Biggest Loser Update

Many of you have asked for an update on our "Biggest Loser - Couples Style" competition, and you are about to get it, although there will be no before and after pictures posted. This week's weigh-in was the halfway point in the competition. 6 weeks down, 6 weeks to go.......

For the past 4 weeks, Lesley and I had been maintaining first place, but with Lesley out of town and eating out for work, and me home alone and eating out for laziness, we had a bad week. Because this competition is so cutthroat, you can't have a bad week, and Adrienne and Steve passed us up and have taken possession of 1st place. So as it stands right now, Steve & Adge are in 1st, Lesley and I are in a very close 2nd (by 0.4 pounds), and Brad & Mandy are in 3rd. As a group we've lost a total of 75 pounds and it's pretty much 25 pounds per couple. The last couple weeks have been a little difficult for all of us as our bodies have shed some of the easy pounds and it is now becoming tougher to drop weight. Here's a little snippet of how each couple is attacking the challenge:

Adrienne & Steve
They are attacking their weight almost entirely through food to this point. By merely changing what they eat, and how much they eat (portion control) they have taken over first place and have been the most consistent team. Steve even passed on a fried Snickers bar at work last week. Word from Adrienne is that they plan to add more exercise in order to firm up as they continue. Adge & Steve are expected to continue to consistently drop weight each week as the contest progresses.

Trevor & Lesley
We have been using the shotgun approach, changing from one thing to another in order to not get stagnant. We roughly followed Weight Watchers for a few weeks, drank some Slim Fast shakes for breakfast and/or lunch for a few weeks, and have focused on lean proteins and lots of fruits and vegetables. On the exercise side, we've done the traditional things such as running, biking, basketball, weightlifting, etc. as well as the non-traditional, such as Gold's Gym exercise classes and yoga. For those of you who have ever seen one of those classes, you know that the ratio is usually about 97-100% female, so you can imagine what it takes to get me into one of those. More on this in a later post. We've tried to mix it up so that nothing gets too stale and we can keep going, but we've found that the diet is the most important. Even if we work out like crazy, if we eat like crap, we don't lose a lot. Look for us to center our chi, finish strong, and make a run at the title.

Brad & Mandy
Brad & Mandy have been attacking the weight on 2 fronts as well. From the sounds of it, Mandy is pretty much in charge of the food, and Brad is in charge of his exercise. Brad does cardio 5 days a week at 5 a.m. and adds weight lifting 3-4 times a week as well. Both Brad & Mandy have been individual Biggest Losers of the Week at one point or another in the first 6 weeks, and just need to add a little more consistency. With Brad's regimen and Mandy's cuisine, they are poised for a comeback in the second half of the competition. There's still a lot to be lost, both in poundage and percentage-wise. None of us should count them out.

So far this competition has been the best of times and the worst of times. It feels great to have lost 17 pounds, but it stinks to have to eat so much salad and retrain my body to not eat so much. It feels great to walk out of yoga feeling so limber and fresh, but it stinks to feel so gay and awkward standing by buff dudes that are working out while I try to hide the tights under my shorts and wait for aerobics to finish so I can into the exercise room for yoga. But in the end, I'm sure all of this is for the best..............well, except maybe the tights.

You've got the best of my love...

We're throwing it back old school for this Valentine's Day. My Valentine and I are lucky enough to have some dreamy pictures together that span our lives. As you can see from the pictures below, Trevor definitely "got the best of my love."

7th Grade Students of the Year

High School Graduation

Highschool leadership camp.

Halloween during an initial round of dating.

A trip to visit Trevor in CA sophomore year of college.

Tailgating during a "just friends" stage right after college.

I wish I were home this Valentine's Day!! I miss my Valentine!

Wrestle Mania

Lesley seems to think she's pretty tough, so last night while watching tv, she challenged me to a wrestling match. I accepted the challenge. When she went upstairs to change I quickly grabbed my camera and set it up to record. She did not know I was recording the whole ordeal. What surprised me most was how her toughness quickly gave way to serious concern about whether I was going to hurt her. But I still consider her tough, despite her hesitation. After all, she did "take me down".........

2008 Biggest Loser - Couples Style

It was a combination of 2 things - 1) getting fat and 2) becoming addicted to the show Biggest Loser - that led us to this place...the place of needing to become contestants on our own version of The Biggest Loser - Couples Style. Yes, that's correct, Trevor and I were able to sucker two other couples in our family to complete in this event. Evan and Whitney and Meredith and Brandon wanted to join the competition, but we decided there had to be a combined total weight of at least 200 pounds - sorry guys, maybe next year...hopefully not though, for your sake.

Event duration: January 6th - March 31st.

Goal: Lose the combined highest percentage of body weight.

Prize: $50 from the two losing couples.

Trevor and I need a little something to get us in gear because of the slight post-marriage influx our weight has gone through (20 pounds...plus...in 5 months for the hubby). We do always say go big or go home in this family, but when it starts to impact your health it's time to come up with a new motto.

We have a blog that is tracking everyone's progress - sorry readers, for invitees only. It highlights weekly weight loss, "before photos," and self-given nicknames.

For those that are dying for a sneak peak - here are a few items found on the blog...

Nicknames (self-given):
Trevor - Porkchops
Lesley "I never was lean" Winn
Brad "It's not flubber, it's blubber" Winn
Mandy "Ba-donk-a-donk butt" Winn

Starting weights:
Steve weighs 75 lbs. more than his wife.
Trevor weights 100 lbs. more than his wife.
Brad weighs 3 times his wife's weight.

Now, Trevor and I are just trying to stick in our own competition. Rumor has it Steve is refusing all deserts and Brad wakes up at 4:30 am to exercise everyday. This could be a tight race. I'm just happy to share an emotional bond with the real life Biggest Loser contestants, so now when I cry every week while watching it I'll feel like it is justified, unlike the previous 10 plus weeks that I shed tears during the episodes. It just makes me so happy, tears of joy.

Please vote on who you think will take this years Winn/Bjorkman/Winn Biggest Loser...and wish us all luck!

Wannabe Photographers

Inspired by Meredith's post and pretty bored with Lesley out of town for work, I thought I'd get my blog on and share some photos Les and I have taken over the last while. Someday we'll take a class and attempt to get up to the level of Marci Romney. These will have to do for now. They are in reverse chronological order with the exception of the last pic.

Snow pictures at a park in Draper

Seals at Pier 39 in San Francisco

Dallas Ohler skiing at Bear Lake

Sunrise and Sunset in Caribbean

Classic Ute fan we found golfing - Friend of David & Theresa's?
(my favorite thing is his mullet....Lesley prefers the thug-style Air Jordans he's wearing. I wish the pictures showed the cigarettes he smoked at each tee box)

Shots Lesley took while on a work trip in Puerto Rico

My beautiful wife
(Come home Les.....I miss you!)

Rain & Refs Ugly Up Game for Pretty in Pink

It was a wet and gloomy day in Provo on Friday night as Pretty in Pink lost in the championship of the D-2 women's flag football tournament. All year long Pretty in Pink has destroyed their opponents on the strengths of their athleticism, skill, and finesse. These strengths were mitigated on Friday however by a monsoon and the worst refs I've ever seen in intramural history. (At one point, I threatened to turn one of them into the Honor Code Office for what I viewed as blatant dishonesty. My threats had no effect.) Pretty in Pink was clearly the more athletic and attractive team on the field, but they couldn't overcome the elements and the officiating and lost 2-0 and 6-0 in the double elimination tournament (yes, they lost the first game on a safety).

The rain was relentless, and the game was stopped time after time because the above pictured ref liked the sound of his own whistle. The refs completely took over the game and didn't allow the girls to play. It was disappointing to see a normally beautiful offense muddied up by the conditions, both human and natural, but I feel that we all know which was really the better team. After the game their were some tears shed, hugs exchanged, and harsh words passed on to the ref, but when reflecting a day later, it is evident that it was an exciting season for Pretty in Pink. A season in which junior standout Meredith Winter dominated both offensively and defensively. The domination for which she receives my award as Flag Football Player of the Year.

Meredith Winter: Player of the Year
Whether it was making leaping grabs in the endzone, running a reverse for a TD, or taking a pick back to the house, Meredith was the main playmaker for Pretty in Pink. In several games this year she scored all of her teams points and single-handedly led them to victory. Her agility, grace, and competitive nature are envied by all, but rivaled by none. As only a junior, Mrs. Winter has vowed to work hard in the off-season and come back even stronger next year. She attributes much of her success to her teammates, her husband Brandon, and her siblings and their spouses. "You know, I just couldn't do it without them," says Winter, "They give me strength to achieve the impossible. They're everything to me." And accomplish the impossible she has. Who would have ever imagined that this young woman from Albany, Oregon would grow up to become the player of the year? Kudos to you Meredith Winter, the 2007 Flag Football Player of the Year, kudos.

As for the rest of the team.....most of them will return for next season. Although they fell just short this year, the future is bright for this group of young women. The potential and expectations are high, but high expectations don't bother Meredith or the rest of the team at all. I think Bronco Mendenhall put it best when he said, "the best is yet to come."


Below are a few other photos from the game.

The Challenge

As I sit to write this post I'm realizing that Trevor and I like to pose challenges to each other. I'm not really sure where it came from. I know my older sister poses "challenges" to Trevor and I on occasion (taking their family portrait for example), maybe that's where it came from...who knows. But anyways...back to the challenge at hand.

Shortly after getting married Trevor challenged me to decorate our house using only garage sales, thrift stores, free stuff lying on the side of the road, etc., etc., etc. (I should note, this is not including items like beds/mattresses, couches, things that can't really be re-vamped) So, as I would any challenge, I accepted. However, I would almost dare say that Trevor has taken more ownership of this challenge than I. Home decorating seems to be yet another one of his "things."

The financials are as follows:

Coffee table at local garage sale (found by Trevor) - $5
Paint stripper - $12
Paint stripping utensils - $4
Black Beluga paint - $12
Sand paper - $4

Cost of coffee table made TV stand = $39 (this is a very sturdy TV stand, not the fifteen-dollar-will-break-when-you-sit-on-it-and-wobbles-when-you-walk-by-it-end-table-from-IKEA-stand.)

Below are pictures of the completed project and steps it took to get there. (side note: I did contribute to the physical labor portion of this project, it was just not recorded seeing as how I was the historian)

Expect more posts soon of our other finished projects...