Kudos to biggest loser Rachel
And anyone who has lost massive weight and kept it off!
Finding the delicate balance between healthy living for life (weight maintenance) after massive weight loss and not going too extreme in the other direction is NOT easy. For many of us who have been obese for most of our adult lives, it requires intense self-awareness, focus, diligence, and learning to live and cope in new ways — without using food as a “go to” source of comfort.
On the one hand, it would be so easy to let things slide back into a slippery slope of using food as a crutch to meet emotional needs. Often, that is the addictive personality at work in us. We fear letting things slip to the point of resuming old eating patterns and putting the weight back on. And on the other hand, for many of us, it would be just as easy to become obsessed with watching our weight, working out to extremes, dieting for life, and not finding the new healthy that works for us — both for our bodies and our minds.
There are two extremes that many of us fear. It’s not as simple as losing the weight and going about your business. And if you think it will be, you will likely fall into one of these categories.
So when I see success stories of people who have not only lost massive weight but maintained it, and who are willing to share how difficult this process is, it makes me smile. And I want my blog readers to know this side of the story as well.
There are so many ups and downs as you navigate how to live a healthy life post dramatic weight loss. We don’t read or hear as much about that. I’ve now maintained my -200 lb weight loss for almost two years, but it has NOT been easy and there are many ups and downs on my journey of healthy living and weight maintenance. It is both an internal and an external journey, and it is ongoing. Certainly, it’s not as sexy as losing the weight in the first place. But it IS to be celebrated. Because it is where the rubber meets the road.
So a big kudos to Rachel Frederickson, last season’s NBC Reality TV Show, The Biggest Loser’s, biggest loser. When Rachel won last February, there was a firestorm about her losing too much weight and many worried that she had perhaps gone too far to the extreme in her quest. I worried what it meant for Rachel in the future in her quest for life-long healthy living and what all of the intense media pressure and public outcry might do as she learned to navigate post reality TV and learn what weight range, what lifestyle was/is best for her.
Well, Women’s Health and US Weekly both report today (almost 6 months post show) that Rachel has put on about 20 pounds since her lowest winning weight of 105 pounds. And she looks and feels great. Here is the short story.
I commend Rachel for her healthy attitude and aim for healthy eating for life. I love her comment about the Oreo — though that doesn’t work for me. Rachel has been, and will continue to be, a role model to so many after being on the Biggest Loser and it looks like she’s putting herself in the equation and settling into what works for her for life maintenance. Though time and future challenges will tell.
For many of us, this is the tougher part of extreme weight loss. And I want to give a shout out to Rachel and all of those like her, like me, who work at it and struggle with it but win taking it day by day by day. Cheers Rachel. You look beautiful. Way to go.
Lori
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Three years. Another cool milestone!
