Category — Memphis

This contest ended a while ago, but obviously I wasn’t blogging much at the time…. but I can’t pass up a Memphis success story, so here it is.

The winner was Niki!

Here are her before and after pictures:

In 8 weeks she went from 218 lbs to 170 lbs, losing 47.5 pounds and 21.79% body fat.  Thats a pretty intense two months.

These are the reasons she gave in the beginning for wanting to be the Biggest Loser in Memphis:

 5. To fit into an airline/theatre/bus/whatever seat without spilling over and without having to see “that look” from the person who has to sit beside you.4. To not worry about being decapitated in my car with my seat belt on if I should be in an accident.

Congrats to Niki!

The Tigers lost the NCAA championship.  They soo had it. I can’t believe that guy made the three to tie it.  Overtime was not our friend. I am going to go be sad now, maybe cry a few blue tears. Peace.

It is only February, but I am looking forward to May. That is when I will run my first 5k and when my friend will compete in the Memphis in May Triathlon. Very exciting! Since it is snowing (a tiny little bit) I am enjoying thinking about warmer weather. I can’t wait for this cold to disappear so I can get outside.

Are you a triathlete? You can check out the Memphis in May Triathlon. Race capacity is 1700 racers and registration is open now. It is a great race with professionals and amateurs and some beginners. Here is what the website says:

We expect pro and amateur athletes from around the nation and the world to compete in the 1.5K swim, 40K bike and the 10K run event at Edmund Orgill Park in Millington, TN. The race is in a park setting within a mostly rural area of Millington. The bike course is flat and the run is moderately hilly. Average water temperature is between 65-75 degrees and the average high temperature is 82 with a low of 65 degrees (bring your wetsuits). Stay with us after the race to enjoy our hospitality tent (barbecue included), DJ, band and awards ceremony with cash awards and prizes.

I love it! The race is actually in the north part of Millington, where I lived for a long time. The bike part of the course goes past my friend’s house and I used to get frustrated when they closed the street down, but realized it is actually really fun to watch the racers. Memphis in May itself is amazing. If you have never been to Memphis, or never attended Memphis in May you should definitely come!

Memphis in May is a month long, city wide celebration which includes such favored events as the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, the Beale Street Music Festival and the Sunset Symphony. The mission of the Memphis in May Festival is to unite the city and involve its citizens in a cultural exchange and celebration with an honored foreign nation. The festival provides a unique opportunity for Memphians to enhance their cultural awareness of foreign lands through exhibits, lectures, sports and the arts. Each year a different country is honored, although over the years some countries have been recognized twice. Please visit the Official Memphis In May website at http://www.memphisinmay.org.

Memphis now has its own Biggest Loser Competition. The radio station Q 107.5 is teaming up with WMC-TV 5, Forever Fit Personal Training, Smoothie King, and Vitamin Water to present Memphis with a fitness challenge of its own.

The contest will feature 20 contestants serious about losing weight. Anyone over the age of 18 needing to lose a significant amount of weight can enter.

Winner of the Biggest Loser Memphis contest will win 5,000 dollars, a trip for two to Cancun, and a year of training with Forever Fit. Sounds like an amazing set of prizes if you ask me.

I was soooo excited when I heard the commercial for this contest. Almost shaking with excitement, I immediately went to the website. It was the perfect contest for me!

However, you have to be available to workout for one hour in the morning at 5 a.m. and again in the evening at 6 p.m. I can’t do that with my school schedule, so maybe it is not the perfect contest for me. It is a great idea though and I am excited for all the chosen contestants. Lets all get healthy Memphis!

Last night a friend and I wanted sushi for dinner. We went to our favorite place, Mikasa Japan, to find out it was closed. As I stood outside the door in freezing (it felt like it was freezing) temperatures my heart cracked into a million pieces.

Since the only other sushi restaurant I knew of was in Midtown I didn’t know where to go. I called a friend who looked up the closest sushi place to where we were. So we went to that restaurant and guess what? It was closed!

Most people at that point would just give up and get something else for dinner. Well, I am not most people. We remembered hearing about a sushi place somewhere in Collierville so we headed that direction. Driving without a plan, hoping we would see a place with sushi somewhere along the road.

I remembered something about Saddlecreek having a sushi restaurant so we drove around one side of the stores, then the other… and what did I find? SAKURA! After an hour of driving and waiting and frustration we hit the jackpot! Not that Sakura is the best, but they definitely have some good sushi. I always get the rolls specific to that restaurant, and I must say Greg created a pretty nice roll.

I love sushi.

Its not bad enough that Memphis takes the number one spot on lists for violent crime, but the city also ranks as the Most Sedentary City and Most Obese City, according to Forbes:

Memphis, the most sedentary city on our list, landed at the top for scoring high on every indicator. In terms of BMI, 65% of the population is overweight or obese. Though the city is slightly behind the national rate at 66%, about 30% of its residents neglect to exercise regularly. Combined with the 41 hours of TV watched per week–the national average is 30, assuming that patterns remain relatively constant–the numbers revealed the extent of Memphis’ problem.

“We have heavily invested in a sedentary, sprawling lifestyle,” says Tom Jones, a Memphis-based consultant for Smart City Consulting.

Jones’ former colleague, Carol Coletta, president of the nonprofit organization CEOs for Cities, also points out that the economically bifurcated population, lack of transit options, unwalkable neighborhoods and favored Southern cuisine are a “deadly formula” for the city.

Memphis has a long way to go before these rankings change. At least we are number one! Right? Well, from my perspective the only positive list where Memphis has the top spot is for college basketball. And at this point those guys might be the only active, non-obese people in the city.