Seriously, Bob?

It's not the first time I've heard lame advice or misinformation being given on The Biggest Loser but last night it happened again. During one of the "Trainer Tips" segments, Bob Harper suggested that office workers take breaks from the computer and exercise during the day. So far, so good.

So what's my beef? Bob's suggestion that people keep a resistance band at their desk and do Bicep Curls and Tricep Extensions. Really, Bob? Those are your two best exercise suggestions for desk jockeys?

Granted, last night's tip wasn't as ridiculous as Harper telling viewers that crunches will burn off abdominal fat (as he did in a previous season) but there are much better options.

Pair Prisoner Squats with Incline Desk Pushups. No equipment needed and both exercises work multiple muscles, which means they're more functional and will burn more calories than Bicep Curls and Tricep Extensions.

Prisoner Squat - Make sure you keep your weight on your heels and your elbows back.


Incline Pushup - Keep your body straight, your butt down and no head bobbing.


If Incline Pushups are too tough, do Wall Pushups until you get stronger.


As far as exchanging your chair for a stability ball (which was the other part of the tip), there's some disagreement. Some people swear by it; their experience has been positive. On the other hand, Dr. Stuart McGill, a highly respected and leading researcher on spine mechanics, cautions that prolonged ball sitting "places a high compressive force on the discs". So, you may want to consider limiting the amount of time you sit on a stability ball.

Stupid Trainer Tricks

Last night on The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper was going over the food his contestants were eating. He was understandably troubled by the fact that his trainees, who were in the 16th week of the contest, didn't seem to have a good grasp of basic nutrition so he told them to videotape everything they prepared and ate.

I won't go into all the details of what he saw in the video but basically his contestants were eating too few calories and too little protein. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging them to increase the amount of real food protein they consumed, he went into a plug for Biggest Loser Protein Powder. Ugh.

Look, I realize that Bob & fellow trainer Jillian Michaels are expected to hawk crap like this but it’s annoying and unfair to the public.

I know Jillian is a proponent of eating as little processed food as possible and yet a few weeks ago they had her pushing Cheerios. (BTW, did you know that Whole Grain Cheerios have some kind of sugary coating on them? So much for a "healthier" version.) I don't know if Bob really believes that protein powder is a better source of nutrition than real food but I sure hope not.

This has been going on since TBL started but I really wish the producers would stop inserting commercials into the actual show. If Bob Harper recommends a 100 Calorie Snack Pack to his trainees, people think that's a good choice and it's not.

Let the sponsors advertise during commercial breaks and let the trainers advise the contestants (and, in turn, the audience) with the same information they use with their private clients.

5 Things I Learned From Jillian Michaels by Margarita Bertsos

I recently ran across an article that contained some good advice from Jillian Michaels. While I disagree with her that running melts the pounds off, based on how I've seen her train on The Biggest Loser, I'm not sure that her complete thoughts were printed.

Why don't I think running is the key to losing weight? If it's such a great fat burning exercise, why do you see so many overweight people participating in races, including marathons?

Anyway, I like the rest of Jillian's comments so here's the article.


For the original post, with all the live links:
5 things I learned from Jillian Michaels
by Margarita Bertsos

I met Jillian Michaels yesterday; she's one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser--and my new favorite person.

Here's what she had to say.

1.) DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR SELF-PRESERVATION.

I told Jillian that some of my habits--flushing rice down the toilet so I won't eat it, bringing my own high-fiber bread to brunch--stirred some controversy on the blog. "Why?" she asked. "Why should we apologize for the practices that help us manage the symptoms while we deal with the real reasons we eat? I pour candle wax on my food at restaurants," Jillian admitted. "Not wanting to 'waste food' is a poor excuse for ending up far worse off later on, dealing with all the health problems that come with obesity." (Here are a few restaurant do's and dont's to help you maintain your healthy eating goals while dining out.)

2.) RUN.

I asked Jillian if running really is the best form of cardio for weight loss. "Absolutely," she said. "There are lots of great ways to get your heart rate up, but if you want to see the pounds melt off, running is the fastest way. But I get that not everyone is built for it--knee problems, tight IT bands, heel spurs; I get it." Whatever you do, she said, "Don't forget the weights! The more muscle you build, the faster your metabolism will run."(What's better running outdoors or on a treadmill?)

3.) THE BIGGEST LOSER IS NOT REALITY.

"You don't watch the Olympics and think, Hmm, I should swim for 6 hours a day like Michael Phelps, do you? But you might think about joining a pool and swimming a few times a week," she said. That's what Jillian wants people watching TBL to think, too: "If these people can lose ten pounds in two weeks, maybe I can lose ten pounds in a couple of months." She adds: "I want people to realize their own potential; I meet people all the time who never thought of themselves as athletic, but now? They truly are athletes."

4.) FORGET WILLPOWER.

"Losing weight is not about willpower--it's about moments of bravado, like the moment when you ask your waiter to take the bread away from the table right away."

5.) JUST SAY THANK YOU.

When I told Jillian how much weight I've lost, she congratulated me. And then (as I always do), I added, "But I still have a long way to go." "Stop," she said. "What does that do," she said, "apart from negate everything you've already accomplished? You're being self-deprecating and disempowering, and that doesn't serve anyone-and especially not you. Be proud of what you've done for yourself."

Got it, Jillian. Thank you! :- )

What do you guys think--is weight loss about willpower? I happen to agree with Jillian and think it's NOT. It's not about gritting your teeth and finding the strength "deep within you"--I think that's B.S. and will leave many people feeling really bad that they can't find it. They key, I think, is to set up your environment and make decisions so that you can succeed even when willpower is nowhere to be found.

Margarita Bertsos

Wow! Check Out These Transformations

If you've read this blog more than once you probably know that I'm a big fan of Craig Ballantyne and his Turbulence Training system. Well, Craig just ended his first TT transformation contest. A panel of experts chose the finalists but you get to help chose the winner.

See the contestants Before and After shots, check out their measurements and how much fat they dumped and place your vote

Talking about transformations...

Last night the first U.S. female Biggest Loser (Ali) was crowned and once again, Jillian Michaels was the trainer of the winner. She also trained the previously eliminated contestant (Bernie) who won the $100,000 "at-home" prize. Click here to see what Jillian has to say about Turbulence Training.

With Friends Like That...

It's a challenge for most people to drop a significant amount of weight. It's even more of a challenge when your friends and family are not supportive.

I watched The Biggest Loser last night. The contestants were sent home for a week (I think it was probably over the holidays) and then had to return to the ranch and resume the competition.

I was surprised at how many of the "welcome home" celebrations included lots of junk food. These people do not just have 10-20 pounds to get rid of. All of The Biggest Loser contestants are obese. They were returning home after losing anywhere from 33-70+ pounds and were involved in a competition where they could not only regain their health but could win $250,000.

Regarding the food at one gathering, the comment was made that, "everyone here is not on a diet." True, but it would have been such a hardship to have the party center around family, friends and fellowship while offering some healthy snacks rather than tons of donuts, pastries, gravy, etc.? (Of course, it wouldn't surprise me to find out that TBL supplied all the food to increase the dramatics.)

The worst example of sabotage was when contestant Paul went out to eat with his friends and family. He didn't just slip up, he pigged out. Plate after plate of wings arrived at his table and Paul ate plenty.

I absolutely believe in personal responsibility and Paul blew it big time. He let himself and his team down. What appalled me about the behavior of Paul's group was that a few of them were actually taunting him with a huge, decadent dessert they were eating. This is a guy who's father and grandfather died in their 40s and with his lifestyle Paul was following in their footsteps. How anyone who cares about him could be anything less than totally supportive of Paul's efforts to get healthy is beyond my comprehension.

(I do realize that things are not always as they appear on "reality TV". Selective editing, showing scenes out of chronological order, splicing reaction shots into scenes where they didn't really appear, etc. are all SOP on these shows. However, it sure looked liked those folks were going out of their way to entice Paul to eat that dessert.)

It sucks when people try to sabotage your efforts but you can still succeed. Tomorrow, I'll write about the importance of discovering your deepest motivation to help keep you on track even when circumstances make it more challenging.