The First Female Biggest Loser!

I am by no means a feminist and oh how tired I get of hearing sayings such as 'Girl Power' and 'Women Rule' and all the other ridiculous things they come up with.

However, being a female and knowing how hard losing weight is, not to mention how much harder it is for women to lose than men, I was really pulling for either Ali or Kelly to win this season's Biggest Loser. It didn't help that the last remaining guys were SO annoying with their, "Pride on 3, pride on 3" chant and their constant belittling of the women that were left. UGH! I'm sure they're nice guys in real life, but I so wanted to box their ears every week.

So I was so happy to see Ali win. She's a real inspiration to me because she is the same age I am (32), the same height as me (5'5"), her starting weight was the same as my highest weight (234), and her ultimate goal weight was the same as what mine is (125). To see her work hard and push herself to achieve such a big goal, and to see how AWESOME she looks is such an encouragement to me. If she can do it then so can I! And just look at how good I'll look when it's all said and done! LOL!

1 Month Free Guest Pass to Health Clubs!

If you're serious about losing weight, getting in shape, and getting healthy then you may want to check out this 1-month free guest pass from any of the following fitness centers:

*Lady of America/LOA
*Ladies Workout Express
*Workout Express
*Health Clubs of America

It looks like this is only good through the month of April, so don't put it off!

Watch Clips of The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser Finale

Tonight is The Biggest Loser finale. I really love watching this show. It is so motivating! Seeing the contestants, many who have overwhelming circumstances and weight to overcome, struggle and push through to a new life is fascinating. If they can do it, anyone can! Many times I have sat and cried right along with them because I understand what they are feeling and going through emotionally.

As far as tonight's show goes, I think I'll be cheering for Kelly. She was the heaviest female on the show this season and just seems very sweet. But then, I really like Ali too. She's really done an amazing job, losing most of her weight at home, then earning the right to come back onto the show.

I'm not crazy about Mark. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but he was pretty ruthless throughout the show. He has worked hard and lost an amazing amount of weight though. And Roger has blown everyone else out of the water. He's lost more than any other contestant in every season of TBL while there on the ranch! That's an awesome accomplishment. So while he technically would deserve to win, I'd really love to see one of the girls win instead.

I guess we'll find out who really is the Biggest Loser tonight! Don't miss the LIVE 2-hour finale on NBC at 8pm Eastern time.

More Sleep = Better Weight Loss

Did you know that getting more sleep may actually help you lose weight? Yep, that's what I hear.

Now, I don't know about you, but I know that I could do a lot better in the sleep department. I don't think it's so much that I'm not getting enough sleep, but I know that I don't have good sleeping patterns which leads to my whole system being messed up. Staying up until one and two o'clock in the morning and then sleeping until 8:30 or 9:00 is not good for anyone. And it really messes up the rest of my day as well.

I used to get up at 5:00 am every day to work-out and shower before anyone else got up. I felt GREAT! My days, and consequently the days of my husband and kids, went so much better. But I've not done that in such a very long time. We're putting the kids to bed MUCH too late, then we stay up enjoying some quiet time, which leads to me surfing or blogging until the wee hours of the mornings, which then causes me to sleep late in the mornings. NOT a good pattern.

Losing weight and getting healthy is a gradual process. Baby steps. Life-style changes, one thing at a time. So getting more sleep and getting back on a good sleeping schedule is one thing I'm going to start working on.

Here is a really good article from WebMD about why more sleep may help you lose weight.

Great Idea From Tonight's Biggest Loser

I really enjoy watching The Biggest Loser. I love seeing the transformations in the people and it really encourages me.

Tonight Bob Harper, one of the trainers on the show, was trying to help one of the young men who had a hard time with his eating. Bob asked Dan if he ever planned his meals. Dan replied that he "planned on going through the drive-through". So Bob showed him an easy way to eat healthy.

He took a Ziploc bag and filled it with salad 'stuff', zipped it up, and tossed it into the refrigerator. Now, whenever Dan was hungry and needed to grab something, or, if he had his meals planned out for the week and in those plans a salad was included, all he had to do was go to the refrigerator and pull out his salad, open it up, pour his dressing in, zip the bag back up and give it a good shake, and wha-la... a nice fresh salad in no time.

This is a great idea, and one I think I'm going to start using here!

Weight Management: Strategies for Success

One in every three Americans is fighting the weight loss battle. Tipping the energy balance scale in favor of using more calories than you consume is the bottom line for losing weight. Sounds easy! Then why are so many people losing the weight loss battle instead of the weight?

Whether you have tried to lose weight on your own or with the help of an organized program, the focus is too often on severely restrictive diets and unrealistic goals. Not being able to reach these goals can set you up for an endless cycle of failure and discouragement. Also, extremely limited food choices may trigger binge eating, which can undermine your efforts.

Increase your chances for success by focusing on managing your weight. Weight management involves adopting a lifestyle that includes a healthful eating plan and regular physical activity. The key to managing weight throughout life is a positive attitude and the right kind of motivation. Internal motivators such as health, increased energy, self-esteem, and personal control increase your chances for lifelong weight management success.

Read the rest of this article here.

Jumping Right In

Hi! Welcome to The Healthy Weigh of Life!

I'm not finished with all the 'decorating' I want to do around here at my new 'home' on the web, but while I'm working on it I thought I'd just jump right in and get posting. I have so much great, healthy, and helpful information to share with you, so why wait, right? Isn't that what we do? Put off until tomorrow what we know we should be doing today? Why? Why do we make the things that are the best for us some of the last things we do? We know that exercising and eating healthy are going to make us look and feel better, so why is it the one thing that we struggle with the most?

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired of settling for second-best when it comes to living when there's something I can do about it! To me, living is enjoying every day, feeling good in the clothes I'm in, being comfortable enough to get down in the floor and play with my kids, and not constantly thinking about my weight or letting it hinder me!

Consider this one of those WYSIWYG blogs... what you see is what you get. I am no expert, just someone with a lot of knowledge, information, and experience that I think can help others. I plan on sharing this journey with you while also sharing my personal highs and lows, the meals I'm preparing for my family and myself, as well as loads of information that will help you get healthy and I welcome you to do the same. Share with us what works for you and what doesn't. Tell us what you're eating or what yummy, healthy recipes you've found. What is your story? Your goals?

Don't worry, I'm not some skinny-minny that will be telling you what all you're doing wrong and what you need to be doing to lose weight. Please! We have ENOUGH of those out there. I'm just a normal person who has been on the weight-loss journey, and been successful in the past, and now needs to, once again, get her life back in-shape (no pun intended).

I know the pain, the emotions, and the struggles that come with trying to lose weight. I know what it feels like to want more than anything to be thin and healthy, yet feeling like you'll never get there. I know the frustration of not being able to play with your kids they way they want you to because of all the extra weight. I know the pain of having others look at you differently and treat you differently than they do thin people. I know the disappointment felt when looking in the mirror before getting in the shower. I know the shame and embarrassment of being in front of others or running into someone you haven't seen in awhile and wanting to run the other way and hide. And what about the physical pain that comes with extra weight? UGH! Nothing makes you feel older than what you really are like carrying around extra weight.

Those feeling are real, and hard to deal with sometimes. And even though it makes absolutely no sense at all, sometimes the feelings I described above are the very things that drive a lot of us right back to the chips and ice cream and double-fudge brownies. It's a vicious cycle.

But that's why I've started this blog. I'm tired of living this way and letting life pass me by while I sit eating my Cherry Garcia ice cream and crying about how fat I am!

So come along with me and let's get healthy together. If we all push this cart uphill together it will be easier. And then one day we can all jump on and ride it down the other side to Healthyville! (Ok, so that was a bit corny, but you get the picture.)