It just keeps getting worse
obesity, diet, exercise, hiking, bicycling
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Obesity rates just keep rising in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control have announced.
According to the Centers' weekly morbidity and mortality report, more than a quarter of Americans admitted to being obese in a 2007 survey. That represented an increase of 1.6 percentage points since the last survey in 2005.
Even worse, in some southern states, the obesity rate was as high as 30 percent. It seems that southern cooking with its emphasis on fried foods is really taking its toll.
At the other end of the spectrum, Coloradans can pat themselves on the back for perennially having the lowest obesity rate, 19 percent. Evidently with all that gorgeous Rocky Mountain scenery to hike through and lots of bike trails, people in Colorado are motivated to get off their butts and exercise.
Let's hope that the rising cost of gas will have a bright side: Maybe people will have an incentive to leave the car home and walk or ride their bicycles more. Dare we hope?
Here's a link to the CDC report:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5728a1.htm
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on 7/18/2008
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2.9
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And the winner is....
weight loss, biggest loser, exercise, diet
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The results are in! The winner of The Star-Ledger's Biggest Loser Challenge is Tom Feeney, who lost an astounding 49 pounds in three months. That was about 20 percent of his starting weight!
As his prize, Tom won an extra week of paid vacation, a six-month gym membership, and $10 for each pound lost, for a total of $490! Tom lost the weight on a combination of healthy eating, exercise and lifestyle changes.
Second prize winner Pat Turner lost 8.4 percent of her body weight. Five other participants, Peter Barash, Jack DaSilva, Vinessa Erminio, Brian Levy and Beverly Reid exceeded their weight loss goals. These seven people together lost 176 pounds.
Of the 59 people who initially signed up for the challenge, 27 attended enough weigh-ins to qualify for recognition. Altogether they lost 407 pounds!
Thanks to Mona Rowe and Monique Alston of The Star-Ledger's Human Resources Department for organizing this challenge. They hope to start another one in the fall. I'm looking forward to coaching again!
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on 7/10/2008
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7.6
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Healthy munching
munchmobile, diet, exercise
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It's ironic that my latest update of The Star-Ledger's Biggest Loser Challenge coincides with the launch of the Munchmobile, the paper's annual celebration of overeating.
The Munchmobile, a k a the Big Dog, is a customized van topped with a huge hot dog. Each week during the summer months, reporter Pete Genovese takes a crew of half a dozen selected readers on a tour of casual dining establishments around New Jersey. On each tour, they visit half a dozen restaurants that share some common theme: It might be Italian one week, seafood another, breakfast another. At the end of the trip, each of the "Guest Munchers" is ready for gastric bypass surgery.
Last Thursday, this year's version of the Munchmobile was unveiled with great hoopla. The giant hot dog was paraded through the newsroom to the accompaniment of a local high school band, then marched up to the roof of the parking garage where it was mounted on top of the Big Dog. And all the employees were treated to a free lunch of ... you guessed it ... hot dogs!
Summer is a time when we all have healthy appetites. After all, we're spending more time outdoors, doing yard work, and, lets hope, playing harder. Jumping into the waves Down the Shore, or enjoying a good softball game or a hike in the mountains, works off calories and entitles you to a little self-indulgence, maybe a cold beer or an ice cream cone once in a while. But it's not an excuse to completely pig out.
With warm weather at hand, take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are coming into season. Visit your local farm market and enjoy the fresh locally grown produce. Get as much of the healthy stuff into your diet before you allow yourself some guilty pleasures. And take advantage of the longer days and warm weather to get outside for a walk, a run or a bike ride.
Ironically the Big Dog launch took place on the very spot where I have been conducting n... read entire entry
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on 5/21/2008
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11.9
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Biggest Loser Jersey
weight loss, weightlifting, diet, yoga, spinning
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Permit me to introduce myself. I'm Jim Berrie, and by day I'm a mild-mannered copy editor for The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's biggest daily newspaper. Outside of work, I'm working on getting my certification as a personal trainer. Three years ago, at the age of 53, I weighed 225 and was on meds for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. I got on a serious fitness regimen that emphasized freeweights, and in a little over a year I lost 60 pounds and got off all three meds. Since I've been able to keep the weight off, I want to help other people lose weight.
In addition to becoming a personal trainer, I will be serving as a coach for a Biggest Loser afflilate club being launched by The Star-Ledger for its staff. We expect to have the program up and running in early April. On this blog I hope to share some of my own experiences in weight loss and fitness, as well as success stories from The Star-Ledger's Biggest Loser program.
Although I usually labor anonymously behind the scenes, I have a rare byline in tomorrow's Star-Ledger. Unless Britney Spears does something outrageous today that bumps my story out of the paper, my story about Jenn Widder, one of the contestants in the current "Biggest Loser: Couples" season will be running on the cover of the Today section. Jenn lives in the same town I do, River Edge, N.J., and she has kindly offered to come and speak to our Biggest Loser club. Jenn was eliminated from the show in Week 5 after having lost 31 pounds, and since then she has lost another 31, as she continues to work out six days a week full time. She should be an inspiration to anyone battling a weight problem. For those of you who don't live in The Star-Ledger's circulation area, the story should be posted on nj.com, and I hope to provide a link on this blog tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you. Stay tuned!
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on 2/27/2008
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10.7
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