Random Thoughts XXIII: The Biggest Loser Season 8

I love Reality TV. I really do...to a fault. I have my cable Reality TV shows that I like (VH1 is a vice y'all) but I really dig a couple of Reality TV shows on the major channels. My favorite "Reality TV" show: The Biggest Loser.

I knew it was going to be a great show. I had no idea how great it would be. As I was watching the show from the beginning, I wanted to blog about it. Something in me held back. Even as I saw Shay weigh in at 476 lbs. I wanted to blog, but something held me back. When Shay seemingly quit, I thanked the heavens I didn't blog but then the urges came back as I saw the contestants in a battle with themselves.

And still, I held back from blogging. You KNOW I wanted to blog when the contestants went to the doctors and performed all of those tests! Wowwwweee! Yet still, I paused.

When the contestants had to weigh in and I saw great numbers, I wanted to post but something held me back still. I could imagine myself clicking on a new tab, loading this up and playing commentator to the sport of weight loss but I didn't do it. I couldn't. I didn't care why.

Once I saw the end, I knew it was time for me to blog. Alexandra, not even on the ranch for 1 week, ended up losing 60 lbs so far! Amazing!!

The Biggest Loser is not only my favorite Reality TV show (even ANTM comes in a distant second), it's my favorite TV show hands down (yes, it beat out Law & Order - all of them! )! Why? Because this show inspires me in so many different ways. The emotions that I feel for these contestants are not pity nor compassion. The emotions I feel - down to the tears I shed - is admiration, respect, and love. Because finally, they are on a path to admire, respect and love themselves.

You see, we are all victims of self-neglect, whether we are obese or not. There are a lot of people like the Youth Pastor who did not realize he has Type 2 Diabetes. How many people live their lives, not realizing what aliments ravage their bodies and they live their lives for everyone else....but themselves.

I, too, am a victim of self-neglect. It may not last as long as someone that is not aware of the state of their health but it does happen. Stress is the ultimate sign of self-neglect because stress can lead to an array of dis-eases - big and small.

When I watch this show, I want to make my life better. I want to get up and take all the anger and frustration and the stress and just clean my house or go for a run or do an hour of Yoga in my home.

All it takes is one small step.

The number 8 is a very powerful number. It is my favorite number and it represents infinity - to build and destroy...which are infinite and needed for balance and growth. So Season 8 of The Biggest Loser should be a season of power. The motivation to destroy what you were so that you can build anew.

The most ironic thing about this show (and life in general) is that in order to lose weight or be able to heal, you have to make a choice. The only tool that is needed and is most important is your mind.

I can't wait to see what Episode 2 has to offer. I can't wait to finally update this blog like I'm supposed to. Maybe that will be my accomplishment for this Season 8 of The Biggest Loser. I'll finally catchup to all the things that I need to in regards to this blog and my other one, Healthy Junk.

You ready? I am.
Until next time...stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!

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The OD Factor

Have you ever became so excited in a subject that you immersed yourself fully and wholeheartedly into it?
Did it ever get to the point where you did TOO much, too fast that you got bored and quit (or even worse, it became a detriment to you)?

This has happened to many of us on many different occasions. The situations vary but it's the same end result. I call it the OD factor (OD can mean "OverDose" or "OverDoIt"). It is really an issue when it comes to health. Let me explain:

Now let's say you have a cold, or even worse, bronchitis. You go to see the doctor and he gives you some pills. The doctor tells you to take 2 pills, once a day for 7 days and you should be fine. But you want to be fine RIGHT NOW. So you take 4 pills (2 twice a day) for 4 days instead of 7. Next thing you know, you're back in the doctor's office for another ailment that you have. :( But you can't blame that on the doctor. You kicked in the OD factor and messed yourself up.

Here is a scenario that may hit a little closer to home:

I have a friend that I helped to lose 35lbs. She increased her water consumption and included light exercise, such as walking, to her daily regimen. When I first told her to drink water, I explained why she needs to and told her only to make sure she drinks water when she wakes up in the morning, during the day (and nothing else - no soda, nothing - and if she does drink other things to have a sip of water afterwards), and before she goes to sleep. The next thing I know, this woman is telling me that she's drinking gallons of water in one sitting!!! Her reason being is "I wanted to flush out the toxins quicker so I figured drinking more would do it."

There are too many reasons why the OD factor is a bad thing, especially when it comes to health (and did you know that drinking too much water at once is not good for you? more on that at another time). First off, health is not something that just "magically appears and disappears." The time it took for you to reach an unhealthy state did not happen overnight (even though it may seem that way). The time it will take for you to get back to healthly state will DEFINITELY NOT be an overnight process (and it should not be). When it comes to health, most times the old adage is true: less is more.

Athough there are a issues with doctors in general, when they give you instructions you should follow it to the letter. That way, if there is a complication (especially when it comes to prescriptions) your doctor knows how to tweak it so that you get better, with the least amount of discomfort. When it comes to Alternative Medicine, you must follow the instructions to the letter so that you can get the maximum benefit.

I do not worry about time when it comes to the people I'm helping out. I don't want them to feel like they should rush through things. I live in New York City - the "rush" capital of the world. Everything and everyone in NYC moves so fast and is always in a rush to get...well, pretty much nowhere. LOL It is one of the many factors that adds to our stress levels. Most of America likes the "quick fix". They want it yesterday and they want it to work NOW or it's not worth much.

Do you think your body "isn't worth much" because it takes time to heal? Do you think that you should rush your health? Not at all. When it comes to the body, nothing can be rushed. The body has it's own timing mechanism. It knows how long it's going to take to heal and believe me, it wants to be healed (any opposition comes from the mind...no matter how physical the resistance may seem). Why not, for once, take care of yourself properly? Why not take time - with YOU? Aren't you the most important thing in your world? How many people depend on you? Think about it. You have a boss that depends on you, you may have children or a family member that depends on you. As a matter of fact, the person registering your groceries depends on you - well you have to pay for the food so that they can get paid! LOL Even though these people may rush you, take the necessary time it will take for you to get things done. This is especially of importance when it comes to being healthy.

Stress. (oh I get stressed just thinking about the word hehe) Stress leads to many issues in life (mental, physical and even spiritual)...as we all know, stress can lead to death. We all try to ignore the symptoms and signs of stress until it's too late. The first thing you must to do conquer stress is to take time. I mentioned in an earlier post a story about not eating lunch. Basically, it caused me great stress, which lead me to almost lose my job! I had to take time for myself and made sure I ate lunch and that let a lot of stress go for me. I not only ate the lunch but I made sure to enjoy eating my lunch. I took time to appreciate the food given to me and appreciated how it will nourish not only my stomach but quell my mind and calm me down when external situations open up opportunities for stress.

On the flip side, you get really excited about...let's say, exercising. You start it and you're very consistent for about a month. Almost too consistent. Since you're now working out 5 days out of the week and you're doing strenuous exercise, you start to feel pain and discomfort in your joints and muscles. You get on the scale and realize you didn't lose as much as you wanted to (and some folks even gain weight). You get bored and you give up. This too, is also a result of the OD factor.

Gradual changes last a long time. Reaching small goals is a must in health. Yoga is a fantastic example of this.

I went to a Yoga class at my gym for the first time. I have done Yoga for years but this is the first time in a long time that I was going to make it consistent again. So, I'm in class and the poses and breathing comes naturally to me. The teacher adjusts me in various ways to optimize my experience (as she does with everyone). There was one guy in the class who was struggling. The teacher tried to show him better ways to do things but he would fight her (not literally) every time. Soon, the teacher gave up and continued with the other students. This person started to grunt and groan, getting more and more frustrated each time he did a pose. By the time we came to the end (corpse pose...in layman's terms, you lie down and relax...almost to the point of sleep), this man was still uncomfortable. As I left the class, the man was cursing at his friend, telling her that (basically) she was the worst for even bringing him to this class. As she stood there quietly, taking it all in, I stopped him and said:

This class was not bad because of your friend or the teacher. It was a bad experience because of you. "But I tried to get the poses but couldn't...it was too hard." No sir. YOU were trying too hard. The purpose of Yoga is not to compete or try to do a pose as good as the other guy. The purpose of Yoga is to free your mind and body and soul so that they can all be one. Since you were so busy competing with everyone else and (even worse) yourself, you will never get it. Just do the best that you can. No one expects anymore from you than that. If you keep rushing yourself, you will never reach the pinnacle or your goal without being badly bruised and scarred. You don't have to see the scars to feel them or to know that they're there.

The man looked at me with a blank stare. His female companion shook her head in agreement. She then thanked me for saying what she wanted to say, but couldn't, because of his fierce nature. Once he came out of that stare, he apologized to his friend for the way he acted and apologized to the teacher. He came back the next week - focused and aware. He was able to do most of the poses without discomfort. When the teacher came to adjust his poses, he smiled and thanked her. He left the class feeling much better and told me that he's going to try to be "less competitive" in all aspects of his life. He lives in a world where if it doesn't happen now, it's never going to happen and this class made him realize that it's not the way to be.

This man was correct in his assessment, not only within himself but with everyone...everyone should be "less competitive" and not rush certain things...especially when it comes to YOU. Now if you have to rush a payment so you don't get a late fee on a bill, that's one thing. But letting people rush you or rushing yourself to reach a goal or stage in your life will almost always lead to failure. I really and truly learned this the hard way, especially since I am the type of person that works well under pressure (people like me will always wait until the last minute so they can get that adrenaline pumping...that leads to rush rush rush...and a slew of potential errors).

So there are two things I want you to take with you after reading this: less is more and variety is the spice of life. If you're getting bored with something, change it up. If you have to contact your doctor and tell him or her that your "exercise regimen" is boring, then they should be able to give you a slew of alternatives to choose from to reach your goals. If your doctor (or health counselor) gives you specific instructions for doing something, follow it. Don't let the OD factor creep into your world and allow you to make a mistake. Your health is too important for that. YOU ARE TOO IMPORTANT FOR THAT. :)

I hope you have taken sweet time to read this. If you skimmed through this, read it again very slowly. Take that energy and put it towards all that you do. You may not know your body fully, but taking time and not letting the OD factor overtake you will enable you to listen to what your body is saying. Hearing is a quick action. Listening takes time.

And on that note I will humbly say,
stay strong, stay healthy and fight dis-ease!

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Motivate Me, Motivate YOU!!

Since I started with school and counseling people, I have been asked many questions and faced many obstacles. The first question I am asked is: How do I get motivated to become a healthier person? There are quite a few answers to this as well as different and various obstacles to hinder your path. I hope I cover all of them and if I don't, please let me know.

Now we all know that most people want to be healthy once they have a problem. All of a sudden, it's "oh, I gotta do this and that and the third". Their mind gets into the spirit but their body isn't budging. Their environment isn't helping and they go right back to the same old thing. My mother always said to me, "prevention is better than cure" but for those who are getting on the good foot because of certain issues, then I hope this is a great start for you.

DEPRESSION

Ever woke up one morning and wanted to become healthier but then once you look in the mirror, you lay right back down on the bed? How about you have the urge to start working out but then you and your significant other get into an argument and you head right for the ice cream? Depression is one of the biggest obstacles to face when trying to be healthy because depression pretty much stops everything going on in your life. For me, depression is about not appreciating yourself like you're supposed to. As a person who has beat depression only to face it and beat it again, I realized that the only thing that can help me to fight depression...is ME. If taking a pill or seeing a therapist of some sort stops your depression so that you can go on with life, that's fine with me. But for most, a positive outlook on life (and yourself) will help you to fight depression and motivate yourself to be more than you are now.

SUPPORT

Having people in your life that support you and remind you of your self-worth can help you beat depression. They can also motivate you and help you to achieve your health goals, regardless of what they are. The trick with friends (or anyone) as a support system is with YOU. If you don't want to help yourself, all of the efforts of those around you are in vain. On the flip side, once you are open to help from others, you will be that much closer to reaching your goals, in a shorter period of time (for the most part).

STAYING FOCUSED

Let's say you get over the humps that hindered you from taking the first step. You have support from family and friends to reach your health goals but it never happens. Maybe you don't have the time because of work, kids, school. Whatever is going on in your life, stay focused in achieving your goals. If you have to sacrifice something to be a better you, PLEASE DO IT. Anyone or anything that does not allow you to take time for YOU, you should dash it (or them) away. Let me give you an example from my own personal experience:

A couple of years back, I used to work to try to please everyone. I would try to be so dedicated that I would be rude to customers and co-workers and even though I was doing work on time, it wasn't up to par for my company. Finally, my boss sat me down and asked me what is going on. I told him that I'm so busy at work and I'm so dedicated to doing what I need to do, that I would go for days without taking a lunch break.

My boss looked at me with disbelief. He just couldn't believe that I didn't take the time out for myself. "How can you help anyone else if you don't help yourself?," he said. He added that since I don't take time to eat, it's easy for me to be mean and rude...my stomach is talking, not ME!! LOL

From that day on, I made it a point to get something to eat...even if it meant that the customer was upset that he/she had to wait an extra 15 - 30 minutes for their computers to be fixed. Once they found out why (I have to eat), they, too, understood and gained patience.....speaking of patience....

KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING....and PATIENCE

The first step to motivate you is KNOWLEDGE. Not knowledge of what to eat and when or what exercises to do or knowledge on the latest fad. I'm talking about Knowledge of self. To know yourself and accept who you are is happiness. Once you're happy with yourself, ALL things are possible. Nothing is impossible. So you got some rolls under your shirt? Your heart still beats and is filled with love. So you have a particular ailment and need help? Well, you're reading this blog right now and it's a start! Look to the positive within the negative and you will truly get to know yourself and be comfortable with it.

Next is wisdom. This is where research comes in...once you know yourself, you will have a good idea of what you need to do but you may need help. Someone who is knowledgeable in these matters like a Holistic Health Counselor ;), a dietitian, a nutritionist, or even a personal trainer can help you gain the wisdom to reach your goals. People always have a tip for you to follow....sometimes it's good to try at least once but having the wisdom to know which method is right for you (and not right for you) is very important.

Understanding yourself takes time. Patience is a virtue. These two go hand in hand. Once you understand what you're going through, you have to have PATIENCE in order to see it through. It took years for you to get the body that you don't want....never think it's going to take a week or two for you to make it better. Depending on how focused you are, it can take months or years to truly improve on your situation. Knowing this doesn't mean you should give up hope now. Understanding this should make you more resolved in doing the right thing for yourself. You are worth every second spent on improving yourself...even if it takes decades to improve you the way you want to be improved, be grateful that you were able to live every minute of that decade as a better person...appreciate your growth and learn from your mistakes.

Being healthy means that the mind, body and soul are in unison...helping you to help yourself. If you can't help you, how can you help anyone else? ;)


Next blog, I will probably get specific on each of these topic and move forward by showing you ways to start improving overall health. In the meantime....


stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!

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