Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Gap Filler: TV Weight Loss

A word or two about TV weight loss shows: Appropriately enough, they were showing "Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition" on the club television the other night as I tortured myself with my treadmill workout. It focused on a 445-pound woman whose goal was to lose 300 pounds in one year. To top it off, they made her wear stretchy pants. Ow.

She had a lot of issues: Her weight, a sick child, unable to fit in a car, and she cried a lot. To be fair, I suffer from similar things: Weight, not fitting in cars, crying a lot (especially when Big Macs are at a two-for-one price). I don't have a sick child, but sometimes they can drive me to mental illness.

So the star of the show (I can't remember his name) tells her that she would get a car if she lost a hundred pounds in three months. She hit the goal, got the car, and then was on her own for the next couple of months. Hooray.

Note: I hereby proclaim that I am more than willing to receive a car when I lose 100 pounds (in case anyone is listening and feels inspired to give). I'll take a million dollars too, since I'm on the subject.

Let's get back on point here. Did I say she that after hitting her goal, she was on her own for a couple of months? I did, didn't I? Okay, now get this:

She gained 30 pounds!

She even had exercise equipment installed in her own home! What does one need to be motivated?

Obviously she slacked off during that time, allowing life to get in the way and influence her decisions. To be fair, she has a daughter who had a severe seizure episode during that period of time. But her daughter recovered, and for the remainder of time it should have been rather routine. It's more than likely she gained 40-50 pounds before she kicked it in gear the last couple of weeks, in order to have a result that wouldn't be as discouraging.

Maybe it's me, but if I was on television and the whole nation was watching me, I'd be eating lettuce only for the next year. Being accountable to 783 people (my number of Facebook friends as of today) is motivation enough.

I don't have enough space to list the challenges going on in my life right now. But I'll tell you what, I could wipe them all out with a magic wand today and there will be more challenges tomorrow.

All in all, she lost about 180 pounds over one year, which is fantastic. She hit 60 percent of her goal. She had some motivation, but it appeared to me that she lacked the true inner strength to reach 100 percent.

I've got One that's far better than a television show and I don't have to wait for a producer to call me. He'll answer me Himself every time I call.

I've learned where my Strength lies. He is the One who moved me in this direction, and for me, it's not a matter of "if," but "when."

I may not win a car, and I may not win a million dollars, but when this is done, the victory will be worth a million to me.

But, I'm still open...

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