Jillian Michaels & the Biggest Loser

There are many, many quotes from Jillian floating around in cyber space and all of them are motivating and make sense, to me anyway, but recently I came across this one.........

"If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough."  When I came across this quote, I didn't really understand it, but thought, it's Jillian, if she said it, there has to be something behind it.  The other day when I was catching up on some ironing and other housework TV I was lucky enough to witness the circumstances surrounding this quote.  It was between Jillian and one of her team members Amanda.  Check out this gorgeous former Biggest Loser Contestant.......

Jillian had her team doing treadmill intervals which were getting faster and faster.  Amanda had a mini breakdown and ended up walking out of the gym.  In the following episode Amanda apologised, but Jillian being Jillian, a simple apology just isn't good enough.  Jillian likes to get to the bottom of the problem and Amanda's was failing.  She didn't want to do the faster treadmill intervals because she thought she couldn't, she thought she would fail and that's where "If  you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough." came in. Jillian also told Amanda ~ 

"you have to redefine your view of failure.  It's not failure, it's a learning process.  You've got to fall down a few times, you've gotta make a few mistakes in order to learn, it's how you grow"

To me it means that it's not meant to be easy and you probably will fail a few times, but that's OK as long as you keep going and don't give up.  

I love watching the Biggest Loser, I always seem to learn things either from the trainers or the contestants.  I not only find the show extremely motivating, but also very entertaining.  I think it's hilarious how the white team (OZ Biggest Loser) have been banished to the bush for a week and poor Michelle is sleeping on eskys so she doesn't have to sleep on the ground "with bugs", at least they were given some foam mats to make beds :)

Even though the white team has been banished from the campus, they still get to train.

(source)

After training they get to enjoy a nice, cold bucket shower.  I don't think I could handle this for a whole week - the poor girls.

 (source)

Here's a few other things I have learned from the Biggest Loser :

• You have to let go of the past to be able to change
• You have to make your own choices
• You have to forgive yourself to move forward
• You need to change on the inside, not just the outside
• It can't just be about the weight 
• One day it will be gone
• You need to find other reasons to train

That seems to be it for now, but I can see a pattern there and mine is that it's more mental than physical. 


How do you feel about the Biggest Loser.......

• Do you like it or loathe it?
• Do you learn anything from the show?
• Does the Biggest Loser motivate you?

Biggest Loser US season 8

I was in tears yesterday watching The Biggest Loser and it was all because of this woman.....  

.....meet Abby

Abby is one of the contestants on season 8 of the US show and what she has been through is horrific.  At the moment she has a stress fracture in her tibia and her reply was "that's not devastating"........"I have lived my worst nightmare."  Abby went on to explain how

The Biggest Loser

I have just finished watching a series of the UK Biggest Loser from 2006 and the winner was Jodie Prenger. The transformation was incredible as you can see by the before and after photo.

At the moment I can only dream of losing that much weight - she lost just over 46% of her body weight to become the winner which was 9% more than anybody else in the competition. The black dress she is wearing was at the finale and I have seen some photos of her since and looking at those I think she may have put on a little bit of weight since the show, but still a healthy weight.

I know that the Biggest Loser is great and it changes people's lives, but in reality I would love to know how many of the contestants from all over the world have actually kept the weight off? They lose it soooo quickly from extreme exercise and careful calorie controlled diets with nothing to do in the house except train. There was one episode where there was a challenge and the winner got to have a 1 on 1 training session with their trainer, but none of the other contestants were allowed to train - they were all bored and just lazed around the house for the day. One of the contestants even commented "because we weren't allowed to train, there was nothing for us to do".

I know in my life there is no way that I would have nothing to do if I couldn't train. The days I don't get to the gym I try and do something at home, but if the kids are awake, it's impossible cause they want to join in, they lie on my mat, take my hand weights and so on. I am going to attempt to get up earlier and exercise before the kids get up in the morning. I would love to make this a habit of mine. When I had a personal trainer at the gym I used to get up early and go to the gym and I got used to the early mornings and really enjoyed my morning sessions. It made me feel good for the rest of the day so I am going to challenge myself to get back into this habit - it can only be good for me, can't it??

Enough ramble from me today, have a great weekend!

Believe It, Be It

First up - I lost 400gms this week, not a huge amount, but a loss is a loss. I only went to the gym a couple of times and I didn't track, but I am starting to get my head around the new Pro Points and I have re-vamped my exercise timetable so I am hoping that I will see at least a 1kg loss next week.

I read Believe It, Be It, by Ali Vincent on Saturday. My husband finally had a weekend off and the kids were entertaining themselves with him so it gave me a little more spare time so I picked up my new book and apart from all the usual child interruptions - you know - I need to go to the toilet, I want something to eat, I want a drink, I need to go to the toilet (again), I'm hungry (still?) and so on I managed to read the book. It did take me till 2am, but I just wanted to finish it.

For me it was just one of those books that you can't put down. I know there will be many people who would disagree with me, but I just love Ali Vincent and the insight into how the Biggest Loser works was really interesting. She was saying that on their "day off", which just means no gym or trainers they have a filming schedule to stick to. I am guessing it's where we see all those bits when they are talking to the camera about what's going on. Then there's the diary room, it looks more like a home video - Ali referred to it as the confessional and they are asked to go everyday and talk about whatever they want. The contestants are even given a schedule of what time they have to be in the kitchen and having breakfast or doing something so it can all go on camera. The episode where they had their make-overs, they had to be up at 3am to get to the shops before they opened so they could get their clothes. It is a really full on schedule and not just with the exercise which is usually 6-8 hours a day, a few hours with Bob and Jillian and the rest is their "homework" that they have to do by themselves.

I had a good day on Sunday, I finally made it back to the gym where I did my normal weights session, but I only did the weights, there was no cardio as I had other stuff to do as well, but it turned out OK cause by the time we finished walking around the city and taking the kids to Santa Land I had done well over 10,000 steps. I am sore in a couple of areas today, which is where I increased the weights a little so even though it hurts, it's a good hurt cause I know that I worked hard and that I am doing something to better myself. I was going to say get rid of my blubber, but after reading Believe It, Be It, I have learned that I shouldn't put myself down, (even when joking) that there is only room for positives in my life from now on.

When I did my warm up at the gym yesterday for my weights I actually ran for the 5 mins. I normally just plod along walking, but yesterday I just decided to run - well jog it. I didn't think I would make the whole 5 mins, but I did. I know it may sound silly, but being able to run for 5 mins without stopping is huge for me - I was a little excited about it as well.

New found motivation!!

I am watching an old episode of the USA Biggest Loser on Foxtel, it's actually the same season that they put on here in OZ and then it just disappeared and then it was put on a different day several times and then of course I lost track of it and never saw the end of it. Anyway there is one contestant in particular named Ali who was in the pink team with her mum, they were both eliminated in week 4, but when the eliminated contestants had the chance to come back Ali managed to get a spot back into the house. I have just finished watching last nights episode which is week 15 of the show and the final 4 contestants have been sent home to continue on until the finale. Her starting weight was 234 pounds (106 kg) and her current weight is 135 pounds (61kg) giving her a total loss of 99 pounds (44 kg). She has lost the most weight of any female ever in the BL campus and has the highest percentage of weight loss of the season out of everybody - including the men.

Because it was the last episode before the finale there was a huge re-cap over the last 15 weeks and I found that the things Ali was saying were very inspiring, they were real, things that I could really relate to. I am sure they are things that anyone on a weight loss journey can relate to :

Week 1 - "I want to wear sleeveless shirts and not worry about anything jiggling"
"No more excuses"

Week 3 - "I don't want to be unhappy anymore, I don't want to be in a body that makes me unhappy. It's more than just eating, it's more than just losing weight".

There are parts when she is watching her audition video with Jillian and the comments she makes - " want it more than I want anything right now - All the way" That's me at the moment, I want it, I want to lose the weight, I want to wear sleeveless shirts. Back to Ali, she was saying to Jillian how embarrassed she was, how she wanted to cry - that is exactly how I feel most of the time. Ali also says (looking back) that she "forgot" how fat she was - I can not wait to forget how fat I am, I would love to be saying was.

In week 4 when Ali and her mum were eliminated she said "I am going to be the biggest loser". Even though Ali said that in week 4, here in week 15 she says "when I said it, I believed it and I have never stopped thinking that I will be the biggest loser".

Jillian then took Ali to meet someone, it was a life size cut out of herself when she first arrived at the BL campus, this is what she said (after screaming in disgust) :

"I think that everybody who has had weight issues knows that it's not about the pounds that are on your body, it's about why do you hold onto the weight? What puts the weight on you? Where did you give up on yourself? Where did I give up on myself?"

"I love me and I think that's the difference and I think that the only way I can respect me is by taking care of myself".

"I wasn't pround of where I had gotten in my life but it didn't mean that I couldn't be proud of who I was".

"I am living again, I'm excited to get up and to go for it all".

When Ali was talking about her BL experience on her way home she said :

"It took a lot of courage for me to admit that I had lost control of my life, that I had given up on having dreams and I had given up on me and I wanted to take that control back. This experience has reminded me of who I was, why not me? Why don't I deserve to have everything I've always wanted?"

"I lost 99 pounds, I DID IT, I created a body I could be proud of. I dealt with lots of issues mentally, spiritually and emotionally so that I don't ever get back there again so I don't ever try to hide myself again".

I have started my journey a little heavier (9kg) than Ali, but the weight she is now is where I want to be (60kg). She also reminds me of several people from WW and many of the blogs I follow, but to actually see her transformation is incredible. Her arms are sensational, they look a little similar to Michelle Bridges and that is an achievement in itself.

I know this is a big rambling blog today, but I just find this young woman so amazing, her strength and courage, her determination is inspiring, but most of all, she has taught me how important it is for me to believe in myself, that I NEED to believe in myself.