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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5 comments:
500 calories a day, which over the course of one week will result in one pound of weight loss (500 calories X 7 days = 3,500 calories
3500--dang, second place again! Tdubbs
Exactly. 3500. And to make it less intimidating you can break that down to 500 calories per day. And to make that even more manageable you can burn 300 of those calories with some type of exercise and cut back 200 calories in your daily food consumption to total 500 for the day.
PJ
I do find the Biggest Loser to be motivational, but then was disappointed when I heard some of the things that contestants do as far as dehydration and eating next to nothing the day before a weigh in. I would also get disappointed at my slow 1-2 pounds a week weight loss next to their 8-10 pound weekly weight loss, but then try to remember how much they work out compared to how much I work out. The Biggest Loser was actually my motivation to get a personal trainer. I felt like I knew all the nutritional information I needed, but what I was lacking was someone standing right next to me telling me what to do and how many to do. I still feel the show is motivational but try to keep it in perspective and not compare myself to the contestants.
Carmen H
The biggest loser can be a great motivational tool. It shows real people making a decision to start a healthy lifestyle by adding consistent exercise and a healthy diet into their lives. It can be done with hard work and the support of a professional, family, and friends.
Keep in mind so that it does not become a frustration is the time frame of the television show. They are in a controlled environment going for BIG results (or people wouldn't watch the show). They are not working, do not have their families present and have no other obligations to fulfill while at the ranch. This is misleading because none of us have 8 hours a day to devote to exercise. Although their weightloss may be faster during the show, they will face the same struggles as all of us when they return home to keep the weight off and maintain their healthy lifestyle.
I commend anyone working hard to live a healthy life with consistent exercise and healthful meals. It is a concious act everyday to make the healthy choice and that choice is reflected in how you feel, perform, and look. Give yourself some credit and know that although it may be slow, your hard work is paying off!
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