Biggest Loser, Vicky, Emotions and Weight Loss

Another season of The Biggest Loser has come and gone (season 6) and the show is coming back again in early January of 2009.  Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels did a superb job in enabling the contestants to lose weight.  The work they did was inspirational for all who watch the show.  To see people lose the weight in only a few months demonstrates, to those that know, how hard they really worked at their weight loss effort.  It was nice to see some of the earlier season’s contestants in the audience show up and still be slim and trim.  Not seeing those earlier contestants who gained their weight back demonstrates the reality of weight loss.  Long term weight loss is not something that ends if and when you achieve your desired weight.  Weight loss actually has little to do with dieting and more to do with life.

The cross section of individuals on The Biggest Loser shows that not everyone has the emotional ability for long term weight loss.  Looking back to Season one of The Biggest Loser,  Ryan, the winner of the show has gained all of the weight that he lost back again.  What this sadly points out is that anyone that is healthy has the ability to lose weight but EVERYONE has to master their emotions to keep their weight from returning. 

Some people have an issue with their emotions that prevents them from being able to lose the weight in the first place and that issue has little to do with the food.  Some of these same issues are what caused people like Ryan to gain their weight back again.  Some find comfort in food and they use food to deal with stress. Others use food as a form of entertainment while watching television.  Whatever the reason for being obese the real issue may be the emotional problems and the obesity is really just the symptom.

Looking back on all of the seasons of The Biggest Loser, Season 6 shed some light on this emotional issue when Bob Harper had a mini-conference with Vicky.  Bob said outright that he had a fear that Vicky was going to go home after the ranch and gain all of her weight back.  He went on to say that she had not learned at the ranch what it would take for her to keep the weight off for the rest of her life.  She was more about the game and less about the weight loss.

As you sit and ponder your own weight loss you need to realize that your inability to lose weight is based on what is going on in your head more than what is going on in your mouth.  Losing weight not only begins with a thought, it is the thoughts that carry you beyond a “diet” and through the rest of your life.  That is why the theme of the trainers on The Biggest Loser is more about changing your lifestyle than about exercising.  Sure they do hours of exercise but that is only because they are in a race to the finish.  That “finish” may be portrayed when the confetti falls from the studio ceiling, but the true finish really never arrives.  This is because weight loss is never something that just stays around, it must be worked on for the rest of your life.  I guess as far as Vicky is concerned we will see if Bob Harper was right about her gaining the weight back again. 

Weight loss is more about emotions than almost anything else since the emotions and mental attitude are what get you to the gym and also what keeps you eating healthy.  Before you begin your New Year’s Resolution check out your emotional state to ensure you are really ready to lose the weight.