Lessons from "The Biggest Loser"

 

I absolutely love the show "The Biggest Loser;" it's so motivating to see people excited to lose weight and make real changes in their way of life.  I have watched just about every season so far, except when Anna Kournikova was brought on as a "trainer" (that is intentionally in quotes, I mean, really...Anna a trainer?? Please!!).  Now that Jillian is back, all is now put to rights in the world of "The Biggest Loser!"

If you've kept up with this season so far, you know that they've included kids in the competition who have been classified as "obese."  The focus with the kids is a little different than the adults; the trainers visit and train the kids on a rotation at the ranch, but also at the kids' homes.  The other difference between the kids and the adults is that the kids cannot be eliminated from the competition.  The kids' nutrition and exercise education also includes helping their parents make different decisions about what sorts of activities their child should do, as well as how to stock their pantry with healthy foods.  Great stuff!

Every participant (kids and adults) on "The Biggest Loser" must provide a short video interview as to why they want to be a part of the show, and what led them to this place of bad health.  It was very interesting to see the difference between the kids' personal videos that provided the reasons they were on the show, and the adults' videos.  The kids very plainly felt that they were obese because of habits they had built on their own - in other words, they provided no excuses for their weight but owned up to personal behaviors that led them to obesity.  It was common for some of the adults, however, to say how other people and circumstances have led to their obesity, while avoiding discussion of the impact of personal choices.

Seeing the kids' honesty is completely refreshing and provides hope that anyone struggling with their weight does not have to have a "victim mentality" about their struggle.  So what can we learn from these kids' "Why Videos?"  I think some of the following things can be kept in mind as we strive to kick bad habits and adopt new ones!

1. Own up to the part you had to play in getting to your current circumstances.  The only way to move forward is to recognize that your personal choices had a major part to play in where you are now, regardless of what other people have said or done.

2. Choose to make a change for yourself.  Realize you don't have to be the victim in your own life anymore.  If you have poor health due to your life choices, tell yourself that today is the day to change, create a healthy goal for yourself, and then figure out the steps that will get you to completion of your goal.

3. Get accountability. The kids on "The Biggest Loser" realized they needed help to get better, so do you!  Find a team of people who will help you get to your goals!

Your Own Personal...Stomach Pump??!!

There is a new product in testing that I see as one of the most disgusting abuses of our current medical knowledge.  Aspire Bariatrics has created a "personal stomach pump" that can pump out the contents of your stomach 20 minutes after eating a meal so that it will not digest or turn in to fat.  It then inserts water into the stomach so that you feel full.  The main issue this company is having in getting their product accepted and on the market for consumers is its difficulty in getting rid of large chunks of food, as well as many types of processed foods; which, let's face it, most of our diet is processed food!

My first thought after reading the article (and watching the lovely video about how the stomach pump is installed and works) was "Really??!!"  It's almost comical that certain members of the medical community are literally banking on the fact that we can be so lazy as to choose to install a permanent fixture on our stomach to drain it instead of learning how to stop stuffing our faces and set our forks down!  It's actually pretty insulting, and now I feel like this...

I hope this makes you a little angry, that as a public we're perceived as being this foolish and ready to make drastic changes instead of making easy (and more cost effective) choices of eating different (healthy) types of food, and exercising instead of sitting.  I also hope you become a little perturbed that a medical form of bulimia is on its way to being acceptable for people to practice.  And what exactly is the "science" behind this product?  How is it acceptable to drain your stomach of the very nutrition it needs to fuel every single system in the body?  Simply stated, this is going to be a fancy (and expensive) way to starve a person.

What do you think?  Below is a link to the article (it's pretty short), and there is a video in the article that shows exactly what the stomach pump looks like, and how it works.


Personalized Stomach Pump

New Year...New You?

January, 2013 has arrived, and it is a perfect time for a fresh start!  I know that the holidays provide various hurdles to healthy habits we may have previously maintained, and we may have fallen off the wagon a time or two.  There is no better time to re-examine our health and fitness goals than the present.  As you are thinking through the things that you would like to change, or "get back in the habit of," here are some questions to help get you thinking.

• What were my nutrition and exercise goals for 2012?  How often did I accomplish these goals?
• What kept me from meeting my nutrition and exercise goals for 2012?
• What changes would I like to see in my health and quality of life for 2013?
• What changes can I make in the way that I eat in order to be more healthy?
• What changes can I make in my exercise routine to push myself toward healthier living?

It also helps to write down your goals and track your progress throughout the year.  This way you have a journal that you can review at the end of the year to see if you met your goals, or what kept you from accomplishing them.  This journal can include...

•  A simple notation of what type of physical activity you do each day and how long you do it. 
• A food log (1 week of recording should be sufficient) to see where you may need to make changes.
• Your main goals for the year, broken up into monthly goals that can be met little by little.

To ensure success in meeting your goals, I highly recommend having collaboration from others to keep you motivated and accountable for reaching your goals.  It also helps to educate yourself in the areas of fitness and nutrition so that you know you are doing the right things for your body.  Here are some examples of GOOD SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

• A qualified personal trainer or exercise physiologist

                                                               

• A registered dietitian, nutritionist, or sports dietitian 

                                                        

• A chiropractor who practices preventive care

• Scientific journals (a good place to start would be http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed)  

The following would be some examples of QUESTIONABLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION.  If you find health information here, you should definitely see if it agrees with verified research from a good source of information:

• The internet (generic random searches for health advice don't always go to trustworthy sites)

                                                          

•  Certain magazines you might find while standing in line at the grocery store

         

• Health books written by individuals who do not have a degree in a fitness or health-related field, and/or who promote questionable fad diets and exercise routines that have no scientific basis.

Once you have created your goals based on the right type of information, go get'em!  I encourage you to make 2013 your best year yet, and become the healthiest you that you can be.  Get your support team together so that they can cheer you on and help move you forward to your goals.  You can do this!