Monday, February 21, 2011

Heavy

Have you seen the new show on A&E called Heavy? Maybe it's not brand new, but it's new to me. Each week they focus on two new supremely heavy individuals--by supremely I mean REALLY big. Like Biggest Loser doesn't show anyone I can relate to anymore kinda big. However, it's really good in that they really get into the psyche of each person and address why they gained weight in the first place, and why they're not losing it. Here's A&E's take via their website:

A&E’s docudrama Heavy follows twenty-two individuals facing extreme life-threatening health consequences as a result of their obesity. The one-hour series follows two participants per episode documenting their incredible transformations during a six month treatment program.

Unlike other weight loss series, “Heavy” is not a competition or stunt, but is rooted in the incredible real life day-to-day journeys of the participants during a lengthy treatment program. In order to most accurately document these multiple weight loss journeys over the course of six months and present them individually in one hour, A&E sought out two different production companies to undertake the lengthy and ambitious filming process. The result is a never-before-seen look at the unique struggles faced by dangerously obese individuals who must learn to live healthier lifestyles and understand the root of their food addictions. Through their day-to-day struggle and the voices of their loved ones, viewers will see first hand the pain and self-doubt associated with a debilitating weight problem.


I've yet to watch an entire episode because with my early morning workouts (I get up at 4:30am), me sitting still after the kids are in bed is a recipe for dozing. Anyhoo, with my new iPhone app, I'm going to attempt to live blog during tonight's episode, right here on this very post. This is an experiment. If the post sucks, I'll delete it later and pretend it never existed! :-P

9:03am

Debbie, age 44. Still a virgin. Wow, she puts her socks on with this homemade contraception. Ronnie is a former football star. He's from Dallas, GA. That's always weird to me. "yeah we know there's a Dallas TX. Bite us!" his wife looks fab, not the enabler kind I've seen in other episodes. Back to Debbie. How sad, she says sometimes she goes to sleep and wonders if she'll even wake up in the morning. Both talk about "sitting life on the sidelines."

9:08
Debbie 401.4 and of course, other standard complications. Ronnie 437.6, health assessment all jacked up, as one could imagine.

9:16 I like the trainers. The ones I've seen range in age just a much as they do training style.

9:18 first meal. Ronnie is joking about what he ordered. Hahahahaha :-/. He's a hard worker-outer, though (cuz I couldn't just write "he works out hard?") He swears he's gonna lose 200 pounds in these next 6 months.

9:19 first weigh-in
Debbie down 13, Ronnie down 23.6. I hate men!!!

9:27 geez, long commercial breaks. Medications for birth control, high cholesterol, etc..getting sleepy.

9:38 Ronnie is nagging the crap outta Debbie to workout harder. He's annoying me, but she is kinda not going 100%. shoot. He's pretty cute under all thatWHAT?!?!

3 months in he's down 97, her, 55. Now they get to see their families.

Debbie is getting lessons on how to socialize. :-(. :-(

9:37 tOTALLY just caught myself dozing.

9:42 Ronnie finally goes to therapy, he's talking about his mother and mother-in-law who both died of cancer. He just cane in and started talking. Everything seems easy for him.

9:44 it's easier to lose weight by calorie deficit than exercise...that's what they're saying

9:46 final weigh in at 6 mos
Debbie down 130.6, 30% down
Ronnie down 172.8, nearly 50% down. Dang! Ok, so now they go home. I always fall asleep here.


6:50am next morning: Hmmm seemed to have lost the last posts of my update live blogging stuff. No worries, I just basically said they went home, and after 3 months had maintained their weight loss...








5 comments:

Need to Get ME Back said...

You should check out the MTV show, I Used to Be Fat. It takes recent college grads and devotes a summer to helping them lose weight, it's really good!

Aileen said...

I've seen the show, and it's fairly impressive, especially the non-win-a-million-bucks part.

Roxie Morrow said...

I haven't watched an episode of this yet, don't know why.
I really like "I used to be fat" on MTV. It's so motivating to see their "after" weight. They work their asses off!

Roxie-Girl

Christel said...

I love that show. I JUST watched this episode last night On Demand, so it's fresh in my mind, and your commentary had me rolling! It's like you read my mind. Wow.

Lindy said...

@Roxie, I will have to check that show out. Being MTV, does it feature only younger people, or is it some of everyone. @Christel, I love Heavy...I just wish it came on earlier, I'm always super sleepy by the end. I need a DVR. @Roisin...yes, $1M will have people do crazy things. I often wonder what madness occurs once all the Biggest Loser contestants are at home for those last weeks.