Ever feel inspired

Weightloss reality TV show offers glimpse of getting healthy

Sometimes inspiration can come in the strangest forms.

I was sitting down for a late supper on a recent Tuesday night when I turned the channel to The Biggest Loser, a weight-loss reality TV program focused on diet and exercise to get generally morbidly obese people down to healthier weights.

The trainers on the show – Bob and Jillian – teach the contestants about proper diet and how to exercise.

In the eight weeks since the show has began to air on TV, the contestants have lost between 40 and 110 pounds each.

It’s remarkable to sit and watch the show. The contestants seem to gain more confidence week to week as they work through the personal issues that led to being a 19-year-old who tips the scales at 454 pounds.

During the episode, the contestants travelled to Washington, D.C. to share their personal stories with a couple United States senators. They lobbied the government to do more to encourage youth to get fit and more active.

They said it starts in schools. The time students spend in gym class may be the only exercise they get in a day, one of the contestant pointed out.

He said gym should be a mandatory class through elementary and high school.

Another suggested home-economics – it was lovingly referred to as cooking class when I was in high school – be mandatory with a focus on health and healthy eating.

I would wholeheartedly agree.

In a day and age when so many people, young and old, are overweight or worse, learning at an early age how to eat healthy would help people.

We’re currently in the midst of Diabetes Awareness Month.

I’m not sure there’s a better time to get concerned with our health than right now.

It’s important to know if you’ve got diabetes or a family history of it.

Just as importantly, be aware of what you’re eating and how active you are.

Sometimes it’s hard to stick to a food plan but the more aware you are of what you’re putting into your body and what you’re expelling through exercise, the better.

My greatest success in weight loss and general health improvements (feeling more energetic, fitter, sleeping better) occurred when I was tracking all the food I ate and what I was doing at the gym.

This was back in 2005-2006. I was able to shed more than 20 pounds over about a eight-month period.

I’ve yo-yoed since then losing and gaining weight since. It never seems to fail. I get going to the gym and things go well and I get sick or I get injured and feel like I’m forced to stop going.

What I’ve come to realize is that’s a bit of a defeatist attitude. Deep down, I may be looking for an excuse to stop going and “health reasons” seemed the easiest to justify to myself.

For example, there’s no reason why, when I tore my rotator cuff muscles several years ago, I couldn’t work out. I kept playing softball but gave up the gym.

In the worst case, I could have kept working out in a limited capacity, doing weights and anything the physiotherapist approved.

What I should have done was at the least was keep working on cardio on a treadmill or elliptical machine.

Or, I could have walked or jogged around my neighbourhood.

In the spirit of Diabetes Awareness Month, I’m hoping that by the time you read this, I will have been back to the gym at least once.

I’ve got about four days to meet this goal and hopefully stick to it through the winter.

Anyone interested in joining me?

It’s a rhetorical question.

Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it with your family.

It can be fun to exercise as a family.

I bet the family pet would like to go for more walks with mom, dad and the kids. Mine sure does. And she’s better behaved the more exercise she gets.

For me, it’s a win-win situation.