Two Pounds per Week

Peter Richards has been steadily losing 2 pounds per week for the past 52 weeks.  That’s over 100 lbs in the last year!  Congratulations Pete!

Fortunately for us, Pete has been kind enough to share his formula for success:

100 lbs. ago

My brother Thom motivated me to join the Ice Chamber. However, it was my brother Mike that may have given me the most motivation. When I signed up for the Ice Chamber in June of 2009 at 319lbs my initial primary goal was to lose weight. When I tried to tell Mike about joining the Ice Chamber he said, “You always get excited about a new way of getting in shape but don’t follow through. Don’t talk to me about it until you have done it for a year.” He was right. I decided to switch my primary goal from losing weight to attending three bootcamp classes a week for a year. Focusing on this goal over an entire year helped me make sure that every change I made was small enough to be sustainable. Those small sustainable changes have added up to 102 lbs lost, a reduction in body fat from 37% to 22% and most importantly the ability to do a pull-up for the first time in my life.

The following are some of the changes I’ve made:

The mind:
I read a book by Judith S. Beck called “The Beck Diet Solution”. The book walks you through a six-week plan that is not based on any specific diet but rather focused on the mental side of weight maintenance. In the end I used many but not all of her cognitive therapy techniques and found them very helpful with just about every aspect of transitioning to a healthier lifestyle.

The calories:
I found a free app for the iphone called Loseit. It helps you log your calories, track your weight and set weight loss goals. You enter your age/sex/height/current weight. You then set a target weight goal and the rate at which you want to lose weight (.5lb increments up to 2 lbs/week). The program tells you how many calories you need to eat to reach that goal. To make the task seem less daunting I set my first goal for 315lbs.After I reached that goal I reset it for 310 and continued at 5lb increments. For me these smaller weight goals provided more motivation and focus because they seemed more conceivable and achievable. In the past year I’ve never gained weight when I’ve accurately logged my calories.

The food:
I’ve radically altered what I eat in the past in an attempt to lose weight. Every time I’m able to keep it up for a period of weeks or even months, but I eventually get burned out and revert to my preferred types and quantities of food. This time, however, having a yearlong goal meant I couldn’t make radical changes in what I was eating. I instead focused on balancing how much of what I prefer to eat (aka portion control) with the number of calories I needed to maintain my weight. For me, eating less quantity of food I truly want to eat is more sustainable than making major changes to what I eat. That being said I’ve made many small healthier choices in my diet.

The exercise:
The Ice Chamber has been key to me balancing my health. By committing to three days a week (m,w,f) I’ve created anchors that hold my week in place physically and mentally. The intensity, variety and team focus of the bootcamp workouts make you think about your health before, during and after the workout. It especially helps with refocusing after the weekend or when you feel like you aren’t making progress. Seeing your body getting stronger is also an incredible motivator.

Today, Pete is flexible, strong, and light on his feet.

As I come to the end of my first year at the Ice Chamber, I’m thankful to Mike and Thom for the motivation. I’m also thankful for the positive environment the Ice Chamber provides. I’m excited about continuing my progress and can’t wait to see what another year will bring.

-Pete