Friday, April 1, 2011

Biggest Loser Ranch - Fitness Ridge - March 6 -13

Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge
Malibu, California

This week was INCREDIBLE! 

The food was awesome, the lectures great, the program pushed me to go harder, faster and longer than I thought I could.  I totally loved it all.  Yes, there were moments:  A few very annoying people, a couple of classes that were less than productive and the exhaustion from rushing back and forth all day long.  BUT, the staff was so great, the people I met were unforgettable and the experience will last me forever!

Pictures First...........
 








I will start here with a typical day:  (all meals equal ~ 1200 calories per day)

6am - Stretch class (this sometimes is not so much stretch as it is a full cardio workout)
7am - Breakfast - always yummy!
8 am - Hikes ( 2 to 2 1/2 hours of exploring the Malibu landscape at a very quick clip!)
11 am - Stretch
12 pm - Lunch - The Soups are incredible!! Always less than 75 calories. Followed by a great meal.
12:45 - Lecture Series (Nutrition, Psychology, Peak Training, Etc)
2:00 - Mountain Cardio Class - VERY HARD
3:00 - H2O - Pool Cardio Class
4:00 - Circuit Class
5:30 - Dinner - Not one meal that I didn't like or was not totally satisfied.
6:15 - Lecture (Cooking, Planning, Balance)
7:15 - Back to your room for showers, relaxation (in my case work), a little TV or reading
9:30 - The latest I was able to stay up for my entire week. I was exhausted...In a really good way!

So, for the results!  I lost 7 pounds during my week.  I lost another 3 pounds within 3 days of leaving the ranch. For a TOTAL of 10 lbs.  I burned about 17,000 calories during the week. We had full workouts Monday - Friday and a half day on Saturday.  That equals almost a pound a day loss just with exercise.

When you "Graduate" from the ranch they give you all these pictures on CD and a DVD.  The DVD is so great!  I will see if I can find a way to share it here. It is pretty long about 15 minutes or so.

Cool things that I experienced there:

1- Saw a commerical being filmed on Malibu Beach
2- Did Marine Style clap push-ups with Sam (Biggest Loser Season 9) - He is now a trainer at the resort and he is HOT!
3 - Saw Mel Gibson's Church
4- Cruised by THE BACHELOR house
5- Ran at 9.8 on the treadmill for 1 minute
6 - Finished the Zuma Hike with Tracy and the Hiking Guide and then walked back to the resort in under 2 hours.  No one has ever walked back.  We were done so quickly we didn't want to wait for the van.
7 - Competed in swimming with a former professional (male) swimmer...I came so close to beating him!
8 - Met some of the most incredible people ever!
9 - Did NOT get bit by a HUGE rattlesnake
10 - Regained my inner ATHLETE!

Now for Hiking Pictures. I would love to share the video. If I can figure out how to do it, I will post it later.  It is REALLY Good!!

Here is the Rattlesnake that I brushed on during a hike.  I hit his tail and his head came out to see what wassup?!!  See the rattle in the picture - this snake was at least 6 feet and was BIG!!!  I circled where his head came up ...



We stepped back and tried to figure out what it was, I did not know it was a snake at first.  Then he came out ready to strike!  The picture is "shaky" for a couple of reasons!!!  He stayed in this position for at least 30 seconds if not more and then finally took off!  My hiking guide and I were both totally amazed!




These next pictures are of the hikes.
















So, If you ever want to do a different kind of vacation...I would highly suggest this vacation. It truly invigorated me, helped me to gain balance in my life and left so many awesome memories that I am already thinking about going back!

~ Happy, Healthy and Harmonized!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Weekend # 9 - 3/6/11 - The Biggest Loser @ Fitness Ridge - Malibu

Well, here I am in my room at the Biggest Loser Fitness Camp.  I am here for a week.  I checked in tonight.  Had dinner, orientation and jumped on some cardio equipment.  The first day starts tomorrow at 6 am - with classes, hikes, lectures and meals all ending at 7 pm.  So, I will be working out for about 7 hours per day.  I am super psyched to do this.  It is time for me to continue to get some balance in my life.  I love my job but the travel, pressure and hard work has definitely impacted my personal growth.  So, I aim to modify that!  Starting on my birthday!

Here is my room...

Here is one picture of the grounds.  I will add more as the week progresses...


Here is my one kitty Lightning - missing me already!

(I put a feather on his head because he wanted to look glam!)

Look for more updates during my week here!  It is 9:00 pm, I am going to go to bed!

~S

Weekend # 8 - 2/26/11 - Palm Springs

So my cousin Chanel decided to get some sun time and escape the Seattle weather.  She stayed with my cousin Ashley who lives in Venice.  We all hooked up on Saturday and drove down to Palm Springs.  The traffic wasn't too bad.  The weird thing is there are all this Dinosaur statues along the way.  I have to assume this was big Dinosaur land.  It certainly looks like a place that the Dinosaurs would have lived.  I didn't get any pics of the dinos but I will be back to Palm Springs in a few weeks for a tennis tournament, so I will be sure to get more pictures on this trip.

Next cool thing, is all the wind turbines.  I heard that Palm Springs is *maybe* the second windiest city in the country or maybe the world?

Ashley - Doing the driving!

Followed by Chanel - being the goof!

The cool Wind Turbines

We stayed at the Ace Hotel.  Very cool place!


By Recommendation: Ashley and I went to each brunch at Cheeky's.  Well, everyone else got the same recommendation.  We waited as long as we could and then headed back to the hotel to eat in the retro diner.

I will explore more when I am in Palm Springs again on the 18th- 19th.  The problem is I will not be able to get there until around 7pm on Friday and I have to leave right after the tennis tournament on Saturday because I am flying out to Park City in the morning on the 20th.

I have a crazy month ahead of me.  Today is my birthday!  You can check the next post and see where I am.  I will be here all week.  Then Vail, Ogden, UT, Palm Springs, Park City and San Antonio.  Phew!

Thanks for reading!!!

~ S


Weekend # 7 - 2/18/11 - Atlanta Road Trip on my way to Sandestin, FL

This week started off great with Brenda coming in to visit and not make Valentines so bleak.  We had fun hanging out and catching up.  Then it was off to Atlanta for the weekend before my business meeting in Sandestin, FL.  Not very LA, but this is my life.

Here is the gang back in the ATL:  After hanging with my friend Dana and her wee little ones. I headed to Angie's Surprise 40th birthday.  She was definitely surprised!  Then staying at Casa de Bush, always a pleasure!  Finally, Sunday -Funday Brunch at Einsteins.  Just like the old times!

The hizz-ouse!


Hanging with the gang on Sunday!



Hilton Sandestin.  It was under some construction but it didn't really matter as we had ZERO free time and never left the inside of the property! Wah!


I returned to LA on Thursday night after 1 am.  But, no rest for the weary.  Saturday meant Palm Springs with my cousins Ashley and Chanel!

~S



Weekend # 6 -2/11/11 - Santa Monica Farmers Market

Sorry for the delay in my posts.  I have been so busy with work and travel. I found some tips on how to send an alert to people when I update my blog.  I plan to work on this over the next few days.

Anyway, this weekend was very busy so I decided to not travel too far from home.  I road my bike down the beach to the Santa Monica Farmers Market.  It was a medium sized market.  There we definitely some tasty items for sale.


My favorite picture is the oranges.  Turned out very cool!

So, on my way back to my bike, I saw a very curious thing.  As I approached closer, I had to chuckle to myself.  Only in California is it perfectly acceptable to make a hat out of a newspaper and proudly wear it.  I found it very endearing and creative.  Plus, you know you have found your soul-mate when you agree to sit next to someone with a newspaper hat on.

So, short but ultimately sweet for this weekend.