Tonight is the season finale for The Biggest Loser, Season 10. As I've written about before, I auditioned for this season back in January/February of this year. I believe they began filming in late April, which is coincidentally, the time that I started my Get Emmie Skinny focus on health.
So fast forward 8 months or so and tonight we'll witness amazing transformations of people who have lost 100, 125, even 150+ pounds in that time period. I think I've lost about 40 for 93 total. But man, can I tell you how thankful I am for being a Biggest Loser reject?
- No Game Play: Brendan, Frado and Patrick were all game play, and being around that kind of environment would have hurt the learning process for me that I need to go through to be successful. I'm fiercely competitive, and to have to be in a hostile environment wouldn't have done me any good.
- No Yelling or Overtraining: I didn't have to have someone yelling in my face for me to work out harder. I also know I've gone at a pace where my body always felt strong and not overly fatigued – something I don't think I could say with all day workouts. I got to choose how I worked out and who I worked out with, and there is power that comes from being able to make that decision by yourself.
- No Missing Life: I didn't have to leave reality for 12 weeks and worry about my job, paying bills and missing friends and family. I didn't have to worry about coming home from the show and then having to still be competing for an at-home prize, living my life in some kind of constant workout-hazed world. I got to live my life, just the way I like it.
- Personal Community: Instead of colliding with strangers I was competing against, I spent the past several months building my own personal community of supporters and friends – new and old – that is stronger than any casting director could ever put together.
Here's a shot of some of my answers from my Biggest Loser application form:
Looking at these, I realize how far I've come. I may have lost only a fraction of what these Losers did, but I've gained a wealth of knowledge that I know I can call on in the real world – because it was formed in the real world.
Food is: no longer where I turn. I turn to friends.
Exercise is: something my body craves. No foolish feelings. No excuses.
My weight is: something that I'm working on, in a healthy way, and in my own time.
What would motivate me to lose weight? Knowing that I can do it. That I have all of the tools in place and all the cheerleaders I could ask for who are there to celebrate with me and to pick me up when I'm down.
So not only has my mind set started to shift, but I watched a couple of clips from my audition video today and for the first time, can REALLY see the difference in my face and body.