As you all know, I have resolved to make a change in my lifestyle to become healthier, great. Today is day 56, for those of you who were wondering. The past ten days have been really weird, and I am fully aware of how much of a placeholder the work weird is. I have experienced the full range of basically every emotion imaginable over the last ten days, and that's about as much as I am going to talk about it now.
I have basically stopped leaving my apartment in order to avoid spending money. I spend my days doing homework, watching TV, and going to the gym. Besides talking to friends and family, that is basically all that I do. My roommate watches The Biggest Loser, which is a show I have never really been super in to. The other day, I guess about a week ago, I decided to watch the episodes that were recorded on our DVR. I have never felt so simultaneously inspired and disgusted at the same time, ever.
There are a variety of things that I absolutely hate and detest about the show. First, the things these contestants do are unrealistic in their everyday life. And I know that it is a TV show, and the contestants are removed from their daily lives, but they should be taught things that are sustainable. The contestants exercise for 6 hours a day on the show. I exercise for approximately 45 minutes a day, and I have a life. I am a full-time student, I have friends, I have family, I have other things to do in my life other than exercise. Exercise does need to be a part of your daily life, but it shouldn't be your whole life, and it can't be your whole life.
When I started watching the show about a week ago, my best friend was talking to me about it and how the majority of the contestants gain most of their weight back after the series. I didn't believe her. I was like, how is that even possible? If I lose so much weight that I get to a goal weight I don't think I could gain it back. So where are the old contestants now? Click on that link and you will find out. My best friend also told me that some of the things they do on the show are really unhealthy and put the contestants at risk. Again, I did not believe her, how was that legal? Dangerous things happen on The Biggest Loser - it's real! Click here and here to read more about it. It shocks me that this show is kind of harmful for the contestants. The show also prohibits contestants from talking to the media (or anyone really), about what happens on the ranch. Some pretty sketchy things are happening.
The weight loss component of the show, while the most important component, also really pisses me off. First of all, men lose way more weight than women, which sucks, but the show does an ok job of dealing with this issue by focusing on % of weight loss as opposed to strict numbers. However, they don't do a good enough job. When a woman has her period, it is WAY harder for them to lose weight than when they are not menstruating. I mean, duh, yet that aspect of weight loss is not mentioned or taken in to consideration while they are weighing in. That just doesn't seem fair to me!
Another thing about the weight loss aspect - some of them only lose 1 pound in a week. Some of them lose 0 pounds in a week. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. I just. This pisses me off. The average American needs to lose weight, but does not have 42 hours a week to devote to exercise. I mean, that's more than a full-time job. I have never clocked more than 9 hours at the gym in a single week, and that is a serious amount of gym time. I lose more than one pound a week and I eat. Believe me, I eat. I eat spaghetti, valentine's day candy, ice cream, you name it, I probably eat eat. What I have learned is that as long as you eat something in moderation, you can eat pretty much whatever you want. I mean, that's basic, right? But now that I am paying attention to it, it really is true!
Ok, on to things I like about the show, because there are things that I do really like about the show. Mostly, I really like the contestants. As a psychology student I love people and relationships, and I have really started to love the contestants on the show. I want them to succeed. Good TV, right? Unfortunately, that's basically the only thing I like about the show.
This week another friend introduced me to a new blog called CanYou Stay For Dinner? It is similar to my favorite blog, skinnytaste, but it also sincerely pissed me off. The blogger, Andie, recounts her weight loss journey and her exercise journey. As with most weight-loss stories, it is a very inspiring and motivational story. While reading her story, though, you can't help but want to call bullish** on a few things. She claims that she lost 60 pounds in one semester while studying abroad in Italy while eating everything she wanted and walking everywhere. BOLOGNA. There's no way you can lose 60 pounds in 4 months in a healthy way. She says she lost 135 pounds in 13 months, how is that even possible?
A personal problem I have with her is that we are the same height; 5'9''. She started out as 268 pounds and now weighs 135 pounds. I weight no where near 268 pounds, but I also have absolutely zero interest in weighing 135 pounds. Let me put it in to perspective for you; 135 is the lowest healthy weight for someone who is 5'9''. The healthy weight range for someone of my height is 135-170 pounds. I don't think she really has any business promoting people who are 5'9'' to weigh 135 pounds. My best friend, who is 5'3'' and a size 4 weighs about that. SHE IS A SIZE 4. I have no business weighing anywhere near the same as her because I am 6'' taller than she is.
There are things about her story that I did like, though. She talks about how she ran an insane amount to lose weight (I get it, but I am biking instead of running). But she also talks about how she has a real hatred of running, and how once she lost all the weight, she needed to re-learn how to live her live to maintain the weight loss without losing more, or gaining it all back. She needed to teach herself to find physical activities that she loved, so she could continue doing them in her healthy new lifestyle. She talks about how now she goes on long walks and talks to her mom while she is walking, and that is her physical activity. Awesome, inspiring, but also a mild amount of bullsh**.
So I know that most of my blog posts are cheery and upbeat, but that's just not how I'm feeling right now. In my personal fitness journey I have had the goal to bike 20 miles for a while, but I could never seem to get there in an hour of biking. Today I biked for an hour and fifteen minutes and went a distance of 20.69 miles. I am really proud of myself, that's really far. I was supposed to accomplish a lot of things today, including a lot of schoolwork, but basically all I accomplished was a fitness goal and some mild homework.
I have basically stopped leaving my apartment in order to avoid spending money. I spend my days doing homework, watching TV, and going to the gym. Besides talking to friends and family, that is basically all that I do. My roommate watches The Biggest Loser, which is a show I have never really been super in to. The other day, I guess about a week ago, I decided to watch the episodes that were recorded on our DVR. I have never felt so simultaneously inspired and disgusted at the same time, ever.
There are a variety of things that I absolutely hate and detest about the show. First, the things these contestants do are unrealistic in their everyday life. And I know that it is a TV show, and the contestants are removed from their daily lives, but they should be taught things that are sustainable. The contestants exercise for 6 hours a day on the show. I exercise for approximately 45 minutes a day, and I have a life. I am a full-time student, I have friends, I have family, I have other things to do in my life other than exercise. Exercise does need to be a part of your daily life, but it shouldn't be your whole life, and it can't be your whole life.
When I started watching the show about a week ago, my best friend was talking to me about it and how the majority of the contestants gain most of their weight back after the series. I didn't believe her. I was like, how is that even possible? If I lose so much weight that I get to a goal weight I don't think I could gain it back. So where are the old contestants now? Click on that link and you will find out. My best friend also told me that some of the things they do on the show are really unhealthy and put the contestants at risk. Again, I did not believe her, how was that legal? Dangerous things happen on The Biggest Loser - it's real! Click here and here to read more about it. It shocks me that this show is kind of harmful for the contestants. The show also prohibits contestants from talking to the media (or anyone really), about what happens on the ranch. Some pretty sketchy things are happening.
The weight loss component of the show, while the most important component, also really pisses me off. First of all, men lose way more weight than women, which sucks, but the show does an ok job of dealing with this issue by focusing on % of weight loss as opposed to strict numbers. However, they don't do a good enough job. When a woman has her period, it is WAY harder for them to lose weight than when they are not menstruating. I mean, duh, yet that aspect of weight loss is not mentioned or taken in to consideration while they are weighing in. That just doesn't seem fair to me!
Another thing about the weight loss aspect - some of them only lose 1 pound in a week. Some of them lose 0 pounds in a week. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. I just. This pisses me off. The average American needs to lose weight, but does not have 42 hours a week to devote to exercise. I mean, that's more than a full-time job. I have never clocked more than 9 hours at the gym in a single week, and that is a serious amount of gym time. I lose more than one pound a week and I eat. Believe me, I eat. I eat spaghetti, valentine's day candy, ice cream, you name it, I probably eat eat. What I have learned is that as long as you eat something in moderation, you can eat pretty much whatever you want. I mean, that's basic, right? But now that I am paying attention to it, it really is true!
Ok, on to things I like about the show, because there are things that I do really like about the show. Mostly, I really like the contestants. As a psychology student I love people and relationships, and I have really started to love the contestants on the show. I want them to succeed. Good TV, right? Unfortunately, that's basically the only thing I like about the show.
This week another friend introduced me to a new blog called CanYou Stay For Dinner? It is similar to my favorite blog, skinnytaste, but it also sincerely pissed me off. The blogger, Andie, recounts her weight loss journey and her exercise journey. As with most weight-loss stories, it is a very inspiring and motivational story. While reading her story, though, you can't help but want to call bullish** on a few things. She claims that she lost 60 pounds in one semester while studying abroad in Italy while eating everything she wanted and walking everywhere. BOLOGNA. There's no way you can lose 60 pounds in 4 months in a healthy way. She says she lost 135 pounds in 13 months, how is that even possible?
A personal problem I have with her is that we are the same height; 5'9''. She started out as 268 pounds and now weighs 135 pounds. I weight no where near 268 pounds, but I also have absolutely zero interest in weighing 135 pounds. Let me put it in to perspective for you; 135 is the lowest healthy weight for someone who is 5'9''. The healthy weight range for someone of my height is 135-170 pounds. I don't think she really has any business promoting people who are 5'9'' to weigh 135 pounds. My best friend, who is 5'3'' and a size 4 weighs about that. SHE IS A SIZE 4. I have no business weighing anywhere near the same as her because I am 6'' taller than she is.
There are things about her story that I did like, though. She talks about how she ran an insane amount to lose weight (I get it, but I am biking instead of running). But she also talks about how she has a real hatred of running, and how once she lost all the weight, she needed to re-learn how to live her live to maintain the weight loss without losing more, or gaining it all back. She needed to teach herself to find physical activities that she loved, so she could continue doing them in her healthy new lifestyle. She talks about how now she goes on long walks and talks to her mom while she is walking, and that is her physical activity. Awesome, inspiring, but also a mild amount of bullsh**.
So I know that most of my blog posts are cheery and upbeat, but that's just not how I'm feeling right now. In my personal fitness journey I have had the goal to bike 20 miles for a while, but I could never seem to get there in an hour of biking. Today I biked for an hour and fifteen minutes and went a distance of 20.69 miles. I am really proud of myself, that's really far. I was supposed to accomplish a lot of things today, including a lot of schoolwork, but basically all I accomplished was a fitness goal and some mild homework.
