The pressure when you are at Camp Biggest Loser is so very different to being at home and watching the show from the couch. When you’re there, you’re not playing the game, you’re living it. I really felt for Jarna and Lisa this week. To know you are competing against your one support is very tough.
What I saw in Jarna is what I see all too often. Many of us, particularly women, easily surrender to help someone else, even to our own detriment – I used to do it myself. But this surrender is not just about helping others; it’s also about feeling like we don’t deserve more.
Let me tell you guys – you do deserve more and it is ok to be selfish at times and do something for you. By doing this, you actually allow yourself to give so much more.
Olympic Park
As I watched the contestants arrive at Olympic Park I had a little giggle to myself, because as a contestant on The Biggest Loser, you never know what is happening next. Whenever we went somewhere, we spent the entire trip trying to guess what type of torture we were in for next. I think most times we were exhausted from all the scenarios before we even started… and we were never right!
Now I will give you all a little tip: take a look at the contestants that were able to switch off the pain, focus and finish. This is vital to success. It’s what I now recognise in the people who will be successful in the game and when they return home, and it’s what I consider to be one of my strengths.
Commitment. Focus. Belief. Key elements, not just for the game, but for life.
Enjoying food
Everyone thinks you can’t enjoy food when trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle but this is not the case. How about those Masterclass hamburgers!
Eating healthily is not hard, it’s just about changing the way you do things, and once you start creating that change in your life, it just keeps going.
And mums out there, if you’re worried about the kids not eating, let me give you some advice: when there is nothing else on offer they will eventually eat. They will not starve! There may be a little bit of resistance to begin with, but that will change.
For a short time, my lot thought they didn’t like “Biggest Loser” food very much. However, now they are so vocal they sit in the food hall eating their sushi commenting on the unhealthy food around them. Sometimes I’m put in a very sticky situation when my seven-year-old loudly talks about someone else’s lunch.
This, again, comes down to choice… your choice… your life. Be smart. Start creating your own family BBQ traditions!
Temptation
Speaking of choice... the chocolate lovers out there may think you have a great nose for chocolate, but let me tell you, when you are in the house, and you haven’t seen, smelt, or tasted it for weeks, your senses become so alert to it, the smell of that Temptation room would have been like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!
So, Temptation – was it worth it? Personally I dislike Temptation, however, let’s face it, it really is like real life – the contestants can choose to play and then accept the responsibility of a little extra training, and in the real world we make similar choices. We choose what we eat. We just need to understand that there will always be a consequence when we overindulge, and again, it’s up to us to choose how we handle that consequence.
Little inside info: when we had Temptation it would take us forever to consume the food, so the filming would literally take hours! Our bodies just weren’t able to tolerate it.
So is it worth it? Well, if you win, it’s a guaranteed week in the house. What do you think?
Passion
What a man. What a passionate man. I just love to hear a person speak with passion and that is exactly what Laurie Lawrence has. I was inspired listening to him. He is honest and to the point. I love that!
Laurie said something to the contestants that was so very true: going home will be the tough part. It really is.
As Laurie said, these guys have to surround themselves with positive support, and that can be hard when trying to make changes to your life. When I came home, people around me didn’t cope too well with the positive changes I had made. It was a tough struggle to stay the person I had become.
Sadly, there may be people around you that won’t want you to be successful. I’m sure many of you on your weight-loss journeys have experienced this. The only way to combat this is to ensure you stay strong, and maybe start surrounding yourself with new people. Saying goodbye to some unhealthy relationships creates a space in your life for new, encouraging and like-minded people. Again, you have a choice to allow those negative relationships to affect you, or step away and continue to create the life you want to lead.
Your life will be what YOU make it. There is no reason why you can’t have a sensational one.
Believe in yourself,
Ali x
Video highlight
I personally love a bit of Skippy…however I’ll be honest, at first I hated it. When I was in the house Shannon introduced us to Kanga Bangers - just like a sausage without the fat. Little Sammy loved them. In fact for a while he ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We thought he was going to turn into a Kanga Banger! These days, I’m always getting the little marinated roasts you can buy at the supermarket, but I think I might try this great recipe for a Kangaroo Burger really soon.