The "Biggest Loser" is right!

Over the past two years, I've become entranced by the show, The Biggest Loser. It's a reality show in which contestants compete to see who can lose the most weight. I love it because no matter what, the contestants are constantly doing one of two things: crying about being fat or sweating it out in an effort to get thin and hating every minute of it.

This show really boils my blood sometimes. Last night, for instance, upon arrival to their desert location, the host tells them, "When you see your coach over yonder (and points out in the desert), you need to run as fast as you can to get to them. The first two people who cross the finish line will be a Team Captain and will each pick 5 members to join their team for the season. The rest of you, will go home tonight". Immediately, the look of defeat swept all of their faces simultaneously.

So when they take off to run, is it surprising that one female runs for maybe 30 seconds and then walks the rest of the way? Keep in mind her chances of being on the show are depending on it. So no, it's not surprising. Of course she complains and cries the entire time that if she gets kicked off she can't lose the weight alone, she needs this, yada yada yada.

The 6 people that were not picked to be on either team were secretly taken away to a remote location to work out for two weeks and will come back to compete as a third team.

So while these people were getting weighed in for the first time, almost all said, "Well, I don't know what I weigh because I avoid the scale. I'm afraid of what it will tell me". The next painful 10 minutes showed them tipping the scale at 400 pounds and mumbling through their tears, "How did I get this way? How did I let this happen?"

I just wanted to scream at these people and shake them fiercely and yell in their faces, "HELLOOOO!!!!!!! Let's see.......if you just eat and eat and continue to live your sedentary lifestyle, do you think you'll stay the same weight?!? You MIGHT want to think about getting on the scale once in a while to monitor your weight and when you HAVE gained a few pounds then MAYBE, just MAYBE you can eat a bit less and maybe take a walk?!?!"

I have a newsflash for these people: YES, YOU CAN DO THIS ALONE! It's called "Get some self control and take responsibility for YOUR health because your LIFE depends on it!!!" The absolute WORST part was almost ALL of these people were parents. Great! Just great! You know THEY aren't teaching their kids diddly-squat about healthy eating, cooking healthy, portion control or physical activity.

I know what you are saying. "Well, Deanna, you were in the military and it was instilled in you at an early age". Yep, you are absolutely-freakin' right. It was INSTILLED in me. And THAT is the responsibility of every single parent out there! They should be instilling a healthy mindset into their children's lifestyle. Go out for a bike ride with your kids. Go for a walk. Throw a football around. Take them to the neighborhood pool and swim. Go rollerblading. Take the dog for a run. AND STOP GOING THROUGH THE MCDONALD'S DRIVE THRU!

Diet's do not work, people. Reality shows that last for 3 months will NOT make you thinner and most importantly, HEALTHY, for the rest of your life. YOU need to take control of YOUR life and change your LIFESTYLE! It's a LIFESTYLE people! And if you don't want to change your eating and fitness habits then you WILL gain weight and you WILL die young. It's that simple!

America is the fattest country in the world and unless we start to take REAL responsibility for our actions, then we are going to be the youngest country in the world, to boot. I guess it's a real life Battle of the Fittest. Those who lose, will die. And those who win will be left to continue on.