Oprah's "Biggest Loser" Show: Kinda Dull, But a Definite Reality Check

I watched most of it, cause I wanted to see what they'd have to offer (and maybe get me kicked in the butt a bit).

It was nice to see some former contestants, and Oprah was very up and encouraging and all, but Jillian looked like she was gonna fall asleep and Bob looked disoriented. What up with that?

Anyway, I liked that they had a segment with contestants having a hard time keeping weight off (or just plain not succeeding). For instance, in a VERY VERY brief update, they showed Ryan Benson (not in person), the first ever winner of TBL, who has a 100 pound regain. I'm sure he feels really bad about it. I wish they had been able to interview him.

The segment with Matt and Suzy Hoover (who still make an adorable couple, don't they?) was a needed reality check. When you stop doing what you did to lose (ie, keep food intake in check, exercise a lot), you regain. Matt was up about 50 pounds from his winning weight. And though they tactfully didn't get a fixed number from Susy, she was wearing a black turtleneck and was only shown shoulders up. We know "fat camouflage," don't we, ladies? We understand it.

Granted, Suzy's had two babies in less than two years--which she kept repeating, I'll add--and that's a definite factor. But she admitted to not being with it in terms of exercising and with also using the pregnancies as an excuse to eat for two--and eat a lot.

We understand that, too. (Hey, I have a reason to eat? Let's at it!)

This weight loss thing is hard. Maintenance is hard. It's all hard.

You know, THE BIGGEST LOSER should keep tab on previous guests, and all the ones who regained a lot should have a shot again--a sort of TBL Regainers show--maybe a shorter show to see if second time's the charm? Whaddya think?

Reality check two: What the successful maintainers do.

They exercise--frequently. They control what foods they buy and eat--consistently. Exercise. Calorie control. No big news there.

There's Ali, the woman winner of TBL, small and sleek and toned. They showed her in the kitchen, showing us what kinds of stuff she eats. From my calculations, her breakfast and lunches run about 200 calories each. And she excercises 2 hours a day (at least five days a week). TWO HOURS. If breakfast and lunch run (with whatever beverages and fruit she may add) about 500, then she's eating very little. What? Fewer than 1200 calories a day? TO MAINTAIN.

But SEEING it. Ouch. Reality slap, that one.

I forgot which contestant was the guy who showed his daily meal intake--the food arrayed on a counter. About 2000-2100 calories (for a tall fella). Very lean 3 meals and two snacks. Oatmeal with yogurt for breakfast. A few ounces of grilled chicken and steamed broccoli for lunch. Ezekiel bread with peanut butter for a snack. You get the drift.

Shoot.

Real life can't sustain 6 hours of killer daily exercise like the ranch. The 1200 to 1400 calories the women ate daily was paired with about 4000 calories BURNED OFF. Yes, that's a caloric deficit that ensures big losses. A pound a day plus is not surprising with that equation.

Overall, the show was worth watching for those of us on this particular journey or in this particular fight (choose thy metaphor!) for a look at how it really works. The difficulty to reach goals and keep to them, and the glow that comes from succeeding. Notice how much "shinier" the maintainers looked, that sense of satisfaction from making such a change.

No magic pill. Just grueling attention and effort.

~

What's That On My Arm?

Yesterday, I was reclining on the couch in the evening, just reading a magazine, and I reached up absent-mindedly to scratch my arm.

I felt something odd.

I hitched up my sleeve, looked down, felt around, wondering, "What the heck was that I just felt?"

I mean, I'm middle-aged. Visions of cancer are always in the periphery.

False alarm.

It was... a muscle.

Stop laughing.

Okay, go ahead. Chuckle. I did.

I'm not used to having muscles. Nearly four months of Pilates, and I have fricken BICEPS MUSCLES. I have muscles--all hard under the too generous flesh--in my thighs. My abdomen has hard bits under the flab.

Interesting.

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What The Princess Likes About Oatmeal

I used to make old-fashioned oatmeal on the stove with milk, which I found a bit annoying in terms of sticking to the pot, but which I loved in terms of the aroma. However, since I got my slow cooker, it's just so easy making a water-based one in there that it's my preferred method. Just put it on and, voila, in an hour (for firm) or two (for mushy), a warm, comforty, filling snack or breakfast.

(I skip the quick cooking, and either take the time for old-fashioned slow-cooking or do instant. The in-between one, eh.)

Lyn, over at Escape from Obesity, is gonna go on a visit to the Quaker Oats HQ, and she's got a giveaway of yumsy QO products. (Go enter at her site.)

I decided to enter the giveaway and answer one of the questions--in this case, what do I like about oatmeal?

My response:

What do I like about Oatmeal? Let me count the ways:

1. Easy to make.
2. Can be made with milk or water, and is fine both ways.
3. Reminds me of chilly mornings when mom made me oatmeal--it's comfort food!
4. It's great with fruit and spices.
5. Leftover oatmeal makes a quick and easy cobbler.
6. You can make "oatmeal cookies" with oatmeal, and I love oatmeal cookies.
7. You can make fake oatmeal "cookies" with protein powder in a pinch.
8. It's very filling. And I have a monster appetite that is not easily quelled.
9. It tastes good, really, so maybe that should be number one.
10. It comes in INSTANT, for when I get lazy, which is kinda often.
11. You can make a huge batch and eat it for days and days....which is good, yet again, for the lazy thing.
12. It lowers cholesterol, and I need all the help I can get in that department.
13. It's got fiber, and fiber is good for my colon's health.
14. It smells good. I love the smell of oats and oatmeal. I stick my head in those tubes of Quaker Oats and breathe it in. I linger over the pot while it cooks. I love opening the slow cooker lid and smelling it. LOVE THAT SMELL!
15. Okay, this isn't about oatmeal per se, but it's worth mentioning: It makes for great cleansing and moisturizing products for sensitive skin. (ie Aveeno)
16. Oats (before cooking) make a good exfoliant for sensitive skin.

What do you like about Oatmeal? What would you tell the Quaker Oats people to do to improve their products or what new products would you like to see? What question would you like Lyn to ask their dietitian? Answer one of these at Lyn's site and you might win some stuff.

~

What NOT To Do When You Blow It and Reassessing That "Cheat Days" Thing

Both JC and Lyn have some advice for those days when we simply blow it--scarf down the three or four slices of pizza, attack the brownies, go for the supersized burger meal, go mad with the chips and nacho cheese, etc.

Do not say, "Oh, well, I blew it. Might as well have X, Y, and Z, too."

JC wants you to get rid of the negative language. Don't even think, "I blew it!"

Lyn wants you to remember that every bite counts, even the ones AFTER the occasion of "blowing it." A slip is not a license to keep slipping. And a cheat day may sabotage you by giving you that very sense of "Well, I might as well as..."

I think both make good points. We always have to analyze our verbiage/mental script. If saying "I blew it" becomes a magic chant that lets us go binge worse or keeps us from stopping a bad choice, then it must be removed.

And if a cheat day becomes an excuse to blow all the week's progress, then a cheat day is NOT an aid to weight loss. I have seen a blogger here and there use a cheat day as an excuse to just go hog wild and eat everything in sight. That's not the purpose of cheat days, as I understand them. It's a day to enjoy a particular meal or treat that we'd normally eschew. Let's say, instead of a plain roasted sweet potato, we go for the sweet potato casserole. Or instead of the grilled chicken, we go for the chicken cordon bleu. And yet, always with an eye to keeping the rest in check.

But cheat days do tend to become the ultra feast--the fried foods, the shake, the chocolate cake, the gravy, the extra cheese, the garlic rolls with extra oil. In other words, instead of being a way to hold off on a daily donut by allowing oneself a donut once a week or once a month, it becomes a day to give into every indulgence.

That can't possibly help. It just feeds the binge monster.

If you have a cheat day, and it's not working for you (ie, it's sabotaging you), try a cheat meal or a cheat ITEM in a meal. So, you have the healthful meals on a Saturday, but you allow yourself one indulgence (fries with your grilled chicken, or full fat dressing on your salad, or cookies instead of sugar free jello.) That can work. :)

Hey, we all gotta find what will ultimately work for us. But keep an eye on if these two things--language and cheat days--are actually an obstacle you need to knock down.

I can't do cheat days. I am someone who will go hog wild. Whenever I managed to lose a big chunk of weight in the past, it was by incorporating some kind of treat I looked forward to DAILY, but always a smaller portion or a less-fat/no-sugar option. I can't go a week without a treat; I can't say "CHEAT DAY!" either. It's a middle ground for me.

On the other hand, saying "I blew it" is not a trigger for me the way it's for some. Saying, "I blew it" is usually followed by, "What can I eat for my next meal that takes me back on a better path?"

Neither changing our verbiage nor stopping a slip is easy. But they are alway part of a lifelong weight correction plan.
~~

Why It's Worth Taking the Risk to Exercise

I know I'm not alone in the "I'll feel so embarrassed to put on workout wear and look foolish in the gym" phobia.

I had to get over mine (and trust me, it still lurks) to step inside a Pilates studio full of the fit and the young and the beautiful sleek ones.

But good things can come of taking the chance and saying to the fear, "Yes, someone might make fun of me, but that's their problem, not mine. My problem is obesity and lack of fitness. That's what I need to address. Not someone else's immaturity."

I came across this in a post today at Thinking Thin Too blog:

My motivation is increasing. This is not a normal thing for me. I am not used to it, but I like it. I think I know what is causing this oddity. Want to know what it is? No, it's not A (well maybe a small part of it). It's the classes that I am going to. I never would have imagined that mustering up the courage to go to these classes would lead me to crave them. Yes, I said crave them. Yesterday, I was dog tired and I went home and didn't want to go. Just like the other week, at 5:30 I got up, changed my clothes, went to the gym and did the class. I have not missed a class since I started going. For those of you that haven't tried the classes, have you not tried them out of fear?

Let me tell you. I haven't done many things throughout my life because of fear. I don't want people watching the fat chic. You hear people whispering, and you assume it's about you...

Anyway, so that fear of being the center of attention has always kept me from trying those classes until that one day about 6 weeks ago. I haven't missed a class since. If you can muster up the courage, go to one. Trust me, you will find that exercise goes quickly. You will no longer dread going.

I would not have believed it possible if you had told me last year that I would feel disappointment at the idea of missing a Pilates session. But that's where I'm at. I've missed ONE session (that I had to cancel due to stomach woes after eating a hard, unripe pear). And I felt awful calling to cancel.

It's really hard. I'm not gonna say that exercising is a breeze or a snap. I have to find that place inside me that keeps going and doesn't quit during a tough session. (They're all tough, but some are tougher and make me wonder how I'll survive.) But I feel so good when I'm done. Like I did a virtous thing, like I'm not a weenie, like I'm on track on something...:)

If I could afford it, I'd go more often. But I am grateful to be able to take what I can.

And that's amazing. That just doing it and seeing how, "Wow, I am stronger this week than last, and I'll be stronger next week than this"--that is motivational.

If I could find that sort of groove with my portions, I'd be a big losing fool.

I want to be that kind of fool. :)

So, if you think that exercise sucks and you're too big to go to a gym or a studio or the park fitness trail or whatever, think about this blogger and Thinking Thin, and remember that it's possibly you can amaze yourself. Just find the exercise that works for you--be it hiking, weight lifting, Pilates, a spinning class, yoga, walking, belly dancing, boxing, Tae Kwon Do, swimming...whatever. Somewhere out there is an activity that will grab you and astound you by making you WANT TO DO IT and HATE TO MISS IT. No matter your budget, there's something for you.

Just tell your fears to take a hike. Tell your worries about fatphobics to chill. Hike up your big girl panties (preferably breathable ones) and go work out.

I hope you find YOUR activity this week. :)

A Near-Year's-End Goal Assessment

There are 65 days left to 2008, and that's 9.28 weeks left in the year. That's all. Then...a whole new year.

I have not been happy with how I've handled goals this year. I've not met as many as I wished. A look at the good and the not so good:

I have made progress in a couple areas this year. One: I'm exercising regularly, strenuously, and am getting stronger and more flexible. Two: I am consciously eating more whole, unprocessed foods and organic foods. Three: I'm eating out less. Four: I'm maintaining a sound mood, with fewer dips into the dark cloud. Five: My thyroid has not gotten worse (ie, requiring an increase in dosage).

On the bad side are some key things. One: I am still not mastering portion control. Two: I still am not being consistent about water intake. Three: I've slipped back into giving into more than the occasional/rare sweets temptation. Four: I am still keeping a wacky and unhealthy sleeping schedule.

I feel better. I walk with more spring. Good.

I sleep erratically. I let myself get dehydrated. I buy cookies. Bad.

As it stands, I need to assiduously attack the weaknesses in order to end the year with a loss, and not a maintain (or, Heaven forbid, a gain).

65 days. 9 1/4 weeks. If I were to be a very good Princess starting TODAY, I could end the year with an 18 to 20 pound loss.

That's my goal. As of today. End 2008 at or under 255.

Cause time is always, always, always running out on this body. And your body.

What are your goals for the rest of this year. The end cometh...of 2008.

Onward and DOWNWARD!

Anyone have the Gillian McKeith's Legume Loaf with Onion Gravy recipe?

I'm here sorting through laundry and watching Gillian McKeith's YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT on the telly, and they show this loafy thing from chick peas and butter beans made with an onion gravy.

Anyone have that recipe? I'm really interested in the onion gravy, wondering how she makes, since she's not a meat or butter or white flour gal(but the gravy is still brown, like beef-based one. Soy sauce?). It looked yummy, anyway.

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VeggieMunn Meal #4--yummy kale and tasty lentils

This time I'm reporting on these:

o Lentil salad - mixed baby greens, sprouted lentils, onion, parsnip, bell pepper, orange, tahini, lemon, Nama shoyu, parsley, thyme
o Mediterranean Kale Salad - kale, red bell pepper, black olives, lemon, cold pressed olive oil, sea salt, black pepper

Both very good. I enjoyed them. The raw lentils had a nice chewy texture and the spicing reminded me of tabboule, which I love. The kale was very fresh and delicious, the olives were super, and the red pepper still crisp four days. I have to admit that though it was fine as dressed, I wanted a stronger flavor, so I used some of Annie's Organic Goddess dressing (a vegan, though not raw, dressing). My fave bottled dressing.

I didn't feel like soup or dessert.

Now, I'm craving more kale salad. :)

~

DragonFire Factoid: Accomplia And Psych Problems

An anti-obesity drug that has been prescribed to 97,000 people in the UK doubled the risk of psychiatric disorders in those who took it, the European Medicines Agency has found.

The EMA has decided that the benefits of the drug Acomplia - which has been licensed in Europe since June 2006 - no longer outweigh the risks, and have advised doctors to no longer prescribe the drug.

In a trial of 36,000 this summer, five of those taking the drug committed suicide, compared to only one of those taking the placebo.

--from "Users of slimming drug at risk of psychiatric disorders" in the TIMES ONLINE.

(And the above is just one reason why this Princess stays away from diet drugs, period. Remember Fen-Phen?)

~

One of my fave artists does nifty things with vegetables and fruits

Since I've been emphasizing vegan/vegetarian foods in recent posts, I thought I'd share a couple of paintings from one of my very most favoritest artists, the surrealist Remedios Varo. Her stuff is amazing. AMAZING! And loaded with dream, mythic, Jungian, Freudian, metaphysical, etc meanings.

Here's a couple with fruits and veggies as the focus (though, of course, there is humor and greater significance):

Vegetarian Vampires (Vampiros Vegetarianos)--


Still Life, Reviving (Naturaleza Muerta, Resucitando)--