"The Biggest Loser "

The 11th Season of "The Biggest Loser" TV show starts tomorrow!  I have to say when I first heard the title of the show and that it involved a bunch of overweight people, I thought it would be a very wrong, worthless show.  I never even considered watching it.  Then a friend and my sister started talking to me about how great it was at the same time, so we watched the Season 8 premier and were hooked.  If you are trying to lose weight, and even if you aren’t, I highly recommend this show.  It inspires me to get up and do something! The show is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles.  It is packed with tips on eating healthy (though some of them are actually commercials) and the contestants are taught how to exercise.

Here are some things I have learned from the Biggest Loser.

1. I need to figure out why I overeat.  I’ve heard that before, but it never really sank in until I started dieting.  Partly because I didn't realize that I was overeating a lot of the time.  It’s a process I’m still working on.
2. Diets don’t work.  I need to be committed to a lifestyle change.  Even if I get to my goal weight, I can’t go back to eating out 5 times a week or eating gigantic bowls of ice cream every night.  This is emphasized in a special episode where they follow up with past contestants.  Some of them have gained all their weight back because they went home and returned to their past lifestyles.
3. People need an outside motivation.  A lot of the contestants lose weight so they will be here for their kids or other family.  One of the contestants this year discovered that her daughter was anorexic “because she didn’t want to be fat like her mom”.
4. I can look thin.  I’ve seen people lose a lot of weight, but not really look thin.  I didn’t think it was possible to look thin again until I saw this show.  And then there’s the whole rabbit hole of vanity that I’m just ignore for the purpose of this post.
5. Push harder – “If you don’t puke, if you don’t faint, and if you don’t die, then just keep going.” Do it with “reckless abandon.” Bob Harper (Biggest Loser trainer)  I have always been afraid to push my body, but watching what the contestants can do on the show has given me courage to push beyond what I know I can do and do just a little more.

If you made a New Year's resolution about weight loss or fitness, here's a great tool to assist you!  Tune in to NBC, Tuesdays at 8/7c, or catch it online on NBC or Hulu, available the next day.

 

Happy New Year!

I love New Year’s Day, a time of new beginnings, new resolutions, and starting fresh on past goals. Al and I eloped on New Year’s Day. :) The Christmas season is my favorite time of year, and it is complete with New Year’s and our anniversary.

If you've been following my Facebook statuses, you know that for 10 weeks, I've been trying to lose 10 pounds.  I made it!  So, in 2009, I lost 20 pounds and found out God blessed us with our 2nd baby. In 2010, I lost all my pregnancy weight and 20 more pounds. In 2011, I intend to lose 40 pounds more, unless another little blessing comes along. I really enjoyed the 10 pounds in 10 weeks goal, so I am sticking with that plan for intermediate goals. Also, I am going to *run* (yes, I mean run) a 5K this year with Al, and complete a 10K (that doesn’t necessarily mean *run* the whole way). I’ve never run a full mile before, much less 3.2, but I know I can already walk 3.2 at a pretty good pace! I also want to develop some weight training goals, though I have no idea what those should be. Good thing my gym has trainers.

At some point, my weight (as defined by a number on the scale) becomes irrelevant. I think I was about 130 when I was in high school, but I was not fit. I think if I’m fit, my goal weight might be 120 or 125? But if I’m healthy enough to run a 10K, I don’t think I should be obsessed with hitting a certain weight.

Oh yeah, I found out a couple of days ago that Al committed to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks at the same time I did!  Anyone else want to join us?!
 

First Fitness Goals

In the absence of Bob & Jillian, I decided I should set a couple of fitness goals at the gym to motivate myself.  They are probably laughable to anyone who knows anything about fitness, but I have to start somewhere, right?  Baby Steps…

#1) Finish a mile in under 15 minutes.  A good walking pace for me is a 17:30 minute mile.  It gets my heart pumping and any faster would require a jog.  But I remember from high school that a 15 minute mile is a basic fitness test, and I remember that I barely passed that test.  So earlier this week I did a 16:30 minute mile and last night I slashed my time to 15:19!

#2) Leg raises - 3 reps of 10.  The equipment at the gym requires me to hold up my body weight while trying to pull my knees up to my chest using my abdominal muscles.  So far, I can do 3 reps of 2.

I feel pretty good about my leg strength.  After all, they’ve been moving my 200 pound body around for years.  So after the treadmill, I do the circuit of machines that work my arms, back and abs.

Thank you, Biggest Loser, for giving me the courage and motivation to go to the gym!  If they can do it, so can I!  And if I can do it, so can you!!!

Eating Healthy and Travel

I just realized this is timely for many people who are traveling this upcoming holiday, but it’s on my mind because we just got back from a weekend trip.

Travel is another hard area for me.  I love traveling and part of the fun for me is eating out and picking up gas station snacks.  Plus when we are visiting friends or family, I don’t have control of the menu.  Here are a few tips I have picked up and ideas I’ve had (though we won’t talk about well I implement them):

• Water, drink more, and buy it if you have to. *Anecdote below
• Take snacks with you.  This trip, I took along granola bars and Hershey kisses (the lowest point chocolate I’ve found).  It definitely helps me with the temptation to buy candy bars.
• Take healthy food with you.  I take cereal that I always eat at home.  I hate using points on breakfast.  I don’t love most breakfast foods, and the ones I do like are high in calories and fat.  Depending on the length of the trip, I pack a cooler and take sandwich stuff, carrots and fruit along too.  That gets complicated with replenishing ice and if you are stopping at more than one location, but sometimes it’s worth it.
• McDonald’s Ice Cream Cones.  Yummy, low-cal, low-fat, inexpensive and the cone seems to cleanse the palate so that you are not left craving more.  We get plain sundaes for Bethany because they are less messy.  When we’ve been on the road a long time and nothing else sounds good, these hit the spot.
• Grilled chicken sandwiches and salad.  I like Wendy’s (their Grilled Chicken sandwich has a low point Honey Mustard sauce) but most fast places have these now.  Just make sure to get reduced fat dressing and small salads that are primarily vegetables, not fattened up with cheese, eggs, bacon and other yummy things.
• Control your portions.  When you don’t have control over what you are eating, try to control your portion sizes and load up if there are fruit or vegetable dishes.  Now, when it comes to my grandma’s chicken noodles and mashed potatoes, this advice flies right out the window.
• Set yourself up for success.  Do some research on your route, and plan your stops.  Beware of what you buy at the grocery store ahead of time, trying to save money.  I have shot myself in the foot by buying snacks that I know we’d like on the road, disregarding the fact that they are high calorie/high fat foods I wouldn’t keep in the house.  A bag of chips might be cheaper than French fries but it’s isn’t any better for my diet. :P
• Discipline and Endurance.  I need more of this when traveling then I do at home.  There is so much more temptation driving down the road then there is at home, where I would have to load up the girls and seek it out.  Decide before you go to make good decisions, and plan a couple of splurges if it will make the trip more fun for you. ;)

Feel free to chime in with your own favorite ways to cut calories or dollars while traveling.

*Buying water – I personally feel compelled to buy something if I stop at a gas station to use their restroom.  My mom says she taught me this because we usually traveled on minor highways and several times she saw signs at the gas stations that said “If you want us to be here the next time you are, please buy something”.  (That’s probably not a direct quote, but you get the idea.)  For years I bought a Pepsi, even if I didn’t really want one.  It finally occurred to me that if I really wanted water, it is ok to pay for a bottle.  At some point my health needs to matter more than money.  When I travel with Al, we try to utilize rest areas to avoid extra expenses, or fill up the gas tank instead of buying snacks.