DENVER – Editor’s note: ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss has returned for season four and this year participants will start their journey having a three-month techino bootcamp in the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Overall health Center (AHWC).
The non-competitive Television show follows super-obese participants through a 365-day journey because they attempt to safely loose half of their body weight.
The participants are guided by trainer/transformation specialists Chris and Heidi Powell.
Dr. Holly Wyatt, Medical Director at AHWC and Medical Director for that show, reflects on episode two featuring Kathie and Josh.
Like mother, like son
Episode #2 of ABC Television’s Extreme Weight Loss series featured a co-dependent mother and son who became very “comfortable” living together because they both grew larger over the years.
Their comfortable habits of eating unhealthy food and sedentary living takes a toll.
Kathie, just one mother for 25 years started her transformation journey at 255 pounds and Josh her 21-year-old son weighed in at 345 lbs. Both existed life on the outside looking in before they chose to create a change.
Getting uncomfortable
Kathie and Josh both needed a big transformation and Extreme Weight Loss provided that opportunity. It allowed them to break out of their comfortable, safe existence and begin living life – experiencing victories and defeats. Neither transformation was “comfortable”.
Spoiler alert — true transformation isn’t comfortable.
Facing challenges
Josh had to move out from coping with his mother and to confront his dad.
Kathie had to learn to let go of her son.
They were all big changes, all very uncomfortable and all sorts of much needed.
Let’s face it, the road of least resistance might have taken them right back to sitting on their couch eating poorly and playing victims towards the circumstances of their lives.
Kicking and screaming
Watching this episode I was reminded of many of my patients in the University of Colorado Anschutz Overall health Center in Aurora, Co. who come into the Wellness Clinic wanting to lose weight although not really wanting to change.
They are quick to jot down 50 or 100 pounds his or her target weight loss, although not so quickly to help make the changes required to produce that quantity of weight loss.
The thought of getting up early to workout, limiting TV time, cooking meals in your own home, requesting help, being vulnerable, and in general feeling “uncomfortable” with things they’ve never done before isn’t easy for people to embrace. Most don’t do it all and those who do, get into it kicking and screaming.
This really captures the way we approach weight loss in this country. We want to slim down but we’re not prepared to do what it takes for that to occur.
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
I usually say that being confident with your lifetime got you wherever you are today.
If you want your life, don’t change anything.
However if you simply don’t like it — well you guessed it — something must change.
Josh leaving his mom’s home and moving to Arizona appeared like the logical choice. But, for Josh it was terribly uncomfortable. Thus, we witnessed his hesitancy to make change happen and ultimately his victory within the discomfort.
Your discomfort zone
The opportunity to understand that getting “uncomfortable” is a necessary a part of a real change is the first major part of transforming your lifetime during weight reduction.
It’s so important that I tell participants within my Condition of Slim weight reduction and wellness program around the very first night when they would like to truly transform their lives, they had better be prepared to be uncomfortable!
Make a promise to you to ultimately do something from your comfort zone every single day.
It isn’t an option — learn to recognize and cultivate the feeling. Embrace it and know it’s area of the transformation process.
Get confident with uncomfortable
For Josh and Kathie the pain of change te chino del dr mings herbal tea 30 and transformation over this season produced totally new bodies and each found an entirely new – and more satisfying – life-style.
Ready to start on your own journey of transformation? Then, get used to getting confident with being uncomfortable.