Happy Memorial Day!

Casual Friday

The only time it is okay to be slothful.


Meet the sloths from Lucy Cooke on Vimeo.

The Biggest Loser- #BL11- FINALE!!!

It was all ladies all the time on the season finale of The Biggest Loser!!!

Winners:

1.)  Irene beat Jay in America's vote to be apart of the top 3.

2.)  Deni (Baby Muscles mom?  The one who didn't go to her daughter's wedding?) won the at home prize of $100,000 by losing 125 pounds and 48% of her body weight.

3.)  Hannah for looking HOT in her finale dress.

4.)  The Oklahoma Twins for shocking everyone and making Bob and Jillian eat a little crow.

5.)  Olivia winning the damn thing- we knew she would!

Losers:

1.)  Irene's not orange dress.

2.)  Cara's baby bump.  Or was it?

3.)  No montage of Jillian training after 11 seasons of being awesome.

4.)  Kaylee gaining 14 pounds and not being eliminated.

5.)  Anna Kournikova replacing Jillian on the show.  WHAT?  I mean, really.  Yes, she is pretty.  Yes, she is thin.  But what does she know about weight loss?  Wrong move NBC.  Hire a real trainer!!!

It was a long season of The Biggest Loser.  I wrote 20 posts!  I even skipped last week's episode because it wasn't anything new or anything you and I haven't seen before.

I had a good time watching the finale with some Biggest Loser Twitterphiles (these girls made me look like an amateur BL fan) and some specially placed Wholly Guacamole.  Let's make this summer memorable!  I will be blogging about the Food Revolution and ABC's new weight loss show, as well as all the goings on in the city.  Biggest Loser break until September!

Here's a recap from DietsinReview.com- including an interview with winner Olivia!

Letter to McDonald's: STOP MARKETING JUNK FOOD TO KIDS

 In the MetroNY paper today, I saw a huge one page ad:  An open letter to the CEO of McDonald's from Corporate Accountability International.  Apparently, McDonald's has it's annual shareholders meeting tomorrow where they make big announcements and changes.  Over 550 health professionals and institutions in all 50 states have signed the letter, begging McDonald's to be more responsible in it's marketing fast food items to children.

I don't want Ronald McDonald to lose his job, but I am all for this initiative.

Want to sign the letter?  Follow this link: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2215/t/8952/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=618

The Biggest Loser- #BL11- week 19- "Like someone putting gold in your lap!"

Remaining 5.  Biggest Loser.  Montage.  Jay.  Irene.  Austin.  Hannah.  Olivia.

It is Final Exams Week (another week I've never heard of!) on the Biggest Loser ranch, and the final 5 need to fight for the right to call themselves the final 4.

How to pass your exams:
1.)  Be a spin instructor for Bob.
2.)  Answer Brett's health and fitness questions correctly.
3.)  Punch Cara in the face.
4.)  Turn Jillian's mind bullet gun on Jillian and aim for the heart strings.
5.)  Beat your avatar in the XBox 360 Kinnect  Biggest Loser game.

Olivia is aces in all her exams, sweeping them all (except for sis Hannah beating her in the Kinnect game) to win $10,000.  That's a lot of money to a New York artist.

Then it's enough with the games and time for a work out!  It is Jay's third chance, and Jillian unleashes the full torrent of all she can give to finally light the fire under Jay's ass and make him fight for his place in the house.  He even falls down a flight of stairs for her.  Okay, they were stairmaster stairs, but still.  It felt dramatic.

After a milk plug with Austin, The Pluggin' Kid, it is time for the weekly challenge!  The prize is a one pound advantage at the weigh in.  Gold in the lap, according to Olivia.

The contestants must stack sand bags up progressively higher stairs and be the first to reach the top.  Austin barely beats Olivia (who has become quite the champion).  And the nail in the coffin begins to hammer itself in.  Austin goes a little on cruise control with his new insurance policy while the rest of the Losers work twice as hard to claim their piece of that deep dish finale pie.

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki!  It is time for the weigh in!

First, Ali informs Olivia she can trade her $10,000 for one pound, too.  She turns it down with a twinkle in her eye.  It is SO on.

Jay: From 255 lbs to 246 lbs- 9 lbs lost- 3.53% BW
Irene:  From 152 lbs to 147 lbs- 5 lbs lost- 3.29% BW
Olivia:  From 158 lbs to 153 lbs- 5 lbs lost- 3.16% BW
YELLOW LINE
Hannah:  From 154 lbs to 150 lbs- 4 lbs lost- 2.60% BW
Austin:  From 236 lbs to 235 lbs- 1 lb lost- .85% BW

Obviously, Austin is heading home. 

He is revealed to be 230 lbs, looking like a lean, mean, MMA fighting machine.  He beats up his brother and serenades 5th graders.  Watch out, ladies.

The final four are heading home next episode- any marathons in our future?  And stay tuned for the big finale wrap up happening live in NEW YORK CITY!!!

Shame Shame SHAME!

If you live in NYC you may be familiar with Arnold Diaz, undercover reporter for Fox 5 News who shame shame shames people and businesses who are doing others wrong. 

This particular segment caught my eye.  Ever wonder if the wonder "ice cream" you are eating is REALLY as low in fat and calories as the store you bought it from promises?  Yeah, me too.  Watch on, my fro-yo loving friends.

Healthy Ice Cream Nutritional Controversy: MyFoxNY.com

Casual Friday

TGIF!  It is slowly but surely becoming spring in NYC.  If you are looking for something free and awesome to do this weekend, come out to Central Park Saturday mornings for some Central Park Intensati!

Lindsay Davis says YES!

Amazing Lindsay leads class out in the cheap showiness of nature- and you know that Central Park is beautiful this year.  The class meets at 10:15 am at the corner of 59th and CPW at the gold topped statue and goes into the park at 10:30 am.


I would love to see you all there!  Please come join me all throughout the spring and summer for some awesome and enlightening exercise.

The Biggest Loser- #BL11- week 18- MAKEOVER WEEK!!!

THIS WAS THE BEST MAKEOVER WEEK EPISODE OF THE BIGGEST LOSER EVER!!!

1.)  Tim Gunn.  I don't think I can adequately express how I love Tim Gunn wielding a Fairy Godfather wand and transforming the contestants into real life Cinderellas.

2.)  Pumpkin coach.   Yes.  Drawn by a team of milk white horses.

3.)  Tim Gunn saying things like "I'm witness to the epiphany!".

4.)  The not so subtle Extra sugar free gum plug by Austin at the Ken Paves Salon.

5.)  The Biggest Loser Fairy Castle complete with moat.  Note this is also the castle the season one cast of Last Comic Standing stayed in.  Also on NBC.

6.)  Hannah's blond hair.  AH-MAZE-ING.  I thought she looked a lot like Teri Polo.

Right?

7.)  Austin's little prince getup.  I wish he had had a bolo tie.  Sigh.  Best curly hair transformation yet!

8.)  Irene being super girly girly, complete with "glass" slippers.

9.)  Jay looking like a dapper little man.  Really, so much littler.

10.)  FAVE TRANSFORMATION:  Olivia and that wicked new haircut.  She grew so mature and womanly in one day.  And her husband!  I keep thinking how much fun they will get to have in their new bodies.  Did that sound dirty?  It sounded dirty, didn't it. . .

11.)  Olivia and her beautiful singing voice.  It blew me away.  No jokes, folks. 

At the weigh in, we think that Hannah or Jay will have to be sent home, but Tim Gunn waves his fairy wand and *poof!* the yellow line is gone and no one is eliminated.

All is well in the magical land of The Biggest Loser!  No ogres, no Tweedle Dees or Tweedle Dums, no Kaylee.  Sleep well, my Losers.  Until next episode.  The final four is revealed- who will it be?  My guess?

1.)  Austin
2.)  Irene
3.)  Hannah
4.) Jay

I want it to be Olivia, but she has gotten SO SMALL.  How can she turn out another massive weight loss?

Want to know what Mark has to say?  Here is his take, courtesy of DietsinReview.com!

Don't be fooled by the "Market Fresh"!

It is Spring (finally!) and many advertisers know that we want to tone up and look great before we ditch our dowdy duds for more warm weather fare.  You'll notice an abundance of commercials for weight loss drugs, flavored waters, cereal diets, etc. with lovely women traipsing about in sarongs and over sized sun hats.

While you are out and about looking for delicious lighter food items, don't be fooled by items that seem healthy.  My beef with this one is the Arby's Market Fresh Sandwich.

It's on whole wheat bread.  It looks fresh and tasty.  But choosing this sandwich is like taking mayonnaise and smearing it on your butt and thighs.  According to the Calorie King Calorie Counter, the Chicken Salad with Pecans is a whopping 770 calories with 39 grams of fat.  My favorite sandwich, the Beef n' Cheddar, is 445 calories and 21 grams of fat:  Even with the electric orange cheese sauce!

A better choice may be Subway's 6-inch Orchard Chicken Salad at only 360 calories and 8 grams of fat, even though Arby's released this taste taste video saying their sandwich is better.



If you can make it through his TERRIBLE acting, you'll see their "fresh" ingredients (celery!) are blended with mayonnaise, and then they make you feel bad by throwing in hungry children.

I have an idea!  Save your money and donate the $5 to the charity instead.  You'll feel good inside and out- and your waist line will thank you too!

The Biggest Loser- #BL11- week 17- Back to the Ranch, One Hour Loser, and Top Chef Masters: Biggest Loser Edition

www.toothpastefordinner.com

Personal Note:  First of all, I want to apologize to my loyal readers who have become my friends for not being around more since I started my new job as a personal trainer.  Starting your own business is hard, y'all!  The hours are wackadoodle and I am pulling energy out of thin air that I didn't know was possible.  I miss being able to have more days off in a row, or a day off at all, and I really miss the connection I get with people I've never even met by reading their blogs and tweets. 

I have been told that it won't always be like this.  Fingers crossed!

I also think it is terribly unfair of NBC to adjust The Biggest Loser time slot to accommodate their new baby, The Voice.  It feels like a summer show, right?  There's only a few more episodes left of The Biggest Loser- can't we wait?  Now because of my work schedule I am going to miss the MAKEOVER EPISODE, which this year is only one hour long.  What?  ONE HOUR?!? AND TIM GUNN IS BACK!

Tim Gunn smash.

It's like when NBC canceled Conan for Jay Leno.  Or dropped Perfect Couples for The Paul Reiser Show.  Cluck cluck cluck.

If anyone of power is reading this, please bring back this show.  PLEASE.

Sigh.  So, back to the Ranch.  This one hour episode of The Biggest Loser starts with Austin needing to cut the cord, Irene stressing about losing 2 pounds and being THE biggest loser, and Ali introducing a new thing called "Favorites Week."  Does anyone remember there being a Favorites Week in the past?

Favorites Week includes the following:

1.)  Visits from favorite past contestants:  Ali, Sam, and Tara show up looking amazing and inspiring.

2.)  Favorite Challenges:  Tara drags a race car again and beats all the contestants.  Fair?  No (I think someone from this season should have gotten the prize), but she does get her face on a box of Wheaties and $5,000 for her charity.

Tara beating Rulon by a nose leads to yet another upset in a season full of upsets:  Rulon decides to leave the show.  No questions asked.  Seriously, nobody asks any questions and he leaves before he even weighs in.

My theory?  There are a lot of them out there, but I think he was pissed he got beaten by a woman and didn't want to lose any more.  He is an Olympic Athlete, after all.  He seemed really slated to win the entire show and everyone seemed really surprised.  Bob says it's a Biggest Loser first, but this season we had Dan, Don, and Kaylee all throw weigh ins to leave.  What are we not seeing behind the scenes?  That's juicy TV, folks.  We've got questions we need answers to!!!!

Oh, and Cara thinks it's fine because Rulon "is just tired of competing".  News Flash:  The Biggest Loser is a competition game show.  A GAME SHOW. 

They still have a weigh in, and Kaylee, after gaining weight AGAIN, is sent home and goes on a date with her new boyfriend, white team's Vance.  You know, the guy we met that one time.  With his mom?  No?  Hmmm.

Want to know what's in Mark's Melon?  Here is your chance!  Better not be any Brandon in this one, Mark.





****************************************************************************

James Oseland stinks.

I also wanted to add my two cents about Top Chef Masters.  This past week they aired an episode featuring Biggest Loser contestants (Rulon was there, and Courtney).  The chefs were in charge of following the shows strict calorie guidelines while adjusting the Loser's fave dishes into low calorie treats.

That part of the show I loved.  What I didn't like is that the judges and chefs talked to and about the contestants like they were mentally retarded or that being overweight is something you can catch.  It was really disturbing.  Maybe in their world it's not something they understand.  Curtis Stone has been hanging around a while and he is much more game, but that horrible judge with the glasses had a palpable disdain for the contestants and the challenge.  Not everyone is as nice as The Biggest Loser team, I guess.  I was looking forward to that episode and was disappointed and offended.  That is all.