Posts Tagged transformation
Another Season Gone….
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on May 25th, 2011
It seems like just yesterday that I stepped on the scale and became the winner of The Biggest Loser. Hard to believe it has been FIVE years! But it has, and a lot of things have changed in my life. When I watch The Biggest Loser these days, I watch it from a different perspective.
Having been through the process and knowing some of the behind the scenes antics, you can’t help but have a different point of view. Today, I am going to give my wrap up of the finale.
First, I guess I was just expecting more from some of the contestants. In particular, some of the ones who started out really big. This was the longest season ever and there were a few contestants who definitely should have lost more weight. Let me put it this way, there is no reason that every contestant should not have lost at least 100 pounds.
I have to be honest, I’m over the team thing. Sure it’s inspiring to see people who are close to each other make changes, but because there are so many contestants, we don’t get to “know” them like we use to. The show seems to drag on because of how long it is just to do the weigh in.
I was expecting to see some sort of a Jillian tribute last night. Whether you like her or not, people have tuned in these years to watch her and Bob transform contestants. She has trained nearly every winner and has built an empire. She deserved a little bit of a send off.
Congrats to the sisters for their accomplishment. I’m still trying to figure out why one of them didn’t throw a weigh in to that they could have won the at-home prize. Before you jump on me for saying that, let me explain. The Biggest Loser is a game and only one person can win the grand prize. I’m not sure, but I think either one of the sisters would have won the at-home prize if they would have been competing for it. Like Bill and Jim, the twins from several seasons ago, they could have swept the big prizes.
There didn’t seem to be the electricity in the atmosphere that has been present in so many season finales. Again I think the fact that there is so many contestants doesn’t allow time to show what life was like when they returned home to train for the finale.
If I were to grade this season, I’d give it a B. There didn’t seem to be as many good story lines and for as long as everybody was on the ranch, the numbers weren’t all that spectacular. It is going to be interesting to see the trainer situation next season.
I thought Anna K looked a little anorexic and will be interested to see what she brings to the table as a trainer.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this season of The Biggest Loser. Leave me a note!
What Do You Believe About Yourself?
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on October 13th, 2010
Have you ever wondered why similar things seem to happen over and over in your life? Let’s take weight loss for example. Why do so many of us do really well on our program only to fall off track at the slightest set-back and sometimes even success?
The answer is relatively simple. We draw on past experiences and beliefs. If in our past we have comforted ourselves with food, naturally we will want to continue to do so unless we change our beliefs. Our beliefs dictate our results. When we walk around telling ourselves that we will never be fit, or never be able to get control of our lives, we will take actions that back up that belief.
Although we may not realize it, many of our patterns stem directly from the way we see ourselves and what we believe about ourselves. If we constantly wait to fail at our endeavors, we will most definitely fail at some point. The great thing is that with practice we can change our beliefs.
In order to begin to change our beliefs we need to think about who we want to become and then begin to act like that person. If we want to be successful we need to act like a success. The old saying “Fake it until you make it” actually is quite powerful when it comes to changing our beliefs.
To become happy, we need to act happy. To become more fit we need to act like a fit person. The more we practice, that more it becomes habit. Another powerful tool is using positive self talk. Rather than telling ourselves how miserable we are doing and how “This is how it always goes for me.” we need to commit to being positive. We need to learn how to accept praise from ourselves. We need to let ourselves appreciate small victories.
As we learn to appreciate the small victories, we will begin to see the big picture. You will never appreciate losing 100 pounds if you can’t appreciate losing the first ten. Although it may be overwhelming, we must always look for the positives in a situation.
The only way that we can become the success that we want to become is to change our beliefs in our selves. Start small by telling yourself how good your are doing. Begin to act like the person you want to become and don’t look back. We have all experienced failures in life. The important thing is not to dwell on our failures but our successes.
If you want to change your life, change your beliefs about your self!
Taking the Great Leap of Faith…
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on June 2nd, 2010
About a month ago I got an email from a lady named Jana. She lives in Utah and wrote to ask if we would ever consider working with someone to help them get started down the road to fitness. I am passionate about helping people so I was happy to try and help.
I get several emails a day from people asking for help, but many people aren’t ready to accept help. When I respond to them it is then up to them to follow through. Unfortunately, most people don’t. Many just want to share their feelings and that is it. When Jana responded back, I knew she was serious.
We emailed back and forth a couple of times and came up with a plan. The plan was that she would come to Seattle and work with Suzy and I. I was asking her to make a commitment to us, a financial commitment, a time commitment, and most importantly a time commitment.
Many people are afraid to really commitment. Jana has a husband, 4 boys, one who is Autistic, but she was willing to make a commitment. She is now here this week. She is doing things she never thought she was capable, but most importantly, she is honoring her commitment to herself.
Jana did something huge, she reached out for help and then accepted that help once offered. So many time people talk about what they want to do or are going to do, and then never do anything. We are so proud of her. In just a couple of days we have seen a huge change in her attitude and mind set. Sure she is sore and I would imagine that at times she questions why she decided to come, but the fact is she IS here.
There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a person change their life and to be part of that change. I would love to take credit for what is happening in this woman’s life, but the fact is that SHE is doing it.
Jana has shown this week that it is not enough to go to the precipice of change and stare over the edge. You have to be willing to take that leap and embrace all that making a change has to offer.
What I See When I Look In The Mirror…
Posted by Matt Hoover in General on February 3rd, 2010
There is a strange phenomenon that occurs when you lose weight with someone close to you. When Suzy and I were on the show neither of us really noticed the changes that were happening physically. It seems like when we see a person everyday we are less likely to notice the changes in appearance that are taking place.
It seems like the last person to see the change in us when we lose weight is us. When I got home from the ranch everyone was telling me how good I looked but when I saw myself in the mirror I saw the old me. In the same way that we may not notice a weight loss in a person close to us, the opposite is also true. It may not be immediately obvious when the same person we saw lose the weight starts to gain it back.
After Jax was born Suzy said she was going to take six weeks and then get back to working out. At the six week mark she started working out again. By this time I had gotten pretty lazy. Suzy would ask if I wanted to go for a walk and I would go begrudgingly. When I saw Suzy working out everyday, I didn’t see her as someone who needed to lose weight. I saw her as someone who was suggesting that I needed to lose weight.
There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world. When she said she was unhappy with her weight I couldn’t figure it out. I seriously thought she was crazy. That is when I realized that I was being an enabler. Not just for my wife, but for myself as well.
By not being supportive of her feelings I was basically telling her that her feelings about herself weren’t valid. By telling her she didn’t have to work out I was giving myself permission to not work out as well. Although I was trying to show her that I loved her “just they way she is” I was doing more harm than good. Of course we love the ones closest to us just the way they are. What are you suppose to do when you love them but they don’t necessarily love themselves?
I’m not saying Suzy didn’t love herself, she didn’t love the way she looked. Not supporting her was like nonverbally saying everyday “It’s fine with me if you aren’t happy just don’t bother me with it because I think you look just fine.” Unfortunately that type thinking was more of a reflection upon myself than it was on my wife.
If I could just get Suzy to be happy with not working out and just carrying some extra weight, maybe I could do the same. It is a little sad but a lot of times in relationships if one person decides they need to make a change the other person takes it personal. As if them wanting to improve themselves somehow means that we are lacking.
For me it was “If Suzy wants to lose weight, she must really mean that she wants me to lose weight.” Oh whoas me! How could she be so selfish as to want something better for herself. There must be something wrong with me. Suzy wanted to be healthy and be an example for our kids like we had talked about since before they were born. I wanted to somehow be healthy but not have to put so much effort into it.
In 14 months my wife had 2 babies and I was the one feeling sorry for myself when I looked in the mirror. Selfishness not only sabatoges the ones we love but ourselves as well. When I finally took a good long look in the mirror I realized that I did in fact need to make some changes. Changes in the way I really saw myself, not how I thought others saw me or how my wife saw me but in the person I saw staring back at me in that mirror everyday.
See you tomorrow!
