Monday, January 16, 2006 9:54 AM CST
‘Fit to Print’ ready to vacuum, eat broccoli, chug water for health
BY BILL LAIR, Managing Editor
Today marks the kickoff of the “Biggest Loser Challenge” as part of the Reshaping Coles fitness program in Coles County.
The Journal Gazette and Times-Courier team is ready to kick butt in the competition that tracks participants’ physical activity, eating habits and water intake for the next 15 weeks.
You may have read about the program (and apparently many of you did because organizers said they were swamped with calls for information after our front-page article of Jan. 9). Individuals and teams hoping to live a better lifestyle will be trying to develop healthy habits over the next couple months that could lead to a lifetime of improved health.
The newspaper team consists of the fit and not-so-fit, male and female, young adults and old-timers, such as me. We wrestled with ideas for a team name.
We considered “The Ink Spots” and “Jogging Journalists” or “JG/TC Headliners” or “Paper-Trained,” among others.
We settled on “Fit to Print” with this starting lineup:
Publisher Carl Walworth, advertising director Tammy Jordan, features editor Beth Heldebrandt, Kim Bowe from circulation, Dave Claypool and Sara Harder from graphic arts, Karen Collier of customer service, Lacia Douglas and Martha Mills of the advertising department, photo technician Stephen Haas, news clerk Marilyn Parsley, staff writer Nathaniel West, copy editor Tim Zgonina and yours truly.
I hope, after seeing our impressive team, other organizations don’t back out of participating in the challenge!
The “Biggest Loser Challenge” will crown individual and team winners in three categories at the end of the 15 weeks
-- “Couch Potato” (activity points)
-- “Junk Food Addict” (fruit and vegetable points)
-- “Caffeineoholic” (water intake)
The newspapers plan to print weekly updates on team and individual progress in the contest, and it should be interesting to see who eats the most broccoli, spinach and lima beans in the coming weeks.
Participants can get activity points for more than just walking and jogging.
The approved list of activities includes such things as mowing the lawn and softball, although I’ll be suspicious if those activities show up on any participants’ lists in the first eight weeks of the program.
Volleyball, dancing, digging, stair climbing and scrubbing floors(!) are some other examples of physical activity that can provide points.
Notably absent from the list was vacuuming.
I have been the vacuumer at our house for years. While I haven’t scrubbed many floors, I believe I vacuum with as much vigor as any floor scrubber and will certainly appeal to the Reshaping Coles czars to include my weekly vacuum time as qualifying physical activity minutes.
It’s all in fun but the intention is serious — improve the health of Coles County residents. Obesity is a problem in Coles and all over the country. People aren’t as physically active as they once were.
Reshaping Coles is trying to reverse that trend.
“We want to encourage activity in multiple forms,” said Becky Barnett, a member of the Reshaping Coles board. “We are trying to create healthier habits. Our audience is very broad.”
In that last sentence, Barnett unintentionally addressed many of us who signed up for the challenge!
It’s great that a number of individuals, businesses and organizations are participating in the Biggest Loser Challenge.
After 15 weeks of regular physical activity, eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water instead of some other beverages, the “Fit to Print” team members hope that it becomes a habit.
Journal Gazette/Times-Courier readers said their No. 1 New Year’s resolution, according our JG/T-C Web site poll, is to lose weight and exercise more.
A news story said New Year’s resolutions generally last about two weeks.
The Biggest Loser Challenge is starting just about two weeks after New Year’s Day. This is the time some people need support with their New Year’s resolution.
Participating in a program such as The Biggest Loser Challenge may help people stick with their resolution through the spring.
And studies show that if you repeat some action for a month, it becomes a habit.
Let’s see how long it takes to develop an appetite for cauliflower.
We’ll keep you posted.
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