I love Matt

This guy never stops! I'm talking about Matthew McNutt, from the Biggest Loser season 3. I'm currently involved in the Youth Specialties biggest loser competition. It is a private site but has a forum.

McNutt, who is helping us, left this gem today:


Okay, so we're well on our way to losing some weight here, and by now, people are starting to deal with their expectations vs. what they're actually seeing on the scale.

Unrealistic expectations can be one of the biggest killers on any diet.

Here is the reality: without exercise and only counting calories results in about 1-2 lbs a week weight loss for women, and 2-3 lbs a week for men. That's a good week. Adding exercise to the mix can add another pound or so of loss a week.

Here's the problem: we hold ourselves up to shows like the Biggest Loser and call that the standard for weight loss. I'm going to clue you on something - that's not all real weight loss. Well, not in the time frame you think it is. If you dig deep, you can find on the NBC site blogs from the show Doctors actually giving away the fact that some of those "weeks" on the ranch are actually ten days long. So if you're wondering how they can lose that much weight in a week ... it's because they can't. TV has to be bigger than real life, so they misrepresent time to make it seem more amazing.

The truth is, in season three when I was competing from home, I was holding myself up to the numbers that had been delivered in season two. I was KILLING myself. Exercising two and a half hours a day, absolutely militant about my calories, and losing about 8-10 lbs a week (remember, I started at 366 lbs; when I was around 250, I was lucky to lose five pounds a week with that same level of effort). And I was completely depressed, because I knew based on the numbers of season two that there was no way I could even compete.

Even the lowest guy would probably be ahead of me. At that point I had no idea about the actually time spent filming each "week." So when I flew out there for my on camera weigh in, I was absolutely stunned to find out that not only was my weight loss - which based on what I had seen on the show and the website should have been respectable, but certainly not in competition with anything on the ranch - was actually ahead of everyone. My percentage of weight loss and and my number of pounds lost was ahead of everyone! And yet I had been feeling like a failure because my expectations for myself were so unrealistic!

All this to say, do NOT let yourself lose momentum because you aren't hitting the numbers you see on TV. It's impossible. If you are losing weight, or if the scale is even just staying the same ... you are succeeding! You are making positive change in your life, you are modeling a healthy lifestyle that reflects the value of your body as the temple of God and that is a shining example to the teens in your youth groups and your families!

Over 30% of kids are obese or overweight, and the number is going to be closer to 50% by 2010. By making change now, whatever the rate of progress, you are showing the people around you that it is never too late, and that honoring God through the care of your body is something that can be accompished!

Keep it up! Don't ever be disappointed with any weight loss!


McNutt...who doesn't love this guy?!