My Biggest Loser Season 13 Challenge - No Excuses!

Tonight is the season premiere of Biggest Loser- which means it's time for a new challenge!

I managed to lose 2.2 pounds over the holidays, except that with a couple of drinks on New Year's Eve and my monthly gift ready to arrive, I gained most of that back.

But enough of that. No dwelling or excuses, only moving forward with my plan of ACTION.

My starting weight this morning was 199.6. It's nice to start 2012 without extra holiday weight to lose on top of everything else. (Normally I'd weigh myself in mid-December, and have a larger number on the scale come January 2nd or 3rd. Since I weigh a hair less than December 13th, I'm calling it a wash and going from here.) Just like last season, I will weigh in every Tuesday and post the results up through the Season 13 Finale in May.

The winter/spring BL season is always a little bit longer than the fall one, so I've kept that in mind while deciding upon my goal. I will lose at least 35 pounds by the finale, which will put me at 164.6 or less. I'm stepping up my workouts and being even more conscious of what I put into my body. And I will continue to stay away from the diet soda and drink plenty of water.

If you would like to join me, please post your goal here or on Twitter at #BL13Challenge. We can encourage each other all season long!

Now it's off to spin class before Biggest Loser tonight!!!

Biggest Loser Season 12 Challenge - Giving Extra Thanks!

The first weigh-in after Thanksgiving is usually stressful, not just for me but for most people I know. It's when everyone typically steps on the scale, sees a number worse than the week before, and asks why they had to stuff themselves on Turkey Day...and with the leftovers the rest of the weekend.

This year I did indulge in a couple of my favorites - stuffing and sweet potatoes - but otherwise had small portions on Thanksgiving. Of course I had pumpkin pie, but it was the healthier version that I've been making for a few years. I thought I did relatively well, but since the scale was not kind the week before I was still a little nervous.

Imagine my happiness this morning when I discovered I lost 1.8 pounds! Looks like my body (and the scale) made up for the week before. Losing close to 2 pounds for the holiday week is almost unheard of, but I'm thrilled to report that it can happen!

I credit this to choosing my holiday treats carefully, drinking plenty of water, and working out more than I ever have over the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, we only took a small amount of leftovers home, so I didn't keep the feast going for the entire weekend. It was really good to see it pay off immediately on the scale...but I know the rewards will last for a lifetime.

How did you do this week? Please shoot me a comment here or at #BL12Challenge on Twitter. Remember - if you did overdo it over Thanksgiving, now is the time to get back on track!

Was REALLY Hoping This Was A Joke! (AKA Don't Eat Their Kool-Aid)

After watching "Fried Kool-Aid" trending on Twitter for the past few days, I thought someone was just being funny and that the joke caught on. It had to be one of those weird trends that seem to pop up for no reason. This stuff couldn't be for real...right???

WRONG! I finally Googled it to see why this was a big deal. It turns out that a man who is known for coming up with new foods for the county fair circuit created this monsterpiece. He also makes deep fried Thin Mints, which to me not only ruins the taste of the cookies (if you are going to treat yourself to a couple) but adds greasy fat and calories that none of us need. The Kool-Aid powder is mixed into batter and then fried like donut holes. They resemble hush puppies (which I love but only eat twice a year to satisfy my craving) but have NOTHING nutritious in them. (Does this man get a cut of what the doctors make treating obese people or patients with high cholesterol? He's certainly helping them stay in business!)

It seems people are trying to deep fry anything and everything they can get their hands on. TGIFriday's took the nutrient-rich green bean and fried it to within a millimeter of its life to create an appetizer...which actually doesn't sound all that appetizing. Yes, we have some treats that are not good for us that we should parktake of sparingly -- but why take foods that are healthy and turn them into crap? Or take already unhealthy foods and make them worse?

I used to drink Kool-Aid all the time when I was a kid (Lemon-Lime being my favorite) before any of us knew just how bad it was for us. I don't drink it anymore and never make it for my son. You can bet that I won't be eating the Kool-Aid either...and this guy needs to stop drinking the funny stuff!

Praying For Joanne

If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably seen my many posts and retweets about Joanne. I knew nothing at all about Joanne before last week, when another Twitter friend retweeted about Joanne's situtation. Being that she has the same last name as friends of ours, I was immeditaely drawn to click on the link and find out what was going on.

Joanne Heim is a 38 year old wife and mother, beautiful both inside and out. She lives in Colorado, and on January 11th she suffered a stroke while on her treadmill. She's been in the hospital ever since...the doctors induced a coma to relieve the swelling in her brain. They are slowly weaning her off of that so they can see how she does and what the next step is. The latest update is that not much has changed and they are adjusting her medications again...she may or may not have to be led back into a coma. Her family and friends have an extremely strong faith, but this is all very stressful and frightening for them and they could use your prayers.

Joanne is also a Christian writer, penning her blog "The Simple Wife" and a couple of books that are on Amazon. If you go to the top right of my blog page and click the "Praying for Joanne" button, it will take you to her blog, where her husband and sister are currently posting updates. Go back a little further and read Joanne's own thoughts; you will be moved and inspired. Also on her page are links to her books and other ways you can help her family through this difficult time.

May I also add here...I have a couple of friends dealing with a cancer diagnosis who could also use your prayers. My dad is doing very well, but he's still waiting for the results to come back from the lab so please pray for him as well. God is very pleased when we lift each other up in prayer!

On Being Human: "Let he who is without sin..."

I just found out about 2o minutes ago that my first love/crush, David Cassidy, was arrested for DUI in Florida. While it surprises me, I refuse to condemn him or any other celebrity who makes a mistake. David has been forthcoming in the past about his struggles with alcohol. Since his father, Jack Cassidy, had the same substance issues during his lifetime, it makes sense that David and his brothers may have to deal with the same problems. David is challenging the charges, saying that he had just one glass of wine after a funeral and also had pain medication in his system. He has never been arrested for anything ever before, and he would not knowingly jeopardize himself or others in this manner.

I bet most of us can relate in some way. We've thought we had our situations under control, been going along about our usual business, and fallen off whatever particular wagon we were on. So many people have had tragedies occur in their lives, began to feel weak, and given in again to the cigarettes, alcohol, food, gambling, shopping, and other addictions that they though they had licked. Besides the fact that the wine probably did not mix well with the pain medication, David was grieving the loss of someone in his life and gave in to one glass. I know for myself, I completely went off my healthy eating wagon after my mom passed away...and it's been a struggle ever since. Sugar is just as much of an addiction as any other substance. I've have friends who have had DUI's, usually right after they lost their jobs or had another major stressor in their lives. I know people who haven't had a cigarette in years, only to start smoking again when they have to take care of a relative with an illness or a child with problems at school. No matter how much you think you have the situation under control, you always have to be careful of backsliding in a weak or stressful moment. Struggling with these things does not make any of us bad people.

I am appalled at all of the people on Twitter who think it's OK to make jokes about David's DUI or are ready to condemn him after one mistake. I certainly don't condone drinking and driving or mixing alcohol with medication, but who am I to judge any particular person? Who are any of us to judge? I feel the same way whether the person in the news is David, who is a first time offender, or another celebrity who has had more than one offense and has to continually find ways to deal with his or her addictions. Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." None of us are perfect, so there should not be any stones cast. We need to be looking for ways to help and praying for anyone struggling with an addiction. It could be you, a family member or friend, or someone you've looked up to during your life. We all have our issues...that's part of being human. If we didn't have any struggles we wouldn't be human. The only perfection is God. He is the one we should consult about our problems...and He wants us to help, not harass, eath other when we have problems.

I'm Pretty Good At Drinkin' Water! ;o)

Yes, I just heard that song by Billy Currington, "Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer"...and I'm in a silly mood today. I was thinking how his mama would be so proud that he's reached such a lofty goal in life! LOL

I really am pretty good at drinking water. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I tweet H2O reminders during the day on most days. Once in a while I miss one, or I'm gone all day on the weekends and don't tweet anything. I really need a Blackberry so I can give those portable water tweets! I get a lot of RT's and tweets back thanking me for the reminder...I'm so glad to help, and I know what it's like to get so busy during the day that you forget. I know when I forget, I don't feel as well as usual!

During that "vacation" period I took over the summer, I became pretty good at drinking diet soda again. I'd see my water bottle sitting there, pretend it was Rachel on Friends, and tell myself we were on a break. I did still drink water, especially on those days we were out at the pool, but it wasn't as much as I'd usually drink...and nowhere near enough for what my body needed. My health paid the price, as I became more sluggish and bloated with carbonated drinks.

I knew I had to get back on track. Thankfully my "Rachel" was still there for me, and as I filled up that bottle I swore I could hear her laughing at me and saying I told you so. Diet soda is a very rare beverage for me again, and it's amazing how much better I feel now that I'm back in my H2O routine. Our bodies really do crave water, and we need to give them plenty of it. A break from water is not a good thing, even if you do pretend you're on Friends. Just drink up!!!

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!

More HUGE Thoughts and Feelings

I was going to wait until tomorrow to write this post, but I've had so many more thoughts and feelings about the show since watching last night. Plus...I've heard from a lot of people over Facebook and Twitter, telling me what they like or don't like about the show.

One of the main points I would like to make is that we can really relate to these characters, whether we are currently teens or pre-teens, or we are adults who have already been through those years. They go through things that actually happen to people. People really do deal with their body and self-esteem issues in all kinds of different ways, like stuffing themselves with junk food, throwing up, starving themselves, and sizing up others. They also really are treated like criminals because of their weight, and there is no getting around that. The show has to start with all of these conflicts, and they won't all be resolved in one episode...just like we don't instantly solve our problems overnight.

This show is based on a novel and although it is a work of fiction, the author and the screenwriters have made the characters into people we really know...perhaps even ourselves. You know that old saying that truth is stranger than fiction? It definitely applies here. There is much more reality in this show than many of the so-called reality shows that are on the air now. I used to be such a Biggest Loser fan, as many of you know. I even volunteered for a group that was an unofficial fan club for Jillian Michaels. I spent a year with them, hoping I could help people get past issues like dealing with stress and sugar addiction, but we were told that we had to stop talking about stuff like that. Supposedly this was a suuport group, but all we wound up being allowed to do was promote Jillian and her products. (These were not directions from Jillian herself, I've never even spoken to her.) I also found out along the way that Biggest Loser treats its contestants like crap, not just from Kai but from others. Some of them had good experiences, but the bad far outweigh that for me. I tried to stay positive about the show and trainers for a long time, giving them the benefit of the doubt and still writing about them in a good way. Of course, I also was not allowed to say anything derrogatory in my blogs, even if I was questioning things in my own mind. I was even told who to vote for in the finale...well, actually told I'd better not even think about voting for a certain person! We were expected to do all of this without pay, and it was very time consuming. Not only did it interfere with my family activities, but I was being told by the person in charge (not Jillian) what I could and couldn't tweet. These were not even tweets about anything Jillian or BL related. I was being told that I couldn't re-tweet things from my other friends that I cover for dance shows or other people I work for...that actually pay me! Apparently my tweets about anything other than BL were annoying this person, and she had to read through them to get to what she needed. Well, duh...that's how Twitter works! And she was following less than 30 people, so she really didn't have that much to read through. She just wanted to control me, and it was the last straw. I was already realizing that so many things with BL didn't add up, and becoming disillusioned very quickly. I resigned my unpaid position with the group, because I don't believe in their version of "reality" anymore and why should I promote something I no longer believe in, especially when the person in charge was treating me like that? It's one of the best decisions I ever made. I sleep better at night, and I can promote how I really feel...that we are all beautiful no matter what size we are, and that we still need to take care of ourselves and do healthy things. If you want to lose weight, you should not do it in a way that endangers your health... and you should not wait to live your life until a said number of pounds comes off. Start living now!

Needless to say...I won't be writing about BL stuff anymore. I may lose some followers because of that, but it's OK. It's more important for me to do what is right, and some very wise friends inspire me in that way as well. I'd much rather watch a show like HUGE that actually teaches us something, than a show the claims to be reality but is nowhere near that. A fictional show that is more realistic than a supposed reality show...and trainer Shay on HUGE? I know she's made to sound a lot like certain other trainers...and I can't believe I ever thought that screaming at people and belittling them was OK to help them lose weight. Maybe my self-esteem wasn't high enough at the time to realize that it would be wrong for someone to treat me or anyone else like that. I can't wait to see what unfolds next on HUGE!