Tags
Anna Kournikova, Biggest Loser, Bob Harper, Cara Castronuova, Dolvett Quince, motivation, reality tv
I’ve always been a big fan of The Biggest Loser in all of it’s evolutions. Five years ago, I even wrote a short post saying how much I loved the show and the core changes in brings about in people’s lives.
This is also the one particular show that even the beau loves to watch with me on a “must see it on the day and time it comes on/must not miss” kind of basis. Just the sheer positivity of people making efforts to change their lives on both the physical and mental levels is just inspirational to me. Folks stepping out and doing things that they had no confidence whatsoever in doing is very motivational.
People feeling they’ve fell too far into the proverbial quicksand of their current lives, that there isn’t any way they can make a permanent and meaningful change. And then with the aid of some very dedicated trainers and their own bodies and work ethic, change their lives for the better. I’ve always seen this show as not necessarily one about weight loss (which in it’s outward appearance and general structure is), but one of a mental restructuring.
Taking “I can’t” out of people’s thinking and replacing it with “I can” is one of the most beneficial thing’s one can do to help improve their lives. Setting up obstacles, closing doors, and shooting down possibilities hinders folks from bettering themselves, making life-changing decisions, and keeping people comfortably where they are at in the lives they are not happy with in some way or another.
Even though I am not overweight nor have I ever had any weight issues (I’m actually trying to gain healthy weight now as part of my fitness plan), the show has helped me in many facets of my life. Seeing these ordinary people, doing what I consider extraordinary things in the gym and in their “challenges” gives me a good swift kick in the pants whenever I find myself saying that I can’t do something. If they are making breakthroughs in all these facets of living, there’s no reason I can’t do the same. And that’s a very powerful thing to have in mind, that anything is possible if you really put your mind to it. Yes, it sounds awfully cliche but it is very much the truth.
In fact it was a Biggest Loser elimination speech which prompted me to finally do something I considered extreme in my life almost five years ago when I took the steps to end my nine-year relationship with a guy who was self-destructing and taking me down with him. I won’t make this post about that, but the realization that struck me was that I needed to think about myself for once. Not worry as much about others but deal more about how it was affecting me. I was allowing all this to happen and since anything I did to try to help or rectify the problems over the years was muted or broke down, it made me firmly decide I needed to get out of the situation and I’m very glad I did.
I’m still working on being a stronger person on the inside to this day. If there’s a huge flaw in who I am, it is that I get comfortable in the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it mentality.” I’m too worrisome to take many chances that may pay off for me in the long run. I did it once, moving on from that past relationship and making the big move that put me into the wonderful life-changing partnership I’m in now. But I still live very much in that “comfortable” mindset and am still upset as to other parts of my life.
Particularly my future in a career. I don’t want to be in retail all my life and I don’t want management enough to commute for the job. I’ve been diligently working forward now in a couple of areas I’d like to use as a springboard to careers I would like and enjoy to pursue. My pastor last week used a word when praying with me that has resounded in my mind and continues to motivate me. “Boldness” needs to be a word I become very familiar with. It has long fled from me in favor of the word “comfortable.” I’d be unhappy in an aspect of my life, but because it was working for me at the time (i.e. “not broken”) I wouldn’t fix it or step out of the box to try and make myself happy. Mainly for the fear of failure.
But you know what, you can’t let failure scare you from making beneficial choices in your life. I’m choosing to be more bold, and to step out of my comfort zones. It’s going to take hard work, dedication, determination, and some failure along the way. I’ll just pick myself up and continue to move forward. I’ve got a great support system here and I can’t let fear paralyze me from making the most of making more of my career choices.
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This was originally going to be a post about the new season of The Biggest Loser and how I’m enjoying this season. I do miss Jillian a lot but I still get my fill of her on The Doctors and on her regular podcast (which is awesome if you’re a podcast fan).
I like the addition of Dolvett Quince as the red team trainer, he is a great addition to the cast as far as trainer and personality. Brett from last season was good but did not have enough of a personality for tv.
I’m still not very optimistic on Anna Kournikova and how good she is as a trainer. I do like listening to her accent though, if that counts for anything. She doesn’t seem as dynamic in her approach as any of the former/current trainers and that could very well be because of her lack of experience in the training area. Being an athlete doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be an effective trainer.
It could be because she is working with the older group which may have quite a bit more problems to work around than the other two age groups. I still find her a little soft as a trainer, very much like I felt about my past trainer Kirstie.
I’m definitely part of the group who wishes that Cara Castronuova from last season had continued on into this season. Even if she had a crazy look in her eyes during many of her screen shots, she was a very effective trainer and had a strong, inspiring personality. With her boxing background, look at the wonders she did with a number of the members of her team last season. Just think how that kind of dynamic training would be helping this older blue team. Eh, off my soap box on this one. I’m just hoping a bright spot opens up for Anna and her blue team soon. I want the blue team to succeed.
A Bit of Ste - Revisited 
I used to watch Biggest Loser all the time. I have been obese most of my adult life so watching the show is a different of experience for me. From the weight loss aspect it’s motivational but discouraging at the same time because it does light a fire under my butt to make positive changes but that flame can fade when I watch the contestants shrink week after week and my results aren’t as fast eventhough I know they do nothing all day but work out and eat preplanned meals in a controlled environment. The “game players” used to anger me with how they would gain weight one week to pull a big number the following week while others who wanted to get better struggled to stay. I realize it’s a game show but that still rubbed me the wrong way. Obesity is about so much more than maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine I felt that sometimes the show makes it seem as if all you need to do is work out six hours a day and everything will be better. Maybe the show has changed since I used to watch but I wish they would have talked more about the deep rooted mental health issues behind obesity that don’t go away just because you lose 100lbs, which is why several of past winners gained the weight back.
That being said, I love love love Bob! It is awesome to watch the contestants learn to value themselves throughout the journey. My favorite part of the show is the finale when the contestants walk on stage before the final weigh in. The look of of pure happiness, pride, and sense of accomplishment on their faces makes me cry every single time. Ali Vincent is by far my favorite contestant to date. She is truly an inspiration and I’m so happy for the success she has had since the show.
I am starting to realize that fear is a huge obsticle in my life that I need to learn to overcome but “comfort” and familiarity, no matter how dysfunctional, is a hard thing to separate from. I think it is so awesome that this show gave you the strength to get out a bad situation bring you to a happier life.
Well we can both learn to get past our fears and move out of our comfort zones together!
The show is very good about bringing out the emotional reasons for why they are where they’re at emotionally. Particularly Bob and Jillian (Jillian was awesome at getting to the roots of their behaviors). Cara last season was pretty good about it too. But it all comes down to whether people want to deal with them or how well they hide their issues.
And I agree, the journeys of all the eliminated contestants and the three months the finalists do all by themselves up until the finale. All that time is spent off the ranch and doing it themselves. Very inspirational!