Heavy on A&E
I am a huge fan of reality weight loss shows including the Biggest loser, I used to be fat and the last 10 pounds bootcamp. So when “Heavy” a new weight loss show premiered on A&E last night I just had to watch it.
For those that haven’t heard about Heavy here is the official release from the shows producers.
“Twenty-two individuals facing extreme life-threatening health consequences as a result of their obesity experience real life change in A&E’s new original series HEAVY, premiering Monday, January 17 at 10/9c. The eleven episode one-hour series follows two participants per episode documenting their incredible transformations during a six month treatment program.
Unlike other weight loss series, “Heavy” is not a competition or stunt, but is rooted in the incredible real life day-to-day journeys of the participants during a lengthy treatment program. In order to most accurately document these multiple weight loss journeys over the course of six months and present them individually in one hour, A&E sought out two different production companies to undertake the lengthy and ambitious filming process.
The result is a never-before-seen look at the unique struggles faced by dangerously obese individuals who must learn to live healthier lifestyles and understand the root of their food addictions. Through their day-to-day struggle and the voices of their loved ones, viewers will see first hand the pain and self-doubt associated with a debilitating weight problem.”
First Impressions
When I saw Tom and Jodi my first impression was to think ”damn, how did you get that big?” I mean these are not overweight people, these are obese people that could drop dead at any minute. They seem to have given up on trying to lose weight and kinda gave up on life.
Like most people, I used to think that “Fat people are just lazy and love to eat, that’s why they are fat” but the more I see shows like Heavy and the Biggest loser it has become very clear to me over the years that the excessive binge eating is just an outlet for other problems. Laziness has nothing to do with it.
This is exactly what Jodi is facing, a stressful marriage, problems with her mother and self esteem/control issues. It’s not about the food and as she put it, ”Food is the only thing I can control” (or something to that effect).
Tom has a different but equally damaging problem, the enabling family. His Father and brothers are big boys too with Tom being the biggest at 638 pounds. He is the same height as I am (5’9) and was 450 lbs heavier than me. I instantly connected with that. Just thinking about carrying an extra 450lbs was enough to make me tired.
Tom admitted that he hadn’t been inside a grocery store in 5 years relying on his brothers and the Drive thru for his food. He also had a lymphatic growth on his leg making it hard to walk or exercise. In my opinion without this show he would have been dead before he hit 40.
The Trainers
At the weight loss resort (The Hilton Head Health Spa) there were 2 trainers dedicated to helping Tom and Jodi push through their personal barriers and get the results that they needed. Britny and another trainer with huge arms whose name I can’t remember right now. Sorry I was focusing on Britny. (My wife thinks her arms are a bit too muscular….trust me they are just fine the way they are 
)
Both are very encouraging and don’t let them give up or give in to the mental BS that we all have while doing something that isn’t easy.
Britny and David (see what I mean about the arms?? They’re huge!)
The Results
Tom and Jodi both worked their butts off and saw some really big changes. What is more impressive is that their results are more realistic as they only spent 1 month at the resort and 5 at home battling the environments that helped get them into trouble in the first place.
First Jodi Age 37
Before at 367 Lbs – After 290lbs for a Total loss of 77 lbs in 6 months
Before at 638 lbs – After at 476 lbs – For a total loss of 162 lbs in 6 months
Conclusion
The first show was a big success in my mind and I am hooked for the rest of the season. Heavy has all the real life elements that Intervention and Obsessed have without the short comings of the biggest loser (i.e too many commercials, cheesy product placements and BS voting system that contestants have to go through, I mean come on BL these are peoples lives you are playing with).
This season of Heavy looks very promising and I hope they continue this for years to come.
If you want more information about Heavy on A&E including upcoming episodes you can visit them at aetv.com/heavy they also have videos about the Cast which I can’t post here because they are ironically too big for my website 
There is a Facebook fan page as well with weight loss tips at facebook.com/Heavy
Finally leave a comment below and let me know what you think about the show so far.
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No One Is Coming To Save You
That title sounds very pessimistic doesn’t it?
But I’ve phrased it that way for a very specific reason. Because I believe it’s true.
I have always been amazed at our ability to be comforted by false hope, this is something I have done myself hundreds of times. Let’s face it we all want to believe that there is something or someone looking out for our interests, and that “they or it” will eventually come to our rescue and solve all the problems (or at least the major ones) in our lives.
To be completely honest for the vast majority of us, there is no one coming to save us from our problems, no leprechaun with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
At first you may think I’m talking about religion and while I’m sure you can apply this argument to that field, that is not what I am referring to here.
The best example that I can think of is the popularity of lotteries! Is Lady luck on your side? (don’t worry this is related to weight loss at the end)
Lotteries – Solutions for your Financial Problems
I live in Canada and we have dozens of lotteries available for us to play daily and weekly. The most popular one is lotto 6/49. Basically you pick 6 numbers between 1 and 49 and for $2 you have a chance at winning a few million dollars.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 14 million to 1. You have a 99.99% chance of not winning the jackpot. Yet, millions and millions of Canadians play it twice a week, some spending hundreds per draw on these tickets. (I’ve been stuck behind them in a line before)
The lottery for so many people is that great false hope. People know that the odds of them winning the jackpot are astronomical but they play it anyway. Why and why is it dangerous?
Besides the lost money, which can add up to thousands over a lifetime, I believe that the lottery and other games like it give people an easy way to avoid doing the necessary work needed to succeed in life. (financially speaking anyway).
Earning a comfortable living* is not an easy thing to achieve, it takes education, it takes a lot of effort on your part and if you are looking to start your own business a lot of time and money.
Add in the easy access and convenience of credit cards to debt amounts that seem to compound every month and you get many people giving up or avoiding the problem all together.
They stop taking action, instead of trying to change their habits they consoildate the debts only to have them pile up again. They are waiting to be saved rather than trying to save themselves. You think the last thing people in this position would do is throw away a few more dollars on the lottery, but believe it or not from what I have seen firsthand in some cases their “lotto budget” increases as their debt gets bigger.
Obviously I’m not a fan of the lottery, but what makes it worse and angers me is the way in which it is promoted. The Lotto 6/49 slogan is “Just Imagine” meaning just imagine what you could buy with millions of dollars, which just fuels the fantasy and imagine the bills/debts you can pay off “if” you win.
6/49 is advertised everywhere and has just become a part of our Canadian culture. While they technically promote winning the jackpot and its ability to dramatically change your life, there is always this underlying fear that goes along with it. “What if your numbers come up and you didn’t play?”
The Answer To Your Biggest Question
Ok Steve enough with the Lottery rant, how does this relate to losing weight and trying to live a healthy lifestyle?
IT relates like this: Just like the lottery people are looking for the easy out when it comes to losing weight, instead of money problems they are waiting for the “FAT” problem to be solved.
1. They want to lose fat without doing the necessary work to burn the fat.
2. They want to eat fewer calories without having to eat less food.
3. They are waiting for someone to answer their biggest weight loss question, “how do I lose weight” and give them the solution to their greatest desire “I want to lose weight”. In essence they are waiting to be saved.
The answer to solving the lottery/money problem is the same for solving the weight loss problem: YOU TAKING ACTION. You already know that you need to exercise to burn more calories, you know that you need to eat at least 1500 calories per day consisting of good healthy nutritious food like Fruits and veggies, lean meats, low fat dairy products, whole grains and indulge with the occasional treat, (1500 calories of burgers and fries won’t cut it).
(For finances I take the “curb your spending and increase your income/investments” approch)
So get off your ass and do it already, stop waiting to be saved and save yourself.
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The last 10 pounds bootcamp
My new favorite weight loss related show is the Last 10 pounds bootcamp on Slice TV.
It’s a Canadian show based out of Vancouver. The program is geared towards women and its goal is to help them get rid of that last 10 pounds and into a new thinner outfit.
Here is an excerpt from their site www.theeyes.ca/tenpounds
“The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp propels women through an intense fitness and nutrition regimen that dramatically resizes
them in record time. Motivated by a special event (an upcoming wedding, anniversary, vacation, or reunion) participants strive to
transform themselves physically and mentally in just four weeks. Their mission: to lose weight. Their target: to fit into a sexy
new outfit.”
It’s hosted by professional CFL football player Tommy Europe as the personal trainer. Tommy puts these ladies through some very tough workouts. He doesn’t hold back and doesn’t let them quit. Check out his personal trainer site at www.13hitz.net
His co-host is former CFL cheerleader and certified trainer Nadeen Boman. She is the nutritional expert. Nadeen basically cleans out all of the participants cupboards, fridges and freezers, since no one has any healthy food at home. Then arms them with the proper healthy foods they need to achieve their goal. You can contact her through her own site at www.firmbodyfitness.com
Why do I like it so much?
Because the methods they use get results. Most women end up losing more than the 10 pounds and are in noticeably better shape. The workouts are intense and the food is healthy and nutritious. Also, I have yet to see any over hyped product placements (ala Biggest Loser) which I really respect.
Each episode is loaded with great tips and facts on various foods and exercises. They’re all very practical and easily incorporated into your current workout/nutrition plan.
Now I only have 2 problems with this show:
1. – I’d like to see more targeting for the males that have that last 10 pounds to lose.
2. – Exposure. This is a great show that is not only entertaining, but very motivational and informative. It can be seen on Slice TV in Canada but that’s it.
I would like to see more web coverage too, maybe an online fitness and nutritional program. I’d really like to see a bootcamp style workout DVD that people can use at home. (i.e me)
You can watch the full episodes via streaming videos at Slice.ca.
Anyway check them out and let me know what you think.
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