I am NOT the Biggest Loser

I fell in love with mixed greens and
did a lot of fresh veggies (that's not canned corn, friends)
and paired them with regular stuff like beans
and lean meats/chicken

The Biggest Loser Challenge at work ended a couple weeks ago. I did not win the prize. But I guess the real victory was getting off the couch and getting off the doughnuts. The competition was super fierce. There were people taking 3 spin classes a day and stuff like that, and eating just a banana for breakfast, with water for the rest of the day.

In the end I lost 11.5 lbs through hard work, sweat and a healthy diet.

I did not starve myself. I always had a full breakfast, with 2 egg whites, a roll and a smoothie...okay okay, and coffee. I had a fresh lunch and would keep dinner as light as possible, without starving myself.

I did not go to the gym 3 times a day. I went once a day and did what my body could manage in the time I have before work.

I cut out snacking, consumed more fruits and vegetables, more raw foods.

I challenged myself to make salads that were fun and exciting, because I have always had a love/hate relationship with salads.

I did not get as much sleep as I should have, and this has always been my downfall, but I still felt better.

I did it for myself really - to win was always a goal as well but really, I knew it was necessary. So cheers!

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When being the biggest loser is a good thing!

Our homemade ice cream, topped with cookie bits

Last night, part of my aunty duties involved spending time in the kitchen, forging relationships over a pail of homemade ice cream. The excitement on the face of a 4yr old over an electric ice cream mixer and seeing a milky concoction morph into smooth textured goodness was priceless. What is not so priceless is that I have been dipping into the tub of ice cream all day!

I mentioned that one of my goals for 2015 was around health and fitness, and that I would be participating in a health and fitness challenge at work. Kind of like The Biggest Loser, but without Jillian Michaels, excessive exercising and the cameras, 

So I registered officially this week, so yes, this is really happening!!!

But it was a very traumatic experience to say the least. While I knew I had put on (more) weight, seeing the numbers really affected me deeply. And not just the gross number of pounds flash before your eyes, but on the nifty self-esteem killing device known as the Body Composition Monitor and Scale, you get your body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI) and skeletal muscle among other mind numbing stats. It was a wake up call for sure. Sharing this information with a third party did not help minimise my discomfort. I will admit I was ready to jump in front of a truck after that. lol.

The only churning will be me churning away in the gym

So over the next 8 weeks, we will be working within teams, with the dietitian, and with the fitness schedule to bring these numbers down in a healthy way. There is no expectation that anyone will look like Beyonce after 8 weeks, but the hope is that we will adopt healthier habits and make use of the resources available to us. I am very competitive and so the competition element will go a long way in keeping me honest and motivated. I will admit, a bit of depression has set in over the past few weeks, and this has been my main enabler as I am a comfort eater. I know it has to be more about my health and wellness, etc, but kicking ass is a great motivator as well. I have a target I am working with and so there will be no more aunty/kiddies ice cream sessions. 

This weekend is a tough one - a 5-day weekend with hot cross buns, and get togethers, and already, 2 days of feeling ill and tired. But I gave myself today to rest, regain my strength and not care. That is the lie I told myself every time I opened the freezer today. But it's game on now. Wish me luck!

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The Biggest Loser 2014 - Too Big a Loser?

Bob and Jillian - Complete shock and horror??

As someone who has always struggled with weight issues, The Biggest Loser is one of those shows - out of the reality show heap - that I really love watching as it brings such positive change into the lives of the participants. Moreover, it seems to inspire so many who are struggling with the burden of weight gain to really make some healthy changes in their lives.

Some of the contestants who returned for last night's finale looked amazing. Tumi stands out most for me. She lost a ridiculous amount of weight and looked good - really good. She looked happy and more importantly, she looked healthy. Tumi was hardcore from the beginning and I am so glad she won the "At Home" prize.

Tumi - Biggest Loser - Looking amazing. Good job, girl.

But when Rachel walked on to the stage, I was shocked and perhaps a bit sad.  As you can see from the photo of Bob and Jillian - they were pretty horrified as well.I immediately thought - "She is way too thin". I am not even trying to take away her months and months of hard work, discipline, tears and resolve.She, like Tumi, worked super hard and lost a great deal of weight - 155 lbs to be exact to end at at 105 lbs, at a height of 5' 4". However, I felt she did not look healthy - she looked almost anorexic. What do you think?

Rachel Frederickson, Biggest Loser 2014 - From one extreme to the next?

And this compared to what she looked like before the season finale. Not saying this is her ideal weight but she looks worlds better at this weight than she does now. She was not even this small when she was a state championship swimmer - an athlete!!! C'mon...

Rachel Frederickson - after her Biggest Loser makeover

Rachel Frederickson last night - pretty girl but she looks so gaunt.
And she is only 24.

I was really conflicted about who should win after seeing her. On the one hand, I felt she did not represent healthy weight loss. She looked incredibly frail and even when she tripped on the way to her final weigh in, I thought she would break. I felt like this perception of weight loss should not be rewarded.

On the other hand, she worked hard - not denying this, but more worrisome, the self-image issues seem to be very real, and I wondered if not rewarding her hard work would make her somehow think she was not the biggest loser - not as small as she should have been to win.

The Biggest Loser last night sparked a lot of reactions - but I think one thing I took away from it is that the show and the whole concept may need to be tweaked a bit. It has to be more than simply losing a whole heap of weight, especially if it becomes too much weight. Perhaps the participants should be set a target weight as someone suggested on Twitter - a healthy target weight. It should not be getting so thin to the point of looking frail, just to win money!

There were a lot of mean comments on social media which are not constructive. No matter what side of the weight spectrum one is on, hurtful comments never contribute anything meaningful or positive. I just hope that Rachel gets some support as she resumes her life.

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