Biggest Losers & Whiskey

Season 11 Cast

Tonight was the premier of my all time favorite television show The Biggest Loser. I have been obsessed with this show since the very first season when Ryan Benson claimed the title of Biggest Loser. Each season offers heart wrenching stories, hilariously impossible challenges, devious game play, villains, and heroes. This season looks to be among the best!

My initial favorites are Courtney and Arthur who lost over 100 pounds a piece just to be healthy enough to compete on the show, the purple team Hannah and Olivia, and Austin just because he makes me laugh. The team to beat, however, seems to be former Olympic gold medalist Rulon and his partner Justin. I foresee at least one of them at the finale.

It makes the whiskey tolerable!!!

Immediately following the show, I had two shots of peppermint whiskey. It's this nifty little homemade concoction of pure whiskey and melted peppermint sticks. My family has used it for generations in place of traditional cough and cold medicines. It works wonders! I've been sick for a couple of days now, and the numbing sensation of whiskey rushing past my swollen throat glands felt like heaven. Although, there is one downside to this amazing home remedy . . . it knocks you right off your feet and into the deepest sleep of your life. I would wager even the most harden drinkers could be waylaid by just two or three shots!

Before the "medicine" kicks in, I want to share something I realized while watching the show. The Biggest Loser and peppermint whiskey do the same thing. They help people get better by knocking them on their butts. Take tonight's show for instance, Ana and Arthur both literally fell on the backsides trying to complete the first workout. The experience of actually being knocked down or passed out is unpleasant at best and terrifying at worst, but sometimes it is exactly what we need to get over whatever is challenging us.

In just about an hour, I will be so zonked out that Armageddon could occur and I wouldn't flinch. Yet when I wake up in the morning, I will be refreshed and ready to take on the world. Don't be afraid to take on something hard or challenging that will probably knock you on your butt once or twice - those things are usually worth a fight! When you fall, pick yourself up and keep going. Past Biggest Loser contestants can tell you all the pain is worth it in the end.



Jilly Jelly & Ame'nut Butter pre-workouts!!!



Take a look at the resolutions you set a few days ago to see how you can challenge yourself to make them happen. My friend forever and sister for always, Jillayne, and I decided to join the Biggest Loser Club and start walking together three times a week. That's our challenge! Now go set yours!!!

New Year = New You? . . . I don't think so!

How's this look for the new year?

With the coming of not only a new year but a new decade, the Internet is once again flooded with articles about resolutions we should or shouldn't make and advice on how to finally achieve those pullout your hair weight loss and organizational goals. Every year I am tempted to create a brand spanking new me. A new year equals a new you, right? . . . I don't think so!

While I am a huge advocate of using the new year as a jumping off point for bettering ourselves, I think it is an abuse of self to claim we need to completely reinvent ourselves. We are far too fabulous just the way we are!!! Okay so I may not know all of you personally, but every woman is absolutely fabulous even if they don't realize it. So what if you've got a few extra pounds (or a hundred), and your best friend is your cat (Tabitha is a very good listener). Being fabulous isn't about looking a certain way or knowing certain people; it's about loving yourself no matter what.

Dictionary.com defines fabulous as exceptionally good or unusual. Since there is no criteria to interpret this definition, I decided to do my own interpretation.

Three of my fabulous friends . . . and me of course!

•  Exceptionally good: This definition doesn't mean you have to be little goodie two shoes or the best in some fame seeking area like sports or acting. Instead it means to be exceptional in our own lives and endeavours. I don't have to win a Pulitzer Prize for one of my articles (wouldn't mind if it happened) in order to be exceptionally good. I just have to do the best I can do, and if worldly praise never follows then so be it.  I am fabulous for the simple reason that I try!
• Unusual: This one is easy . . . BE YOURSELF!!! I think this was one of the first pieces of advice in almost every self-help book I have ever read. That's because it's the best advice we can ever get. God made each and everyone of us unique. Not only do we have different DNA structures and fingerprints, but we have different body shapes, dreams, and pasts.



The past can be a especially hard thing to deal with or even just remember. However don't just slap your past in the face, no matter how much it deserves it, and say it was worthless. Our past achievements, failures, blessings, and tragedies will always be with us no matter how many times we change our figures, reputations, or identities. I've watched enough Lifetime movies to know that much about life!

I don't like innertubes!



I remember being 11-years-old, minding my own business at the community pool, when literally every guy in my sixth-grade class piled onto an innertube and started splashing towards me calling me "Godzilla's Huge Cow-like Wife." Let's just say I didn't feel so fabulous at that moment. I would love to forget the six years of bullying and depression I went through as a child, but I find those experiences are where I find my independence and strength to help others today. I don't believe God purposefully places pain in our path. However the Bible does promise that he will work all things together for good.

So what is the solution? Do we simply resolve not make a resolution? No! One of my best friends Anna commented that we need a new tradition. Instead of "improving" our already fabulous selves, why don't we start to build-up and take care of ourselves. So for 2011 I resolve to take care of my mind, body, and emotions so I can be the best, most fabulous person I can be. I think that is a New Years resolution I can handle!!!