1200 calories per day.  This may be the hardest part of my stay here at Fitness Ridge.  1200 calories is just not much food, but I can attest that one can live on this small amount – at least for two weeks.  I’m still alive. To give you some perspective on what 1200 calories is, [...]

Acupuncture. I’ve been skeptical about this procedure for years: sticking  needles in your body and miraculously feeling better.  What a joke.  But I’m not laughing anymore. Three years ago, I hyper-extended my left knee on a grueling hike in the Pecos Mountains of New Mexico.  Since then, I have been unable to run or hike [...]

I’m enjoying the end of my 30-hour weekend break at the Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge Resort in Ivins, Utah.  It was physically the hardest week I have ever experienced in my entire life.  6 mountain hikes of 6-8 miles. 17 hours in the gym and 5 hours in the pool.  1200-1400 calories of food per [...]

Don’t be deceived.  This may look resort-ish…but it’s not.  This may look like a great place to sun yourself while sipping on a pina coloda…but it’s not.  Such a thing is forbidden here.  No delightful drinks, and no lounging.  Looks are deceiving – for this is the “pool of death”. Everyday, everyone gets their turn [...]

“This is the longest day of my life,” I heard a woman exclaim during our last workout of the day.  We were in the pool and had been swimming and treading water for 40 minutes.  I was inclined to agree with her, but I was too exhausted to say anything.  I was just trying to [...]

I turned 40 last summer.  It really wasn’t a big deal because 5 days before my 40th, I became a grandpa.  That event overshadowed my birthday.  I had a much harder time wrapping my mind around becoming a grandfather than accepting that I had hit “the top of the hill.”  I did decide last summer [...]

Did you hear about the naked man who ran into church during a children’s musical rehearsal?  He didn’t begin his run in the buff, but unfortunately for him (and for all those who saw him), he ended up that way!  Here’s the story: Michigan police say it all started when an officer pulled over a [...]