Im a Loser, just not the Biggest Loser

So I was just talking to a friend at work about the reality show "The Biggest Loser." Now in case anyone is confused, yes I am still morally opposed to reality shows, but this show is different. It is based on people affecting real, lasting life-long changes for the better.

So why write a post about it? For one, I didn't realize I was so into it. I could tell stories about previous contestants and had my own story to add to it. I guess it is almost into the hobby category for me. Weird. Anyway, without realizing it, I told how I was a Loser. I didn't realize it before, but I have a Losing story, so I decided to share it with the world now, just because I can.

I weighed the most I have ever weighed at the end of last year -- 235 lbs. Yep, I just put that most personal number on the internet for all to see. Take that. You may be thinking "He's not a big fatso. Chunky maybe, or thick at times (in more ways than one) but 235?" Yes my friends, it is true. The link to my proof--all of the pictures of me being fat--is here.

That's right, the link doesn't work. One, because I ain't puttin' those pics on the world wide web, and two, because they are no longer accurate. I started watching The Biggest Loser last season and after a couple of hours watching fat people suffer at the hands of two of America's fittest personal trainers, and lose over a hundred pounds in one week collectively, I thought "I could do that!" So I started exercising and keeping track of my exercising and my diet. Each Tuesday night, as the contestants weighed in, I would take a commercial break and step onto my bathroom scale. Some weeks were good, some not so much. But the point is that the show got me to take action.

In the end, my good habits were not permanent. The show ended and so did my record keeping, exercising and calorie-control initiative. I returned to the bottle (of Dr. Pepper) and my sedentary lifestyle. What did last is the result. I lost 25 lbs. in that time, and I have maintained at 210 for almost a year. No, I'm not "healthy" and I am probably in as bad a shape as ever, but there were results, and I am thankful for that.

So now a new season has begun, and I have been watching. It is time for me to get back up off of the couch and make another run at it. My goal is to be 180 in 2009. (Pretty brave to write my goal down like that, huh? It means that I have to do it or you have the right to humiliate me later.) I believe in baby steps, so I am shooting to be 200 by Christmas, 190 by 2/1/09 and 180 by my birthday in March. Anyone want to join me? It doesn't count until you have set concrete goals in a reply to this post (you don't have to share personal numbers however:)). I predict zero participants, mostly because I only have 2.5 readers, and all 2.5 of those people are probably too smart to share the goals like I just did. Or maybe you are already in shape. I will accept any goal in lieu of weight loss in that scenario. Go ahead I dare you.

Finally, I will end with one caveat. I like TBL as a show. It is much more uplifting than most of the other crap on TV, but they have caved into making it a big emotional blubber fest for half the show to get people more emotionally involved. Now I'm not saying that it isn't an emotionally trying time for the contestants, I just don't want to watch it. So I record it with my DVR (which is the greatest thing since sliced bread) and skip the commercials and crying-people parts. It is just better that way.