Show recap Nov 29th

Makeover Week 

Makeover week started out with the ever favorite weighted race challenge. I love the physical challenges! John continues to show dominance in challenges and weight loss. He is the person to beat on the ranch.

The makeovers themselves were kind of a letdown. I was prepared to be dazzled with all the hype, but only Becky really had a major change in her look. Her wedding ring moment with her husband was very touching.


Plastic People 


I continue with conflict on John. Is he is a game-player and manipulator or is he a confused, wounded person? He just doesn't come off as real to me. Everything he says including his talk about commitment to change with Dolvett just doesn't ring totally true. In the end, I am coming down that he is a wounded person who has been unable to be real with others. I am hopeful that his time at the Ranch will move him to a better place where he can remain and grow.

Anna isn't real. Nothing in her talk with Sunny seemed genuine or inspired. There is no warmth or personal connection. Again, glad she is going.

Weigh-in

I was surprised a bit that Sunny and Antone fell below the line. I had expected a closer competition. I was even more surprised that the voting members kept Antone - the stronger competitor! This is shaping up to be a great finale.

Next Week

Marathon is next week. I am excited to see old contestants compete. I am wondering how they will get down to three contestants for the finale. Maybe, there will be a red line to automatically eliminate the lowest player combined with a yellow line for viewers to select between the remaining two lowest weight losers.

Excitement to come!

Power of the portion

I am a big fan of Cooking Light. The 12 healthy habit program for the year has been very inspirational.

The last two habits of the year are particularly important when facing the temptation that the holiday season brings.

November's healthy habit is portion control. I've linked to 10 top secrets on portion control. It is a great article that I hope you enjoy.

Last week show recap

Goodbye Ramon. The vote was quite a lot of drama. My misgivings about John's deceitfulness have returned.

Happy Thanksgiving

Consider this thought.


Dwelling in the past or worrying about the future impairs with your ability to enjoy the present and being thankful for today.

Fabulous Fiber

Fiber is a very important part of everyone's eating plan.  Fiber is one of the three types of carbohydrates.  The other two are sugar and starch.  Fiber can be found in the roots, stems, and leaves of plants and remains in the digestive process as it passes through your system - a vital function.

There are two types of fiber

• Soluble 
• Insoluble

Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water and it's rough, hence the name "roughage" is sometimes applied to insoluble fiber.  It goes straight through your system and helps with problems such as constipation by increasing the bulk of your stools. Insoluble fiber has basically no calories. The best sources for soluble fiber are beans, fruits, barley, and oats.

Soluble fiber does dissolve in water and turns into a jelly-like mass.  This is great for diabetics as it slows down sugar absorption in the blood, helping to prevent spikes in blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber has about 4 calories per gram, the same as the other types of carbohydrates.

Fiber helps you lose weight is by causing you to have to chew more and slowing down the absorption of nutrients.  By eating slower, you have time to realize you're full sooner, so you eat less.

There are conflicts about how much fiber you should include in your diet each day.  The USDA recommendation for adults is 25 grams. Just remember to eat a varied diet, and include a lot of basic unprocessed food in your eating plan and you should get adequate amounts of fiber in your diet. 

Troubling turkey preparation

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. The main challenges surrounding this fun, family time include:

Planning the meal 

Cooking the meal

Eating healthy 

The main menu item for most Thanksgiving meals is turkey.

Turkey can be prepared so many ways including traditional roasting, deep frying, smoking, or grilling.

Preparing turkey has issues beyond cooking the perfect bird. The time, expense as well as dealing with leftovers are all issues surrounding the Thanksgiving main course.

A quick and easy solution to these challenges is the use of turkey cutlets. Cutlets are perfect for portion size and ease of preparation. Grilling cutlets with simple seasoning is a fast way to quickly get the main course on the table. The turkey cutlet recipe above courtesy of Cooking Light shows another way to dress up the cutlet into a delicious, elegant meal in under 30 minutes.

Show recap November 15th

Pentathlon

Contestants competed in five events with a loose Olympic theme. Two of the three events were non-physical challenges which evened up the competition. I especially liked the nutrition knowledge quiz which is vital for lifelong weight management success.

Apollo Ono made a short appearance at the final running event to support and encourage the contestants. How amazing to see the progress in contestants' endurance and performance.

Trainers




There wasn't much time spent with the trainers this week except for Dolvett Quince's segment with John. It was a intense and really added a very personal story to a trainer that I have found very likeable. I hope that he continues with the show.

Elimination 

Bonnie finished last in the competition and received a 1 lb penalty. This penalty placed her lowest in the weight loss. She chose to leave the show rather than force a vote between her and Becky.  I had a change of heart on her in the last few weeks and find her very likeable.

Bye Anna

News came out today that Anna Kournikova is leaving Biggest Loser after this season. I'm not surprised, and I'm not sad.

Comments on the article sum up my opinion as well.  She was uninspiring and unable to make a personal connection with viewers, BL staff, and contestants.

Be a Childish Eater for the Holidays

Cooking Light's Twelve Healthy Habits for 2011 inspires readers every month. One recent in particular assumes new relevance with the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Five Healthy Habits We Can Learn from Kids offered some very practical tips.


1. Live an Active Life
2. Listen to Your Tummy
3. Enjoy Every Bite
4. Fun Takes Precedence over Food
5. Be a Finicky Eater

I think the final tip is especially relevant in this Holiday Season. The weeks spanning from Halloween through New Year's challenge everyone dedicated to eating healthy and living actively. The tip comes especially in handy when treats inevitably arrive in the office in the next few months. Here are three quick practical, personal takes on energizing this simple tip. 

• Eat only what you know you like  
• Take a small taste of unknown treats
• Spit out (politely) or put aside anything you try and don't like

All manner of food and treats will make their appearance in public, office, and home during these next weeks. Use this tip and you will gain the edge when facing healthy eating challenges.

Show recap for November 8th

CHALLENGE

The cooking challenge was a great way to start off the show. All of the recipes looked delicious. I want to find the winning pork recipe to try it. The calorie count under 300 calories is astounding.

I plan to check out the Biggest Loser Quick and Easy Cookbook 



ELIMINATION

Sad to see Joe go. He is a very likeable person.Drama was added by having only a single player in each team weigh-in for the week.

Prior Planning when Eating Out

I experienced a practical example of the perils of eating out yesterday. I was forced to get breakfast at Starbucks near my work.

I tried very hard to size up the pastry choices and decided on the raspberry scone. I checked my calorie and fat choice later in the day.

VERDICT - FAIL

I made a very unhealthy choice that incurred 480 calories with 25 grams of fat. I should have gone with the apple bran muffin at 350 calories and 8 grams of fat. I should have known better that scones are made with tons of butter.

I did choose an Americano ( Espresso +  hot water) for my drink and used skim milk + splenda which added little calories to the scone.

Prior planning is my take-home thought to share.

1. Do your nutrition research before you go to the restaurant

Many restaurants post their nutrition information online. A little research will allow you to create your own healthy item choices before you ever step inside the restaurant

2. Consider supplementing the menu with your own food

I should have carried some healthy breakfast items with me instead of going whole in at starbucks. I could have supplemented a packed breakfast with a 150 calorie skinny latte with sugar-free vanilla syrup as my sweet treat.

Portion size perils

I wanted to share a brief real life portion challenge I faced yesterday. I went to try out a new frozen yogurt place with the family. The store was giving some of the sales to a local school.

The big sign in the store touted how healthy their yogurt was - low calorie, safe for diabetics, safe for lactose intolerant, ect. The set up in the store allowed you to self serve the yogurt, add toppings, and then pay based on the weight of the serving.


HERE'S THE PERIL..... the sign also said that an 8 oz serving of yogurt had 64 calories. BUT... the only container choice available was much larger at 32 oz.  The store's system was set up to make it hard to truly control portion size if you're counting.


IN ADDITION, the toppings were mostly unhealthy choices like gummi bears or crumbled candy bars further making controlling calories a challenge. Filling the cup up and adding candy toppings would probably set you back at least 350 calories or more.

I hopefully stayed under a 100 calories with my choice. I tried to ballpark 8 oz of the chocolate yogurt (hardly filled the monster cup) and added maybe 1/2 or 1/4 cup of chopped strawberries.

So, be a hawk about portions and choices when eating out.

Show recap for Nov 2nd - Things Change

Just a quick post on the show. I watched it late last night. It was one of the more enjoyable shows for this season.

FOOD FIGHT

I've said how much I HATE temptation challenges. I LOVE knowledge challenges like last night's calorie counting challenge. Calorie counting is an essential tool for to both achieve and maintain weight loss.

Oft overlooked calories in Mexican Restaurant meal

It is staggering to think that all of the meals shown had calorie counts equal to a full day worth of calories. Sunny's Mexican meal was over 4000 calories! There are so many calorie hazards with Mexican food. One of the the most overlooked hazards are the tortilla chips. A basket of chips can set up back 250-400 calories. Add some queso to those chips, and it's all over.




Final Word on Anna 

Thumbs down to Anna

I have decided thumbs down on Anna as a trainer. Telling Joe to "man up" is not a great way to start your trainer relationship. I realize that her team achieved success at the weigh-in. However, she doesn't have likability or inspiration.



Anna is talented and capable. She was able to take her good looks and talent as a good (not great) tennis player and be successful.  However, she just isn't able in my mind to use her skills to add value as a trainer to the Biggest Loser. NBC needs to keep looking for a trainer or make Jillian Michael an offer she can't refuse.

I won't waste any more time commenting on Anna. I hope that her team is able to take what they need from her and others on the Ranch to be successful.

Elimination 

Jessica's departure was logical. She is young and healthy. Her chance of winning the marathon is pretty good.

I also think it is good for her and Ramon to have some time apart to gain perspective on their romance.


Bonnie Reconsidered 

I was pretty harsh on Bonnie in a prior post. I have some regret after last night's episode. She appeared to be a different person. Maybe, her relationship with Anna was so toxic and negative. I'm taking a fresh look at Bonnie now. I hope that Dolvett and John will help her in her personal growth.