Exposed (How you lose 30 pounds in a week)

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Can I tell you that I'm now hooked on The Biggest Loser?  I watched the season premiere last night and was completely inspired, and saddened, by the stories and the motivation of the competitors on this year's show.  The drama and sacrifice during and after the ending weigh-in was riveting.  

What was neat, and inspiring, was that a lot of these folks have probably never picked up a weight in a life or perhaps ever step foot in a gym... and for the first time they follow everything that Bob & Jillian says and lose 11, 12, 25, and even 30 pounds in a SINGLE WEEK!  

For someone with less aspirational weight loss goals this new year, I'm thinking... How do you do that?  

The first answer is, you work your tail off and spend about 10 hours a day in the gym (which I'm sure they did).

However, the second answer is... you have to be motivated, I mean really motivated, to go from complete couch potato to the Michael Phelps workout program in one week.  Where did they get that motivation?  This is what I believe:

They came face to face with their problem.  On the scale.  For America to see.  Completely objective.  No hiding.  There it is.  When each contestant weighed in, you could see many faces drop in shame... they knew in their heart of hearts that they had to change.  Then, they get their physicals... and the truth about the dangers that the obesity is creating is laid out for them... and it's scary.... "Not only do I weigh over 400 pounds, but the fat is surrounding my organs and is threatening my life."  The truth is further exposed... the movie is played out... if I don't change... 

So... after that... comes the gym... Bob & Jillian work them mercilessly... and they don't quit (while the rest of America watches with a pint of Ben & Jerry's... a little bit of irony :-) ).  Several times a contestant told the camera during the immunity challenge "I have to stay in this house!"  No more games... I mean business.  And the result?  

Losing in one week what most of us struggle to lose in 6 months.  

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Most 12 step programs start out with the premise that you must come face to face with your problem and realize it for what it is.  This is not just in weight loss, but in any area of dysfunction (defined as:  functioning dangerously) we find ourselves.  The hardest part is seeing our situation for what it really is... facing the ugly truth... and letting the movie play.  

At Buckhead Church this week, our small groups are spying on our money as part of this "Balanced" series that we are going through.  I have a feeling that the financial weigh-in for a lot of us will be just as painful as the physical weigh-in for The Biggest Loser contestants.  When I started budgeting, I started to see my dining out budget for what it is... and it did motivate me to say no to a lot of random "go out for dinner" requests that I did not need. 

On a bigger scale... the financial crisis facing the US economy IS this wake-up call for America's addiction to debt.  Fortunately some of us are changing, which admiringly will prolong the recession because we have built this economy on borrowed money for so long... so it may take a while to get us out.  

My fear is... that politically speaking (meaning in our governments) we are still in denial, and it doesn't matter what president you insert into the White House, the answer is the same... "economic stimulus" and more government debt.  This year, we brought out a $700 billion bailout package for a financial industry that weighed in morbidly obese on bad loans combined with bailout loans for car companies and the like.  This year's incoming "change" president promises more of the same.... a $750 BILLION "stimulus" package and a projected budget deficit of over $1 TRILLION... with warnings that we should get used to trillion dollar deficits for a while.  

My question for Barak Obama is:  You want the government to pump money into the economy to stimulate it?  Where, exactly... is the money coming from?  Seriously.  We're all cutting back... where is the money coming from?  

In that, our elected officials and several business leaders are still in denial... and that's scary.

Comments

Rude Awakenings said…
Hi, I really enjoyed your dissection of the psychological workings involved in the miracle called "The Biggest Loser" and the dialogue about the state of affairs within the country :)

It's true,it takes a moment to create a change within ourselves, just a moment of absolute clarity. :) Enjoy your new year!
3:53 PM
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