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I'm still behind, but I wanted to take just a minute to expand on this morning's post.

I do not watch The Biggest Loser. I have always thought it was unsafe, the way they push the contestants in exercise. Last season I tried to watch it, saw the first two or three episodes, including the one where the woman passed out and was hospitalized. Then the coach, wasn't he in the hospital, too? Proved my point to myself: unsafe.

And don't get me started on Jillian. (Wouldn't she be beautiful if she would wipe the smirk off her face and stand up straight instead of pushing her slanted pelvis at us?) (YES, I can be snarky.)

I was curious about the science behind it. Dr. Huizenga's book does not have The Biggest Loser on the cover as all the rest of TBL stuff does. I bought it because I was intrigued.

He has people starting off by walking an hour outside in the morning with the intention of them building up to a jog and run. He lives in Malibu. I invite him to come to Minnesota and start his program in January. Ha! The evenings he gives them their choice of cardio and strength training on alternating days.

I never, ever, ever, ever could have done this a few months ago. I think it would have been very unsafe for me. I have been building up to this--and I can do it now. I'm tired, but the hardest part is figuring out the timing of it all. I don't like early morning exercise--I tried real hard, but it just isn't for me. So I'm doing mid-morning workouts and then late afternoon/early evening so I give my body enough recovery time. So had I bought his book when I weighed 282.5 and jumped right in--it would have killed me. lol

Another thing is that while I do visit my doctor, have blood work, etc., my doctor does not go to the extreme that he does when examining patients. He administers *a lot* of different types of tests. Much, much more than a standard physical. So I kind of question that aspect of his book as well.

His book is good, I think it outlines a good program. I do think he goes a little too low on the calories. They determine calories needed by the testing they do. I live in Podunk and don't have access to these tests. I could get a BodPod test 100 miles from here, but I just don't think it's worth it. I know I'm losing fat and gaining muscle. I'll use his generic formula of multiplying your weight by 7 to get your calories needed. And FWIW, I eat about 100 more than that a day.

I just finished reading the book last night and need to read it again taking notes. The plan is simple: eat less, exercise more. Watch what you're eating, follow his prescribed exercise. It does have a lot of science behind it--science he learned from Season 3' At-Home contestants.

Like I do with everything in life, I'll take what I can apply to myself and leave the rest behind. I can and will do the exercise twice daily while I'm in losing mode. If it gets to be too much, I'll knock off. I listen closely to my body.

For example, I will not be doing an evening workout today. Why? Because "that pain" that I have had or years, which I believe is a repeating ovarian cyst, reared its ugly head today. On a scale of 1-10, it was at an 8. I got into bed, DS brought his work with him and sat next to me, and I dozed off and on. This is a big signal to me to REST. The pain is now gone, I think it was bursting--if that's really what it is, but I will give my body time to recover.

I don't want to run. I don't want to jog. I have a few personal reasons for that, but one major is the climate in which I live. So I choose to do my beloved videos. I make sure that I do strenuous videos that work my heart. Yesterday I did a Leslie Sansone and it was not strenuous to me at all, and I won't be repeating unless I'm sick. Work hard, sweat hard, improve my cardio endurance. As for strength work, again, I'm using my videos. I do need to re-read that portion of his book because there are a few exercises my videos don't do that I would gladly incorporate into my routine. (Pull-ups and ankle work comes to mind.)

I was getting very frustrated with how the scale had slowed down, even though I was losing fat. I was tired of being in the 220s. I was sad I'd only lost 60 pounds in 10 1/2 months--I felt at my starting weight it should have been more because I don't cheat. This is a nice boost, it moved that darned scale, it's going to make me stronger, it's going to improve my heart! (I've already noticed my resting heart rate has gone from the mid 80s to the 70s!)

I'm not going to be losing muscle and bone in addition to fat. Rather, I'm gaining muscle, bone and blood volume--I didn't know that about blood! I am tired of being obese.

So I just figured I can give myself 2 hours a day--it's minor in the scheme of things. Quality of life is so important, and this will get me there. Besides, I really enjoy working out!