totally unexpected and redeeming : biggest loser finale

if you are like me, you have been watching what i would say was the best season of biggest loser to date.



the contestants had a little something special about them this time around that is hard to avoid. they have a realness about them. they weren't there to play games, but they all played to win. and they were amazing to watch.

the purple team was one of my favorites from the beginning. hannah is hilarious and spitfires every funny thought that comes to her, and olivia was obviously cut from the same cloth. they both continued to lose weight each week, in odds that were not always in their favor. {then of course they had each other to help ensure the votes were always in their favor.}

olivia was fun to watch because of her story. her husband lost over 113 pounds at home while she lost almost the same. they both looked amazing and it is obvious that they are so much happier to be healthy and feel so great. even better that they have done it together.

highlights:

deni - what?! she killed it!  biggest at-home winner and she deserved every penny. she was so so skinny and obviously did what she needed to at home. i loved that the moment she won, the other contestants swarmed in to hug and congratulate her. see what i mean? the love!

justin - looked ridiculously incredible. he was only 3 lbs away from winning the at-home, and though i am glad it was deni to take it, i was so proud of that guy. he really grew on me and he will do great things.

sarah - seriously? she doesn't even look like the same person!! she was so hot!  so proud of them to get so far on their own.

the mustache twins - holy cow!  maybe its just cause they were on the ranch a short time {comparatively} but they looked like they just walked out of fat suits. tini tini. so proud of these guys- again, they said that they could do better at home- and they sure did.

and jen. need i say more?

at the end of the day, only one of the bite-sized purple sisters could win.
i didn't even care which one!

congrats, olivia. 

bring it on, season 12. i'm ready.

and totally inspired.

and then there were four - {BL/90-challenge update}

biggest loser is getting hardcore in the last 2 episodes.
i have to admit, as much as i love jay, i wished we could have seen chia pet {2} to the end. 

there is something about those young four that has been so fun to watch. i am especially happy for the girls to be in the final 4.
i {freakin} love the purple girls, and irene has been at the top since the beginning, so if she didn’t get there – i was going to go full out into my ugly cry. 
and you don’t want to see that.

and, for those who watch, i am happy to see olivia stand up to the “show” of it. she won $10,000 earlier in the week and then was given the chance to trade it for a 1-lb advantage.
she was getting crap for taking the money she earned and still lost 5 lbs!!  eat that.


finale party at my house next week!

{and of course, we watch the voice shortly thereafter…
have to stay up on the battle rounds. man, i love that show.}


90-day challenge update:

we are on day 15 of 90 day challenge today and we are starting to get into the swing of it.

p90x is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you,
but i am not sore anymore and feeling stronger every day.

the workouts are tough, but you can start small. the first workout is just pushups and pullups, but you can use bands and do less reps than they do.  you just set goals and outdo yourself…etc.  we are not following the p90x diet completely but we are definitely eating close to it and eating way healthier.
{i didn't want to jump straight into crazy diet mode anyway for breastfeeding purposes}

results after week one:

chris: 1.5lbs

meg: 0

after week two:
chris:0

meg: 2.5lbs!

what we are eating:

breakfast:
oatmeal/7-grain with agave

mid-morning:
1/2 protein bar- i like zone or clif bars, myself. some of them are barftastic though.

lunch:
either a salad/leftovers or a lean cuisine panini - so good and only 300ish cals

mid-afternoon:
1/2 protein bar

dinner:
some lean meat with steamed veggies.
{we went all out on saturday night and made artichoke. woops.}

{and i don't plan to be too crazy - cause last night we had a honey baked ham.... well, it had to go sometime, right?}

we have only had night so far that we didn’t make it to the work out.
we realized that to have 100% with a newborn is probably a bit unrealistic,
so we decided that we will have up to no more than 5 off days in the whole program.
that way we don’t feel awful on nights like that night when B was ticked at life.
i hope we don't use them all...

so far so good.

90 day goal challenge anyone?

i am having some style dilemmas in my life right now.

they begin with 20ish little enemy pounds that
{hopefully} decide to leave my life for good very soon.

the prob: i have a closet full of clothes that just aren't me. thus, my stack of "you probably shouldn't wear that unless you are really pregnant" clothes and my stack of "ew you haven't worn any of those clothes in years and they are either obviously faded, torn, discolored, or just not cute".  for some- they might not ever have been...

i spend my days wishful shopping on pinterest, dreaming of the clothes i would buy if i came into lots of money. or that i was on what not to wear and had $5000 to spend on recreating my wardrobe so every piece was cute, durable, and felt like me. oh- and fit!!

Source: shabbyapple.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via Meg on Pinterest

cc and i started p90x a few days ago, and yes yes, i know, "if i had a dollar for everyone who told me they started p90x..." but i have never been more determined to do anything.

in less than 90 days i will have lost weight, and i will have done a little shopping {even though i have no money}, and plenty more purging {of clothes}. i will keep you posted on my health and style progress... if there is any.

i figure i would rather have 10 things that i love and feel great in {that will last} than the 100 things in my closet that make me want to eat salad for the rest of my life. depressing.

for now, i will be dream shopping and 

praying that i am in some distant relative's will...

so, today {on my birthday} i challenge you...

what are you going to do in 90 days??

biggest loser: i am in mourning

here is something that we never thought would happen...

now, i think this is another one of those times when the "game" got the best of the show...

courtney was never meant to leave the show this early, and especially not like this.
there were many players that needed to go home in front of her and had a bad weigh-in.  courtney worked harder than all of them combined, and was just unlucky. because she was the only one on her team, if she didn't beat their weight, she had to leave. 
it's not fair, she still has so far to go...

i have watched the past 5 or so seasons religiously and i have never seen a good-bye this heartbreaking and it was even more so for the rest of the cast.
the trainers were ticked, and rightfully so.

the extra stab: brett was sent home too {since his team is now gone}. rude.
and what makes it even worse {besides the fact that he might be my favorite trainer}
is that starting next week, the cast is on their way to new zealand!!  rude.

but courtney, no one has ever had this much fight from day one.
no one has been this focused mentally that the trainers had nothing to "break down."

she always had the right answers to the hard questions cause
she is on a mission and there is nothing that will stop her now!

i wish i had the same strength.
cc and i are getting ready to start p90x in may {after all our family comes and goes}
and we are going to make sure we dont miss a single day. again, i will need to harness my inner courtney to kick this baby weight in the pants.

courtney has lost over 200 lbs  

and she will be a force to reckon with at the finale. 

good luck girl! 

i, for one, am rooting for you all the way!

dear future/BL update...

maybe i just took this little {very stupid} quiz on the BL site
to see who my trainer should be.

i do agree.

i keep thinking about how in just a few weeks,
i am going to be all up in baby fat and wanting to do something about it.

i wish i could train with the "unknowns" and lose freaking 15-16 pounds a week like nearly all of them did this week.

crazytown.

but, until them i keep dreaming about this:

seriously.

i realize that i hate working out unless i have a trainer with me to push me way farther than i will on my own, and if not that- 

i should be dancing.

like a latin.

if i still lived close to a gym, i would just go to a zumba class, because they rock.

or to calli's manic monday and let her kick my trash...

dear future,

my birthday is two months after B gets here... 

about the time that i will go crazy without a new workout regime of some kind.

please provide.

{future, if it helps, just before we moved, 

we bought cc all those P90x dvds that are still shrink-wrapped... i promise i will put mine to good use.}

pps. i would also accept a kinect with "just dance"

dear future,

i really would like either a wii or one of those kinect thingys so i can play this...

Untitled from Meg Clifford on Vimeo.

so fun and i sweat like crazy...

and i promise i would keep it down so B could sleep...

and maybe it would teach him early what friday nights are all about...

biggest loser finale!! {spoiler alert}

{i know that these updates are more for my need to vent 

than your enjoyment, but nevertheless...}

first things first,

ada vs. elizabeth

{america voted}

the two girls come out and ada looks smokin hot!

elizabeth, surprisingly looks fantastic too...

an no duh, the "overwhelming winner" is ada.

{good cause elizabeth had no business in the final 4}

and everyone keeps talking about her fantastic 

family reconciliation...

and i can't help but think of how crappy they must feel to be there in the audience 

and listen to this...

the first four of the at home challengers show up, 

but the only one worth looking at is adam.

and boy is he!  

{he is the one who lost his mother to obesity}

elizabeth actually lost 70 lbs.

adam {was 400 lbs} weighs in at 220! 

{45% of himself!} 

can't wait to see mark next to this guy...

the next few at-homers come out...

lisa, who looks a-freakin-mazing,

prince, i mean sophia. ew.

what a nasty dress/hair, hon.

and brendan. who thinks he rocks!!

 "and adam, 

you look unbelievable man!"

-brendan

lisa is the only one worth watching weigh-in...

but she doesn't beat adam...

"the hair cut, 

and dying the hair did wonders for her!"

-cc

then the next few come out:

anna, who no one remembers...

{could be the awful pink fabric strapped on her body...}

jesse, looking fabulous in a vest,

and apparently that one chick from hocus pocus,

or burgandy. 

seriously, who knows what happened there...

jesse is the clear fav of this bunch,

seeing as the two chicks here didn't lose all that much...

lie. 

anna lost 109!  next to her old picture, she killed it...

"i told ya i was gonna look sexy!"

-anna

jesse needed to lose more than 166 

and you guessed it he lost 166!

then we meet:

rick, the hobbit in a tux

{hasn't worn one since his wedding day 32 yrs a go...}

aaron, the biggest man in the house, one of our favs,

he looks like he could have done it!

and jessica. 

she is as hot as we thought she would be...

rick had to lose 158 and he lost 165 lbs!!  

47% of his body weight!!

{new at-home winner...for now}

jessica dropped 92 lbs...

and aaron dropped 172...

and then they bring out the one...

mark... 

i hope he did it!!

 he is such a good-looking guy

he had to lose 198 lbs...

and he loses 213!!  

over 50% of himself!!!

yay for mark for winning the at-home and $100,000!!!

then the final three:

frado and patrick look pretty good

and we find out that patrick got himself a job!

and standing next to ada it looks like this is anyone's game...

frado lost 44%... 

which means mark would have housed him...

dag.

ada the terminater 

needed to lose 113 and she lost 99.

dang it!!

patrick is the last one... 

this is the guy to win it if one of the boys has to...

i just love his story... and though he played the game, 

he had every good reason to...

he had to lose 170 something and dropped 181!!

patrick, 

the unemployed dad of two kids, 

now in debt to everyone in his family,

just won the freakin biggest loser! 

i have to say, i am pretty proud of the guy.

good news is:

biggest loser 11 {another family edition!}

starts jan 4th, and features 2 new trainers 

{in addition to bob and jillian!}

looks like one of the best seasons yet... 

can't wait to get watching...

reasons to love california...

farmers' markets

 

i bet we have em better here in the central coast,

than in those in soCal or NorCal...

seeing as we actually have all of the farmers here...

everything is crazy fresh and crazy cheap.

its like a step before fresh & easy

{and i really dig that place}

so we have made fresh corn on the cob and fruit salads with pomegrante for a while....

and we like ourselves...

BL recap 10.19.2010

what. just. happened?

anna gets a chance back on the ranch.

rad. she rocks.

[even though she is a bit retarded for not giving herself immunity...yowza]

you know who doesn't rock?

 brendan, and frado. 

brendan threw the weigh-in, or just sucked on purpose, 

however you want to look at it.

and frado makes me want to kick him wear counts...

so they could pick up their little boyfriend 

patrick

they lose, which means they have to vote one off-

could be anyone, but should be elizabeth if its anyone.

those jerks vote off this guy- one of the favs- completely out of the blue.

rick- i am sad to see you go- you were definitely a fave.

but i know you are going to win it at home.

and ps- i think you look amazing.

BL recap 9.28.10

last week,

2 of 3 per city made it to the ranch.

today, 2 came back.

aaron and elizabeth

he could be a fave, and she didn't finish the challenge last week
due to an asthma attack.
welcome back.

first workout, of course is a killer:

tina (purple), 58, flew off the treadmill,

 rick (green), 54, kept passing out and had to sit out for most of it...

almost everyone puked.

then, one of my favorite parts-

the doc tells em their "real age" and what is wrong with them

(other than the obesity)

it is a great wake-up call and

i love that they get to find out right when they can change

"i want them leaving this gym, a friggin mess."

-bob

first weigh-in is sprung on them on day two

yellow line is right down the middle - 

mark (black), 30, gets up and lost 41 freakin pounds!

(first one weighed in!)

rick (green), 54, only finished one of the 2 workouts...

dropped 36 pounds!  

(he is in the running for our fave- cute old guy with short arms...)

and he was the most weight lost (percentage)

"i didn't even get to say goodbye to 350!"

-jesse (orange), 27

after losing 30 pounds.

rick gets to pick one of the 8 to save,

the rest have to compete in a challenge

"as long as this challenge doesn't involve sitting down, 

at a sewing basket, sewin stuff, i got this in the bag."

-patrick (green), 

and the only male below the line.

rick saved patrick

so the women were not competing against him...

the first elimination is settled with multiple sprints.

the last two to lose are up for the vote.

burgandy(who, yes, is mormon), 35, made it through...

tina (the oldest) vs. allie (the youngest)
are up for elimination

allie gets the boot.

but i think she will do ok at home.

she has already lost 60 pounds since she has been home.

and she climbed a rock wall with danny

(last season winner that now looks like woody, and my personal fave)

it will be fun to see her at the finale.

you better be watchin!

honey, i baked!

peg decided like 3 days ago
that i should enter this bake-off.
(and by that i mean, she called to tell me i was already signed up for it...)

the first annual bake-off of put on by my nutrition-by-calli friend.

needless to say,
i didn't think just a fab recipe of rolls would do the trick...

$100 dollar first prize
for some yumtown rolls....
that i made even healthier.
(next time i am going to try the "can't believe it's not butter" option..)

this is me and candice - she won in her category too.

i won't even lie, i am kind of a one-hit wonder.
there is not much that i bake...


but, because I like you:

Meg's Naughty Buttery Crescent Rolls

(award winning)

2 c. Skim milk

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. salt

7 c. flour (3 cups whole wheat)

4 eggs (beaten) or 1 cup egg substitute

2 T. yeast

[Preheat oven to 350 degrees]

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water and sprinkle with sugar

2. Put first 4 ingredients in large bowl and microwave for 4 minutes

3. Add 3 cups flour to melted ingredients, stir.

4. Add yeast and beaten eggs to mixture, stir

5. Add another 4 cups flour to mixture, stir

6. Let dough rise uncovered in bowl 1 hour

7. After rising, divide dough in half and roll into circles about 1/4 in. thick

8. Brush melted butter onto dough

9. Cut into 16 slices and roll toward the center

10. Place rolls on greased cookie sheet and brush butter on the rolls.

bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Brush again

with butter while still hot. (You may even want to dip them in melted

butter to serve)

BL update - final 4!!!

so, 4 birthdays, 2 mothers and g-mas,
and a 30-page paper later,

i'm back.


now, let's talk:

anyone else stoked for this finale?!!!

some of the best peeps were left for the makeover week,

most of all,
this guy:

daris?!

chia pet is now back in the nineties at least.
and lookin so good!

koli?!

i love his look - fits him well.

mike?!

so, yeah, you still have a lot to go,
but lets talk about how cute you are now!!!

and SAM?!!!

need we say more...


sunshine

who is just short of beyonce!
what?!

ashley

the outfit is bad. Very bad.
but, believe me,
she lookin good.


and we will get to see this gal:
shay
who is earning $1000 per pound at home...

i'll be there.
with my hot mom who is 35 down
woohoo!!

watch for the foto shoot #2 when peg hits 50 down!