The Most Important lessons from the biggest loser Program
Around the world, night after night, millions of people are fascinated by their televisions, but not to see the latest novel or CSI. Don't watch Jay Leno or Sex in the City. Not to see who taunts, lasts longer, and beats everyone else in Survivor. No, they are haunted by the efforts of a small group of obese people trying to overcome the effects of years of overeating.
Not surprisingly, for so many people this is compulsive viewing. Obesity is the new epidemic. Fat children wander around school playgrounds as their overweight mothers fill shopping carts with the wrong choices. Then ... they sit down at night to watch The Biggest Loser. They see dramatic weight loss and new body shapes beginning to emerge. They want the same results and they start to think that it might be possible.
But who has four or five hours a day to exercise? Who can afford a personal trainer multiple times a week? And who has the luxury of having their own personal advisor on calorie content and smart food choices? The answer is: few people. But you have to remember that this is television: it is a false situation. As players keep reminding themselves and viewers: "This is a GAME. You have to make the most of your time here; it's going to be a lot more difficult in the real world."
Is it more difficult in the real world? Probably. But you can learn lessons from watching this reality show. You can make it work for you as well as for the contestants. Here are three practical and useful lessons that you can put into practice right away.
1. Put weight loss first.
In the Biggest Loser home, WEIGHT LOSS COMES FIRST. Make it the first thing in your home too. Sounds simple right? Is. In fact, it is so simple that many people simply overlook it. They try to adapt exercise and meal planning to everything else in their lives, rather than making it a priority.
Think: what is most important: lose weight and get fit enough to spend years in your life or watch another TV show? Sit down with a pencil and paper and allot at least one hour a day to plan meals, record what you eat, and do some type of exercise. You still have 23 hours to do everything else!
2. E is for exercise and enjoyment.
What else do you see in the Biggest Loser home? The more they exercise, the more they seem to enjoy it. Oh sure, they grunt and groan; they sweat and complain. But as the weeks go by, you'll hear them say things like, "I never thought I'd say I feel like exercising, but now I don't feel good if a day goes by without exercising!"
The secret to enjoying exercise is finding what is right for YOU. If you don't really enjoy the gym, find other forms of exercise. You need a combination of cardio and resistance training, but you don't have to be on machines. Walking, swimming, dancing, climbing hills, pushing a wheelbarrow in the garden ... there are endless options that can be fun for you. Find out what happens to various muscle groups and your heart when you exercise and choose activities that you enjoy.
3. Identify the triggers.
Emotions soar when the contestants have to face their demons. Weight gain is rarely due to just a physical cause. If you keep a food diary and faithfully record not just what you eat, but when (and why) you eat it, you will soon see an emotional eating pattern. What are YOUR triggers? Boredom? Fatigue? Family arguments?
Once you've identified these triggers, you can begin working on strategies to overcome them. This can be as simple as challenging yourself every time you want to eat. ("Am I hungry, yes or no? If I'm not hungry, why do I want to eat? Am I really thirsty? If I'm running to the refrigerator because I'm upset, is there more to it than what can I do to feel better? Is there a long-term solution that fixes this for good? "And so on). If you're not ready to deal with the root cause just yet, prepare yourself with foods that don't add to your problems with the resulting fat rolls. Make sure you have "good" food on hand, but also food that you LIKE.
These are just three of the lessons anyone can learn from watching The Biggest Loser. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it all on your own.
