Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition - This Is How You Do NO EXCUSES!

Season 2 of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition started off with a bang.  And I couldn't help thinking how for all of the Biggest Loser talk during this past season of "No Excuses", the first man featured on the new season of EMWLE put them all to shame.

If anyone should have had plenty of excuses not to lose the weight, it was Tony.  He started out at 398 pounds, with a very ill disabled son and pretty much no help at home.  After the first 3 months of the challenge, he was down 104 pounds and broke up with his extremely whiny, unsupportive fiancee and moved out of the house.

Problem was, he had nowhere else to live.  Chris helped him move his stuff out, but had no idea that Tony was sleeping on friends' couches or in his car, working out wherever he could.  He decided that he needed to stop being in the fast food business and work his way up as a bodyguard.  Chris helped him get training for that. 

Tony's son, Marcus, also passed away during this time, and his new girlfriend paid for a plane ticket so he could go to Michigan for the funeral.  (And I have to say...even his ex-wife seemed more supportive than his fiancee!)  TONY NEVER GAVE UP.  No matter what was thrown at him, he kept pushing toward his goals, doing it for himself and in honor of Marcus. 

With so many obstacles and stresses in his life, Tony truly showed what NO EXCUSES means.  His final weigh-in, at his 50th birthday party, found him down 200 pounds and weighing 198.  His goal had been to get under 200 - he reached it even with everything else going on in his life.  He is now working as a bodyguard, has a new place to live, and proposed to his new girlfriend who is much better suited to his positive lifesyle and personality.

Makes all of our excuses look flimsy...doesn't it?  Let's all follow Tony's lead and get it done NO MATTER WHAT!!!

Biggest Loser 13 - There's No Whine on the Biggest Loser Plan!

I think Dolvett might be up for sainthood after this episode - even though he's still very much alive and even if he's not Catholic.

I'll start off by saying that even though this week's show was shortened due to the State of the Union address, NBC sure packed a lot into that hour. Unfortunately, it was mostly comprised of whining, crying, complaining and moaning. All in the season of NO EXCUSES!

Let's move past the muddy battering ram challenge right into the heart of the episode. Both Bob and Dolvett had to deal with people who would rather complain than do the work they need to do to lose the weight. Bob's problem child was Gail, who seemed to be giving very little effort combined with a whole lot of talk and tears. Bob's explanation of her crying fit over her shoelaces becoming untied would have made Tonya Harding proud. (Now, how much fun would it have been to have Bob Harper at the 1994 Olympics to whip Tonya into shape?) No matter what Gail was asked to do, she gave every excuse in the book, plus a few that she probably invented herself.

Now, I do understand the fine art of excuses. I've made them myself in the past...obviously they, along with fear, played a part in my obesity. But even in my worst season of excuses I didn't act like this. (Or like Conda, who we'll get to in a moment.) How long can a person go on complaining before they're fed up and finally just do it? Most of us have a lower threshold for our own B.S. than Gail or the other two players do, thank God.

Now to poor Dolvett. He had two whiners on his team. Nancy managed to sass him every chance she got, including giving Dolvett the business because he'd never given birth. Really - she went there. I've been through childbirth, which included 21 hours of labor and anethesia that somehow wore off on one side of my body but not the other. (The anesthesiologist put the epideral in crooked, so it sent most of the meds to my right side and not my left. It was an interesting labor!) Yes, it is a lot of work and takes all of your strength. But that only makes me realize that if we can do childbirth, we can do anything. And after both giving birth and hard training, you have something precious to show for it. In one case, your baby - in the other case, your health!

Then there's Conda. (In the Olympic realm, she would be the one trying to club her opponent on the knee instead of just working her butt off for the title.) I'm trying to like her...I really am. I'm sure there are some deep issues within her that are making her act like a spoiled brat, and that we will find out more about them soon. But have you ever heard someone talk to their trainer that way? Mouthing off, shouting NO! at him when he asks you to do something, even if it's only going to take two minutes...and complaining to the producer that Dolvett is picking on her. He was right to make her go outside until she was ready to come in and do the work. He needed to focus on the rest of his team that wanted to be there and were giving all of the effort. She finally apologized when he asked if she had something to say to him, and like the class act he is, he even apologized to her as well. I certainly didn't see anything he did that he needed to say he was sorry for. But he did what was needed to get her back to work.

Before the weigh-in, Conda was heard already making excuses before she got on the scale. If she had a bad number, she was going to blame Dolvett for giving her a hard time all week. Now THAT is ridiculous. Everything he did was to help her - she was the one holding everything up. I know some people like Conda, and unfortunately you probably do too. Everything that goes wrong is someone else's fault other than their own. They often blame the very people who try to encourage them. Luckily for the Red Team, Conda pulled a good number on the scale. Her 10 pound loss was not in spite of Dolvett...it was BECAUSE of him. (Time to send a message to the Pope - Dolvett should at least get some special blessing for putting up with this!)

It had to be beyond frustrating for Bob when his team hit the scale. Megan worked her butt off and lost only two pounds, while Gail did very little and still lost five. And you know it was even more mind-boggling for Megan! I predict that next week the scale will make it up to her. At least I sure hope so.

The elimination for the Black Team came down to the two people I thought it would. Earlier in the week, Chris broke down and said, among other things, that she wanted to go home. Fear makes you do funny things, especially when you usually keep to yourself and you're thrown into a house full of strangers who overwhelm you. But I don't blame her team for being nervous that she would leave. After all, Joe already did and they didn't want any more problems like that. Gail, as previously mentioned, complained a lot and didn't do the work. By one vote, Gail was sent home. She seems to be doing OK at home, even with tendonitis in her hips. Good thing she's swimming a lot.

By the way, congratulations to Buddy and his wife on the birth of their son! Now here's a man who flew home, witnessed his son being born, flew back in time for the weigh-in...and still lost 10 pounds! Talk about no excuses!

Next week the Aqua Team comes back. If they've lost at least 50 pounds at home they get to come back on the ranch. I'm really pulling for them to make it. I'm ready to watch people who want to make the most of their opportunities and really want to be there. How about you?

Biggest Loser 12: There's Something About Hannah & Injury Is Not An Excuse

This week was special for the Biggest Loser contestants...and also for those of us at home.

Three favorites from past seasons came back to the ranch to help the players out. While I adore Marci and Adam and am very motivated by them, the third person in the group inspires me the most.

There's just something about Hannah.

What is it about her? Well, I think so many of us can see ourselves in Hannah. She had once been a fit athlete, but she let an injury force her to the sidelines - not only on the volleyball court, but in life. She let the situation with her back keep her down, long after the healing process had taken place. Her fears kept her from making a comeback...that is, of course, until last season's Biggest Loser.

Little did she know that when she had her breakthrough moment with that backbend, she was causing a breakthrough for others, including me. Just because you've been injured in the past doesn't mean you have to sit out the rest of your life. There may be some recovery time, but after that you can do much more than you think.

It really resonated with me last night when she told the Black team that she felt as if she had unzipped her fat suit and stepped out of it. I've often sensed that the thin person I once was is waiting to come out and play - participate in life. Every couple of weeks feels like I've peeled off another layer...not just a layer of fat, but a layer of insecurity. I get out and do more than I used to, and I feel better about myself while doing it. I'd love to have Hannah's BL Success poster hanging by my treadmill and elliptical as a visual reminder of where I'm headed. But even without that, her influence is burned into my mind.

For years after my car accident, I let aches and pains keep me from getting things done. Over time, especially this past year, I'm discovering just how much my body is capable of. I'm stronger than I realized, and it's an amazing feeling to discover it on a daily basis.

Speaking of injury, have you noticed how current contestant Jennifer is rocking it...even with a major leg injury? She doesn't let it stop her from working out. She works around it and does everything that she IS able to do. The weight is still coming off even though she can't run on the treadmill and is limited in challenge participation. This week she lost 7 pounds!

I think back to all of the times when I used injuries as an excuse. Even headaches held me back at one point. It feels silly now to think I let minor hurts prevent me from exercising, especially when watching Jennifer work around something much worse. Her determination is a lesson to all of us - even when you can't do certain things, you can always do SOMETHING.

I look forward to the day when Jennifer's transformation poster is up on the gym wall beside Hannah's. No excuses - EVER!

The END of EXCUSES!!!

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself." - Henry Ward Beecher

Since this blog was originally titled No More Excuses, I want to address the subject once again...for all of us. Yes, even I still find myself making an excuse from time to time. Things like: I didn't lose weight this week because my monthly gift is here", "it was a holiday", or "it's been a really busy week". I have to face it...these excuses are part of the reason the weight is coming off slower than I would like.

Getting past the excuses is essential to being fit and healthy. I'm asking God to help me with this, because it's an old habit that He will give me the strength to break. I also want to get past the excuses that other people make for me. It seems that sometimes people don't expect a lot of me, just because I'm still struggling with my weight and haven't reached my goal yet. Well, Olivia and Hannah proved all of their naysayers wrong when they expected a lot of themselves and came in 1st and 2nd on this season's Biggest Loser. As awful as it is to have people refuse to believe in you...it's just as much fun (or even better!) to do the things they said you would never be able to do and see the amazement on their faces.

As an example: this past weekend was extremely hot here in Cleveland. Our air conditioning is busted, and we are going to have to order a whole new unit because the parts aren't available anymore for the model the builders used in our house. We've had to rely on open windows and fans, plenty of ice cold water, and spending more time in the basement which is a few degrees cooler. And yes, my regular gift from Mother Nature is here. With all of that going on at the same time, I would have normally curled up in a ball and let myself feel miserable. But I didn't do that...I exercised in the basement, ate lighter foods, and turned my attitude around whenever I caught myself ready to complain. There are people who have things much worse - like those who've lost homes and loved ones in all of the recent tornadoes. I can suck it up and survive - maybe even THRIVE - if they can do the same in their circumstances. This is just another way that God is helping me find my strength.

I'll be looking through some old magazines for a certain ad...the one where Serena Williams serves a tennis ball right through her monthly gift. That is the attitude I want to keep every month, all month long. Excuses - you're outta here!!!