We started on January 4th, 2012. Biggest Loser Nomad is a very friendly competition that began with several people that wanted to lose some weight and become healthier versions of their already wonderful selves. Some of us have lost weight consistently. Some of us have not lost weight. Some of us have bounced around. One thing is certain, no matter what group any individual person is currently in, they signed up for Biggest Loser Nomad with the best of intentions. No one signs up for a weight loss competition wanting to continue the status quo. We all may have had different reasons. We all may have experienced different results. What I have learned and seen along the way has taught me a lot. It doesn't come just from my own weight loss journey, but from all of those that signed up. Tonight, I thought I would type up just a few of the things my fellow competitors have taught me. To protect the innocent, I will not use names.
1. The scale is quite possibly the scariest inanimate object known to man.
Every week I arrive at church around 8:30 am. I pull out the scale and sit at the table waiting for people to come over and weigh in. The attitudes toward the weigh in time are varied. Some people run over, ready to "get it over with" regardless of whether or not their week is going to show a loss. Some get to it when they can. They aren't trying to avoid the scale, but they aren't in a hurry either. Then there is that group of people that just come in and avoid all eye contact with me. They are scared to death of the number they are going to see. What amazes me is that this fear does not cut across gender lines or among those who have more or less weight to lose.
I am guilty of this as well because I am afraid that the number on the machine will somehow define my life, at least for that week. I don't want to see a higher number, even though a higher number doesn't make me any less capable to lose weight the following week. Still, the scale is scary. (I think I just figured out my next Halloween costume.)
2. Excuses are Endless
Who among us has not had an excuse when we have gone through a bad week or five? No matter how determined we are to stick with our plans, we trip up, we make excuses and blame anything and everything for our very limited resolve. What I love is how these excuses are intensified right before we get on the scale. Like we are trying to talk ourselves into the bad number we are about to see. Here are some I have heard over the past 4 months. Are they yours?
-My kids are go, go, go and so our food has to be too
-My job is conducive to losing weight
-My spouse isn't on board
-My injuries prevent me from doing anything
-My limited time won't let me plan
-My vacation was unlimited
-My friends had celebrations
-My cravings got the better of me
-My body doesn't like me when I eat healthy
-I'm sad
-I'm depressed
-I'm just not into it
I know that looking at this, I have said at least 4 of these over the past 4 months. Penny days, turned into penny weeks and I don't stick to any sort of plan. My vacation was a food fest. My injuries are limiting my running and I am not looking for alternatives. I am guilty of coming up with excuses for my poor choices because I don't want to be completely to blame, but here is the thing. I am completely to blame. Here is what I realize. I can have all the problems in the world, but only I can decide what goes into my mouth. If cake is consumed it is because I chose to eat cake. If I buy fried chicken instead of grilled chicken it wasn't my friends celebrations that made me do it. It was my choice. And the excuses I make are my choice as well.
3. Avoiding a problem does not make the problem go away.
Some of the contestants have asked me why I am so adamant about people weighing in even if they don't want to and here is the answer. If you don't weigh in, you are avoiding the truth and an avoidance of the truth tends to lead to more avoiding. It is a slippery slope we go down which is why some of us end up not stepping on a scale for years. While I hope this is not the case, I believe that some people have woken up on Sunday morning and said, "I don't want to go to church, because Steve is going to make me weigh in." Yes, I am going to try to convince you to step on the scale, but not because this is a joke to me or I relish in your failure. It is because I want all of us to be aware of our issues. I am not here merely to take statistics and make a video. I am a coach and a captain, and I am going to do that job to the best of my ability and know how.
Here is my deep dark secret. I lost 76 lbs in order to join the Army in 2001, and between 2005 and 2009 I gained it all back plus another 25. I hit 300 lbs for the first time back then. Why? Because I never stepped on a scale and realized the severity of my problem. I was avoiding it at all cost. It wasn't until I saw that 3 that I realized I couldn't continue living like I was. I had to do something, and while it took me a couple years to truly hit the ground running, I am now on the path and I am not looking back.
4. Success is hard work over a long haul.
Unless you only have 5 lbs to lose, 5 lbs is easy to lose. That's right I said it. For those of us who are what the Doctors like to call clinically obese, 5 lbs is simple to drop. We can do it in a day or two. Losing 5 lbs in week one was not a success. It may have been a mini victory, but I can't say it is a success. Why? Because losing 5 lbs in week 1 can be easily negated by gaining 6 lbs in week 2. Several folks in Biggest Loser Nomad will understand this point because they have bounced around in their journey. For some it is a week to week thing, up one week and down the next only to go up and down again. We are taking the "life is a roller coaster" metaphor to new heights.
Success can only be seen over a period of time in this case and it takes work. "A failure to plan is a plan to fail." And planning is the hard work. I have found that the weeks I am most successful are the weeks that I have planned my meals and made an effort to research what meals I would eat at restaurants if I had to eat out. My exercise routines are planned as well. If I don't plan them, then I will lose out and skip them altogether. Having a plan is extremely important to long term success. There are always going to be circumstances that we can't control. We are going to have missteps along the way. But if we have a plan and form consistency, we will see success.
5. We are all different.
This is the hardest lesson I have had to learn, because I mistakenly assumed when people signed up for Biggest Loser Nomad that they were ready to start a serious weight loss journey. As a captain, you want to see everyone succeed. Being the seriously nice guy that I am, I even want to see everyone on the other team succeed. But the truth is that some of our contestants just haven't gotten into it yet. I don't mean they weren't on the mountaintop high that all of us were when the competition started. I mean they weren't ready for the long haul, for the hard times, for the deep down, seriousness that comes with undoing what has been done.
I have been guilty of this so many times it isn't funny. I have gained and lost weight so many times my closet looks like a department store with its array of sizes. It wasn't until I became the Captain of the Mean Green that I truly made the decision to fight for my weight loss. It wasn't until then that I set goals, started making meal plans and worked diligently at running more and more. I have to say that all of you are my inspiration because I don't want to let any of you down. I want to be successful for you so that you can say if Steve can do it so can I. And believe me, If I can do something then anyone can. Yes, even you can run a 1/2 marathon. I am not saying you should or you have to, but I do believe you can.
There is no time like the present
Here is the lesson...there is no time like the present to start again. If you aren't where you want to be, then don't give up. That is not a reason to quit. It is a reason to get up, dust yourself off and start again. There is a lifetime left to reach goals. You can achieve success. You can do infinitely more than you ever thought possible, and you owe it to yourself to get out there and try.
We have two months left for Biggest Loser Nomad and starting today I am going to spend the next 60 days encouraging, asking, begging, and prodding you all toward success. Maybe you will think I am being a pain, or more colorful words I refuse to put here, but I do it all out of love. There is no time like the present to set goals, to plan and prepare and to succeed. I know you can do, and I want to succeed with you.
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