The Biggest Loser - Home Edition

Several of our loyal YIFY readers have asked for an update on my at home edition of The Biggest Loser. Or maybe I should call it Throwdown: Nate vs. Heba. I dunno...still working on the name. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, there's a post on here called 'food and drink' that describes my deathmatch with Heba. 

Oh, and I should also state that this is not a healthy living or follow my weight loss blog. I don't really know what kind of blog this is anymore, but I know it's not that. But since I'm exactly 6 weeks into the challenge, and since it's weigh-in day (for both TBL contestants and me) it seemed like a decent time for an update on how things are going.

The Stats

Heba: First 6 weeks on the ranch - Lost 41 pounds and was down 14% of her body weight. Damn, I really should've looked at this before challenging her to a duel. I mean all of this stuff is online...I could've known beforehand what I had to lose. I think my disdain for her 'character' on the show clouded my judgement here. I didn't realize that she actually did really, really well, especially in the first six weeks. Maybe I should've picked another competitor. 

Nate: First 6 weeks on plan - Lost 32.5 pounds and down 11.5% of body weight. So yeah, I'm pretty much getting my ass kicked. Stupid Heba. I also realize that anyone with a firm grasp on high school math could figure out my starting weight and current weight with the data provided above. I don't really care. If anyone really wants to take the time to calculate percentage change, then go for it. Damn, I just realized that my goal weight would put me well short of Heba' weight loss in both pounds and percentage terms. Really should have done some more research on this.

The Other Stats

BMI: I never really figured out why TBL doesn't do some kind of BMI calculation on the show. Seems like it would make sense. Anyway, since they don't do this, I can't compare to Heba's performance here. Since my scale tells me what my BMI is even when I don't want it to, I've added a new tab on my spreadsheet for this. Yes, I do have a multi-tabbed spreadsheet keeping track of this stuff. I know, I'm a nerd. Anyway, my BMI has a percentage change of 20.4% in the past 6 weeks. I've put in a solid 3 minutes of research on BMI. Some people think it's a great metric, others say it is completely flawed. I've found that when I do healthy things my BMI goes down and when I drink beer and eat pizza it goes up. So if it's a flawed metric, it seems to be consistently flawed.

Drinks consumed: 0 

Times when I thought a drink was a good idea: 6 (and counting). They are:

 1. RJ's Dirty 30. It isn't everyday that RJ turns 30. He also only drinks about once a decade, so I would've liked to be there for him. I was sick at the time, which helped me just say no to the nice bartender

2. Panthers playoff game. First because it was a fun atmosphere for drinking. Later because they were getting beat like a drum.

3-4. Couple of work trips. Just always seems like a good idea.

5. Flight from Indy - Charlotte. Was sitting on the front of the plane next to a man that smelled like garbage water. I was convinced that a mini bottle of just about anything would smell better than that man. I almost ordered a drink just to open the bottle and smell it. 

6. Sunday - Was cleaning my house after the completion of the downstairs ceiling popcorn scraping. This meant like 6 hours of cleaning, including dusting off all alcohol bottles that were covered in ceiling dust. That made me thirsty. 

Most ridiculous thing that I've done so far: I took my scale as a carry-on during my last flight

Best diet-related quote by a family member: My mom. Direct quote "so am I just supposed to serve carrots and water at our Super Bowl party, or what?"

Editor's note: I'm not just eating carrots and drinking water.

So there it is. I'm 8.5 lbs and 2.5% Heba after 6 weeks. 19 more weeks to go, although we'll start to reintroduce some drink and not so good for you food in another month or so (in small doses). I think she's hearing footsteps.