Any "Biggest Loser" Fans?

Today I did something that was so out of character for me.  It started about a week ago when I saw a commercial for the casting call of the next season of The Biggest Loser. My interest was caught as it is one of my favorite shows to watch.  I have hardly missed a season over the years and it is a show that me and my children love to watch together!  Anyone who knows me in person, knows that I could qualify for this show in that I have about 125 pounds to lose.  The picture that I use online is deceiving! I have been hiding behind a skinny photo for several years-at least here online.  I don't hide behind much (well, successfully at least) in real life!

I have battled my weight for years, probably about half my life (20 years, in case you are all wondering how old I am!) I have tried every diet out there and failed at them all!  And with each pregnancy, things got more out of control.  And after 6 pregnancies, let's just say that I have a lot of work to do!

So, everytime I saw this commercial, I kept thinking that I should try-I knew my chances were slim, but hey, it was worth a try, right?  Of course at that point, I needed to run the full scenario through my mind.  Could I leave my family for 1-4 months?  Could I share the journey of weight loss on national tv?  Could I stand on a scale in front of everyone?  Could I do the workouts and not die?

My husband was very supportive, saying that he would care for the kids and everything, if I made it on.  As I went through each item, realizing that as hard as it would be, I would do it-in order to lose the weight and get healthy.

And then it came down to the actual day. I would need to leave my house by 6 am and go wait in line. Rain was in the forecast.  Auditions didn't even start until 10 am and they ended at 6 pm, so I had no idea of how much of that time I would be stuck waiting.  I thought about the housework that needed to be done, the designing I was behind on, the time I would be away from my kids and so on.  I talked myself out of it at least a dozen times.

But in the end, I decided to go.  I wanted to prove to myself that I was ready to make this a priority and tell the world that I'm ready to be thin and fit and healthy!  I had no fun gimmick or cute shirt to wear.  It was just me, but I woke up at 5:30, got ready and drove the 45 minutes.  I parked and walked the rest of the way. I arrived ten minutes before anyone was supposed to be lining up and of course, there was already a decent line!  All those darn rule breakers!

Most were sitting in camping chairs and of course, I hadn't even thought to bring one. I knew it was going to be a long day!  And truly, it was kind of unique in that everywhere I looked, there was chubby people!  It was kind of nice to not be the only chubby person in the group!  I usually am. I have lots of thin friends!

The woman who arrived right after me was awesome! She had traveled from Colorado to be there.  She was also very kind to send her husband back to the car for the extra camping chair!  I had a place to sit and that was awesome!

For several hours we all visited and watched the line grow longer and longer.  Here are a few pictures of the line!

It didn't take me long to be happy with my decision to be there. I loved all the people I met.  Everyone was friendly and happy and funny!  It really was a great morning!

When the doors opened at 10, they took everyone back in groups of 20.  It took us about an hour to reach that point in the line-not too bad!  We were taken into a foyer and a representative of KSL talked about the process, the rules, etc.   While we were there, Sione from Season 7 walked in!  So cool!  I loved watching he and his cousin, Filipe so it felt like meeting a real celebrity!

After that, we were herded back through the cubical section to another foyer. Another employee ran through the process, what the interview would be like, etc.  Then we entered a room with 2 tables. There was a casting agent at each one and we all sat down. We had a full 7 minutes-for the entire group of 20 and answers to about 3 questions to "stand out"!  It was fun and interesting and just plain cool!

I was done before noon and headed home, and although a call back call never came, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything!  It took a lot of overcoming my  normal excuses and fears to do what I did.  And if I could be willing to do all of that, why couldn't I be willing to hit the gym every morning and overcome the daily excuses to do what I need to do?

So, I'm starting my very own "Biggest Loser"!  Had I been chosen for the show, I would have left in September and if I had made it to the final 4, I would have been gone until the end of December.  So, I'm blocking that time off my calendar anyway.  No more junk food, no holiday food, no excuses!  I will exercise for at least an hour a day-every day!  I'm going to hold my own "last chance" workouts and weigh in for my family every week!

I will also be posting my progress here on my blog!  And if anyone reading this feels inspired to take on this challenge too, then let's do it together!  In the grand scheme of things, what is a few months?  I'm ready to feel good again!  I want energy to keep up with my kids! I want to live the life I feel on the inside but lack the energy to really do!

I'm going to spend tomorrow planning everything out and Monday it begins! I'll post a pic then-my starting pic and well, it will be scary. I don't take too many pics of myself and I really don't post the chubby ones.  But it is time to get real and face the truth!