The truth is, the ‘weight loss industry’ doesn’t want you to lose weight any more than the pharmaceutical companies want to resolve your health problems. It is a simple business decision, if they actually help you achieve a long-lasting result, than their revenue will diminish and their shareholders will be sad pandas. Do you really think that the gratification from “helping people” is worth more than the billions of dollars in revenue from selling products that either don’t work or are only temporarily effective? (really?)

Although I believe the above statement to be true, I am not yet jaded enough to believe that all people or companies are just money hungry buzzards circling easy consumer prey waiting for it to die. At the same time, if the shoe fits, wear it. At the end of the day the people selling these products and services forget all about you, go home, and do whatever they do. They have no vested interest in your success. They don’t get paid for each pound you lose or for each tiny amount of self-esteem you get from feeling better or looking better. To them, you are just a large (No pun intended) demographic that they know they can sell products to, because they know you are desperate to lose weight, you are tired down to your soul of being overweight, and you will do almost anything to break the cycle.

What about the random people on the street? They don’t care about your struggle, they have their own problems. They just know that your weight makes them uncomfortable. They couldn’t possibly know how hard you are working to change your life and it honestly wouldn’t matter to them if you told them. They don’t know that you just spent 45 minutes on a treadmill (40 of them with every muscle in your body screaming in pain for you to stop) and again even if they did, they wouldn’t care.

The energy it takes to make a major change in your life is massive. It affects every aspect of your life. It is a physically and psychologically draining process and you can never take a break from it. Going from either not making choices for yourself or making negative choices, to making positive choices about your diet and exercise consumes a huge amount of time and energy.

Even more importantly, after expending all of that energy to work towards a goal, do you have the strength to withstand the crushing assault of a setback when all of your best efforts don’t lead you to the desired result? (Which, lets be honest with ourselves will happen) The blow of a setback can be even worse when using a product or service to help you lose weight because the ‘provider’ is not going to accept any responsibility for your failure, and your own internal logic will lead you to believe that it is all your fault. (even if they don’t specifically express that to you and would be happy to take the credit for any success you may come by).

These elements all lead to feeling alone which in any struggle is probably the hardest thing to overcome. Do your friends and family (not to mention your personal trainer or the people who manufacture the amazing weight loss drug you’re taking) *really* understand what you’re going through? Even if they are overweight their journey is most likely completely different than your own and they experience their lives in a totally different way. They may not have the same urgency or feel the same pressure to lose weight as you and might not understand how physically, mentally, and emotionally uncomfortable your weight makes your life.

In the end, no matter how many products you buy, books you read, personal trainers and dieticians you consult with and assholes you encounter. No one but you can make a change in your life. People won’t understand how hard it is. Your friends won’t understand why you are so moody or why you don’t want to go to your favorite eatery anymore. They won’t understand why you avoid situations where it may be difficult to control yourself. You will feel tremendously alone and they may feel alienated.

Add to that the difficulty of admitting to someone else (can you admit it to yourself?) that you have a problem with control or making healthy choices for yourself and you have all of the elements of a perfect failure. You feel alone because nobody will understand, but you can’t explain it to the people close to you because you’re embarrassed or ashamed. Toss in the dirty looks from random people and sprinkle on some of the personal trainer or nutritionist telling you that you are just not doing what you are supposed to do, and you are one bad weigh in or a pair of jeans not fitting away from a total and complete 180 degree reversal in your attitude towards your journey. It really can be that fragile.

Once your attitude shifts towards something from positive to negative, no matter how good the good was, the negative is always going to outweigh the positive in your mind. Yes, you worked out and ate better and it was making you healthier but you didn’t lose weight. (that is the only thing that matters to you). You did everything you thought you were supposed to do and still hit a brick wall (at high speed).

All of the things I’ve mentioned above are mostly thoughts and feelings motivated by my own understanding  of the world that I live in. Everyone has their own “world” that they live in, nobody will see something in exactly the same way. The only way to break these cycles is by changing the way you think about your struggle, I’ll be sure to let you know when I figure out how to do that.

Drew

I think most people would like to believe that when people leave The Biggest Loser ranch they are ‘fixed’. What ever be it emotions, learned behavior, or addiction that caused them to become obese is simply gone forever but that is just not true. Contestants (like everyone else)  go back to their lives without the constant nurturing and support and are bombarded with all of the old temptations, emotions and environments which prompted them to gain weight in the first place.

But wait! People go home from the ranch and continue to lose weight right? Yes, but as Bob and Jillian pointed out, they are still in constant contact with them even after they leave the ranch. This poses the question then, can obesity ever really be “cured”? If the most popular trainers in the world still have to prod people after they leave the ranch, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Perhaps instead of treating the physical state of obesity which is caused by eating too much and exercising too little, Perhaps we should treat the reason people are eating too much and exercising too little in the first place. I would venture to say that at the core of 90% of most obese individuals there lies emotional problems which can be traced directly to their eating behaviors.

Telling someone who could already have emotional problems that they eat too much and are lazy doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. Maybe more research needs to be done in the psychology of obesity rather than the pharmacology. I am glad that Larry King decided to have the Biggest Loser winner who gained his weight back on. It shows both obese people and non-obese people alike that there is no quick route to becoming healthy and like with any virus one must be mindful that they still have the disease even if they aren’t showing symptoms at that moment.

Personally, I think The Biggest Loser does a lot to show people what is possible, but it gives people an unrealistic idea of what it is like once the cameras are off and Jillian and Bob aren’t there to scream at you anymore.

-Drew

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-Drew

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-Drew

First, let me start by saying that there is nothing inherently wrong with most personal trainers or mega gyms like Lifetime Fitness. It is just that there is really no magic or special sauce involved in what they do there. They just tell you what you already know (in your brain, and what you need to do) which is simply to burn more calories than you take in.

That being said, everyone has different caloric needs based on age, activity level, and medical status; and those needs change over time. Lifetime fitness offers two tests (and they aren’t shy about trying to sell them to you) which will attempt to determine what your caloric needs are so that you can create a deficit (or the amount of calories you need to cut, per day, to meet your goal).

Arguments for the gym:

For many people, the gym is an escape, getting away from their children or their pets 2-4 times a week to that place where they sweat and become pure energy is a great stress release for them. They are there to work out and there are less distractions, although i have seen people work out for 10 minutes and then stop and talk for a half hour and then leave.

Space, although with the exception of the treadmill most of the things I mention below will fit in most walk in closets, many folks just don’t have the space for their own work-out area in their homes.

Up front cost vs. Monthly recurring costs $69/month isn’t exactly inexpensive especially in this economy. Things like the gym are most likely to be the first to get cut when hard times land on “main st.” (as the media likes to call it).

Gyms often times offer structured activities such as kickboxing, aerobics, spinning, etc.

What can I do at my house, then?

A mix of cardio (Walking, Step-ups), balance ball, stability, and strength training can be used to deliver a killer workout from the comfort of your own home.

Lets take a look at what we will need (I’m listing optimal first, then less optimal option second, then some optional equipment third):

Exercise / Balance Ball:

Don’t let their playground demeanor fool you, these balls are all business. The sheer amount of muscle twisting fun which can be had on one or two (multiple sizes) of these balls make them a must for any home gym.

Workout Mat / Carpet / Floor:

Planks, Sit-Ups, Ball Lifts, and other torturous things you do on your back are bad enough. Why lay on the floor when there are cushy mats available? (especially if you have back problems, etc)

A Treadmill / Sidewalk or other surface suitable for walking quickly:

Walking is good, honest! People have been doing it for years, nothing bad has ever come from walking (I bet YouTube has some examples but that is neither here nor there at this point). A treadmill is a nice addition to any home work-out space due to the varying speeds, the ability to work out when its freezing outside, the flexibility to use it to do slant pushups/step-ups and other activities. Its also nice to be able to work out wearing whatever you want. Sometimes the gym can feel like the high school cafeteria again, but without all of the yummy french bread pizza.

Step Up Boxes/Stairs:

Step up boxes offer varying degrees of punishment based on the height of the box. Step-ups are one of the best (or worst) things you can do to/for yourself. Remember to step down with the same leg you stepped up with and not to zone out! (yikes!) If you get real good at stepping up frontwards, try doing it side to side quickly while holding something over your head. You can move up to the larger hop boxes once you get good at the small ones for a better workout (just be sure to secure it somehow).

A Heart Rate Monitor / The ability to take your own pulse while working out:

A heart rate monitor is probably the single most important piece of equipment to have in any home gym. The good news is they’re also pretty inexpensive. You can “fake” everything else (except for perhaps a balance ball). To be able to look at your heart rate monitor and see those calories ticking away is a huge motivating factor. They also track and store your workouts so that you can download the data into your computer (if you’re the spreadsheet type). You can also program most of them to keep your heart rate zones and alert you when you are out of your zones or have been in a zone too long.

Adjustable weights/resistance gear

Recently, a new trend in weights has become popular, that is you get one weight which can be adjusted to virtually any weight. The reason this is so awesome is because it saves a tremendous amount of space.

Resistance Bands

Optional Equipment

A weight bench:

A standard weight bench can be handy for strength training while I wouldn’t say it is required. Again, I would check around at used sporting good stores for the best prices for these items.

Music Player:

Nothing passes the time during a workout better than your favorite music. Fortunately, since you are your own personal trainer you can use your favorite music player to rock out while you work out. With all the money you’re saving why not splurge a little?

Even if you were to purchase one of everything in this list, including the treadmill, you still wouldn’t beat my total of $2,500 for 3 months of ‘eat less and work out harder’ advice from a personal trainer. Sure, if all you are doing is paying the $69.99 for the gym membership than dedicating a small amount of space for a gym might not seem worth it but it is something to consider, especially if your gym, like mine is in the middle of the busiest mall in your city!

-Drew