If you watch Biggest Loser (LOVE that show!) then you probably saw Bob calling people out on eating ice cream while they watch it last night. I will admit that typically I am eating ice cream (or fudge, or chips, or a piece of cake, or any of a million kinds of junk food) while watching that show. But last night was an exception. As a matter of fact, I was eating cucumbers in vinegar because I feel like I have a kidney stone and thought I’d see if the vinegar would help it move along. Really, it doesn’t get much healthier than that when you’re 37.5 weeks pregnant!
But it gave me reason to think…I am not a skinny girl. I can’t even be called “pleasantly plump.” I am significantly overweight and need to lose a lot more than I care to admit. So WHY is it so easy for me to park myself in front of the TV and watch these people bust their butts to lose weight and look great when I need to be doing the same thing? Aside from being pregnant, which is my excuse of the moment, I think I know why. Because even at my size and weight, being 2 weeks away from delivering my 3rd child and the weight gain (albeit minimal…as of last week, I’d only gained one pound more than the baby is estimated to weigh at this point, not to mention the fact that the placenta and amniotic fluid weigh several pounds each) associated with that, I still weigh less than every single person on that show. So it’s easy for me to sit back and watch their misery with a little ice cream and say “well, I’m not that fat” and pretend that it’s OK.
I almost think I’d like to see a season where they’re not trying to get the most shockingly obese people on there. It would probably inspire me a lot more. I can’t imagine being much more sedentary than I am and I am not good with the food related willpower. But a woman weighing almost 380 pounds is not someone I can really relate to on a personal level. It’s too easy for me to say that I’m nowhere near that heavy and dismiss the relevance to me and my personal situation. And then it’s easy to say “well, she’s probably shorter than me” when there are people who weigh closer to my weight. I think that seeing the BMI for everyone would also help me. I know that BMI isn’t necessarily a good representation of someone’s health, but it does factor in height so you can get a better idea of how you compare.
I’ve always thought I’d like to be on the show. With nothing to do but work out, surrounded by people I’m competing with to lose weight, I’d be highly motivated. But being separated from my kids and husband is just not something I can imagine doing at this point in my life. So instead, I park it on the couch with my ice cream and feel superior because I weigh less than all of the contestants. *sigh* Obviously I can’t do much about it now, or even a month from now. But as soon as I’m cleared for exercise, I’m going to start doing something to change. I won’t be able to cut calories much due to breastfeeding, but between the calorie burn that provides and increasing my activity level, I hope to see some positive (or perhaps negative?) changes in my weight this year.
I’ll start by offloading this baby and all of the associated stuff that pregnancy brings. That should get me below my pre-pregnancy weight (don’t hate me!) and hopefully moving in the right direction!
