The Biggest Loser Finale

I'm a big fan of the show The Biggest Loser.  It's so inspiring and so cool to see the changes these people make.  I'm always amazed at the before and after photos - obviously they lose a lot of weight all over their body, but their faces sometimes look soooo different! 

This season's winner Michael was over 500 lbs - the biggest contestant they ever had, and lost about 50% of his weight.  He still has some ways to go but he looks so great!  I can't wait to see the pics after he achieves his goal weight.  But, Koli, who also made it to the final 4, and didn't make it to the final 3 because the viewers voted for Daris instead, lost 53% of his starting weight!!!  He won the at home prize, but if the viewers voted for him to be in the final 3, then he would have won the whole thing!!  Wow... I can only imagine how he feels knowing he lost more overall than the actual winner or anyone else.  If he had made it to the final 3, he would have won the whole thing!  The funny thing is, he was so focused on getting there that he sabotaged himself in a way and didn't lose enough weight to guarantee himself a spot in the final 3.  Funny how that works sometimes - when you want something so bad and stress out about it, it just doesn't happen.  That's life I guess.  Well, at least he got $100k.

I actually really liked this season because most of the contestants focused on losing weight and becoming healthy instead of game playing like they usually do, especially towards the end.  They had an opportunity to get rid of Michael at one point but they voted for him to stay.  I think that's what it should be all about.  Changing lives and being an inspiration to others.

I do wish though that the show would focus more on the nutrition part.  I know they do talk about that at times, and they have those silly product placements that are sooo cheesy and fake.  But I wish I could see exactly what the nutritionist prescribes each contestant.  I mean like for each meal and snack the exact food they are eating including how they are cooked, so I can break down the protein/carb/fat ratio and count the calories.  I know I always think of each of my meals and snacks in terms of that ratio (I'm a weirdo), and I like to have 50% of my calories from protein, 30% from carb (low GI carb), and 20% from fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated).  So I do take some time planning my food.  I also would like to know roughly how much fat, sugar, sodium, fiber, calcium, potassium, etc. etc. they consume daily.  But I guess that would make a very boring TV show for most people!!

I remember hearing Bob say to a female contestant one time to get her 1200 calories in daily.  That's not very many calories for an over weight person who works out 8 hours a day or whatever.  They must be starving!  I thought they would have given them at least 1400 or 1500 calories.  Maybe 1800 to 2000 for the men.  That's still a 2-3 time decrease from what they used to be eating at home I'm sure.  And obviously I would assume that they are eating healthy fresh ingredients that do not raise their blood sugar level.  I just wish I could find out exactly what!!  I feel like most weight loss shows keep nutrition a secret.  They tell you a little bit about it, usually stuff that we've all heard before, but not nearly enough for you to understand in more depth or replicate it. 

My nutritionist always says it's about 90% food and 10% work out, which I totally agree with because no matter how hard I work out, if my nutrition is off then I won't see any difference.  And vice versa, if my nutrition is on, I don't even have to work out to see results.  Working out would just serve as a catapult.  Obviously the work out parts are way more interesting on TV, especially with Jillian yelling at your face, and I do enjoy watching the different exercises that they do and get ideas from them.   

Anyway, this one trainer I trained with once (who told me that out of all the people he's trained, I was in the best shape when doing the first session with him!) is supposedly being considered as a trainer for the Biggest Loser so maybe we will be expecting more trainers in the future from the show.  I hope he makes it because he was very good, but if not, it will still be interesting to see different trainers on the show.  I like Bob and Jillian, but I'm surprised they haven't had others come on already.  So we'll see!

I feel bad for the people that haven't lost much weight, especially the ones that got kicked off earlier on.  You can just tell that some people are not "on" mentally.  How you can not flip on the mental switch when you've made it to the show out of thousands of applicants is beyond me.  And what about that season 3 winner who gained all his weight back???  OMG so crazy... I can't imagine letting yourself get back to that after working so hard to lose it.  And having to do it again.  Wow something funky must be going on with that guy inside his head.  Also, when they've showed other older contestants, they seemed to have gained some weight back too, but they've mostly stayed within reason.

My friend (who is like a size 000000 but thinks she's fat) who went to a consultation with a plastic surgeon said that according to him, the number of fat cells cannot change (it's genetic) unless with lipo, but they can shrink or expand, which is what happens when people lose or gain weight.  So it's way easier to gain the weight back if you have been overweight before, since the fat cells are already there, just shrunken, so all they have to do is expand again.  I don't know if this is true or the plastic surgeon trying to scare my friend and get business (is that illegal though?), but I guess it does make sense.  Well anyway, I know I'm not genetically gifted with extra low count of fat cells, so I have to always eat things that don't spike up my blood sugar level (which triggers the body to start storing fat) and keep my metabolism going.  I guess I try to eat as if I'm a diabetic!  It's hard though - other than the obviously desserts and pastries, I have to watch out for other simple, refined carbs too - like bagels which I love!  My grandpa's had diabetes since his 20s (he's in his 80s now), and I can't imagine how much self control it takes to maintain that disease!