Fat Gals on Television--Drop Dead Diva and Huge and why I watch them...

Warning: I ramble like mad. Sorry. Don't feel like revising and proofing over and over to get to essay-like laser focus. Heh.

Television--and cinema--tend not to depict US folks the way we really look. Most of us aren't toned, trim beauties and hunks with white-white teeth and perfect makeup, hair, clothes who look stunning the second we wake up and don't look droopy and pooped the moment we go to bed.

Go to a mall (one not frequented in high numbers by foreign tourists) and look around. What do we look like? For the most part, we're decently groomed, but not glamorous. There will be the occasional really elegant or really updated stylish types, but most just go for comfort. And we tend toward the pudgy side of things, with many of us walking around sporting quite a bit more adipose tissue than is desirable, fashionable, even healthful.

But on television, size 2 rules among women. Should an actress dare to show 10 lbs more than she should by the Hollywood standard, she's gonna have her butt or belly or thighs pasted across tabloids and talked about on Access Hollywood or TMZ and some celebrity blogger will taunt her. (Jennifer Love Hewitt can attest to this.)

Should a formerly glamorous beauty turn flabby and fat (Elizabeth Taylor years ago, Kirstie Alley today), she will be made fun of by late night hosts and everyone under the sun. Maybe they'll be sponsored by some convenience diet program. Because, God forbid, a celebrity look like the rest of us.

Oh, and don't grow old. That's another sin, unless you're a man, who can still get great roles and be a romantic lead at age 65+ (Harrison Ford, Sean Connery,Robert Redford, etc).

But television is right there in our homes, and while it will happily lead or reflect changes in public mores and attitudes about sex or family structure or work or etc, it's sometimes really slow in showing the changing face --and ass--of America.

As a Latina, I know that some years ago I kept asking, "Where the hell are we? We're like 20% of the population, so where are we?" I mean, Freddie Prinze and Desi Arnaz are way in the past. What's happening now?

Then  Jennifer Lopez made box office, Cristina Aguilera and Ricky Martin and Shakira made the charts and MTV's videos, and George Lopez's show gave us a family-face. Sophia Vergara is on Modern Family now (and funny, too). Cute young Latin performers are on TV (the half-Puerto Rican family on Wizards of Waverly Place). Hunkorama Adam Rodriguez makes the girls go mmmm on CSI: Miami. (Although, really, for a city that's more than 50% Hispanic, that show needs some more Latin face flavor and don't get me going on CSI: NY's dearth of Hispanics.)

So, I ask less often about the ethnicity factor and more often about the fat factor. Where are the pudgies, chubbies, zaftigs, chunkies, and fatties? We're a fat country. We're not a country of ectomorphs. We're roundies. J-Lo made the big Latin butt popular among non-black, non-Latin folks, will Drop Dead Diva and HUGE make the bigger gal popular in television programming of the future?

Dunno, but I tune in. I loved DDD from day one and haven't missed an episode. The actors are excellent and the show is fun and funny while often addressing important issues other than fat-related ones. Even my husband sits to watch with me without fail. The lead actress is plus-size who comes across smart AND pretty AND talented. She may have the soul of a skinny blonde inside, but what we see is an attractive, successful lawyer of a Lane Bryant size brunette. And it's about fricken time a plus-size lead actress can be seen as SEXY AND COMPETENT.

While we've seen big gals featured before--notably Roseanne, whose eponymous show let us into the often cantakerously dysfunctional world of a supersized wife/mom/blue-collar worker. But Roseanne wasn't put out there as desirable or super-successful. She was the tough-talking, no nonsense, unglamorous big gal married to a blue-collar supersized hubby with often rebellious kids.

But at least she wasn't a vindictive whack job like Mimi in Drew Carey Show--with the clown makeup and insane outfits that said, "I'm fat, so yeah, I am a big joke." It was okay for Drew to be the fat guy who gets the cute gal. Mimi was just the fat gal with no fashion sense and a psychosis.

Blasting to the past a bit, I have fond memories of tuning in to a new show called THE PRACTICE and seeing a size 22 or so Camryn Mannheim as a regular (even with her notable man woes). A less-cute precursor to DROP DEAD DIVA's Jane, she was a a smart lawyer gal (though not as brilliant as others in the team). Again, though, unlike DDD's Jane, who gets warm "almost passionate" looks from one of her colleagues and has a passionate relationship (spoiler: now off) with a prosecutor, Camryn's character was not drawn as an effervescent object of like and some lust.

Anyone remember LESS THAN PERFECT?  A show with two less-than-slim gals. Both Sherri Shepherd and Sara Rue have lost weight now, and Sara, who was the show's lead actress, now plugs Jenny Craig. But hey, I liked seeing a show with gals who displayed more "average" American bodies.

Back to today: I'll say this--at least the characters in HUGE are more like regular fat teens. Some are overprotected and meek, some are rebellious, some are super-hot-to-trot, all have issues with either their bodies or society's rejection of their bodies or both.

I don't remember my teen years as being all lightness and joy. I was chubby --by my own estimation and by size category, as I wore a size 10 at start of my teens and a 12 by graduation from high school. Old school measurements, not the revised ones of today, meaning I wasn't really THAT  big, geesh. My hips were 41 inches at age 18, and I weighed 139 pounds, which I remember one cousin going, "Whoa!" when I measured them. I wish my hips were that "big" now (for reference, they're 54.5 inches) . I used to read diet books that had calculations that told me I should weigh 123. Right. Yeah. Like that ever happened.

No wonder I couldn't enjoy being NORMAL weight

I rode bike. I did yoga. I walked for miles. I swam for hours in my sister's complex's pool. I loved the beach and let my poochy belly (got it from mom) show in bathing suits. I didn't FEEL fat in my activities. But society/diet books told me I was overweight and should reduce. So, I couldn't enjoy my body fully, though I was normal.

It makes me furious to this day to think about it.

So, even with HUGE not being anything outstanding yet --one can hope. I base that hope on the really charismatic presence of unkempt, snarky, cellulite-baring Nikki Blonsky. (I never saw this gal in anything else she's done, but man, she's good, good in a way Ricki Lake never, ever was when she was "the cool young fat actress of the moment." Although, to give Ricki her props, she's gotten better. Saw her in an indie flick not too long ago, and thought, "Oh, she's finally learned to act.")

HUGE is the television drama version that reminded me of an MTV documentary I watched a while back that showed teens at a weight loss camp.  It had the same vibe as HUGE, maybe was an inspiration, dunno.

 Some critique the fact that the show doesn't feature someone with total body acceptance without reservations (ie even Will has issues). Well, I had fat friends as a teen. Not merely "a bit fatter than me", but fat. Big. Round. Obese.

And not one had total body acceptance. Every single one wanted to lose weight. One underwent a radical weight loss over one summer vacation: left school in spring quite obese, and returned to the new year's term normal weight. She must have pretty much fasted, and protein fasts were very popular in the seventies. She got a huge boost of confidence, was more active in social events, and got a boyfriend. Clearly, it made a "huge" difference to her life.

I'd find it unrealistic if the characters in HUGE really were totally happy being large in a society that hates large, big in a culture that considers big a fatal flaw, particularly for females. I might believe in a character that believes in fat/self acceptance, but still wishes she could "fit in" to a slimmer world just cause it's EASIER. I've heard that view spoken by gays: "It would just be easier to be straight." Doesn't mean they hate themselves, just means that they wish day to day life was less full of obstacles.

I suspect Nikki Blonsky's "Will" may say she likes herself the way she is and it's going to prove to be nearly all talk by season's end. Maybe she doesn't have the profound self-loathing so many of us have had/have about our fat, but I suspect that it was universal in my teen circle in high school: the chubs all wanted to have the figure of the bat girls, cheerleaders, desired girls in school. The ones the boys rated 9 or 10. We wanted to shop in normal clothes stores, not Lane Bryant.

But even so, a drama needs conflict. External and internal. Otherwise, boring.

HUGE has an assortment of issues under the skin of its fat characters, and I hope the show improves so I don't just tune in cause "Hey, a show with fellow fatties." No, I want it to be a show that really delves into the issues big teens (and by extension big adults) face in a big-despising society.

At least Gina Torres and Nikki make it really watchable (as do a couple other actors doing a very nice job, imo). I like these two ladies a lot. They both have charisma.

And I admit, that I had this moment of intense sympathy and even admiration when Gina Torres' camp director character, when offered a special food one evening, says, "I don't eat after dinner. Ever." (I paraphrase, as I don't remember the exact wording of the script.) And she repeats it.  This is a character who has lost a lot of weight and is paying the price, in terms of discipline and self-sacrifice, to keep it off. The total seriousness and even bit of anger in the tone as the lines were delivered gave me chills.

It's not easy being fat. But it's not easy staying slim, either, as I think we're going to see more of in the show.

So, I'm hanging in there with DROP DEAD DIVA (yay, me loves Jane!) and HUGE (just okay, but me loves Gina and Nikki). I'm all for employing the fat in Hollywood. :D

X-Weighted and Marichu

This is a repeat episode from 2007, but it does show what being a junk food/take-out junkie will do to your body. Both Anthony and Marichu (the Mrs.) were obese. They were also clearly feeling the damage to one's self-esteem that so often comes with being so large.

Marichu had to deal with clutter issues, and not just body clutter--house clutter. (I'm a hoarder, so I know of clutter .) And you could see that the pain of change was weighing on her as much as her fat. She was very weepy and her face was this harrowing mask of depression. Hard to watch.

She couldn't even celebrate her 32 pound loss at the mid-point weigh-in (at three months). Honey, 32 pounds in 3 months is a VERY good weight loss rate. Are you kidding me?

I wanted to slap her.

But I realize that she felt she was working so hard that she should have lost, I dunno, 50?

Not how it works. Fat comes on as easy as pie, goes off harder than heck.

It's such a shame she couldn't jump up and down with joy for that 32 lb loss. I got so tired of hearing, "Was it worth it?" Yeah. If you didn't gain, if you lost, it's worth it, cause not doing anything, girl, just makes you FATTER.

I should add her hubby was also not celebratory over losing 36 lbs in 3 months. What is with these people? Do they have SAD or something?

At the end, they both lost big, looked better, made inroads into making their lives more vital and enjoyable. Marichu in part did this by passing her second attempt at her lifeguard test (she failed 3 of 4 tests the first time). And Anthony did it by engaging in kickboxing and realizing he'd been so miserable for years, but that he could be happy again. (Marital issues came to the fore, as it's bound to when people start to assess and make changes to their lives.)

It was really great to see Marichu and Anthony both look so much more alive--their faces no longer tragic masks. And the kids now have so much of a better shot at NOT becoming as obese as their parents, as they learn to cook healthful meals and learn to enjoy fruits and veggies, instead of just consuming fast food fare.

Final tally: Marichu lost 66 lbs (originally weighed 245, ended up at 179) and a total of 26 inches. Anthony lost 63 pounds (original weighed 347) and a total of 22 inches. Man, she beat him. How 'bout that?

At the finale, Marichu was able to glow and smile and show elation. She looked great after the makeover (hair and clothes). The frumpy, uberwhiny, hangdog-faced depressed housewife was gone. The Girl was back!

Nice.

Now, that was 2007 the show first aired (and I don't know if that means the weight loss occurred in 2006 or 2007). But I would like to know how they're doing now. Have they lost more? Have they maintained? Have they regained?

One thing I hate about these weight loss programs--X-Weighted, You Are What You Eat, to a lesser extent The Biggest Loser--is that they don't do adequate follow-up. As a viewer, I'm interested in what happens when real life strikes.

After all, the ranch is not real life. It's...intervention. It's...treatment.

I'd like regular follow-ups of ALL the contestants to see the ones who succeeded AFTER the show ends. The ones who keep it off, they're the ones to learn from, frankly. But I think it's important to see the ones who do not succeed in maintaining, because we learn from that, too. I know the first TBL follow-up was too upbeat and felt like a whitewash. Subsquent ones reported online were less slanted.

While I don't know how this couple is continuing to do, if her facebook photo is anything to go by, Marichu is doing great and looking faboo. Gives a gal hope. :)

I think one of the good things of shows like this one is the clear depiction of how losing weight can impact so much of a person's life. Fat gets in the way. I know that fat-acceptance folks mean really well. But fat gets in the way of doing so much, of going places, of feeling able to stretch into new avenues. I know fat encapsulates me in more ways than the physical.

Marichu's story--and Anthony's--show how getting leaner and stronger opens doors to living.

~

UPDATE: The original Anthony/Marichu show re-aired today (I watched part while having a snack), and I thank Beth for giving the heads-up in the comments section about an update. If you are curious about what happened to this couple AFTER the show, go here and scroll down for the follow-up info.

THE BIGGEST LOSER'S Aubrey Made Me Mad and Carla Made Me Sad

I toggled between THE BIGGEST LOSER last night and AMERICAN IDOL. (Hubby is an AI fan, I didn't want to miss all of TBL, and I refuse to record shows. It's like robbing the future to me in an odd way. It has to be some real treasure for me to bring out the record function. And I haven't recorded anything in, oh, a couple years or more.)

I'd like to say that Aubrey has some fricken nerve. There, said it.

Joelle has been annoying for a while, so it's not surprising she was in some sort of vacant-stare denial, yet again. I really think she has some sort of weird issue--don't know if it's depression or what, but there is somethign really off about Joelle and her reaction and her masklike face. If I were her, I'd head to a doc and get checked out. I mean that seriously, too. Apathy and that sort of frozen look can be symptoms. I get that way when my thyroid is out of range and when I'm really depressed.

So, Joelle's leaving is not unjust. And Carla had a right to be ticked off. You could see how very much Carla wanted to get healthy at the ranch (and on her own). You could taste her desire to stay. Sad. So sad she had to go.

However, I do think that she had the wrong attitude at follow-up reunion. Deciding you have the right to start tongue-lashing someone yet again--no matter how much they hurt you--is no way to make progress. Venting may have felt good, but it wasn't going to get any epiphanies out of Joelle or anyone. Sorry, I wouldn't sit there and let you rip on me, either, not in public. Take it private, sort it out, or agree to go your separate ways. Hash it out in private, then go on camera if you want to explain what happened. But the camera makes a public event of what I consider totally a private one, and that felt a bit too weirdly voyeuristic a moment for me.

Now, Aubrey: Who the hell is she, Miss I lost Two Pounds In A month When I Was Supposedly Working Out Four Hours A Day, to rip on Joelle the way she did about slacking off? Is this hypocritical or what?

I agree that she, like the other contestants, had the right to ASK questions about commitment and rationales in order to make the BEST choice of who to boot, but she had no moral right to act like she's the queen of 100% effort. She totally turned into a very unappealing person in that moment, and part of me hope she ends up on the chopping block next time for that little ugly bit of her real self showing. Although, part of me wonders if her going off on Joelle was really a strange psych thing of her berating her own self for her poor efforts at home.

Could be, ya know?

I hope Carla reaches her goal of being the woman to lose the most weight on the show. She's got gumption. I'd like to see her succeed. And even if she and Joelle never patch things up, I hope they can forgive each other in their own hearts and move one healthfullly.

~

What Do TBL and Diet Tribe Have In Common Besides Diet and Exercise?

While watching Diet Tribe tonight, it struck me again that Morgan had gastric bypass, though she never got below 255 lbs, and she regained weight. And that reminded me of Ron from The Biggest Loser, who had bariatric surgery...and I guess regained, too? Not sure, as I missed a whole buncha episodes.

I wonder if we're gonna start seeing a lot of WLS regainers on these diet shows now. Hmm.

~~

Catching Diet Tribe on On Demand

I caught Diet Tribe on Comcast On Demand. I'm enjoying it, especially the part with the therapist. It's cool that she was obese once, so she knows it's tough.

I have to say that Shawna is getting on my last nerve. I really want to well-up with empathy, but I'm watching her and have known gals like her--manipulative. The little girl voice saying the cutting thing so it doesn't seem like the cutting thing. The turning stuff so she's the center of attention. The girl may not even realize how manipulative and controlling and whiny and attention-seeking she is, but there it is. On my nerves.

On the other hand, I really like Megan. Her meeting with the therapist was really tough to hear, but she's eloquent and honest about her issues.

I do think the trainer had them doing stuff than no 280 pound woman should do--like the tire run and some other maneuvers that can only strain knees and ankles when said knees and ankles are carrying the weight of two people. I got so ticked at him when Morgan hurt herself. Good tv drama is not always good health-building--like with the drastic caloric curtailment and water pills some have used to make the TBL final weigh in lower.

On the happier side:

I got a serious yum-craving for those stuffed mushrooms Morgan made for their indoor picnic. Mushrooms and cheese--two of my favest things. I'm gonna get the fixings for them next time I shop. If you want the recipe--and it's 35 calories per stuffed mushroom--here it is: Four-Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms.

~

A Lot of Regain Among TBL Vets

I've stated it before, and it's worth reminding ourselves, that this is a lifelong battle. It does not end. Oprah is understanding this. And a lot of the veterans of THE BIGGEST LOSER are facing that, too.

MSNBC has a couple of interesting articles. If you're a fan of TBL, you may want to check these out, including the pics:


Did they keep it off? See TBL Contestants now...

Life After "Loser": "Every day is a struggle"

~

My Quickie Notes on Oprah's Show 1/5/09

Some quotes and notes I scribbled down (probably imperfectly) while watching Oprah's show yesterday about her regain and her plan to get fit again:

"This is a problem in your life that will remain a problem in your life for the duration of your life."
-- Bob Greene

"Bottom line: you have to plan your meals."
--Oprah

"There's absolutely no way that I'm ever,ever going to maintain my weight without some regular cardio exercise...at least 30 minutes a day"
--Oprah

Oprah's exercise plan:
cardio for 30 mins a day
resistance training 5 days a week

Oprah's tools:
Best Life Diet Book
Posted meal plan in her kitchen
~~sample meals
~~~~Bkfst: egg whites, steel-cut oatmeal, green tea
~~~~Dinner: salmon, sweet potato, green vegetable(s)

She also has set aside time for her health and personal needs in her daily schedule.

Segment with Carnie Wilson: she now weighs 168, down 50 pounds in the last 6 months, and is expecting her second baby. And I must say, she looks absolutely, glowingly beautiful. Carnie said she had to get at the bottom of her own soul, asking "What do I really want?"

Bob also emphasized taking time and effort to get to the true answer to some some questions.

Fundamental Questions asked by Bob Greene in his Best Life Diet:

* Why are you overweight?
* Why do you want to lose weight?
* Why have you been unable to lose weight in the past?

~~

UPDATE: I love these questions--as a response to Bob's questions-- asked by Janice of Our Lady of Weight Loss!

Weighty Sayings: Sheldon on Body Mass

I'm a huge fan of THE BIG BANG THEORY television program. I'm wild about super-smart, socially-inept, brutally honest Sheldon. He cracks me up like nobody!

If you watch the show and are overweight, you couldn't miss the brief inclusion of a weight-related conversation in a car where Sheldon is out with Penny (a cute blond living across the hall from the two scientists who are the show's leads). Her reaction to that number--a number we could only DREAM of--and his obliviousness to an ongoing cultural-social weight issue is telling of our dysfunction:

Sheldon: This car weighs, let's say, 4,000 pounds. Now add 140 for me, 120 for you...
Penny: 120?!?
Sheldon: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I insult you? Is your body mass somehow tied into your self-worth?

--from Season 1, Episode 4 (The Luminous Fish Effect)

Out of the mouths of...geniuses?

~

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.

~

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

Saw Ellie Krieger make these Zucchini Parmesan Crisps on tv a few weeks ago. They looked really good.

Tonight, got a craving for something cheesy with supper, so I decided--given I had the items on hand: parmesan cheese, organic zucchini, EVOO, salt, pepper, bread crumbs--that I'd make them and satisfy that cheesy urge and get a veggie besides.

They're baking now. Can't wait...MMMmmmm.

Looks like they're about 2 points for a half-cup serving, for you WW gals. Would be less sans the bread crumbs. One can always fiddle with these simple recipes. I bet they'd be fine with just a slight misting of EVOO and sprinkling of parmesan and spices. If you try them, let me know whaddya think or if you tweaked the recipe.

Off to finish with supper prep.

~~

The Biggest Loser: New Season Nears

We're officially in September!

That means that soon we'll be treated to the next bout of fat folks like us competing to lose weight and win a quarter of a million bucks. The premiere of THE BIGGEST LOSER, season four, is on September 11th at 8 pm. That's a Tuesday, and it's on NBC.

But, what comes before interests me even more. On September 4th, NBC will air a "Where Are They Now?" special that visits with some past THE BIGGEST LOSER contestants. I can't wait for that one. I know that ever since I saw season one, I've wondered, "Hey, did they keep it off?"

I'm obviously not alone in wondering about the progress of contestants and winners...

TIME magazine had interest. They ran an update a couple months ago--I posted about it here on this blog--on the winner of the first season, Ryan Benson. Sadly, he had regained most of the weight. Bummer. Such hard work...poof! Gone. I wish him well in his continuing struggle with weight. Maybe by now he's lost some. TIME let us know that Kelly Minner continued to do well, staying slim. Go, Kelly!

PEOPLE magazine had interest, too. They featured a couple who met on the program: Matt and Suzy. They later wed and had a baby--YAY!--and they're still struggling with those pounds. They regained some, clearly, but not most. So, they're still ahead and I know they'll keep at it. I'm happy for them. They make a darling couple. I had been rooting for Suzy to win that second season. She married the winner. That's not bad, huh?

Celebrity Diet Doctor is interested. That site reported on Matt and Suzy (above) and on the delightful Dr. Jeff (one of my very fave contestants ever on the show). Dr. Jeff has done OUTSTANDINGLY and he looks hot! I'm so happy, cause he's a terrific person. Don't you just love to see a guy madly in love with his own wife? He would weep about his wife and kids. Nice fella. And now, great example. That site also reports on Andrea Baptiste, who looks terrific! She kept it off.

The pathetic stats on keeping weight off make the "Where Are They Now?" show one that many of the "Big" viewers will want to see. I suspect there will be more "kept it off" stories than "gained it back" stories. I hope they give stats on how everyone has done, ie. percentage who kept it off or lost more and percentage who regained most or all. That's a reality check we need. The successes cheer us on and encourage us. If they can do it...WE CAN! The ones who didn't keep it up remind us how very, very, very hard it is to lose and keep it gone. They're the cautionary note that must keep sounding in our ears, not to drown out the success and positive outlooks, but to give us a healthy dose of fear. To keep us on guard. Aware.

If they can regain it, even with all those weeks of nutritional monitoring and counseling and challenges...well...

I want to be one of the winners. I know you do, too.

One more thing: I'm happy to report, Jillian will be back for this season. While I liked Bob best in the first season. (What can I say? I prefer the gentle approach.) Jillian certainly GETS RESULTS. :)

I'll be watching. Will you?

Note: If you'd like to try out to be one of their future contestants, they've got a casting call out.

No-Noshing Knight Tactic: Keeping Hands Busy

So, here's our intreped knight, standing before the castle door, making sure no unwanted calories sneak in, barge in, push in, or otherwise gain entrance into the Princess Dieter's mouth.

Today's tactic: Decluttering my magazine collection while watching tv.

Yes. TV watching is one of the main trouble areas for dieters. So much so, that some weight loss specialists advice cutting back to no more than one to two hours a day and never, ever eating in front of it.

Well, we use trays. Our dining room table is our pantry, sort of. We have a teeny, tiny kitchen, so my fruits and non-refrigerated stuff goes on the table. Right now, it's overflowing with produce from a grocery run. Crackers and sweeteners and condiments and some mail is there, too. We haven't eaten on this table in years. (And I know, I know, I need to declutter THAT soon.)

So, we have a pair of very nice, shiny, wood tray tables and we eat in the living room together, he on his table, me at mine, watching something on the telly.

Today, anytime I was there other than eating, I was ripping through my enormous collection of magazines--some I found were from 1990, and the last time I purged my collection was about then, so it makes sense.

I got file folders in different colors, and I tore out any article that had to do with:

1. healthful recipes
2. weight loss makeovers
3. health and dieting reports
4. art and literature
5. getting organized
6. exercise and fitness

I ended up filling three big paper shopping bags from the grocery store of discarded magazine bits. I ended up filling the folders, most of them, so now I have a handy set of files to go to when I need a recipe, some motivational tips, a look at before and afters, some decluttering advice and systems, and some work-out routines.

Plus, tearing magazines has gotta burn a few more calories than sitting like a lump, huh?

That was my tactic for today. And, given how many magazines I still have left to go through, may keep my hands busy for a few more days or the rest of the week when I'm watching one of our fave shows on the boob tube.

What's your tactic for not snacking/noshing/bingeing in front of the TV?

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The Biggest Losers...and Regainers?

The statistics on weight loss are not heartening. Most who lose--yes, the vast majority--regain lost pounds, and even add some. Oh-oh, I feel dragonfire on my neck!

No, no, let's hurry into the castle and drop the portcullis.

Oooh, better.

There was some comment chatter not too long ago on some FatFighter Blogs about how watching the rebroadcasts of old THE BIGGEST LOSER shows had a beneficial (ie. motivating) effect.

And I agreed. Watching those folks just change and change, lose and lose, and struggle, well, it was like a coach saying, "Get off your couch and move and then plan a healthy meal."

It can also be discouraging, if you don't have a personal trainer there with you for hours a day, and you're not living in an environment structured to focus solely, consistently, obessively on diet and exercise. In other worlds, a world created for weight loss (which is what THE BIGGEST LOSER ranch is).

Anyway, I had mixed reactions--sad, cheered, discouraged, encouraged--while reading an issue of TIME magazine recently that had various diet/appetite/obesity related articles. One included an update on some of THE BIGGEST LOSER contestants, including Ryan Benson, the guy who had such a drastic change in weight, so drastic that he won the first season's big prize of 250 thousand smackeroos. (I remember him, because he started out as a real unlikable dude I wanted kicked off the show, then morphed into a more softie, weepy dude I was able to cheer for, though I wanted Doc or Kelly to win, honestly.)

Bad News Brute Alert:
Ryan has regained all but thirty of his lost pounds.

Let me break that down:

Original Weight: 330
Winning Weight: 208
Current Weight: 300

He's managed to keep 30 off (which is better for his health than NONE), and just goes to show that even with total pro assistance, it's not easy maintaining. Here's hoping Ryan can get the numbers down again. Hey, his winnings can help hire a trainer and get some good diet food delivery if necessary. Good luck to you, RB.

The TIME article goes on to mention some disturbing behind-the-scenes activity:

The Biggest Loser achieves rapid transformations—contestants often drop more than 9 kg in a week—through calorie restriction, endless exercise and no small amount of dehydration that occurs behind the scenes. Ryan Benson, 38, an actor who works for a DVD distributor in Los Angeles, lost 55 kg to win the first season in January 2005 but says he regained 14.5 kg within five days simply by drinking water. Matt Hoover, 31, a motivational speaker based in Seattle, had a 7-kg rebound within a day of winning Season 2. Last season's runner-up, Kai Hibbard, 28, an aerobics instructor in Alaska who says she spent the night before her final weigh-in hopping in and out of a sauna for six hours, consumed only sugar-free Jell-O for several days and wolfed down asparagus, which is a natural diuretic.

Okay, I understand. Big money is at stake. They're taking crazy measures to win.

I remember a high school boyfriend who used to take water pills and used to spit--actually spit and spit and spit into a cup--as well as make himself sweat (wrapping himself in plastic wrap and exercising in the sun), in order to make weight for the wrestling team competitions. I knew that had to be unhealthy. (It certainly was creepy.) It was all about DEHYDRATION for weight loss, for a weigh-in, which is not about losing fat or gaining health, that's for sure.

There's some good news in the article and some difficult but sobering news.

The good news: One of my fave contestants, the pretty dark-haired Kelly Minner, has not only kept her finale fat loss, she's lost even more and is down to 140 lbs. Go, Kelly!

But she does it in part by heeding the sobering part, she exercises up to four hours a day for six days a week.

No, that's not a typo. And here's some factoid on that, emphasis mine. And know what, let's make it a SPARKLY FACTOID, because at least it offers some hope (though, hey, I'm not feeling all that cheered or sparklesome):

The U.S. National Weight Control Registry, which tracks the habits of some 5,000 successful maintainers, cites a study showing only a fifth of dieters with a history of obesity sustain a loss of 10% of their body weight for a year or more. "The best predictor of the ones who are not going to regain are the ones who are doing the most physical activity," says Dr. Holly Wyatt, an obesity expert at the University of Colorado. She says most registrants exercise, on average, at least an hour a day.

To read all of the weight/fitness related articles in that TIME issue, go to "The Way We Eat--The Science of Appetite" and More Stories.

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