I love as reality shows as much as the next gal, seriously. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent watching Project Runway or Rock of Love marathons, but let’s be honest, there are some reality shows that might have been fun to watch back in 2001, but now they’re just overdone and need to find a place in the TV graveyard (right next to Living Lohan and Daisy of Love). Read More »

Every Tuesday night – rain or snow, hell or hangover – I grab my things and walk over to my best friend’s house. Immediately upon arrival, I grab the ice cream sundae she’s expertly prepared and curl up under my favorite blanket on her couch. She hits play on her DVR and our (four years running!) Biggest Loser date night begins.
OK, so the ice cream sundae is a little counterintuitive, but it’s tradition. And we use low fat ice cream. And try as we might, we just can’t get enough.

Just like we can’t get enough of this show. It’s got all the makings of a great reality show (the characters, the challenges, the dramatic music, the alliances) paired with the happy ending of a Disney movie (and sexy bodies of a GQ shoot). And who can ignore all those tear jerking moments or the always-exciting Makeover Week?
The Biggest Loser to us is what football is to our guy friends.

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The most ridonk men’s fashion in stores now.

Sandra Bullock’s comin’ out of hiding.

There is no one way to look great.

TWINS for John Travolta?!

Why do men do that?? Find out.

Oooo the Biggest Loser’s got a crush.

God I’m tired. Watching two hours of The Biggest Loser followed by two hours of American Idol can really take a lot out of a girl. Especially when that girl hadn’t even cracked a book before that reality TV sh*tshow began. And when that girl had about 200 pages of reading to get done after that marathon ended.

If the Starbucks guy could feed me that Americano through a vein in my arm, we’d be golden.

But until I find a barista with an affinity to intravenous caffeine use, I am just going to have to find something else to get my brain moving on this not-so-fine Hump Day. Like a fun round of “Would You Rather?” Last week we dreamed of a world of haute couture; this week we’ve got something a bit more cringe-worthy to ponder.

So think long and hard – really, really think about this one, peeps – and choose your answer. Then, if you dare, tell us why you made that difficult choice in the comments section below.

Here goes:

Would you rather have to go to the hospital still “connected” to your guy because you somehow got stuck together OR have to go to the hospital because using a carrot as a pleasure stick wasn’t such a great idea?

Things to consider: the call for help; explaining your situation to the doctors, nurses and your parents; wasting food when there are starving children in Africa.

There is nothing I love more than the great feeling of accomplishment (with a side of endorphins) that comes after 45 minutes on the elliptical. Well, maybe sex on cold sheets. Or the guys at Cold Stone who give me a “Gotta Have It” for the price of a “Love It.”

But, still; a good workout makes me feel really, really good. I walk out of the gym with an “I’m so sexy and toned” swagger and really feel like I can accomplish anything. It is almost like I’m high but without the horrible munchies.

But the beefy trainer at the gym recently told me that long workouts may not be the way to go. Interval Training – or mixing up your workout routine – will actually burn more fat and calories while improving your endurance for future workouts.

Interval training is simple: instead of hopping on the treadmill and running at the same pace for an entire episode of The Biggest Loser, interval training forces you to vary your speed and intensity. The ideal program would be to run/bike/swim/work at about 85% of your ability for about 3-4 minutes and then bring it down for 1-2. Then do it again. This gives your heart and body a chance to work hard and then rest for a minute before going again. Read More »

A little friendly competition never hurt anyone…And when it comes to shaping up, sometimes it helps to have the motivation of others spurring you on. For me, the most dedicated I have ever been to regular gym-going and eating right was when I either had a goal in mind (running a half-marathon last summer) or when I had others keeping me accountable (during my office’s version of The Biggest Loser).

Well, there’s a website I recently discovered that enables you to form a little fit challenge with your friends: fatbet.net. The premise behind it is that “the declaration of goals, combined with regular tracking and the fear of losing a group ‘Fatbet’” works better than going at it alone. And I have to say, it’s a pretty great idea, not to mention totally free and easy to do.

To start, you can sign up for a free account. After that, set your weight-loss goal, enter dates, and create a Fatbet wager. Then, send people you know a Fatbet challenge (word to the wise: you may want to make sure that they want to lose weight before you send them the invite…). Each day, you can track your personal and Fatbet group progress. When the Fatbet ends, all who reach their weight-loss goals win. Those who don’t pay the Fatbet wager (like streak across campus!). Read More »

[Jill has been dabbling in the 4 Day Diet and sharing her journey with us. See how her first week went here.]

Week Two was a lot harder for me than Week One. I lost 4 pounds in the first week, but my typical yo-yo self sees results and then thinks it’s a free for all. The Smooth and Protein Stretch modules gave me a lot more choices, more flexibility and my favorite 5 letter word: P-I-Z-Z-A. Holler. Surely any girl watching her weight would do a Kirsten Dunst in Bring It On type cheer if instructed to eat TWO pieces of pizza. But not me.

Because I knew once I started with the Pizza all hell would break loose.  And by hell I mean the inner voice inside of me who tells me that while watching TV, I should devour everything in my kitchen. She really is a biznatch, that voice. Sometimes I think that eating a little more peanut butter on a spoon with chocolate chips will shut her up. But sadly, that chick is too legit to quit, and even the recent salmonella threat won’t scare her away. Not-a-chance.

Not that I like to blame everything on that time of the month, but I think I had a harder time staying under control this week because I was so. very. PMS that even my boss noticed me crying at a commercial. True story.

By week’s end, the scale was back up the 4 pounds I was down; I’m hoping it was because of my monthly visitor, but after the amount I consumed (fresh baked banana bread, anyone?) I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just from over-doing it. Read More »

This looks healthy.

There is going to be another Hasselbeck running around.

Will Obama’s bailout plan work?

The Biggest Losers love their armpits?

Looks like the Arrested Development movie is a go!

That’s awkward, Mrs. News Anchor.

5 fashion choices that turn men off.

President Barack vs. Elephant Barack.

This tattoo can’t be real, can it?

Mischa Barton will do anything to get back into the limelight.

Dorm food causing some…er…digestion issues? Try yoga!

 I am over weight. That’s right, I know I am. I am not happy, I don’t “love being curvy” – that is all bullshit talk for people like me to feel ok with being fat. The media, regardless of what everyone says, either bombards you with: be jealous you are not skinny or stay fat and be happy about it. There was never a whole lot out there about seeking out a healthier lifestyle. Then came The Biggest Loser.

I finally felt like there was a television show that understood me. That was, until this week. Neil, Ryan, and Amy – those fat bastards – turned the only pure television experience I have as an overweight, uninspired young woman into Survivor for fatties. Those f**kers “played the game,” which is code for turning into cowardly assholes, and gained weight on purpose thereby throwing off the whole comeradery of the show and its audience.

I am horrified, as a fan and as a person struggling with my own weight, that this show has turned into people sling-shotting their own weight to “play the game.” If that is the game, then I don’t want to watch anymore. Short of having them eat animal entrails, this show has turned into a farce. I watched because I needed to be inspired. Being foolishly inpired by these people, I have worked my way to losing 6.5 lbs. Not a big deal by any stretch, but you know what? It is time to inspire myself.

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