crash displays of health and energy) and then vans took us back to Fitness Ridge. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and ham on an English muffin with a bowl of fruit – 400 calories. Notwithstanding the exertion, it was surprisingly sufficient.

Lectures/Workshops
The lectures on burning calories and the calorific content of most foods was sobering (well it would have been had we had the good fortune to be drunk). A bit depressing to realize the amount of effort that has to go into burning up all those calories, but we all know it. We all know that 30 minutes on the treadmill burns off only about 100 calories which is much less than glass of orange juice you consume immediately afterwards. One of the trainers had an interesting saying – lose weight at the dinner table; gain fitness in the gym. So, keep exercising but if you really want to lose weight, you really have to eat less.

Exercise Classes
The hike turned out to be the easiest part of the day. The Stretch class was the hardest for me – I’m just so inflexible (as those who have worked with me can attest to) and it didn’t help having india rubber girl as the instructor – just where did her leg go, and will she ever be able to restore it to it’s rightful position in the universe. The Circuit Training was intense with effort spent on 30 different pieces of equipment in one hour. The disco-isn’t-dead Step Class was a hoot as well as John, our Bebe clad instructor, but why does the endless loop of Gloria Gaynor/Donna Summer cover versions have to be so loud? The Water Aerobics class in the pool at the end of the day was great just because we were in the pool, but I had absolutely no control over my legs and arms under water. Have you ever tried to do reverse jumping jacks in the deep end.

Close
Lunch was something on a tortilla. Dinner was chicken and a mysterious sauce over whole grain couscous which Betsy had to miss she was so exhausted and narrowly missed throwing up in the pool, a social faux pas that would have been hard to recover from. I hope that after a long night’s sleep that she’ll be fine for tomorrow.
It’s an interesting experiment: 1200 calories and 6 hours of exercise a day but we’re determined to see it through. My biggest fear is that we’re going to be incredibly boring when we get back. If you thought Prius owners were smug, wait until you meet Fitness Ridge alumni.

Day Zero

Sunday July 19, 2009
The irony was not lost on us as we landed in Las Vegas, city of perpetual indulgence, to travel to the back of beyond for 2 weeks of self-imposed austerity. The stark contrast of that artificial environment revealed itself within a few miles of leaving the city limits where we immediately plunged into the semi-arid desert of Southern Utah. Not a green shoot in sight. Safely cocooned in our air-conditioned bus, we sped through a land of, as Bryson described the Australian Bush, a “featureless nowhere”. However, my misgivings soon gave way to awe as we encountered huge seismic uplifts of sedimentary rock strata, bent and contorted and weathered into wondrous rock formations of red shale and sand dunes petrified millions of years ago.

Could anybody survive out here? My rhetorical question was soon answered as we pulled into the travesty of a town named St. George, which seemed hell bent on rivaling Fresno as the chain restaurant capital of the world with KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pollo this and Pollo that, to name but a few. The architecture was so sad – we could have been anywhere – vernacular (buildings in local materials using local methods) was obviously a style to be eschewed, not embraced.
With much trepidation, we continued to Fitness Ridge itself, and what a blessed relief. The place is beautiful – the modern interpretation of an Aztec/Pueblo look, although neither is indigenous to the region, was at least an attempt to get it right.

The interiors are well laid out, our room is spacious and comfortable, and the South West theme- blankets, weavings, Indian art - worked really well.
We checked in and when I was handed my 100% white cotton robe, I knew that I would be OK! We unpacked and settled in and then went for our weigh in and to get our vitals checked out. Needless to say, we tipped the scales at grade 2 obese – disappointing as last week we had been going for a minimum of grade 3 – and they were not impressed with our philosophical arguments of the weaknesses of BMI, and they certainly did not believe our protestations that we were merely “big boned.” Girth, arm size, thigh size, belly – all were carefully measured as we signed several waivers excusing the staff no matter what long-lasting harm they were about to cause us. We were also given directions to the nearest “InstaCure” – what’s that? Another chain restaurant? Are there no hospitals in Utah? I guess we should at least be grateful that at the InstaCure, there’s no waiting!

Tonight was orientation and the first meal which was surprisingly filling: a bowl of penne pasta and meat sauce with a salad to start (or a desert to end) – quite a change when you think that our normal Italian meal consists of anti-pasta, primi, segundi, and dolcetta, as well as pasta! I guess that we’ve got a lot of re-education to go through. The deal is 1200 calories a day, no typos, 1200. That’s 400 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, and 500 for dinner. Are our bodies going to be going into major withdrawal symptoms or what.

Notwithstanding the 1200 calorie rule, I guess that the biggest thing that hits you here, is the heat: imagine being about 3 feet away from the 12x12 bank of floodlights at Candlestick, and when a breeze blows, imagine attached to each lamp are 144 gigantic hair dryers set to high. I’ve never felt such a hot wind before. I’ll never complain about the Santa Anna or le Mistral again.Our first hike tomorrow is at 6:30 in the morning - reveille at 5:45, before sun up. More to come.

Looking forward to Fitness Ridge in the desert but 110 degrees looks daunting.

Typical schedule looks like:

• 7:00 am Breakfast


• 8:00 am Hike


• 11:30 am Water aerobics


• 12:45 pm Lunch/break


• 1:15 pm Cooking demo


• 2:30 pm Kickboxing


• 3:30 pm Circuit training


• 4:30 pm Stretch


• 5:30 pm Dinner


• 6:15 pm Evening lecture
  

After 7:15, collapse!

Fitness Ridge Prep

Just a few weeks to go and it will be off to Utah for 2 weeks of 100 degree plus heat, at www.fitnessridge.com a regimen of reduced calorie meals, regulated hikes and exercise, and spa without the spa!

Can't wait!