I must admit that I do watch the Biggest Loser pretty regularly. I'm not a big T.V. watcher and usually I'm multitasking while it's on. Who has two whole hours to spare on any given night?!
Well, what a rollercoaster of emotions I've gone through tonight! First thing that really hit me hard was the immunity challenge. The contestants had to pedal a kayak to land then hike up a very steep hill to reach the finish line. For people who are over 200 and 300 and 400 pounds, this would be terribly hard. Heck, for those people without extra weight this would be a challenge of sorts.
The winner was a woman who really talked herself into staying with the leader, a guy who seemed a little too confident. She made her move and he thought she'd lose steam but she didn't. She really dug deep to finish it the way she did. I was so proud of her and she was proud of herself. I love that this show really pushes the contestants past their comfort level and allows them that amazing feeling of success, self belief and confidence. So many people are overweight and eat emotionally for these reasons.
What really got me though was the last guy, a very overweight teen who was coming in last and knew that he would have a one pound penalty but said all he wanted to do was finish. He only gave himself positive self talk the whole way up. I started to cry though when all his team mates went back down the hill to encourage him. They cheered him on and even gave his back some support but one said that he'd reach the finish line on his own and that he could do it. He did. I LOVE that they were so supportive! What an amazing group of people.
I am not sure what made me cry so hard. Perhaps it was the fact that it reminded me of the first time I climbed the Coquitlam Crunch. It's a very steep hill in our area and we did it with our bootcamp instructor. Some people ran it and I was in the middle but pushing hard, not wanting to be left behind. For someone that was about 200 pounds at the time, not having exercised except for about three weeks (of bootcamp) before that, it was extremely challenging. All I really remember, wasn't the pain and sweat, but the great feeling I had while standing at the top, admiring the view. I'd done it. That was my way back, for exercise at least.
The food thing was something else entirely. Even now I find it a daily challenge to put the best food ever into my body. Our society is so entirely NOT built around a solid whole foods, let alone raw and living foods. I just have to keep telling myself to believe in the process and believe in myself and that I can look temptation in the eye and know that it is just that, tempting. I choose to put the right foods into my body these days. I am also working very hard on not over eating. Even many people on raw food diets will over eat raw foods. It's pretty hard to over eat on fruits and vegetables and greens and sprouts...but add in sweeteners and nuts and seeds and suddingly it becomes very easy. At first it was fine when I ate that way. My body was so thankful that I was not putting in the garbage that I had chosen to eat before.
Then, I noticed that I was getting tempted to eat cooked foods, and not the good kind like steamed vegetables! When I did try some, each time I would wake up the next morning and I'd feel like I had a hangover. Then the cravings got so much more frequent and I would not make the best choices. So I decided to do a water fast which then turned into a juice fast. I didn't have anyone overseeing the fast and didn't want to damage my body. The juice fast allowed me to lead a regular life while giving me the nutrition I needed. I dropped 20 pounds in my first month at 100% raw, and then another 25 when I did the 31 day juice fast.
With all this success you'd think I'd be able to continue this inevitably. But I was addicted to things like sugar, fat and I could get too much of that in the cooked or raw way of eating. I began overeating and problems began to occur. More cravings, weight gain, other health issues, an inability to deal with stress, depression.
Only when I hit rock bottom did I realize that I needed to so something. I knew that raw foods wasn't a complete answer. It is a huge piece of the puzzle, but it's the lifestyle that you need to adopt as well. Over the next year I began putting together a health plan that works for me. Once again I am feeling better than I've felt in ages. I'm not as addicted to food as I used to be. I'm using it responsibly and for nutrition, not for other reasons. I'm eating much less in the day but it's nutritionally exceptional. Exercise, getting involved, volunteering, giving back, detoxing, and all the rest that comes in a raw food lifestyle...I've made health a habit, one small step at a time. SO, what I'm currently doing is writing it all down, and most of it I will be posting on my new yahoo group, called Thrive On Live. I will be sending out daily, weekly and monthly messages, that you can follow as you wish. Do what feels right, delete the rest, but if you want to make your health a habit then start with one small step. Are you ready?
Wow, did I ever get off focus...
The show was so emotional. Some got to call home, that's always a tear jerker. Bob went off on Joelle for her inability to give it her all. There are millions who would LOVE to be in her place, and she's not willing...he let her know how much he didn't like it. I'm sure it's up on YouTube already! If you don't want to know the ending then don't continue reading past here...
In the end, the oldest contestant and the youngest contestant end up below the yellow line. How do you make that choice, the oldest, Jerry really needs the medical attention and the push from Jillian. The young teenager has his whole life ahead of him and has never been a thin child, doesn't know what it feels like really...such a hard decision. Jerry ends up going amidst huge amounts of tears, but we're all relieved when we see his current condition. He's lost 80 pounds and is continuing to lose. He's got such a great attitude.
In the end, it's a choice. Will you choose to make your health a habit?
I have...finally.
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