Believe it or not, but I competed in the Biggest Loser. Okay, it’s not the one you are thinking of, but is the wellness program by the same name that we ran on Celebrity Cruise ships. However, when the word started to spread that the new T&D had been ‘on the Biggest Loser’ the confusion in some crew members faces was priceless. Just like any community communication does not always spread quickly or evenly. So, there was one Central European waitress who was particularly memorable in her response. She stopped me while walking across a guest area and asked if it was true that I was in the Biggest Loser. When I affirmed that fact, thinking only of our wellness program, she went on in a mixture of disbelief and admiration as to what I had achieved as I was no longer one of those ‘huge people.’ No matter how hard I tried to explain the Biggest Loser program on the ship, she still couldn’t understand. I ended that conversation with a new ‘fan’ and an insight into future communication across native languages on the ship. They were always going to be subject to gross misunderstanding.
But I was in the Biggest Loser, Celebrity style. This was a two-month wellness program that we conducted for any crew member who wished to focus on getting into better shape. Laura, as HR Manager, was point person for the program and she did a great job of gaining the partnership of the Fitness Center and Spa Managers. Alan, who ran the fitness center, agree to conduct the initial and intermediate ‘weigh ins,’ which also included body fat analysis. He and his assistant Laura (a different one) would also offer spinning and other workout classes, in addition to talks on proper nutrition. Other spa employees stepped up to offer to teach Zumba and Yoga, and the Acupuncture Therapist offered his services, as well.
Since you can only be successful with a proper diet, the Crew Mess Chef agreed to add a Biggest Loser Wellness station with ‘healthy options’ at each lunch and dinner. It took us only a couple of weeks to realize that Chef’s concept of what was healthy was different than ours, as while the food was especially good, it often had a higher fat content than anything else in the mess. No matter, it was a sign that the whole ship was getting behind this program. But, of course, as with any exercise of self-improvement program, the initial interest gives way to inertia, and out of the original three dozen who had expressed interest, only about ten kept going throughout.
And I was one of them. I knew that I would need help in maintaining a healthy lifestyle onboard ship, especially with so much food available all the time. So, I signed up on the first day. At my initial weigh in I was told that my goal was to lose 4 pounds and 1.7% body fat. Total. For the entire two month program. Of course, I had a leg up on this for in the three months prior to joining the ship I had lost 24 pounds. So, for me, the key was maintenance and continuing to change my body composition. I must admit that I was too rigorous in my efforts, although with walking anywhere from six to fifteen miles a day around the ship I didn’t need to be. I did hit the gym a few times and continues to fill at least half my plate with vegetables. When we got to the first weigh-in at the end of month one, I had lost precisely 4 pounds and 1.7% body fat. Done. Except that there was one more month to go.
An interesting thing happened in month two. I lost two more pounds, but actually gained back one percent body fat! Apparently, my lifestyle was starting to consume muscle more than fat. It was a great reminder that all parts of this puzzle must be kept in balance.
The winners were far more impressive. The top two prizes went to two crew members who both lost over 25 pounds and between 6 and 8 percent body fat in just two months! Several other crew members had excellent results. Not only did the winners take home nice cash prizes, but they created a new motivation for others who now want to know when we will run Biggest Loser again! I wonder if I should join . . .
And the adventure continues . . .
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