Facing the fat

Today was the day that I decided to face the fat. I hadn't been to Weight Watchers since May 19. Of course I kept paying for the membership, thinking that I was going to go "this week," "next Tuesday," "after work." I knew that my weight was up. That was easy to tell by the way my clothes were fitting and by the few times I was brave enough to step, ever so briefly, on my bathroom scale.

But I need the accountability of weighing in to someone else. Standing on my own bathroom scale, I can rationalize that my weight must be affected by the time of day, the amount of clothes I'm wearing, the imprecise nature of the Target-bought scale. The official Weight Watchers scale, though, I never argue with. It is what it is and I take it seriously. So I knew to get myself back on track, I had to go submit to the scale.

If you've ever been on a weight loss program where you have to go in and weigh in front of someone else, you know that it's not a simple as getting in the car and getting on the scale. First there is the pre-grooming.

I took a shower and made sure to shave my legs, you know, because all that hairy stubble might weigh a quarter of an ounce or so. When I got out of the shower, I took extra time to dry my hair, lest any water left in my tresses should add weight to the scale. Wearing glasses and jewelry, is of course, totally out of the question. Do you know how heavy a pair of earrings can be? (I do make an exception for my wedding ring. But if I had a 3 carat rock, it would totally be left behind before the weigh-in.)

Once all the grooming is done, then it's time to get dressed. Generally, my rule of thumb is "as little and as light" as possible. But today, I had to think about that. If I wore something a bit heavier, maybe jean shorts, then I could more likely post an impressive loss next week by wearing cotton shorts and a t-shirt. That could be pretty motivating. However, if I did that, I would rationalize whatever gain I might show today, blaming it all on the clothes. So I opted for a pair of knit shorts and a cotton t-shirt.

No need for breakfast because every person whose ever been on a diet...excuse me, a "lifestyle change," knows one of the cardinal rules of weigh-ins is that you don't eat or drink anything before you step on the scale. One last trip to the bathroom (weigh-ins call for the emptiest bladder possible), and I was out the door.

On the drive over to the meeting, I mulled over all of the excuses I might offer for what I anticipated to be a 9 or 10-pound gain. We were on vacation (so what if it was just 24 hours in Southern Indiana). The kids are home and there's more food in the house. My routine is broken so there is no time to get to the gym (never mind the fact that Denzel is collecting cobwebs in my basement).

The nice lady behind the desk didn't ask for any excuses and I saved her from having to tell me I gained by forewarning her that I was anticipating a sharp increase. She smiled and handed me my weigh-in booklet. I didn't let myself look at it until I was sitting in the classroom, waiting for the meeting to start.

Up 6.6 pounds. Now all you skinny-never-had-a-weight-problem people out there are probably gasping. But those of you who've been where I am likely understand when I say I was actually pleased that I only gained 6.6 pounds. Not that I want to keep up the trend of gaining 1.1 pounds a week (the exact opposite would be great), but I was expecting worse.

I faced the fat and survived. I can move ahead with renewed determination...right after I get something to eat. I didn't eat breakfast and I'm starving.

Biggest Loser: Season 9 premiere

Biggest Loser Season 9 - It's probably blasphemous for me to say this, but I'm having a bit of a hard time getting into this season. It's seems a little like a freak show and I have to wonder if it's really safe to put people this size through this kind of exercise.

I'm not alone. According to an article in the New York Post (beacon of responsible journalism, I know), Jillian has some reservations as well.

The episode opened with each of the teams participating in very public weigh-ins in their hometowns. That would be hard. It's one thing to weigh in on national television on a taped program. But live in front of the people you live and work with? That's hard core.

You know it's a season of big boys and girls when someone steps on the scale, weighs in at 346 and you think "hey, that's not too bad." Five people weighed in at over 400 pounds. The lightest contestant was Cheryl at 227 pounds. The heaviest was 30-year-old Mike who weighed 526 pounds.

This season's contestants come to the show in teams of two. Of the 11 teams, 7 of them are parent-child teams. That's a real wake up call for me as an overweight mother. What kind of example am I setting for my children? What kind of future am I creating for them? That thought makes me even more grateful for my Better U opportunity.

The first challenge was for each team to ride a stationery bike for a total of 26.2 miles, which actually doesn't seem like a terrible challenge, although I hope they had some extra-large, cushy bike seats. The two teams who finish the challenge last would be sent home immediately. The first place team would win immunity.

The winner was the green team, a mother-daughter named Miggy and Migdalia.

The challenge was not without its low points, though. Cherita, the mother of the mother-daughter blue team, was overcome with excruciating cramps and had to be removed from the bike, despite her valiant efforts to continue on.

As a result, the blue team was one of two sent home. The other was the yellow team. Of course, there was a surprise in store for them. Before their limos left the ranch, they were stopped by Bob and Jillian who informed them that they would be going home for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, the team with the highest percentage of weight loss would be able to re-join the other contestants at the ranch.

As I promised, I did some exercising during commercials. Bob and Jillian offered some exercises that you could do with a partner, so Annie and I did those together for several commercial breaks. Let me just say that my abs are in sorry shape!

The first workouts in the gym sounded more like a maternity ward -- the wailing, shrieking and gnashing of teeth -- than a gym. And it wasn't just the ladies screaming. This was also the scene of a double product placement. Not only the Brita pitcher, but the Brita pitcher available in the hardware aisle at Walmart!

Probably one of the funniest things was watching Cheryl going ballistic in the gym -- screaming, kicking, beating the crap out of a punching bag. I bet that felt good!

After the gym, the contestants shared their stories with each other. Seems a lot of them are looking for love. Hmm...a possible story line later?

Ok, second funniest moment was when Bob said "I'm a sadist." That's like Oprah saying "I'm poor." Laughably untrue.

Finally it's time for the first weigh-in.

Team: Player/Starting Weight/Pounds Lost -- Player/Starting Weight/Pounds Lost (Total%)

Green: Migdalia/265/-16 -- Miggy/240/-13
Gray: Koli/403/-29 -- Sam/372/-18 (6.06%)
Orange: Cheryl/227/-14 -- Daris/346/-29 (7.5%)
Black: Andrea/298/-14 -- Darrell/413/-30 (6.19%)
Brown: James/485/-23 -- John/484/-23 (4.75%)
Red: Lance/365/-21 -- Melissa/233/-19 (6.69%)
Purple: Patti/243/-23 -- Stephanie/264/-18 (8.09%)
Pink: Ashley/374/-21 -- Sherri/218/-17 (6.42%)
White: Mike/526/-34* -- Maria/281/-13 (5.82%) *A new Biggest Loser record!

Mike only had to lose 25 pounds to keep them on the ranch. As I told my Mike, that guy probably could have lost that in one trip to the bathroom. (Well, what I said to Mike was a bit more colorful, but you get the idea.) His 41 pound loss meant that the brown team was below the yellow line and one of the "half-ton twins" would be sent home.

That would be a tough decision to make. Going in the brothers weighed only one pound different and they both lost 23 pounds. If it were me, I might have just flipped a coin. In the end, James, who has a bad knee and ankle, but who does not have to return immediately to work and can go home and focus on his weight loss, was sent home. In his final commentary, he said, "America, next time you see me, you're going to be able to tell me and my brother apart because I'm going to be the more handsome, skinnier twin."

At home, James has already lost 100 pounds in two months!

All right, I'll admit it. By the end of this episode, I was hooked again. I still do worry that these mega-contestants can handle the kind of workouts and challenges set before them. But you can bet that I'll be watching to see how they do.