OnePhatMan

The Chunk to Hunk site is officially online, though there’s no part of the book there yet. Go look around, read the main page, and join the notify list for book updates if you’re interested; I doubt I’ll mention it all that much here.

Please tell your friends.

Several people have asked me what my thoughts are on the show The Biggest Loser on NBC. As a TV show, I like it and watch it every week. As to the methods involved, I’m torn. I understand that it’s a game, and I enjoy the game aspect of it. At the same time, I’m afraid it’s painting an unrealistic picture of what changing your life is really like.

We only see 60 minutes of the contestants’ lives each week, and the image the show portrays is that they work out hard every day and eat healthy foods. The trainers, Bob and Jillian, dispense good advice on what to eat and not eat, and dispel old wives’ tales (like that carbs are unhealthy, etc.) on a regular basis.

Plus, let’s face it. They’re both pretty nice to look at.

However, they’re also letting people work out five hours a day, and that’s what concerns me. Making a lasting change doesn’t involve 5 hours of working out; no person can maintain that level of effort for any length of time. By showing people who work out so much, I feel like the message that some people are getting is “This is what it takes to lose the weight, fatty, so go ahead and give up.”

And that’s not such a good message.

Don’t get me wrong—if you want to work out five hours a day, go for it. Live and let live, that’s my motto. Just don’t start complaining if you can’t keep up that pace or if your body rebels. The big secret to being the biggest loser is to find what works for you, something you can stick with forever, and then to start doing it.

In other words, don’t just watch shows about people working out and getting healthy, take the time to start doing it yourself.

The one other aspect of the show that bothers me is the constant focus on the scale. Again, I know it’s a game, a competition, but what’s the message people are walking away with when they watch someone weigh in on national television and break down into tears when the number’s low?

Good show, maybe some not-so-good messages. Check it out sometime and judge for yourself if you haven’t already. It’s pretty enjoyable, all in all.

What would you try if you knew you couldn’t fail? If you knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that you could accomplish whatever you set your mind to accomplishing, what would you try?

Would you climb Mount Everest?

Would you write a bestselling novel?

Would you start the next Microsoft?

Would you transform your body from its current state to a state of optimal health and fitness?

You can accomplish anything you want to accomplish, you know. All it takes is a little belief in yourself, and the perseverance to ride it out. Your abilities are only limited by your beliefs. If you believe you can’t do something, then you can’t do it.

Many people believe they can’t transform themselves, so they try the fad diet of the day, or the fad gadget that promises muscles and fitness with little or no effort, or pills, or invasive surgical procedures that completely redesign their digestive systems. I can understand why people believe that, trust me, because years of starting and stopping the transformation process almost destroyed my faith in myself.

What made the last time different?

I refused to accept failure as an option. I decided deep in my heart that my life was worth so much more than a bunch of crappy food, and I resolved to begin living life like the man I knew I was capable of becoming.

I believed in myself, totally and completely.

Because of this belief I’ve been called smug, arrogant, and condescending. Am I those things? To some, perhaps, but I’m also living proof that a commitment to one’s self works, and works wonders. If you don’t believe me, give it a try.

Throw away your fad diets, pills, and gadgets, because they’re useless. Take responsibility for the state your body is in—don’t play the blame game (to borrow from the Bush administration), but acknowledge that you are the result of your previous decisions—and resolve to start living like the person you want to be. Eat natural foods, and move your body like it longs to be moved.

Believe that it is possible, and watch it happen.