Today I finally got to see the entire finale of "The Biggest Loser" - not our little show, but THE show. There was a little segment near the beginning where they showed some former winners in the crowd - Bill Germanakis, who has parlayed his victory into a very lucrative speaking and consulting career; some guy whose name I don't remember right now (I didn't get into the show until after about season 4), and Eric, from season 3, who had to display to the world in a "Where Are They Now" episode that he had regained nearly all of his weight. He was also featured in the third from the last episode of this season, serving as a warning to the contestants not to fall back into their old habits. In the "Where Are They Now" episode, trainer Bob Harper went back to Eric's house and got him to start working earnestly on his weight loss, and told him that he would be "on stage" at this season's finale. Well, Eric worked, and had lost 150 pounds by the finale, but instead of being feted onstage, he was simply a footnote on the night, sitting in the crowd, obviously with much work still ahead of him.
Ironically, I was looking through the book "Biggest Loser Success Secrets" today - it was published shortly after Ali Vincent's season 5 win, and included photos and tips from past contestants, including Eric. At the time the book was published, he was still sporting the physique of a record-setting winner, which, of course, lent a strong degree of credibility to what he had to say. But after spiraling out of control, his message was no longer one of hope and victory; it had been reduced to, "don't be like me". Instead of being a motivator and a cheerleader, now he was simply a bad example. He had lost his voice.
As I was contemplating all of this today, I realized that those of us who have lost weight, whether on our own or with help, have a very powerful message to share. The easiest thing in the world to do is to gain weight; I'm convinced that one of the hardest things in the world to do is to lose it. Flip through the infomercials each morning before the news begins - the ads for weight loss / body shaping consume about 25% of the airwaves, because EVERYONE is looking for "THE" answer. "THE" diet. "THE" workout. "THE" gadget. If you can stand up and say, "I did it, and you can, too", you have a message that will get people's attention. My message is already being put out there whether I want it to be, or not - as a result of Augusta's Biggest Loser, Nandy and I are about to be on TV in a commercial that will air so often that people will get sick of it quickly; our picture is going to be featured in the Yellow Pages ad for PHC; my name and pounds lost has been on the PHC sign since November.
I had these thoughts today as I was thinking about the general topic of "why should I keep the weight off". Not that I ever want to go back to the way I was, but the odds of all of us keeping our weight off for life are not good. There are plenty of casualties like Eric among the ranks of both the "pros" and us amateurs. If you can't find the desire and the drive within yourself to keep toiling away at this lifelong task, let me encourage you to think about the opportunities to change others' lives that you will miss if you go back. Far greater than the gift of getting your life back is the gift of having the opportunity to help someone else get theirs back.
Don't ever go back - if you slip, get back on course, and quickly. People are watching you when you don't even know it, and you could be either their last thread of hope, or their last sigh of resignation.
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