Final Four is finally going home! Changed mentally and physically Irene, Olivia, Hannah, and Jay are now on their own with their new life lesson, new attitudes, new bodies, and $250,000 on the line. The difference for the Final Four this season is that they actually spent one more week on the Ranch. No 30 day test and no marathon cramming. One final week, one final reward, one final challenge, one final “Last Chance” workout, and one big Welcome Home! [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 19: The Final Test
May 16, 2011 By
It is Finals week on the Ranch and just like college the contestants are in for some final exams that will test how far they’ve come in 19 weeks. Let’s get to the exam shall we! [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 18: Makeover Wishes Come True
May 10, 2011 By
Don’t we wish we could all live in a fairytale? Sure we’d be chased by evil witches, dastardly villains and horrible Ogres (no offense Shrek), but we know it would all end happily ever after. We’d be with the ones we loved and singing with random forest animals about how happy we were. No? Alright, well maybe we’d all just like to have life put on hold for a little while and receive some extra TLC. That probably sounds a bit more accurate.
This week the contestants on the Biggest Loser got a little bit of both worlds. A fairytale and some overdue TLC that helped accent their ever growing confidence and transformation. It was makeover week and no one was disappointed! [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 17: Life is Just Full of Surprises
May 3, 2011 By
Life is interesting, isn’t it? For some life seems “perfect”. They are granted opportunities that the rest of us just gawk at in amazement. Others are not so fortunate and no matter how hard they try never seem to “catch a break”.
Most of us though, live our lives somewhere between these extremes. Busting our tails to create or make the most of opportunities that come and go; bringing us unexpected joy for a time. We raise our bar of expectation that much higher for ourselves and those around us, praying we can maintain these new heights for as long as possible. Then a hardship or two drop on us like a two ton anvil dropping on the “Coyote”. Unwelcome and unwarranted we now face a climb that sometimes seems never-ending.
Regardless of which end of this pendulum we are on or whether we’re one of the few who live in the extreme, there is one constant for all…choice! Choice to change, to remain the same, to dream, to fight or to cave.
Choice is the life lesson each contestant must learn, re-learn, and re-learn again while on the ranch. It is choice that brought them to the Ranch, choice that will help them survive and grow at the ranch, and ultimately choice that will give them a higher bar to live by when they leave. This week, the choice made was a shocking and somewhat frustrating one that makes you wonder…what would your choice have been? [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 16: Ready, Set, Change
April 26, 2011 By
So you’ve learned how to lose weight. You’ve learned how to diet and eat right. You’ve definitely learned how to run on a treadmill, walk on a treadmill, bear crawl on a treadmill…basically use the treadmill as a swiss army knife of exercise routines. You’ve learned all this, but have you learned how to change?!
That’s right, have you learned how to overcome your fears, your habits, your crutches, and your go-to’s? Have you looked at those final obstacles that are going to hold you back? When you looked did you look them in the eye or turn and run like always?! Have you discovered what it is like to be a new you? Have you made a life-change that come hell or high water you’re sticking to? Are you ready to move forward???
New Zealand has been that moment for most of the contestants on the Biggest Loser. They are now on their second week, second city, and even more adventures, but for some this is their ahha moment where clarity and change become more than just a concept…they become the reality. So with full pun intended…let’s jump right in! [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 15: Change is Inevitable
April 19, 2011 By
Change is inevitable. We can’t hide from it, we can’t run from it, we can only face it. The one thing we can control about change is whether the change is forced upon us or it is by choice. Change isn’t a bad thing either, it brings a new perspective, challenges us, strengthens us, and yes, sometimes breaks us. It is through change that we discover who we are, are not, and who we want to be.
One choice in change we have is whether we allow our past to dictate or influence our future. Big difference between the two. A future dictated by our past is doomed from the beginning. It means we aren’t learning, growing, adapting. We just follow whatever has worked in the past and let chance & change have their way with us. To allow our past to influence our future, however, is to take control, to look at what got us here and whether we continue or change.
Everything changed for the contestants this week; including the location of their workouts. Some stepped up and took control while others, well, they’re still learning. [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 14: Life, It Just Aint Fair
April 7, 2011 By
“Life aint fair” and anyone who tells you otherwise is smoking crack! Seriously, at one point or another you’ve been on either side of this stick, right? You’ve had amazing opportunities come your way that possibly you didn’t earn or deserve, but the next day your muttering under your breath that so & so didn’t earn this, that or the other. It’s a vicious circle that continues because we enjoy the path of least resistance and find comfort in finding blame.
In the journey of weight loss and changing our lives we fight this battle every, single, damn, day! Lucky for us, we can escape it here and there with work, family, and other activities. Not gonna happen on the Ranch! Cameras, pressures, game play, constant barrage of “Why are you here?”, etc. Thinking about it, I’m actually amazed that we haven’t seen a pushing match or fist fight yet. Producers…!? I digress…
This week life didn’t change. It still wasn’t fair and seemed kind of cruel, but fortunately, it had nothing to do with game play. It was just life! [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 13: I Think I’ll Try…
April 4, 2011 By
I’m sure you share my “new restaurant” frustration. You know, the one, when you go to a restaurant for the first time, you’re excited about the new food you’ll try & can’t wait to just enjoy. Then the menu is presented along with a laundry list of specials that you have to memorize on the fly. Your head starts to swirl just a bit, but still excited you start to read through it all.
Everything sounds good, minus those minor taste & texture issues you find on every menu. You’ve narrowed it down to what you think are probably the most flavorful 2 or 3 items, but still want a recommendation to be sure. After all, your waiter is bound to have a similar palette as you, right!?
You ask and without question they “like” your choices but recommend something entirely different that you hadn’t even noticed. Back to square one and nothing decided! You “eenie, minie, moe” it, throw a dart & then a pinch of salt and make your selection.
Food arrives, everyone else seems to be in love with their dish and you, well, “it’s alright”. You interrogate the entire table and it is unanimous…the waiter was apparently right, but you wanted to explore! Well, there’s been a bit of exploration on the Ranch lately and while exploring can lead to discovery, it can also lead to disaster if you didn’t heed some council before embarking.
“The Biggest Loser” 11 Week 12: One Step Back Countless Forward
March 27, 2011 By
That one step back usually hits us when we least expect it. Most of the time we aren’t looking at the two steps forward it can provide because that one step back feels more like ten with a massive un-bridged, un-passable, deeper than imaginable gorge to cross. It is these moments in life that test us the most.
Will we keep stepping back due to fear? Will we sulk and complain about the hand that was dealt? Will we find an excuse not to look for a way forward? Or, will we pause and look? Will we find that what appears to be a un-passable gorge is really just a small gap that requires just a little forward momentum and faith to leap over.
Each week the contestants face these challenges. Each week they have to make the choice to keep pushing to find the bridge. Unfortunately some weeks someone tries to find a shortcut instead of the bridge & so far it hasn’t worked out too well. This week is no exception. [Read more...]
“The Biggest Loser” 11: Marci, Before and After
March 18, 2011 By
This woman! She gave it her all. And she passed on some amazing work ethic to her daughter Courtney. Witness the transformation…
Marci Before
