Yes...There Are Blessings From Biggest Loser!

As a lot of you know, I am none too happy about the way the people who run Biggest Loser have treated the contestants. I am appalled at what a lot of them went through and pray that the show stops these practices. They need to treat the contestants like human beings, because we all deserve that courtesy.

That being said...there are still a lot of blessings from the show. Those blessings come in the form of the contestants themselves. They knew they were unhealthy and needed to make changes in their lives. They put in the hard work and never gave up. They made it through their own personal rounds of Survivor hell and came out stronger on the other side of it...no matter what was thrown at them.

Over Facebook and Twitter, I have gotten to know these strong, brave people and learn from them. I absolutely adore the majority of them. And I must reiterate: None of the contestants who were portrayed as mean or evil are like that at all. In fact, they are some of the nicest, kindest, and most helpful people of the group! I respect and admire those who have the courage to speak up so people at home don't get discouraged when they aren't dropping double digits every week, telling what really goes on behind the scenes so we all know that this is edited "reality". I am motivated by those who have kept the weight off, and give us the tips and tools to lose weight at home...slowly, safely, and correctly. They've had to learn how to do that once they got home, and they share their knowledge so the rest of us can make healthy choices and stay encouraged in our journeys to fitness and health. I am inspired by all of them for taking control of their health.

So if you watch Biggest Loser, take away the good things and be inspired and motivated to get healthy and to the weight that is personally best for you. That number is different for everyone. Just remember that the huge losses on the scale are not really done in a week, and that getting fit is a slow and steady process. If you are to admire anyone on the show, admire the contestants, and use their never-give-up attitudes to help you be the best you can be. God finds a way to use every situation in life for good...and He does that with the contestants all the time. They are the true heroes of this show!

Walking...By Faith

"Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride, nobody gonna slow me down, oh no, I got to keep on movin'..." So, do you remember this song by Matthew Wilder? (Or am I showing my age here?) This is one of those songs that always puts me in a great mood, making me feel like I can accomplish anything.

And you know what? I really can accomplish anything! I just need to put in the work, stay positive, set goals, and enjoy the process. It's true that once you reach your goal you will feel amazing...but all of the steps on the journey to that goal are important. We all need to enjoy each moment and all of the smaller goals we meet along the way. Everything is a part of the process, so don't miss the moments that teach you something about yourself, or life in general. Those lessons will help you build up to your ultimate goals, and small victories should be celebrated just as much as the major ones.

I'm feeling so much better now that I'm back to eating healthy foods...I already was doing that, but in the last month I indulged a little too often. Treats are meant to be occasional, not all the time. You appreciate the treat much more when it's not an everyday occurence. My body really let me know that I was way off base - and I'm not really talking about the scale. I was more sluggish, got winded more easily just like before, and my stomach was not too happy about what I was sending down to it. I had lots of veggies yesterday, and my evening snack was Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and cinnamon. I can already feel the difference.

I kept on exercising during this past month, but I did drop back a little while I enjoyed my vacation. That's OK, because I needed a little break. Now I'm walking regularly again, working on getting up to running speed. I'm dancing more, and that is one activity that I don't have to "make" myself participate in...because I enjoy it so much! It's true: Life is a marathon, not a sprint. I will keep walking with God by my side, and I have the faith that I'm on the right path. He would never steer me wrong!

Parents Weekend on Huge

Tonight's episode had me in tears several times, as I felt for each camper's situation with their parents. Beginning with Will's looking forward to seeing her parents so she could chew them out for being hypocrites, we learn a lot about the family situations that brought everyone to this point in their lives.

Poppy tells Becca that since some girls in another cabin don't have parents coming either, Becca can join them and Poppy will be their "make-believe mom". Becca doesn't really look too thrilled with this idea. Later we find out that her grandmother came last summer, but since then she passed away. Dr. Rand gives advice to those campers whose parents may be taking them out to a restaurant on making healthy choices for dinner. Some of them can't wait to see their parents, but others are dreading it. Dr. Rand spills the beans about Chloe and Alistair being twins...she didn't know that it had been kept secret. Everyone (except Trent, of course) is shocked, and suddenly they realize why Chloe was so upset about the prank on Alistair. Dr. R gets an e-mail and tells Will that her parents aren't coming now, but they left her a package. While everyone is at the pool, Will lets out her anger that her parents bailed on her. Amber is hard on herself, thinking she's a weirdo. Dr. R tells her dad about Chloe and Alistair's secret, and he replies that she's doing the same thing with him. The truth hurts!

Everyone is watching that strange show "Love Handles" again, and Will is hilarious as she makes fun of it. I have to say, a challenge involving plates of bacon? How demeaning! Even on the actual show that this is supposed to spoof, "More to Love", they never had the contestants doing anything this degrading. Everyone is all laughs until a commercial comes on for Core Fitness...then the mood changes as they all stare at the hardbodies in the ad, wishing they could get to that point and look like that. When Will finally opens her package from home, it contains a pink warmup suit with Core emblazoned on it, with a note saying how her parents can't wait to see her in it. It is obviously in a very small size...just how fast did they think the weight was going to come off?

When all of the parents arrive, Ian tells Will that he won't subject any of his friends to his parents because they fight all the time. Amber's mom is late, and she's worried that she might not get there at all. Trent goes to his parents and mentions his girlfriend, gesturing toward Chloe and Amber. His dad automatically assumes Amber is the girlfriend and Trent is afraid to correct him. Chloe hooks up with her parents...her mom is in a wheelchair. Alistair and Becca hang off to the side. Chloe's mom remembers Becca from last year, and thinks that she is Alistair's girlfriend. Actually, I think she just doesn't want to believe her son is gay, so she insists that he and Becca are a couple. Piznarski's mom tells him that he looks so good now...which causes him to ask how he looked to her before. (Been there! Don't you always wonder?)

Amber goes back to her cabin, where Sierra and her very thin sister Chelsea are hanging out. Her mom finally arrives, and says plenty of things that embarrass Amber...actually, they would embrrass anyone! Her mom's name is Teal and she lives with her sister Indigo. To keep the color trend going, her mom named her Amber. Chef enlists Will to help him, so she can get her mind off of her parents. He teaches her about cooking, which she really takes a liking to. Dr. Rand sees, and quite frankly looks a little jealous of Will with her dad. Trent's parents and Ian's meet, and Ian is surprised that his parents are not arguing with each other. We also find out that this is Trent's stepmom, and she is pregnant. Dr. R gets a text from Jonathan, but she ignores it.

Parents get to try yoga class along with their kids. Chloe takes her dad somewhere else...her mom goes with Alistair to yoga. Their dad doesn't like yoga and wants to see Alistair play "real" sports. Amber's mom is the only one that doesn't try, giving all kinds of excuses. Finally George gets her to try it. Amber pulls her mom out of class and they go to talk. We find out that Amber's mom can't stand living with her sister, and she is awful to be around. Teal also gives Amber a surprise, but when she opens it she finds a bag of cookies. Not what you bring someone at a weight loss camp...but Amber's mom doesn't get it. Later on, Amber hides the cookies in the laundry room.

Piznarski's mom watches Alistair as he knits a scarf, and she's very encouraging and friendly. As soon as she goes to the bathroom, Alistair leaves because he's still angry with Piz. Piz leaves a note for him in his knitting for later. Dinner is very weird for everyone, especially Trent, Chloe, and Alistair. Their families take them to a restaurant, and when Trent introduces Chloe to his parents he only tells them she's Alistair's sister. Chloe is very hurt and orders a ton of food off the menu. Becca is along as well, since they remember her as Chloe's friend and think she is now Alistair's girlfriend. Back at camp, Dr. R announces to everyone that the chef is her dad, which takes him by surprise. Ian goes off to talk to his parents, who tell him they've been in couples therapy...which made them realize that they need to divorce. Ian sneaks off later to the laundry room to cry, and while he's there he finds the cookies. He opens the bag and sniffs them, but his strength takes over and he gives them to Dr. Rand. She hides them in her file cabinet, and when Wayne brings her some tomatoes she has him take them away. They share a very nice kiss. After Wayne leaves, she gets another text from Jonathan...but she texts back that she can't come see him.

Chloe feels sick from eating too much, and Alistair walks Becca back to her cabin. She says he will make someone a great boyfriend someday, and she can't even imagine what it would be like to go on a real date. She still wonders what she did wrong for Chloe to hate her, and Alistair tells her it's nothing she did, and it's Chloe's loss if she doesn't want Becca's friendship. Teal wants to stay the night in the girls' cabin, but Poppy tells her it's against the rules. (And Teal calls her Pippi!) After Teal says she will have to sleep in the car, Poppy lets her stay. Amber goes to the laundry room and discovers the cookies are gone. Amber's mom complains that Amber doesn't want her here and she doesn't know what it's like for her. Amber tells her to stay. During the night, Amber gets Will to sneak out with her to the woods, where Will buried her secret stash of food so no one would find it. As they look around in the woods, we find this episode is to be continued next week for the season finale.

What do you think of the various family problems the teens have? Can you relate to any of them? Please let me know your thoughts...sometimes when we see a character going through something similar to our situation, it helps us learn about ourselves!

Time To Get REALLY Real...and Journey On!

I'm going a step above the infamous Dr. Phil today...time for me to get REALLY real! You see, I've learned to accept and love myself at any size, which is a wonderful thing since I now live each moment of my life to the fullest and allow myself to be present in that moment. The only downside is that I allowed myself to go to a different extreme...since I love myself no matter how much I weigh, I can eat whatever I want, right?

Wrong! I've noticed that I started getting out of breath again now, at least sometimes. (At first I thought it might have something to do with our air conditioner breaking...and I'm sure that didn't help matters.) I wondered why my swimsuit felt kind of tight on me when I wore it Saturday. I figured I might have gained a couple of pounds on vacation, but no more than that since I was still getting plenty of exercise. Well, I bit the bullet and got on the scale this morning. Since I last got on the scale in July, I gained almost 8 pounds. Too many ice cream indulgences and treats while on vacation did me in. (If I ever move down South, please remind me that I need to find healthier versions of my Southern favorites!)

The number on the scale showed up as 210.0. I don't consider this a tragedy of any kind, but just a point from which to start back on my healthy eating plan. I have no regrets about this summer, since it's all a part of my journey and I've learned about myself and about life. This time, the number on the scale and the tight swimsuit will not cause me to curl up into a ball and stay inside of my house as it usually did in the past. I am a wonderful, beautiful person and I deserve to go out into the world and live my life. No hiding the person God made me to be. I can still live my life to the fullest as I re-incorporate my healthy eating plan back into my daily routine.

Part of living life to the fullest is being able to do all of the things God has planned for you and you need to accomplish without getting out of breath or dragging along with no energy. Celebrate who you are right this minute...and honor that person by taking care of your health!

Before Summer Ends...More Pool Time!!!

I can't believe school starts on Tuesday. This summer really flew by, but I can at least say that I enjoyed every moment of it so far. I haven't let anything stop me from getting out there and having fun, and I continue to live each day to the fullest.

The picture above is an actual photo of Splash Zone, the local pool/waterpark that we have summer passes for. The outdoor section will close for the season at the end of this month, so this weekend we are cramming in a lot of swim time. With school starting there won't be as much time to use the pool, and we don't want to miss any chance we have to use it before they pack everything up for the fall/winter. Not only will we have gotten our money's worth out of it, but also our souls' worth. Time in the water is so good for our bodies, minds, and spirits. You can't even think about putting a dollar amount on that!

So...what have you wanted to do this summer, that you haven't done yet? There's still time to get out there and do it. Make the most of the rest of your summer...don't let it pass you by!

Oh Sara Rue...I See So Much of Myself in You!

When I saw that actress Sara Rue was the new spokeperson for Jenny Craig, I wondered just what was going on with her. I mean, she was already a gorgeous lady...so it couldn't have been that she didn't think she was beautiful. Or could it?

I also wondered just how much weight she was planning to lose. Did she just want to lose enough to be healthier, or was she going to become one of the Hollywood super-skinny to try and fit the mold? When she lost 30, I though she was going to stop there. Then it became 40. She made a statement that she's never going to be a skinny girl. Well, guess what...she's lost 50 pounds now and by looking at her after photo, she definitely looks skinny to me. I don't have any problem with Sara losing some weight, but she looks too skinny to me now. Perhaps she should, in a healthy way, put about 10 or 15 pounds back on, because it really looks like an extreme makeover.

I completely get where Sara is coming from. I grew up heavy, lost the weight, and have been up and down the roller coaster as well. It resonated with me that she felt like she couldn't leave the house, because at one point in my life I felt the same way. I avoided so many activities because of my weight. I didn't think I was beautiful unless I was thin. I've lost 35 pounds, and would still like to lose some more...but I've learned that I am not a size or a number on the scale, and I refuse to sit home and let life pass me by no matter what size I am. I am going out and enjoying myself with my head held high, and I will not let what I think other people might think of me stop me from living my life to the fullest. Life is meant to be lived!

I almost cried when I saw Sara's latest commercial, because she thanked Jenny Craig for giving her back her smile. This was not just something that was put in the script for her to say...the emotion in her voice and the look in her eyes showed that she was saying what she really feels. I can't speak for the Jenny program since I've never tried it; I can only go by the track record I've had with other diets. I felt for her, and was really sad that she didn't think she could or should smile until she lost weight. She is a beautiful person inside and out, no matter what size jeans she wears.

Take it from me, Sara...you are a wonderful person. You deserved to smile before and you always will, no matter what you weigh. Never let anything stop you from getting out of the house and living your life. And please make sure you aren't at the unhealthily skinny end of the spectrum. Your health is what is most important, not the numbers game. We all love you and want you to be happy and healthy, so please be careful with your body, mind, and spirit. I only say this because we care about you, and you deserve only the best, always!

My Smoky Mountain Vacation!

It was soooooo nice to get away for 3 days and relax. I've been really busy which is wonderful, but we all need a little break every now and then. My husband, son, and I spent the weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains, staying at their waterpark Wilderness at the Smokies. We all really needed this vacation. It's been a rough year, and even though my husband has started his new job we still have a lot of catching up on bills to do. This was our first real vacation in 4 years, and we enjoyed every minute even though we wish it could have been longer.

I always say that I really should have been born south of the Mason-Dixon Line. I love all things Southern, and I enjoyed being able to have grits and as much REAL sweet tea as I could hold. We also had dinner at a great place called Bennett's in Pigeon Forge...amazing BBQ for the tummy and plenty of old blues music for the soul. If you are anywhere near this area I would highly recommend eating there. You will not be sorry! We spent a lot of time at the waterpark, both indoors and outdoors, and just had a great time as we let go of our worries for the weekend. It was a computer free trip, which made it even more relaxing. We are already planning on going back there sometime soon and staying longer, so we can have time to visit Dollywood and all of the other attractions that look so interesting. The budget could only handle a short trip this time, but now we can plan out a longer visit for when our finances are ready.

Now it's back to the regular schedule, and school starts next week so we're getting ready for that as well. It's also back to healthier eating for me...because while it's nice to be able to enjoy all of the great foods on vacation, after a while your body tells you to take a break from the rich fare. All in moderation, so now it's time to balance out my vacation menu with more of the nutritious stuff. Got to take care of my body...it's the only one I've got!