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July 21, 2010
Apply for Austin's version of Biggest Loser contest
Update: The Parhams will launch the contest at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at the Westlake Performing Arts Center, 4100 Westbank Drive. (No appearance at PromiseLand West.)
Need a little extra motivation to reach your weight loss goals?
Austin is getting its own version of “The Biggest Loser” contest.
Phil and Amy Parham, former contestants on the NBC television reality show, will help kick off the “Becoming Austin’s Biggest Loser” contest — described as a six-week journey of physical and spiritual renewal — on Aug. 1.
Fifty Austin contestants will be chosen to participate in the contest, hosted by RunTex and PromiseLand West. Each one will get a medical assessment, nutrition plan and personal trainer.
To apply to be a contestant, go here. Click on the Biggest Loser logo to download an application.
Each contestant who completes the free six-week contest gets free running shoes from RunTex. The winner gets a wellness gift package that includes a gym membership and gift certificates worth more than $2,000.
The Parhams will launch the contest at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Westlake Performing Arts Center, 4100 Westbank Drive.
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January 12, 2010
Austin mom, son featured in People Magazine
Have you seen People magazine lately?
An Austin mother and her son are featured in the Jan. 11 “Half Their Size” issue, which features stories about people who have shed massive amounts of weight. Diane Cantu, 51, and her son Michael collectively dropped more than 300 pounds.
Diana Cantu, 51, says she lost 195 pounds by walking and doing the Jenny Craig program. Her son Michael lost 108 pounds by eating Lean Cuisine meals and starting lifting weights.
The Cantus are making the media rounds. Besides the magazine article, they appeared on the Today show and Entertainment Tonight last week.
Go here to check out the Today show’s coverage.
Cantu, who works at AT&T Labs, says she didn’t cook and was completely sedentary when her weight peaked at 333 pounds. Today she walks regularly around her neighborhood, golfs and has even tried rock climbing. She weighs 142 pounds.
Congrats!
I know lots of Austin folks have fitness success stories to share. What’s yours? How did you do it?
Post your story here.
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October 25, 2009
Win a free heavyweight yoga DVD
Abby Lentz wants you to know that yoga isn’t only for the pretzel thin.
Lentz, 61 and plus-sized herself, teaches heavyweight yoga here in Austin. She’s just released her second instructional DVD, “Change the Image of Yoga.”
She sent over three copies of the DVD for me to give away. Want one? Post here and I’ll pick three winners in a few days.
The new DVD features Lentz plus eight of her Austin students on the mat, demonstrating their yoga practice and sharing inspirational stories. Among them are Marie, an 82-year-old cancer survivor; Chris, a 47-year-old who’s had five knee surgeries; and Sharon, a 39-year-old woman who is super-sized.
Lentz’s message? Anyone can be fit and flexible, regardless of shape or size.
Lentz weighs 232 pounds and teaches a modified style of yoga aimed at other people of size or those with limited flexibility and mobility. The moves are slower paced and sometimes use props. With the DVD, they can be done in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
“It’s about giving people a way to recover their health, regardless of their size or circumstance,” Lentz says.
The DVD sells for $16.95 and is available at http://www.HeavyWeightYoga.com or on Amazon. For more information about Lentz, go here.
And remember. To win a copy of the DVD, post a comment on this blog.
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September 15, 2009
Out of Control Fat Roll!
Last spring, four young professionals in Austin griped that their jeans were too tight. They complained about failed diets, office snacks and weight that kept creeping up.
They were out of control!
What to do?
Determined to whip their unwanted expansions into shape, they launched a friendly competition. They became the Out of Control Fat Roll gang, hatched a blog, opened a Facebook page and started a Twitter account. They would make exercise a part of their lifestyle and kick junk food to the curb.
“Four girls unite because their jeans are too tight,” they screamed.
But they needed incentive. Real incentive.
So Jenni Balthrop, 27; Meredith Budwin, 26; Ashley Sparger, 26; and Kristine Gloria, 25; added some motivation.
Whoever lost the greatest percentage of weight by Oct. 6 would get a new pair of (hopefully smaller, sexier) jeans — purchased by the other three. The loser — and this is harsh — would have her photo taken in a bikini and posted on the blog.
This was serious.
They drafted spreadsheets. They scheduled office weigh-ins and began charting their weight publicly, on their blog and on a sheet posted in the office kitchen where two of the women work.
They made public confessions when they had what they termed failures — indulgences in unhealthy food or skipped workouts. They created their own lingo and drafted wanted posters for Fatroll Offenders — people who brought unhealthy food to the office.
“We’ve had huge support from friends, family and coworkers,” Budwin says.
They joined boot camps and organized weekend runs, took pilates and yoga. They even organized a team for the upcoming Silicon Labs marathon relay.
And they’ve found a supportive following in blogosphere with their updates at www.outofcontrolfatroll.com, which tracks their weekly progress. Their (very hilarious) Twitter account is at @fatroll.
“When you put yourself out there publicly, it makes you very approachable. It’s amazing the support you get,” says Sparger, who wears a pedometer on her left pump.
So far, they’ve each shed between 7 and 15 pounds.
“We’re not striving to be super models, we just want to reach a healthy body mass index,” Balthrop says.
The final weigh in is Thursday, Oct. 8.
After that? A maintenance round to get them through the holidays.
We’ll keep you posted.
Any tips for the Fat Roll girls?
The photo above shows the gang. From left to right, that’s Meredith Budwin, Jenni Balthrop, Ashley Sparger and Kristine Gloria. Beautiful, aren’t they?
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December 30, 2008
Holiday weight gain
Have you gained weight over the holidays?
You may have a few more parties on your schedule, so here are some tips from Austin fitness guru Nina Rowan of Rowan Health Concepts, on how to avoid putting on extra pounds:
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Stay focused and present in your body. Many people gain the “seasonal seven” during the holidays, but the truth is most of us could stand to lose at least that much going into the holidays. Keep that in mind and you’re less likely to overindulge.
- Tune into your body. Our bodies continually give us cues as to what we need, but few of us really listen to them. Staying present lets you acknowledge the fact that you are at capacity — in terms of how much you need to accomplish in a day. Nina’s advice is to listen to your body, don’t check out and over eat out of habit, anxiety or skipping meals that should be healthy and stabilizing. Most people don’t recognize true hunger in their bodies but are actually responding to various emotions when they chose to eat.
- Stay focused on your personal goals. If you’re going to a holiday party, ask why you’re actually going. Are you there to reconnect with people, meet with new people or network? If you keep the focus on why you’re going, you can avoid overindulging and concentrate on what you’re doing.
- Having a strategy ensures success. If over eating is your struggle, eating a healthy meal before you go out will keep you from making bad choices when you’re presented with an array of holiday treats. Ordering a Perrier for your second and third drink might not be your usual style, but once you’ve tested the waters and realize how many calories you’ve avoided, it’s easier to do it again and again.
- Change “I can’t” into “I did.” Times when you don’t feel like doing what is best for your body provide an opportunity to break through old patterns. You have to go against your natural tendency to resist change. Once you realize how often you’ve avoided change by telling yourself why you can’t do something, you can harness the same mental power to tell yourself why you can and will do something.
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