11 Weeks at The Biggest Loser Ranch: Mindset Shift

Wow! It is amazing what the participants of the Biggest Loser television show have accomplished in just 11 weeks. They've worked hard and I am pulling for them to finish what they started and have the success they deserve.

Whether they made it to the final 4 or were home after the first week, I hope they have been able to incorporate into their lives some of the changes they have made so far--so both they and their families can enjoy better health.

I was struck this week by how many times Jillian and Bob mentioned the importance of mindset...if you are not ready to accept the new you then the old one will come back.

It was fantastic to hear Amanda say she loves herself--this is a crucial part of this journey. Loving yourself--knowing that you deserve the time and effort spent to achieve your health is so important. And you have to start that process NOW...before you reach your goal weight. You cannot expect to hate yourself to health! Becoming slender is not what makes you worthy...you are worthy already...and knowing that, you can become slender.

The reality check with Bob was interesting too...seeing the shift from the rah-rah, sure I can, answers to the genuine fear regarding the challenges they face coming up. This is the "moment of trught" as it were. Will they be able to keep this up? As several of them pointed out, work and family will now be dividing their focus. It is unlikely they will be seeing the big numbers, but they can still make great progress after this jump start.

I've written about the high costs of obesity before, and how we cannot sit back and think this illness is not affecting others. It was really interesting to have Suze Orman talk about it on national television. Some of the numbers she sited are staggering. I'm not 100% convinced that the reason obese people earn less money is because they cost companies more money...sure there is that component...but I also believe there is a huge bias against obese people...a perception that they are less productive, less desirable...just as there are biases against other people who are visibly "different."

The scene that bothered me this week was the one on the gridiron. It was a great eye-opener for the participants to haul their weight around...it reinforced their accomplishments which was cool. However, the hatred with which they tackled their oldselves bothered me. I'll confess...given that environment, I probably would have done the same...pumped up and tired...but hating yourself...your present self or past self...is not the answer.

That fat person deserves some love and respect. At the very least for making the decision to get healthy. That person carried this new thinner person through. That fat person protected you in the only way he/she knew how. Hating the "old you" may be part of the process...but hatred is still a powerful attachment and force of attraction.

We are truly done with the old body when we can thank it for gettting us where we are now (wherever we are on our health journey)...but acknowledge we no longer need its protection. We can bid it farewell without regret, without animosity, without attachment.

This is easier when your weight loss takes longer...you have more time to evolve. I totally understand the appeal of rapid weight loss...ironically that keep me fat for years! It was when I changed my head first and focused on my mind and my health that I dropped weight...as long as I was fixated on my weight--losing fat, the number I was at--then I kept having issues and struggles.

Best of luck to all The Biggest Loser participants. Continue to love yourselves to health!