Happy Long Weekend, People!

An extra day to lay around and do nothing?!?! It must be my birthday. Nope, it's Labor Day. I've got a book to read, one to write and recipes to cook. Hungry Girl released an email filled with a cheese-lover's dream of low-cal, extra creamy cheese-rific dishes.

Cheese leads me to think about The Biggest Loser. I mean, it's been off the air for like a month, it's about time to get back on the air, dammit. What's that? It premieres on Sept. 15th? Hot damn.

Has anyone else noticed that holiday weekends have gotten progressively longer the last couple of years? Is it the economy or just pure burn out? Either way, it seems like more and more people are taking more time off around 3-day weekends--officially or unofficially. Our office was quite depleted today, but I'm not complaining. I actually got things done without pop-ins and email interruptions. If only I could be that productive on the average Wednesday. I'm just saying.

Okay, off to bed to dream of cheese. Or Mike Rowe. Or Mike Rowe covered in cheese. Delicious.

And The Winner Is. . .

NOT ME!!! After weeks of exercise and watching what I ate to heathfully lose weight, I am proud to say that I'm down a total of 19 pounds. Only 15 of which counted for the Biggest Loser contest between me and Chef.

However, 15 was not enough because Chef lost 18 pounds. He beat me by a mere 1.5 pounds or so. And while I can stomach losing (barely), it's the way I lost that I'm having trouble with.

Chef was behind by more than 7 pounds last week and in his final home stretch effort to shed "weight" he pulled a move of high school wrestlers and cut water weight. In fact, he fasted for the last three days of the contest and didn't DRINK ANYTHING. If he ends up with any kind of health problems because of that, he's paying for it out of his winnings. I'm gonna be like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Farifax Avenue and DENY his claim.

I am pissed. Mostly because he did do some things that are actual healthy habits, but that weight loss didn't beat me by itself. He's started walking/ jogging lately. In fact, at the end he was walking/jogging (aka wogging) for about 5 miles at a time. Impressive from a dude that worked up a sweat walking to get the mail. And the big thing is that he quit smoking. Which is HUGE! The savings we'll have from that will (eventually) more than pay for his prize. Lastly, he stopped eating Nutty Bars three times a day and for the last couple of weeks has shown more willpower than most people I know. If only he had done that the WHOLE TIME.

However, if anyone wants to contribute to the "Ashley Should Have Won Because Chef is A Cheater" Fund, please feel free to put your check in the mail. I deserve it.

That being said. It's on to the next challenge. Working with an office buddy to hold each other accountable for getting off the last 20 pounds. But I'm going to wait until Monday to really start. Until then, Chef is cooking steak for us and I'm hitting a cocktail.

Thirsty Thursday Musings

It's Thirsty Thursday because I'm so frickin' busy that I need a beer to get through the work day. However, instead of driving myself to drink, I've decided to blog out some thoughts and then work out. Oh, I miss the calories-be-damned cocktail binges.

• Our cat Genghis likes to sit between the shower curtain and shower liner when Chef or I are taking a shower and bite at the water droplets pelting him through the liner. I commented that I think he would like to kill water if he could figure out a plan of attack without getting wet. Here was Chef's strategy for GenghisOnly 2 weeks left in Chef and I's Biggest Loser contest. We weighed in this morning and he lost 5.3 lbs. I lost 3.1 lbs, but as of today, I'm leading. Of course, I had to start going to the gym every night for extra cardio, but I'm in it to win it!
• I got to hold a precious one day old baby this week. He was adorable and I liked holding him, but it just made me realize that my biological clock still hasn't started ticking.
• Conference calls that are just a run down of report outs are a waste of time. Have an agenda with stuff on it, people!
  

How Do You Motivate the Unmotivated When You're Unmotivated?

I've eaten significantly less today, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I wolfed down some chicken nuggets and fries yesterday in my feeding frenzy. Now said menu items are sitting like a rock in my stomach and making an average day's food consumption infinitely less enjoyable. Although I'm managing to choke down my favorite flavor of Yoplait Light (It's lemon cream pie for the curious or nosy).

• Chef kicked my butt hardcore in the weigh in yesterday. I knew he was going to win, but I didn't think that he would beat me so handily in one week that my other weeks worth of work are now gone. He's ahead of me in the contest by less than 0.1%. Which means it's on. Of course, I think he's been lulling me into a feeling of security all these weeks and now just turning it on. Either way, I've got to stop eating or I'm going to be out some significant duckets.
• Second, I'm trying to motivate my co-workers for our Heart Walk team. We're getting schooled by the Walker Nashville Rangers right now (our competition) and as the leader of the Walka Walkas, I don't want to end up washing our opponents cars. Plus it would be nice to hit our company goal of $20,000. No pressure though. Help me out by sending me ways to motivate our team, cash or joining us. All would be appreciated and can be done here.
• Lastly, I'm getting motivated to go to the grocery store. I do it every week, so it's not that big of a challenge, but some weeks are tougher than others to get hyped up for. Partly because the produce section of our local Kroger is not all that fabulous. Everything else in the store is great and I know if I went to the Kroger in Green Hills, I'd have my choice of nearly all produce in the world PLUS valet parking, but I just can't do it. So, I go to the Harding Road (aka Ghetto Kroger) and know that I'll never have to struggle for parking but that the green beans will always have brown spots.

Any ideas from people on how to motivate the unmotivated when you're unmotivated too would be greatly appreciated.

Things I've Learned on My Summer Vacation

Not a vacation really. More like some time off. Well deserved, but it was more of a "use it or lose it" scenario than a calculated time off. But nonetheless in some non-consecutive and really nice mix of days and half days, I've learned some things.

• After my 10th viewing of "The Dark Knight" on HBO (I watch because I love it--oh, how I love it), I've come to the conclusion that if I were ever to be invited to a party thrown by Bruce Wayne, I'd say no. Mostly because every party he throws is interrupted by a villain and some innocent person always gets roped in to a hostage situation. It's a wonder that any respectable person in Gotham City still attends his cocktail parties.
• Alcohol in more than single doses makes even the best of diet and other restrictive measures non-existent, no matter how strong the original resolve.
• I can run. I mean, that I can actually run for logner than a block without someone chasing me with a knife. I ran first a mile, then 1.6 up a dementedly steep hill and then 2.5 miles. Without dying. Now I need to find a similarly slow running buddy to help me continue.
• It's fun to get into shape. The first wave of massive weight loss was more of a "take it off at all costs" kind of measure. This round is a "take it off and get toned up" bout. The weight seems to be coming off more slowly (probably because I have less of it to take off), but my body feels stronger than it has in years. Who knew?
• If Chef really tries to lose the weight and uses exercise (and not just his will power), he will probably kick my butt at our Biggest Loser contest. Last week he nearly doubled my weight loss for the week, but his previous indiscretions (see below) has left him at a disadvantage in the long haul. After 4 weeks, I'm at 3.9% and he's at 1.9%. I'm also down a total of 12 pounds in the 7 weeks of total trying (3 weeks without the contest). Not too shabby. And with our second round of boot camp starting on Tuesday, I'm sure to add some extra poundage to the total.
  

I've got more to learn with only one week of "use it or lose it" time left. I'm really looking forward to a long weekend and half days. I'm not looking forward to cramming at least 4 days of work into 2, but I think I can do it. Or lounge trying!

I ran a Mile. And Strained a Hamstring. But not at the same time.

Last night at bootcamp was a night of firsts. I ran a mile for the first time in my life. I guess I'm a late bloomer. I mean, we were required to run a mile for gym class in middle school and high school, but I never ran it. Not the whole way. I would start with a light jog and when it got too much, I'd start walking. Running just enough in the end to pass the test and avoid repeats. But the test times were so ridiculously high, that some of the stronger athletes in school could probably have crab-walked the mile and still passed.

So, last night I decided to pace myself, but to not stop. That's a big thing with me. Not stopping. Sometimes it gets me in trouble when it comes to questions or arguments, but it turns out in training, it's not so bad. With the rest of the group, I ran up a giant hill and down it. And it made me happy. Not the dredge that I running usually is for me. Keep in mind that I jog every day, but it's a walk-jog alternate and therefore doesn't really count as a mile of consecutive jogging, even though I think I jog a mile total. Maybe I'll start jogging my entire route soon.

But not yet, because the other part of not stopping is that sometimes it hurts. Near the end of the training period, we were doing sprints in pairs. I wasn't buddied up, so I ran with our trainer. A former football player. Who is much faster than me in lead shoes. However, I wanted to prove that I could sprint, so I pushed it all out. Not bad for the first run, but the second sprint got me. I felt the tweak in the thigh that people dread. I hopped to the finish, but the pain sucked. I strained my hamstring. Not the painful, stop in your tracks pop of a pull, but not fun nonetheless. Despite icing, stretching, and blasts of heat, it still is tweaked today.

The one thing I can say about boot camp is that it makes going to the bathroom more of a challenge than ever before. Each week it's a different muscle that makes it hard to get off.

Yesterday was also the first official weigh in for Chef and I's Biggest Loser contest. Wish me. Only 90 days to go.

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown

Last night Chef and I made a big decision. Well, the Biggest decision. We challenged each other to the Biggest Loser between the two of us. For 90 days starting on Tuesday (and taking a one-day hiatus on June 3rd for Chef's birthday), we will try to out do each other in the weight loss department. Like the show, we'll be basing our competiton on weight loss percentages and the stakes are big. Not $250,000, kind of big, but selfishly decadent kind of big.

I think I can take him. He's a dude and therefore will probably lose weight by blinking rapidly. Plus he's done fairly well on keeping to the meal plan and I am proud of him for that. Still, I work out more than he does, so I think that's where my edge lies.

I'm going to update the blog with our weekly weigh-in information. Not the actual pounds because I'm not that bold in letting the world how much I weigh. But the percentages will be tracked each week. I wish this week counted because I lost 2.45% in the first 10 days of boot camp. I might bitch about the meal plan (and I will bitch about any meal plan that doesn't feature cheese, bread and chocolate), but it works and I'm actually feeling better.

Can We Go Back to Previously Written Programming Now?

Last night I was watching The Biggest Loser, as I'm apt to do on Tuesday nights, and was highly disappointed. While I like the show and am enthralled, I'm also pissed off about it.

First, it is nearly always two hours long. It doesn't need to be. The weigh ins alone take 30 minutes which seems reasonable when you have like 20 people, but ridiculous when it's down to 10. Cut some of Bob's jaw dropping and Jillian's smirking head shaking and let's just get to it.

I know the show likes to think of itself as changing humanity by showing a bunch of people losing weight, but it's just a TV show. Many of the previous contestants have gained the weight back, so it's not any more important or impacting as Weight Watchers. Just more public and with money on the line.

But aside from all of my gripes, what I was mostly thinking was: Is reality TV finally starting to wane? "Survivor" is blah, "American Idol" is predictable and despite my previous rabid fandom, I have yet to see an episode of this season's "Amazing Race".

The thing that made that type of show so profitable for networks is the same thing that is eventually going to get them: no writing. Well, let me take that back. We know that the shows are written, but no creative content is involved. So with that comes the ability to work around a writers strike, crank out material with "protagonists" that are free and to do it on a 3 month life cycle. Sometimes less.

But it wasn't until I cursed "30 Rock" for being a repeat or said "Damn you, Scrubs! we've only had 6 episodes!" that I realized what was happening. The economics of it all were coming into play in a different way. Sure, The Biggest Loser is never a rerun, but really the whole show is one big rerun. The only thing different from one week to the next is who got kicked off (unless it's a stupid stunt week where they cut off who will be kicked off until the next week which just pisses me off more--Yes, Biggest Loser, I'm talking to you). When I tune into "The Office," I don't know what's going to happen from one week to the next. That's why I love it.

It's the writing. We knew it was important, but now it's even more important. Because while reality shows will always have a place on cable, where huge audiences are expected and shoe string budgets USED to reign true, they don't need to be so prevalent on networks. When they have been, cable stations stepped up and created well written shows that got noticed. Now the networks are scrambling to catch up.

So the next time there's a writers strike, don't watch any reality TV either. Let's show the networks that writing is important.

Another Biggest Loser Already?

I don't why I'm so sadistic. It seems like I can do nothing during an entire episode of the Biggest Loser but gobble down whatever I can get my hands on. It's almost the same thing with Intervention and having a glass of wine or beer. Instead of acting as a deterrent, it almost acts as a reminder of what instant gratification.

Either way, tonight the Biggest Loser premieres again. It just wrapped up the last season at the beginning of December, but with massive amounts of money to be made, it was "time to change lives." Look, I like the show. I watch it every week. But I really think the only reason they're doing another season so quickly is that with the New Year and resolutions, they can make more money. How? By plugging Jello, Zip-loc, Subway, and now General Mills during the "spontaneous" show segments.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still gonna watch, but I kinda feel like they rushed it a little. No big dramatic hometown surprises. Hopefully, they'll be some better, more likeable contestants this season.