Random Thoughts

After a very wet, nasty weekend, it's been a great week weather wise here in the Chicagoland area. Cool nights, warm(er), sunny days. Great for training outdoors, if you can do it. With my kids back in school, it's much harder to get outside during the week. This weekend looks great though and I hope to get outside to both bike and run! YEAH!

I find myself tired lately. Don't know it it's the RA kicking in--the change of weather can play havoc with my symptoms; could also be having the kids back in school; or could it be all the training I did over the last 10 months catching up with my body? Mmmmm. Don't know for sure, but I'm trying to get more rest, not work out as hard, and sleep more. I find the older I get, the more I do, the more sleep I actually need. It's good to listen to your body.

I love the internet, and I particularly like being able to watch TV shows that I missed over the past 15 or so years. Before kids, and when my kids were younger, I watched very little TV. Not much for going to the movies either. No time, and when I did have time, I would much rather read. Now that the kids are older and more independent, and my eyesight has made reading harder, I find I enjoy TV, movies and the computer very attractive.

I just finished watching all four seasons of "Lost" on the internet. It took a while because each episode has about 10 zillion commercials, but hey, it's "free" so you put up with that kind of stuff. I'm definitely hooked, and looking forward to season five starting in February.

I'm really not much for reality TV, although I must admit that for the first time my family got me hooked on "Dancing With the Stars", and I even watched most of the later part of "American Idol." Usually, I think "they" get the winners wrong, but I had no complaints this time around.

One show that I have promised myself I won't watch this season is "The Biggest Loser". There are so many ways this show is not realistic. Having battled with weight issues all my life, educated myself on nutrition and exercise, I believe this show is so wrong for the average obese person who really wants to change their lifestyle and lose weight and keep it off.

Just a couple points: not many people can (or want to) leave their homes and loved ones for such an extended period of time (how long they've never really told us); not many people can devote 8 hours (or so they say) to working out every day. And how many of us can live pretty much isolated from the real world with only the "right" foods at our fingertips? I know they do spend time being tempted by stuff, but let's be real, most of us live that way every day. Also, when you are as obese as these people are, how many doctors would recommend the running, jumping, pounding that the trainers make these people do? True, most of them are young, but many do get injured during the course of the show.

Also, and this is the thing that kills me--I don't understand how ANYONE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY WEIGH AND STARVE THEMSELVES AND EXERCISE NON-STOP FOR A WEEK, can lose over 20 lbs. in one week! If they are working as hard as they say, they really need to eat. When you don't eat, no matter how fat you are, you can really mess up your metabolism.

Also we have to remember that this is a contest to win a LOT OF MONEY! Games are played, people are used, friendships are made and broken, feelings are hurt, emotions are toyed with. That's a lot to go through for a prize. Plus, on national TV in front of millions of people? I don't think so!

OK, there are about a dozen other issues I have with this show, but I'll step off my soapbox now. I know many people think it's great and inspiring. I think it's great for the network and advertisers. They are the real "winners" on this show.

Also, I would like to see how well all the contestants have done in keeping the weight off. I know there are several who have struggled. Let's have a show tracking their process and their life when they go home and leave the "ranch". We see when they go home for the last whatever amount of time it is (again, they never really say) that most of them really struggle. All of a sudden they hit "plateaus" or gain or lose only a pound or two per week. HA! Now that is real life!

Hope everyone has had a good week. I've had a couple good treadmill runs, a couple trainer rides, good strength training and core work, and swimming almost daily. I was looking around for a half-marathon near home, but can't find any. I guess that's for the best, as my knee(s) are still gimpy (probably more RA and OA than anything else).

Have a great weekend--get outside and enjoy if you can.

Until next time--God bless!