My blog title poses the question: Is The Biggest Loser Inspiration or Frustration?Well it depends! I get both responses from my personal training clients. Actually last week at our How To BOOST Your Metabolism Seminar, Kate and I had a Q & A at the end. One of the questions pertained to the frustrations many have at watching the contestants on TV’s, The Biggest Loser, lose double digit weight each week when their weekly efforts do not amount to anything near the results.
Let me start with the inspiration it does offer some of our clients and then I will address the frustration it can cause, too.
I think many are inspired by the hope and determination that some of these contestants have to change their lives. I mean after all, “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” In a world abounding with scary newspaper headlines and frightening TV news reports who could not use some hope in their life? Also, aren’t we all motivated by the underdog doing the impossible? Why do we love movies like Rocky, Rudy, and Miracle? I mean when a 300 pound person loses 150 pounds, that is inspiring!
We love winners! We want to be a winner.
I also know from working with hundreds of clients that when they are determined to make something happen or to make a change in their life they often succeed.
Here is a quote from season 4 contestant Julie Hadden, “I want to be genuine in what I say, because I know that a lot of people could look at all of us from The Biggest Loser and say “Yeah anybody could do it with those resources.” But it really is all about what lies inside of you. It may take someone longer but anything worth having is worth working for. And there is so much truth to that saying, “Nothing TASTES as good as being healthy FEELS!”
Now, that is only half of the story. Every year when a new Biggest Loser season begins I start hearing some grumbles and frustrations from our clients because they are not seeing the weekly weight loss results that many of the contestants see.
I found this quote in a New York Times article, “Some former contestants have cautioned home dieters to stop comparing themselves to what they see. Kai Hibbard, 29, from Eagle River, Alaska, lost 118 pounds last season. She recently wrote on a blog that in the two weeks before the finale she severely dehydrated herself using asparagus (a diuretic), colonics and six-hour stretches of hopping in and out of a sauna.”
First of all, let me encourage you that health and fitness is a lifestyle. Any good doctor will tell you that safe and healthy weight loss guidelines are one to two pounds per week. And if you kept that up for the course of a year then you could lose up to 100 pounds safely and keep it off. Secondly, many of these contestants are starting out often in excess of 300 pounds so they will naturally shed weight faster than someone who may only have 20-30 pounds to lose.
The other thing I often hear is, “I have a life. I don’t have six to eight hours a day to workout like the contestants.” It is reported that season 5 contestant Ali Vincent ran, swam, hiked and biked up to eight hours a day for six weeks prior to the finale. Season 4 contestant Julie Hadden says, “Everyone on the show worked hard. Working out 4 to 6 hours a day is no joke.”
Exactly. You do have a life. That is why it is important to exercise and take care of yourself. Remember, The Biggest Loser is a made for TV reality show. It has to be dramatic or people won’t watch it. Again, I believe consistency is the key. If you are able to get 30-45 minutes of exercise 5 days a week then you have more than enough time to take care of yourself physically. If your life still feels too busy for that then listen to Julie Hadden once more.
“I also know that it’s human nature to put off the difficult tasks. I did for years and years. So my best advice to anyone is to start today. Take it slow, but get started. The only way you’ll see a difference is to move more and eat less. Don’t look at the big picture all at once; take it one day at a time. Set small, achievable goals at first and then celebrate them when you get there. But the most important thing you’ve GOT to do is believe you are worth the effort. Because you are!”
So, as a new year approaches and your minds turn to creating New Year Resolutions, I want you to have hope and determination that it is possible. Just remember it is a lifestyle. It takes time.
You too can change your life. If you do not feel confident in yourself or feel that you lack the motivation or discipline to follow through in creating a nutritional and exercise plan and then sticking to it please call me. I would love to help.
Have a great Tuesday!
PJ
OK. It is time for the question of the week. The first person to correctly respond with the right answer and post it as a comment to this blog will be entered to win 3 free personal training sessions just in time for your New Year’s Resolutions. The drawing will take place January 1, 2009.
Question: How many additional calories must one burn to lose 1 pound of body fat?
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