Posted by: WFMeyer on: October 7, 2009
Tracey insists that she thought Shay would pull a large number in the weigh-in. The wife isn’t buying it. She thinks Shay is playing the game and looked to get rid of the girl who could win the entire game with the biggest percentage of weight lost.
For me, the jury is still out. I don’t trust Tracey, but I don’t know if she was looking that far ahead or is just an impulsive ditz. I was disappointed in Coach Mo supporting Tracey when Shay called her out about lying to her before the weigh-in.
Tracey sees Dr. H. and finds out she’s not allowed to do any exercise at all. It seems like the boomerang is coming back around. Coach Mo is left to carry the purple team on his own.
Lockdown!
The kitchen was padlocked for the week and the BL crew has to order out for a week. The challenge is to learn the best things to eat when we can’t eat at home. This is the first time they’ve done this and is not only a really useful segment for the contestants but also for all the viewers too.
Out to dinner, Jillian does it again. When Rebecca wanted a margarita Jillian challenged her and made her to get to the root of why she’s at the Biggest Loser ranch. Bob and Jillian also gave them some good pointers on what and how to order at a restaurant.
Last Chance Workout
I’m liking Julio these days. He’s less full of himself and getting in there and working out and not finding excuses to stop anymore.
Coach Mo is hurtin’. They push these big folks hard, and with mo being 56, they may have pushed too much. Could be the end of the purple team.
Weigh-in’s
It’s now between the Black Team and the Brown Team on who goes home. Overall the teams did well considering they had to order out all their meals for the week.
It was close, but Julio was not the Biggest Loser. It’s funny, the first week, I wanted him to go home, but now I’d have liked him to stay. The smart play would have been to eliminate the Brown Team – it would have taken two people out of competition instead of one.
Julio has been able to do well at home and is down 107 pounds to date. Way to go Julio!
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 30, 2009
Why Go Slow?
In the last post I stated why I stick with the ‘Lose the fat Slowly’ approach:
That last point is an important one. I’ve seen people who’ve had a gastric procedure and lose a tremendous amount of weight in a year. They look a lot better having shed over 100 pounds of fat, but what they are left with are pounds of loose flesh hanging off their bellies, sides, arms and legs.
This is not attractive, and the person knows it and covers it up with baggy clothes the way they used to try and cover up the fact that they were fat. This does nothing to lift that person’s level of self-esteem. Even worse, is although their insurance may have covered the initial gastric procedure, often it won’t cover the cosmetic surgery to remove all of the loose skin.
Here are some things to consider as a result of the gastric procedure:
This is a substantial negative aspect that they do not talk about in-depth at the gastric procedure meetings.
For many people who want to lose a lot of weight, one of their biggest wishes beyond the mental and physical health aspects of it is that they want to be able to shop in normal clothing stores and wear more fashionable and form fitting attire. But they find themselves still getting bigger clothes to hide all that loose skin.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 30, 2009
Antoine and Sean are The Biggest Hero’s
Tracey is the biggest zero – and she’s gotta go.
It starts off with Tracey making rash, impulsive decisions without conferring with her partner Coach Mo, and stepping over the line for the 2lb advantage in lieu of training with Bob and Jillian for the week. It paid off for Tracey – and she didn’t even need the 2lb advantage. However, poor Mo could’ve used the trainers.
After having a heart to heart with Bob and Jillian, Tracey then went out and made another rash decision and took control of the weigh-in.
A little aside about Jillian. I think the show is getting to her head. She’s gone Hollywood. When talking about Tracey’s decision to take the 2lb advantage in lieu of having trainers for a week, Jillian said in all earnestness, “We’re the best in the world at making people lose weight.” I wonder on what facts she’s basing such a huge boast. I think she’s believing the show’s own hype.
So, many of the team meet with Tracey and ask her to choose a particular contestant for the weigh in. And once again, Tracey and her bugged eyes decide she knows better than the people who plead their case. She thinks she’s playing the game and did she not take into consideration in her strategy that depending on how she played it, she could have gained favor among the contestants? No. She didn’t.
Instead, Tracey is now wearing a big X, not only on her back but also squarely on her forehead. Not only is she the pariah among all the contestants, but the trainers as well.
Who says chivalry is dead. Antoine and Sean threw themselves on the sword and sacrificed their place on the show to have Shay stay. They did the right thing as Shay really needed to stay. They are a class act 100%.
This reminds me of the line at the end of the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’, where Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) lay dying and uttered his last words to Private Ryan (Matt Damon), “Earn this.”
I hope Shay never takes what Antoine and Sean did for granted and “earns” their sacrifice by doing whatever it takes to stay in the house and kick ass.
The coolest part is that Sean lost 120lbs, is looking good and is on his way. Even better, Antoine lost 105lbs and is looking good, but better and better, he hooked up with Alexandra - the contestant voted out in Week 1. She’s also looking good. They are dating and look happy. What a great support system they have in each other.
Tracey’s actions will definitely come back to haunt her and I bet it’ll start by next week.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 22, 2009
The Dreaded Week 2 Curse
Jillian and Bob toned down the nasties this week. I kinda like this group effort approach so far. I really didn’t think they’d make the 150lb group weight loss mark having seen what it was like the previous 7 seasons. It’s typically a brutal reality schmack. The contestants work their asses off and only lose a couple of pounds – or worse – gain weight.
Even Bob and Jillian didn’t think the group stood much of a chance given the history of Week 2. They still had doubts even when the group got the goal down to 115 pounds by winning a couple of group challenges. When the Pink Team weighed in and showed only a total loss of 10lbs between the two of them (when they needed 14lbs), I was thinking, ‘Here we go.’ But after that every team posted really good numbers – even Julio.
I’m still not a fan of Julio, but I have to give him props for losing 19 pounds – because Bob targeted and him put him through the workout ringer.
The group got to call home after winning a challenge. Everyone called their husbands and wives and kids and mothers. Although Abby enjoyed talking to her mom, I knew in her heart of hearts that she wished with every atom of her being that she could talk to her spouse and kids like most of the other contestants were. When she told her mom how she hiked up a mountain and that two butterflies followed her the whole way – my heart just broke for her.
The group not only crushed the 115lb group weight loss goal, but they also surpassed the original 150lb goal by getting to a total group weight loss of 155lbs.
So afterward you see Bob all pleased with himself in front of the camera saying, he knew they could do it, that he and Jillian pretty much planned it that way. I was like “Huh?”
So, for the past 7 seasons they were letting the contestants hit the wall in Week 2 on purpose? Or were they not training the past contestants as well as they should have in the past? If this time they decided to change up the strategy to make things happen, why didn’t they do so in the past? With all of their years of experience shouldn’t they have known better? Either way, it didn’t shine too good of a light on them for me.
It was a real politico statement by Bob. If the group failed to hit the goal, he would have said, “See, I knew it. I told them they couldn’t do it. It’s the Week 2 Curse.”
So now the Dreaded Week 2 Curse has been relegated to myth status. This week the trainers and contestants proved it doesn’t hold any real power. It’s a matter of planning the work and working the plan.
For anyone who has watched TBL since its inception, knows that from time to time viewers can pick up valuable little tidbits of information we weren’t aware of before. As a long time viewer I know that the contestants work out an average of 6 hours a day, and we get some insights of what they are eating – mostly from those contrived product placement sessions – but this week they provided us with a little more info.
Bob let on that the contestants eat 1,200 calories a day, and need to burn 6,000 calories a day in their workouts.
My wife is always astounded and envious when she see’s a contestant lose 15 or 20 pounds in a week. I tell her, “This isn’t reality. It’s entertaining, but far from real world results. Yeah, we can probably eat 1,200 calories a day sure, but all of us who commute to and from full-time jobs don’t have 6 hours a day to work out like these people do. It’s just not practical for the busy everyday lives of the regular person. “
Those of us who are overweight watch the show do so because we know intimately what the contestants go through in their daily lives as a fat person. We root them on and want to see them succeed, because we all wish and fantasize that it were us at the end the season – completely transformed both mentally and physically. It’s vicariously gratifying.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 20, 2009
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Starting Weight: 380
Weight After Last Weigh-In: 345
Weight Loss-/+Gain Since Last Weigh-In: -3.5
Current Weight: 341.5
Total Weight Loss YTD: 38.5
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This kinda, sorta makes up for the 10th’s weigh-in. As I am approaching the 40lb mark, I’m getting…how do they put it?…“Cautiously optimistic”.
However, I won’t feel totally confident that I am past my first and biggest plateau hurdle until I see that 50lb weight-loss mark.
What I’ve been doing right:
What I need to improve upon:
What am I gonna do about it?
- Pay closer attention to when I’m presented with a meal that contains dead carbs.
- Increase my water intake
- Use skim milk in my coffee
- Get more sleep
- Start isometrics and light weight training
- Read more about weight loss strategies, low impact workouts and real nutrition
- Increase my protein intake
Changes I’ve noticed.
I moved down from a 56” belt to a 52” belt. I’ve also experienced frequent periods of more energy. I feel I’m motivated to do more and not fall asleep on the couch like I had been doing. It’s been easier tying my shoes, and when I tie them the tied part is in the middle of the shoe and not toward the side of the shoe.
Another couple of pounds and I retire my biggest pair of pants as they are beginning to look too baggy. When I lose another 10 pounds, there will be several more pieces of clothes to go to the Salvation Army. I’m keeping my biggest set of clothes for comparisons sake, but everything else goes. I’m burning the boats on the beach, so to speak. There’s no turning back – there’s only forward.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 15, 2009
This season of the Biggest Loser started off with a real eye opener when Tracey, at 37 years-old, collapses and is Life-Flighted to a hospital after trying to run/walk 1 mile. Since she’s 10 years younger than I am, it was a real wake-up call moment.
I’ve watched BL since its inception and have seen every kind of teary story of each season, however, Abby’s story of how she tragically lost her family in a car accident broke my heart. I can’t even allow myself to put my mind there to even try to imagine what that must be like for her. All I have to say is she’s a much stronger person than I am.
It was good to see Daniel come back to finish the job he started in season 7. Whether he makes it to the final four or not, he’s already won a huge opportunity to change his life around. My wife voiced that she thought it was too bad that they didn’t have Mike Morelli’s (2nd place winner of season 7) brother Max participate this season – knowing he really needs it.
Is it me or does Jillian seem extra nasty this season? She’s the kind of trainer I need, but I mean this gal has gotten to the point of zero-tolerance for any sign of weakness to the point she attacks it like a pitbull attacks slow moving mailmen. I thought she was being overly dramatic when she grabbed fistfulls of Shay’s shirt and yelled in her face. Maybe she’s going Hollywood and is vying for a role in the next Quentin Tarantino movie? Who knows.
Even Bob doesn’t seem as wam and fuzzy as he used to be. Maybe he’s taking a page…no…whole chapters out of Jillian’s training book – since she her teams have soundly defeated his over the past 7 seasons.
I pretty much like everyone so far, but Julio didn’t seem to be pulling his weight (no pun). I know they edit the show in a way that makes him look weak with all the falling over, but his weigh-in suggests that he wasn’t putting in the same intensity as the rest of the contestants.
In the end I know why they kept Julio, but I felt that Alexandra should have stayed. To me, it felt as though the person who was showing the most strength in pursuit of their goal was the one who was punished by being sent home. Julio, on the other hand, is a big guy and stands to lose a lot more weight than Alexandra could have – and they may end up regretting not sending him home now.
Game – On!
Posted by: WFMeyer on: September 10, 2009
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Starting Weight: 380
Weight After Last Weigh-In: 345.5
Weight Loss-/+Gain Since Last Weigh-In: -0.5
Current Weight: 345.0
Total Weight Loss YTD: 35.0
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I lost one-half-pound (0.05) in 10 days.
Y’know what? I deserved it.
Here’s why.
What I’ve been doing right:
What I did wrong and what I need to improve upon:
What am I gonna do about it?
Now that I wrote out what I was doing wrong, I feel much better about it and know definitively what I need to do to counter the behaviors that are holding me back.
I don’t know if it’s because the weather has turned cooler here in the north, or that I’m getting impatient, but I have been experiencing a stirring inside urging me to do more physically. Not to go and spend 2 hours in the gym hoisting weights the size of kitchen appliances, but definitely do some sort of light weight training.
As I stated last time my knees aren’t bothering me like they used too, and I needed to test them a bit. This past Saturday, I was standing and walking around for 3 hours straight with no problems. I even spent some of that time blazing a trial through the woods.
I’m on the last notch of my large belt, and slowly but surely it’s proving to be no longer tight enough to do its job and has me hoisting my pants up more often than normal. I’m even filling out my 4X shirts a little less. Some of them are beginning to feel more like they are draping on me rather than stretching over my gut to cover me.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: August 31, 2009
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Starting Weight: 380
Weight After Last Weigh-In: 348.8
Weight Loss-/+Gain Since Last Weigh-In: -3.3
Current Weight: 345.5
Total Weight Loss YTD: 34.5
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Stayed with the whole foods more and was able to get out and take more and longer walks. It paid off, but I’m not fooling myself. I still have to get past that losing greater than 40lb mark before I feel I’m on my way.
I know I haven’t lost that much weight since our outing to Six Flags, but my activity level has gone up – although modestly. Still, now that I am walking every day and putting more time into it, I noticed that my knees are no longer hurting like they did. The big test would be to take an extensive 2 hour walk in a moderately hilly area to see how much my knees really have improved.
Posted by: WFMeyer on: August 20, 2009
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Starting Weight: 380
Weight After Last Weigh-In: 351
Weight Loss-/+Gain Since Last Weigh-In: -2.2
Current Weight: 348.8
Total Weight Loss YTD: 31.2
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I’ve lost 2.2 of the pounds I regained from the first update of the month. So I’m back to the point where I’ve lost 31lbs. to date.
This is dangerous territory for me.
Whenever I lost weight in the past, I’ve almost always managed to lose 30-35 pounds but then I’d get stuck there. Then for whatever reasons and excuses I go off the rails and re-gain the weight in half the time I lost it – and just for the hell of it my body would add another 10 pounds to it for good measure.
Once again I am at this crossroad.
This weighs heavily on my mind (no pun intended) that if I screw up this time, I’m going to land close to that 400lb mark. This is a HUGE mental warning sign of where I do not want to end up.
My fear is if I do hit the 400lb mark and beyond, I’ll just give up and pack it in. I’ll go out and buy buckets of ice cream and fried chicken, set up camp in my bed and never leave, eating myself into oblivion. When I die from a massive coronary, they’ll have to remove the outside wall of my bedroom and use a crane and flatbed truck to get my corpse out – the final humiliation. Man, but I sound like a drama queen…
Anyway, I’ve finally got to the point where I’m too afraid to go back to any of my old habits – because I know they’ll put me right on that chicken-fat laden slippery slope.
I don’t care how long I’m stuck in the low to mid-30 pound weight loss region. I can’t allow myself to get discouraged, which so far I’m not. It’ll be a very happy day when I break the 40lb weight-loss barrier. At that point I feel that I’ll be on my way.
