That Moment

I've been catching up on The Biggest Loser and, as always, I have that moment when I wish that I could be on the show and devote more time to exercise. I'm sure it's a moment that hundreds of people have had right until Jillian gets all up in their grill. The funny thing is I wouldn't qualify to be on TBL. I want The Biggest Loser Step Down show -- the one where you still need to lose weight but not 100 pounds or more.

Every now and then, I'll take a look at The Biggest Loser Resort which is kind of steep and I'm not even sure what all you get for the price of admission.

I also thought about getting a group coupon yesterday for 2.5 personal training sessions. I didn't because I think that I work best alone -- for the most part. On the other hand, maybe I need to be pushed.

I do think it's time to break out the measuring tape -- if only I can find it. I went swimming on Tuesday and had to pull up before I got to the end of the lane -- not because I had problems with front crawl breathing (yay)-- but because I was about to have a Janet Jackson moment. My swimming suit is still snug but not snug enough.

It would really be nice if I could find documentation of the last time I pulled out the measuring tape but I'll work with what I've got.

Until there's a smaller Biggest Loser or something like that, I guess I'll have to vibe off the former theme song...

The Gospel According to Melinda Frances

The gospel without preamble:

It’s just so quiet; it stresses me out.

Once the pool opens, I can swim, tan and drink.

Kids stress me out; they make too much noise.

M: I don't want to be pregnant.

Me: Okay Jillian Michaels.

M: Who's Jillian Michaels?

I want to be besties with Paris Hilton and Michelle Obama.

Whatever happened to being a classy lady?

They called me "The Hot Mess Express" in college.

M: I want to open a restaurant called "Street Food." I shouldn't have to go to Prague to get a fried cheese sandwich.

Me: You can make your own fried cheese.

M: I can make my own burrito but I still like to go to Qdoba.

Melinda: I was supposed to be named Veronica and I think I would have made a good one.

Me: What do you think are the qualities of a Veronica?

Melinda: Sassy...fun...

Me: Is she nuttier than a fruitcake?

Melinda: Mmmmmm, cake.

Sexy Photos of Older Ladies

It's Friday -- Return of Frivolity Day. To mark the occasion, I thought I'd chitchat about stats which are kind of like an accident for me. I see an accident and know that I should keep my eyes on the road lest I get into a rubbernecking-induced fender-bender.

I have a love/hate relationship with information and technology. Once, when I got a ticket, I got postcards from lawyers wanting to represent me in traffic court. Really?

And I still don't know how I feel when someone calls me back after I've decided not to leave a message.

Occasionally, the search stats amuse me and remind me of things I've been preoccupied with:

i got japanese peppermint oil in my eye what do i do

calories burned belaying

pickles and pinapple to lose weight

san diego "sausage king" preservatives

calories in hanuta mini

roadkill helper

drea go

eye

is moritz ice cubes gluten free

sexy sticktoitiveness

are nickers and gravy ways real

the unjustly punished child by sharon olds

"bored with the pathetic story" "it bores me"

10 minute solution картинки

"massage my own feet"

sexy photos of older ladies upper body

Gratuitous Embellished Sexy Photo of Older 'Drea's Upper Body in Oiselle Shirt Scored from MizFit

sexy yoga body

I like the simplicity of Drea Go. If I ever change the title of my blog, I think I have the name. I'd also consider Sexy Yoga Body even though I don't do that much yoga.


Any interesting phrases in your stats?

Month-End Review, July

"You tell your body what you need it to do and it will do it." J. Michaels on Northern Family episode of Losing It With Jillian

About six days into July, I gazed at my calendar with six X's and realized that I wanted to see an unbroken chain. I can do it, I think -- exercise for 31 days in a row and I did it.

About 12 days in, I started to feel quite fatigued. Day 21 had me wondering if I would be able to continue and I could definitely see the benefit of rest days. When I went to unfold from a seated position, my body let me know that it was cooperating but...

Here's the breakdown:

10 Minute Solution: 5 Day Get Fix Mix

Power Yoga, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts

Arms and Shoulders, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Knock-Out Body, Wii Version, 5 x's


10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!

10 Minute Stretch, 1 x

Army Crawls, 2 x's

Bicycling, 1 x

Cardio and Muscle Class, 3 x's

Mowed the Lawn, 2 x’s

Personal Training with Jackie: Power Circuit Training

15-Minute Lower Body Circuit, 1 x

15-Minute Upper Body Circuit, 4 x's

Rock Climbing, 8 x's

Swimming, 7 x's

Walking, 16 x's

Wii Fit (Plus, Sports), 5 x's

Yoga for Weight Loss, 1 x

Here I am in the midst of getting old-fashioned exercise on the pedestrian obstacle course that is the Las Vegas Strip. Let me tell you: my feet were no match for The Strip...

How did your July turn out???





Disclaimer: I received 10 Minute Solution: Knock-Out Body (Wii) and Yoga for Weight Loss without charge.

Resistance Is Futile?

I haven't stepped foot in a brick and mortar bookstore in a long time and I was surprised and not surprised to see this book display right by the door. After all, the diet industry is a kabillion dollar one:

Every year, Americans spend an estimated $42 billion on diet books; $18.5 billion on health club memberships; and $5.2 billion on diet foods and weight loss programs. (Eat This Not, That! For Kids!, 2)

I've been holding onto Eat This, Not That!, countless magazines and doctors Roizen and Oz's book YOU On A Diet which I got from the library. One of phrases that continues to roll around in my head from YOU is:

...fructose tricks your body into staying hungry.(258)

And this passage keeps me thinking about food memory:

When you eat sugar, you light up the motor cortex of your brain, which controls your lips, tongue, and mouth. The hippocampus, which controls memories of food, lights up when people on rigid diets crave certain foods -- overwhelming their willpower and ability to resist. (167)

I must have been absolutely radiant for decades and part of me wants to remember every amount of saturated fat and sugar that I've put in my mouth. Hence, the Kryptonite (partial list) on the sidebar. I want to remember so that I don't forget. Rigid, maybe, but that's how I roll right now but it also keeps me on point. When I'm eating out (usually because of a work function or family/friend celebration), I usually decline decadent stuff because I know there's a lower calorie option that's satisfying and, for me, once Pandora's pantry is open, it's wide open.

I was reading a post over at Farty Girl and found out about the other Gillian -- Gillian McKeith. Her temperament reminds me of The Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels. One minute Michaels, in particular, will be working my nerves with the it's-not-what-you're-eating-it's-what's-eating-you angle and then she'll come up with a winner:

Jillian to Victoria (Season 9, Episode 13):

I don't want anything from you. What do you want from you?

In the end, McKeith and Michael's hearts are in the right place. If you haven't seen You Are What You Eat, it's worth taking a peak at. I love the food options that she presents.

A Stir It Up Moment

You seriously have some kind of problem. Forget Crazy Tracy. Crazy 'Drea.

-My friend Lori after I told her about rock climbing after having participated in an intermediate step class the day before.

People have no concept of what the human body is really designed to do. They have no concept of their strength! And they function in a zone that is well below what their potential really is.

-from A Jillian Michaels' interview that appeared in the November 2009 edition of Health Magazine.

Health bestowed Michaels with their America's Healthiest Body honor.

A Jillian Michaels' Motivational Moment (No Falling Down Allowed)

Excerpt from an intense Jillian Michaels' confrontation that was almost too intense to watch. Concerned that Shay would lose the weigh-in and be sent home, Michaels was literally in Shay's face. Shay has lost 83 pounds but is still near the 400 mark.

Out of all the contestants that have been on The Biggest Loser, I think that Shay is going to have an excess skin issue...

You've been through worse. Dig deeper.

When the going gets tough, the tough have to get going...

We don't get to cry. We don't get to lick our wounds...

Get up. Get up. Get up. Do it right.

Get in a plank. Right now.

Drop your ass. Drop it lower into plank.

You will go home. Do you hear me?

Look at me now.

You are going to stop crying and you're going to pull it together.

Do you understand? Stop crying. Get into plank and hold it for 10 seconds.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3...now, walk your feet to your hands and stand up -- powerfully, please.

Look at me. Look at me. Look at me!

Focus.

You're going to be strong this week and there's not one tear that's going to come out of your eyeball.

Do you understand me? Not one.

I don't want to see tears. I don't want to see you fall down. I don't want to see any drama. You're going to do everything I say and you're going to do it perfectly.

Got it?

A Jillian Michaels' Motivational Moment (Bravery Required)

Jillian, one of The Biggest Loser trainers, is pushing Amanda out of her comfort zone by demanding sprints of undetermined speed when Amanda has a meltdown. What's funny is that Jillian's speechifying usually gets to Amanda and she tells Jillian "shut up, please."

You are not failing here; you quit. There's a difference between quitting and failing...

You know what Amanda, it's gonna require some courage. It's going to require a little bit of bravery...

It doesn't mean that you're going to be fearless. You need to move through the fear...

Well then, step on the treadmill and make it count...

You're capable...

You make it happen. You don't wait for life to happen; you make life happen...

Life doesn't work that way. You've got to pull it together and make a choice right now; if you walk away, you are choosing.

Pull yourself together and we're going to do this one step at a time.

After Amanda walks away, Jillian mutters:

Why are these contestants so freaking difficult this season?

When Amanda talks with Jillian again she apologizes for walking out on her but Jillian lets her know that she walked out on herself.

A Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels' Motivational Moment

Jillian:

Who are you going after?

Bob:

Julio.

Jillian:

Go get him. That Julio -- he is not doing work. Every time I turn my back, he stops moving. Kill him.

A Jillian Michaels' Motivational Moment on the Biggest Loser, Season Eight

Shay, listen to me. I'm bored with the pathetic story. It bores me. Get on the ladder.

***

You have two choices: get on the ladder or go out the door.

***

You're acting pathetic...

***
Shay, who weighed in at 476 pounds (the biggest Biggest Loser contestant), chose the ladder and lost 17 pounds in a week.

Up Two

I’m up two pounds. I weigh myself just about every day so it could be a normal fluctuation.

Just when I feel like I should be losing weight, the scale heads north.

I’m being consistent with drinking water and I even changed my exercise routine a bit. I’ve decided to hit the StairMaster every time that I go to the gym because it really gets my heart rate up.

I do still eat after 8:00 p.m. which might be an issue but one that I really don’t want to deal with right now.

I subscribe to Losing It! With Jillian Michaels and her How To Take Off Those Last 10 Pounds was timely but not necessarily doable. I barely manage to drink five cups of water a day and I don’t think that 10 cups is realistic but I’m going to make #3 a goal.

Here’s an excerpt from that June 12th epistle from Michaels.

Losing your first 50 pounds might have been tough, but believe me, dropping those final few stubborn pounds is a whole different challenge. The body struggles to hold on to that last bit of fat for survival purposes.

Now, don't get me wrong — you can lose the weight if you want to, but it will require you to muster a tremendous amount of restraint and willpower. If you're really up for it, do the following for 30 days:

1. Cut your sodium to 1,000 mg a day.
2. Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
3. Cut out processed foods.
4. Abstain from alcohol.
5. Train at 85 percent of your MHR (maximum heart rate) for 1 hour 5 times a week.

You can do a lot in 30 days — in fact, I can pretty much guarantee you will lose at least 5 pounds. And you'll feel like a rock star!

Another Teaser

I got pulled in by another Oprah teaser. Contestants from The Biggest Loser were on the show on Wednesday. I didn’t know that it was a rerun but, as the library likes to say about books, if you haven’t read it, it’s still new.

The contestants were from season five when Ali Vincent emerged as the winner.

Several season five contestants were on the show to display their new bodies. Oprah brought up the amount of exercise the contestants are asked to endure and wondered if six hours a day was an attainable goal for most people. Jillian said that they don’t advocate six hours in real life but want to show what people are of capable of and, if the contestants are able to exercise for five hours a day, she thinks that people can exercise for five hours a week.

Oprah also asked if the contestants would gain weight once at home due to the reduction in exercise but Jillian said that the contestants would just need to break even since they would be moving into maintenance mode and would not need to make such a massive calorie deficit.

I do wonder how the contestants withstand all of that exercising, though, since I tend to exercise for an hour a day and I can feel the soreness, especially in the lower half of my body. Today, whenever I planted my feet, I felt it keenly in my thighs. My hips are sore too.

Pictures were shown of Jillian's plump years. In her teens, her heaviest weight was 170 and she’s 5’1.

I was thinking that I would love to be 170 right about now.

Vincent said that when she started gaining weight, she remembered her very first five pounds and the additional pounds as she continued to gain.

The irony for me is that I never used to weigh myself and, now, I do it all the time – way more than I should. I weigh myself so much that when there are normal fluctuations in my weight, I get crushed.

I liked Bob's advice. He said not to wait until Jan. 1st or your birthday or for Monday; start today on your journey toward well-being. And that's timeless counsel.