Lessons from The Biggest Loser
By Irene Conlan -
The Biggest Loser is almost at an end. Last night the program covered each remaining contestant showing before and after images and attitudes. Each one talked about the unhappiness, the health challenges, the depression that went along with their being grossly overweight/morbidly obese. Their stories were different and yet they were the same.
The largest contestant, Michael, set a new record by losing 200 pounds. Koli, who lost 172 pounds said at the weigh-in”I am in such a happy place right now.” – happy because he had reached such an important goal in his life. Derek lost 151 pounds and is ready to start a new life. He was most proud of the fact that he accomplished what he set out to accomplish. Ashley lost 143 pounds which sets the record for the most weight lost by a woman in Biggest Loser history. Sunshine lost a total 99 pounds and was the one who was cut from the final four but she went home victorious to a welcoming crowd and to a new life.
Each of them drastically changed their health profile and greatly reduced the possibility of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Each of them experienced amazing changes in appearance. While some of them still have more weight to shed, their bodies have an altogether different shape and shapeliness. They look great and they can walk and run without being out of breath and without becoming exhausted.
But it is their attitude that shows the most change. Sunshine, for example, said in the beginning interviews – with tears – that she had never had a boyfriend and had never been kissed. She is becoming stunningly beautiful and I believe she will have a new kind of problem and that is which boy to choose. What an amazing change. Each has become a success story and each has a new life unfolding.
They are each confident, justifiably proud, and excited about what is yet to come.
Over the course of the seventeen weeks at the Biggest Loser Ranch they have been pushed and prodded, challenged, yelled at and encouraged. They have been taught about nutrition and helped to make wise choices. They have had to come face to face with who they are and what they want.
We watched some of them change from being victims to taking charge of their own lives. We watched the metamorphosis from “I’m worthless” to “Wow! Look at me. I can do anything.”
So what’s my point? My point is that if they can accomplish this, you can accomplish your goals as well. Yes, I know they had a lot of help. They had trainers, the opportunity to do nothing but take care of themselves, the best equipment available, doctors – and TV cameras everywhere.
The point is they stuck to it and they did it. As grueling as it was, none of them wanted to leave the ranch. They wanted to finish. Some of them had never finished anything they started – this time they did.
You may not have a hundred pounds of weight to lose, but you must have something you want to change. You may have to lose a bad temper, or lose a victim attitude. You may have to lose your habit of negative thinking or of finding fault with everything and everyone. You may have to lose your constant whining or your rushing through whatever it is you have to do. You may have to lose your couch potato status and get up and do something worthwhile.
The hardest step any of them on the Biggest Loser had to take was the first step. They took it.
Each of us can too. Help is a keystroke away and motivation can be found in the mirror if you look close enough. We as human beings are capable of remarkable accomplishments – it’s just a matter of taking that first step.
