Unreal Expectations: Reality TV VS Real Life

Let's see...I have watched Celebrity Fit Club, Biggest Loser...

Let's take, for instance, the Biggest Loser program...Contestants secreted away to a glamorous spa-like retreat complete with all the amenities.  An Athletic Trainer greets you as you arrive.  A team of specialists are gathered to deal with every aspect of your psyche, your health, as well as setting up your exercise regime.  The right kind of foods are provided for you as well as the opportunity to learn about eating right and cooking right. You are Tested. You are probed.  You are pronounced fit to compete.

And...then there are the other contestants with which you are grouped...a support system.  If you stub your toe, there is someone to talk to you about it.  And, the cost is FREE!  The cost of having a therapist, Doctor, Athletic Trainer, Dietician, etc. at your fingertips would be astronomical for most of us average people. 

And then we have the trainers...Pushing, yelling, motivating...leading you up the hill and down again.  Every aspect of your weight loss is orchestrated in some way.  You are sculpted, molded, plied with incentives, (like vacations and other various prizes).  The first weigh in arrives and the weight has dripped off during the week...20 lbs, 10 lbs, 15 lbs...5 lbs.  So, here I go, doing it myself.  What a disappointment.  I can certainly understand the frustration and the hopelessness that overwhelms the average person as they struggle to remove even 2 lbs of excess weight. 

I have settled into the fact that my experience will not include miraculous numbers.  I have settled to the fact that I will labor for months before seeing substantial weight loss.  I also realize that I will probably lose inches before I lose actual weight.  Sigh!

But, I will lose and eventually I will be where I want to be and where I am healthy.  And, because I lose it slowly, allowing my body to adjust to the loss, I have a better chance of keeping it off this time.  I never want to be fat again!  I never want to experience the struggle or have to work this hard ever again.  If I could get my foot around to kick myself in the butt, I would do so.  How could I have let myself get to this point?  Let me count the ways!