Rooting for Rulon.

     Does anyone here watch "The Biggest Loser"?   I've always detested this show and refused to watch.  They make unhealthy 400+ # people run hard without training.  They force people to exercise 6-8 hours a day while eating only 800 calories;  yelling at them and demeaning them in front of all of America.  (Jillian I am talking about you).   Definitely not a sustainable way to get healthy, and actually very dangerous.   I would probably do it, though, if someone were to offer me hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money plus post-season speaking fees, or even if threatened with stripping down to sports bra and shorts and weighing myself in front of TV cameras.
     But this season I am interested because of contestant Rulon Gardner.  He is a 39 year old who won Olympic gold in 2000 and bronze in 2004 for Greco-Roman wrestling.  He has had more than a few life- threatening accidents since.....motorcyle, snowmobile, and airplane crashes.  He gained from his wrestling weight of 265#  to 474#  because of not changing his eating habits once he stopped competing. 
     What fascinates me, though, is that he and his buddy, Justin, seem like such down-right nice human beings.  I really like them.  They provide support and encouragement for each other and their team-mates.  They are "family", and I really believe that they feel this way.  Of course, the show's producers are doing their level best to break that support down, to make each person fend for himself.  What kind of show would it be if everyone helped everyone else to win?....Nope, must have rivalry and a dog-eat-dog atmosphere along with a generous helping of public humiliation to increase viewership.  
     Where would any of us be without a support system?  Life would be so much harder. 
     So I am rooting for Rulon. 

     My plan is to be healthy the right way.  To exercise sustainably.  To eat nutritionally.  No starvation involved.  No more yo-yoing.  Emerson said to "adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience".  Anyone who knows me will testify that patience has never been my forte, but I am working on that.  "Baby steps" could be my new motto.  So I continue to exercise (stretching, yoga, crunches, modified push-ups) for 30 minutes most days, plus jog 3 days per week.  I did a total of 4.5 miles this week, all in baby steps.   To health.