Happy Holidays to the DaVita Village,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving — and special thanks to our caregivers who took care of patients during the holiday !!!!

I will do a quick report here, a mix of good and bad news, it is Sunday about noon:

a.    My weight is up 2-3 pounds, back to when we started.  Ouch!  It might be a bit high now because I have had alot of salty foods the last week, and that leads to abnormal fluid retention.  But no matter what this is not looking good, I fell off the wagon the last 3 weeks.

b.    Diet cokes is a victory story.  Zero on thursday, friday and saturday.

c.    Yesterday was another big exercise day.  2 and 3/4 hours on a mountain bike, with a person much more fit and better skilled than I.  This was high intensity exercise, even the downhills required alot of concentration as there was still some snow and lots of rocks and slippery pine needles …. I was exhausted at the end, but loved entering the 165 minutes into my little exercise log.  Not much stretching, so the total was 170 minutes.

Today should be a solid day, maybe better — so all in all the Thanksgiving long weekend has been very good exercise, I took good advantage of the free time.  Not enough to offset the calories, but oh well ……

I am thinking of the other 900 of you each day at some point in my exercise.  Often brings a little smile to my face as I picture us all in a room, or on a trail, or grunting away at the same push-up.

Carpe Diem!     KT

Yo DaVita,

It is Saturday morning.   Here is a quick summary of Friday.

1.    Exercise =  great!  A long run in the woods, followed by some brisk hiking.  Total minutes of 65.  To that number we add the time for push-ups (38, a new high for MM II), crunches (65) and stretching, and we end up with 80 minutes.  For today, I am about to go out mountain biking with someone much better than me, so it will be a strong workout.

2.    Diet Cokes = Zero !  The good news in this campaign is I think I am close to breaking the habit of drinking them at certain times, and also drinking them just to enjoy the flavor.  I am down to drinking them pretty much when I am really dragging after a short night’s sleep.  The other good news is I often had one other diet soda in the course of a day, typically a diet root beer at night to get help reduce my desire for a dessert — and I have also cut those down by about 75% in this campaign.  Thx for your help !!

3.    Weight = medium.  I would not have gained or lost yesterday.

4.    Sleep = wonderful!  Makes such a difference in the day.

I hope you are each getting some quiet time over the weekend.   We drive back home today, I will be putting in a full day’s work tomorrow.

Warm regards, KT

Yo DaVita !!

It is Friday about noon.   I will slip in a quick report on yesterday, Turkey Day.

a.     Exercise = great!  50 solid minutes on the lifecycle, while I watched the Green Bay Packers play the Detroit Lion.  My lifecycle up at our cabin is about 12 years old — I figure at this point I have paid about 33 cents per use.  It is an old version, and a little creaky, but still provides great exercise.  2 sets of push-ups, 2 sets of sit-ups, and lots of stretching.  Then I did a wonderful hike in the woods and hills with my 2 kids, 90 more minutes.   Total minutes of 175 !!

b.    Diet Cokes = Zero !

c.    Eating = Bad !  I ate too much.

d.    Sleep = great !  Which positioned me well for today, which I will report on later.

I hope you all had some wonderful moments with your loved ones.

One for all,

KT

Happy Thanksgiving DaVita !!

It is Wednesday night.  We have a cabin up in the mountains, and we come up here every Thanksgiving with a few relatives and friends.  I love it.   We also do an annual DaVita planning retreat up here each year, in September.  The senior executives fly in from all around the country.  It is much less expensive than having everyone stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants, because a bunch of us stay in the cabin, the local inn is simple and cheap (but no internet in the rooms!), and we cook most of our own meals.

One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to go around the table and each person says what they are most grateful for in their lives.  Whether you are 9 years old or 90, whether you are in the family or a friend, that is the tradition.

This year, for the 10th year in a row, I will list working at DaVita as one of the things I am most grateful for.  It has been a great gift to my life.  This is primarily because there are so many wonderful human beings who work here and do special things.  I am a better person because of DaVita in my life.  So thanks to the many of you who have made those words come true.

Which raises the question “am I taking this special life seriously enough, am I treating it with the right respect?”  Which brings us, in part, to the MM II Campaign.

I got to bed at 2 am on Monday night when I flew back from Boston.  My first call on Tuesday morning was at 8:15, but I got in a workout later in the day.  It was a high intensity 33 minutes on the lifecycle, one of my most intense in awhile.  A little stretching, a set of push-ups and crunches took me to 43 minutes.  That night I was committed to go to a dinner to be part of a small group giving advice to one of the leaders of a large university about how to deal with the severe economic pressures they are enduring.  I was tired, did not feel like going.  But once I got there and listened to their trials and tribulations, I forgot about my fatigue and actively participated in a robust and thought-provoking conversation filled with many ideas.  I got home about 11 pm, bed at midnight.  1 diet coke.

The next day I was up at 7 am to hit some email and do my first call at 8 am.  At 10 am I got in another strong lifecycle session, 33 minutes again, but only 5 minutes of stretching on top of that.  1.5 diet cokes.

During the 3 hour drive up to the mountains I had a nice conversation with my 19 year old daughter.  Early this evening I shot some baskets with my son, which was special for a bunch of reasons, including a nice conversation.  Tonight I will have a quiet dinner with my wife, her mother, my 2 kids, and our first nanny.  A smaller crowd than normal, all my siblings are elsewhere this year, and Denise’s father passed away in August.  The richness of life in full display, the happy and the sad.

But we are together, our own little, loving community.  I wish for all of you the same.  And I cherish the fact that for many thousands of us, DaVita is a special place to work, and does good things for others.  Thanks to many of you for giving life to others, teammates, patients, physicians, your families, and your communities and friends.  I am honored to be a part of the DaVita team, and proud to consider myself a citizen of the DaVita Village.  To alot of us, it lives.   It lives when teammates decide to make it so.

With intense respect and much affection,

Happy Thanksgiving,

KT

Good Evening DaVitans !

First, attached is the up-to-date tracking sheet, showing each week and at the bottom you can see the Campaign-to-date totals.    I am close, but not quite there.

Second, I think I left you after my great Sunday workout.  On Monday thru Saturday, if I am working out inside on a lifecycle, I listen to DaVita voicemail messages or read.  On Sundays, if I don’t do something outside, I give myself the treat of watching the Green Bay Packers game.  Since the games are long, even when you tivo them, these are usually great workouts.  Zero diet cokes, even on the 5 hour flight.

Third I left home at 2:30 pm Sunday afternoon to fly to Boston.  I got to the hotel about midnight, bed at 1 am, up at 7:45 to hit the gym.  It was a medium workout, 20 min on bike, 34 push-ups, 70 crunches, and 8 minutes of stretching.  Total of 32 minutes.

Then I was off to a day of meetings and a speech.  At 9:00 pm I got back on a plane for the almost 6 hour flight back to California (it is always slower flying west than east, because the winds usually flow east).  I am on the plane now, getting 6 hours of good work done, minus the time to wolf down some food.

Tomorrow may be another medium workout, as I will not get home until about 1 am, and my first call is early enough that I may be low energy.  But I hope to get in some good ones over Thanksgiving.

So far so good on the zero desserts.  But my belt is still too tight.

All the best,

KT

Check out KT’s tracking sheet: http://villageweb.davita.com/go/?id=46044

or you can link to the tracking sheet by going to the right side of the Match the Mayor page under “ KT’s goal tracking sheet.”

Yo DaVita !!

I do love my job.  It was a week in which the hours were long, with many nights in hotels, but I was treated to so much good work and great questions this week by many highly talented/dedicated teammates.  What a treat to get to be CEO and Mayor of this place.

AND OCTOBER WAS A GREAT MONTH IN CLINICAL OUTCOMES !!!!!!!!!

I won’t hit you with all the details, but vaccines, phosphorus, adequacy, cathaway, etc …. nice progress across the board almost.  ON BEHALF OF OUR PATIENTS AND THE TAXPAYER PLEASE ACCEPT MY THANKS AND DEEP RESPECT.

Back to MM II.   Saturday was a strong day in 2 of my 3 categories.

On exercise, I went and ran the Crossroads Hill.  37.5 minutes up, (incl two 90 second stretching stops, at 15 min and at 27), which is absolutely intensely demanding.  Then some level running, a brisk walk down to save my remaining knee cartilage.  When you add in some good stretching before the run and a nice walk with my spouse (where I will once again discount the minutes by 50%, although these walks are so healthy in terms of fresh air, conversation, reflection I am sometimes tempted to not discount them at all), it was a beautiful 115 minutes of healthy activity.  Felt great.  And the 37.5 minutes was 2.5 minutes faster than the first time I did the Crossroads Hill.

On diet cokes, zero!

On eating, I ate reasonably healthy, but too many calories.

We are reaching the closing stretch, 901 of us working together in a world in which it is so easy to fall into an unhealthy routine.  Although my week was not a strong one, I am glad that in every day except one I got out there and did at least a medium workout.  That is so much better than nothing.

I am looking forward to another good one today.

Ciao!    KT, your Mayor.

Yo DaVita!

The yin and yang of yesterday, which was Friday.  Back on my regular lifecycle in California, and in the right mood, I finally got back to an intense bike session, after 6 days of only medium intensities with one solid one i think, and one zero.  23 minutes of high intensity hills and plateaus felt great.  Only 5 minutes of stretching, 30 push-ups, 75 crunches.  So overall minutes just 32, but the intensity was commendable!

2 diet cokes on Friday, however, I was really dragging after a late night on Thursday.

The other bad news is, after 10 days in a row in hotels, my weight is back up 2-3 pounds.  I will have to rally magnificently at this point to hit my goal … so I will put a stake in the ground this fine Saturday morning and pledge to have zero desserts between now and the end of MM II.

WE NOW HAVE 901 TEAMMATES WORKING FOR HEALTHIER LIVES TOGETHER IN MM II,  THIS IS AWESOME !!!

I am going to go off and run the hills now, and rack up some serious intensity and minutes!

One for All & All for One,

KT

Happy Friday Teammates !!!

I love Fridays, and look forward to the relaxation of the weekend.

It is Friday am.  I last left you at 9:30 Wednesday night, when I returned to my hotel room from the day’s meetings and a one on one evening discussion with a new teammate.  I wanted to know how he was doing and get his early impressions of DaVita, and any advice about what he thinks I should be doing differently.

My room service dinner arrived at 10 pm, so I stopped work then.  Therefore I was in bed by 10:45, read for 45 minutes (that is the way I like to end every day), and lights off at 11:30.  This means I got almost 7 hours of sleep before getting up for my Thursday workout, which felt great.  I don’t like it when I am in the 5.5 to 6 hour category for too many days on the road.

Thursday was another medium workout, 20 minutes on the bike, 32 push-ups, 75 crunches, and 6 minutes of stretching.  Total minutes of 30.  Only 1 diet coke!

I probably should disclose that my Wednesday dinner was a cheeseburger and french fries.  They were great!  But I felt them the next day.  This was a classic situation where I felt like I deserved the “reward” of bad food after a long workday.  Asi es la vida.

Today I look forward to an intense bike session instead of a medium one, it has been too many days since I have had one.

All the best!

KT

Yo DaVitans,

Congrats to Deanna from Duluth Georgia!

A “re-commitment” to exercise, the discovery of a new activity (spinning/cycling), the loss of 20 pounds, AND a new “zest for life”.  No brag, just fact!

Salute to Barbie of Jonesboro, Georgia!

Georgia is leading the pack here today.  Barbie, you are right, just going to 1200 calories period is not the best way to lose weight.  It is good that you are talking to our dietitian, good Village behavior on their part to help out!

Yo to Rebekah from Gilbert Arizona!

Big improvement in your 5K time !!  Please let us know if you do keep your bp down one more week and get off of medications completely, that would be AWESOME!!

Shout out to Elizabeth from Orlando Florida!

10 pounds lost, and more energy and enthusiasm for life gained.  You said, you did!  You are right, the Village Vitality programs are good things.

Tribute to Pamela from Minneapolis, Minnesota!

You are right, there will be obstacles and tough times .. and sometimes anxiety attacks can be one of them — but you fought your way thru it, and you will fight your way thru others.  None of us wins all the time, but winning all the time is not necessary.  Getting up after the defeats and continuing forward, that is what creates a life victory.

Regards to Karen from Saint Louis, Missouri!

The holy trilogy is cardio/aerobic, flexibility, and strength.  The perfect programs include some of all three.  I sometimes add a fourth, namely balance, for those over 55 or 60, if their cardio activities don’t automatically include balance as a byproduct.

Hooray for Stacy from Lakewood Colorado,

I was in Lakewood today Stacy, wish I had seen you to honor your 17 pounds of weight loss after getting rid of most of the soday and fast food in your life!

To the Rest of the >800 teammates in the Campaign, let’s keep it up!

One for All & All for One ….. KT

Yo DaVitans!

It is Wednesday night, 9:15 pm, just got back to my hotel — I feel liberated because I do not have a business dinner tonight, I am just going to order room service!!

My last entry was Sunday night, so here goes:

I woke up Monday am feeling normal!  What a gift that feels like after an under-the-weather week.  I did a workout of medium intensity, 20 minutes of bike, 10 minutes of stretching, 27 push-ups, 70 crunches, a total of 34 minutes.  One diet coke.

My work day was in the Lodge here in Denver, but I left at 6:15 pm to go car shopping with my wife.

Tuesday started with another medium workout.  I miss being home for the weekend, when I can do exercise that is (a) outside instead of in a hotel gym, and (b) different, like real bike rides, runs, basketball, etc,  instead of just a lifecycle every day.  Once again 20 minutes on the bike, 36 push-ups, 70 crunches and 6 minutes of stretching.  Total of 30 minutes.  One diet coke.

But the workday was long and intense.  It included a couple of wonderful promotions that I got to attend, which was a highlight.  But it did not end until midnight, and so by the time I got to bed I decided to skip a workout on Wednesday am and get the extra 45 minutes of sleep.

Which brings me back to this minute. I hope you are meeting your goals this week — I know I am behind, and I look forward to rallying back at least part way this weekend!

All the best,

KT