WEEK 1 -- DAY 4 -- Biggest Loser Eric IS a Loser

Wow...,.last night I watched Confessions of a Reality Star Loser. It followed Biggest Loser winner Erik Chopin as he tries to lose the weight he regained after losing over 200 pounds to win the third season of The Biggest Loser. Talk about sour grapes!!! This guy, and his wife especially, practically blame the show for his having gained back the weight. The wife's feeling was that he was in the spotlight when it ended doing a "Got Milk" campaign, speaking engagements, radio shows and everything else that comes with 15 minutes of fame. But then, as his wife says, "they just drop you". What exactly did she expect them to do.....hold his hand and make sure he didn't go back to his old way of eating. Perhaps she could have helped him with that while they were spending the big check he got for winning. He says they don't really teach you how to keep it off, yet on every episode of this show I've seen, I see them training these people about food and teaching them how to cook it, buy it and eat it in proportion.

Now Discovery Health does a documentary on his trying to lose the weight. Just what he wants.....to be in the spotlight again. Obviously this is more about being a star than it is about losing weight. I even remember seeing him on Oprah in January when she was talking about not having lived up to her 2008 goal of losing weight. He had his wife contact the show to see if he could get on to talk about his gaining the weight back. Again, more notoriety for Eric.

I can't tell you how much this show bothered me. It was all about him being in the spotlight for losing weight. When his wife asked him why he gained all the weight back he said something to the effect that he wasn't happy and just didn't want to live. In the background, there are his three beautiful children playing. My advice to Eric.......Man up and either lose the weight or not. But do it in the privacy of your own home and not in front of any cameras.....which is something he obviously can't do.

Today on Regis and Kelly's "New Year, New You", Regis went food shopping with nutritionist Melina Jampolis. Regis is as clueless about what to buy for better eating as I am. Thank goodness for his wife Joy who apparently takes care of all of this for him. So what did I learn today. I learned to read the labels on the the packages and to look for things like fiber and whole grains. And especially to make sure that there is no hydragenated oil or high fructose corn syrup in these products. Also of note is that fact that there is a lot of hidden sugar in cereal and, when buying frozen dinners, make sure that the sodium level is 800 mg. or less.

This all seems like a lot to remember but I think after awhile, it should become easier.