Last,but not least: Ron, The Biggest Loser "Dad"

Ron Morelli
Age: 54
Hometown: South Lyon, MI
Starting weight: 430 lbs.
Lost so far: 110 pounds

If Helen is "Ma," then Ron is the "Dad" on the show. His support and tenderness are most apparent when he's relating to his 18-year-old son Mike, who came with him to the ranch and who's still on the show. Ron is also the kitchen "officer," always tidying up after the others. "They get annoyed because I wash a glass or knife as soon as someone sets it down," he admits.

Plagued by health issues — diabetes, a bleeding ulcer, and debilitating knee injuries — as well as years of yo-yo dieting (he has tipped the scales at 527 pounds), Ron underwent gastric-bypass surgery. It didn't work. Now he wants to succeed not only for himself but also for his wife and two sons. Mike is down 135 pounds so far, but 17-year-old Max is also overweight. "If I'd been able to tackle my weight when I was young, our lives would have been different," Ron says.

Next: Ron's transformation

At-Home Challenge: Fast food takeout. "I was embarrassed to eat in front of people, so I did my bingeing when I was alone in my car," Ron says. "It automatically turned into every place with a drive-through window."

GH Strategies: "Given his health problems, Ron has a lot of reasons to want to keep losing weight. But to be successful, he's going to have to make a new rule: Only eat in the presence of other people," says Beck. "If he makes this decision and it's firm — no choice about it — he will eventually stop struggling with secret eating." He doesn't have to give up fast food, as long as he's with others (and picks healthy items). Beck has another suggestion to help Ron keep his resolve, especially during weak moments: "He should carry a 3" by 5" index card with him that says, 'I can eat in secret or I can continue to lose weight, but I cannot do both.' "

Next: Kristin, the first woman to lose over 100 pounds on the show

Kristin Steede
Age: 29
Hometown: Greenville, WI
Starting weight: 360 lbs.
Lost so far: 109 pounds

It was when she and her husband began to talk about having a baby that Kristin realized she'd been in denial about her weight. "I just didn't feel safe about carrying a child," she says. Kristin started at the ranch with her mom, Cathy Skell, and since Cathy's elimination, she's missed being with family. "But it's been therapeutic. I can focus on how I got to be that person who weighed 360 pounds," which she still grapples with, says Kristin.

Recently, she passed a milestone, becoming the first woman on the show to lose more than 100 pounds. "I can run now!" she says. "It started raining the other night, and I could literally run in out of the rain. Just to get out of bed in the morning and have a hundred fewer pounds crashing down on my ankles — everything's easier."

Next: See Kristin's transformation

At-Home Challenge: Stress eating. "I have my own mortgage company," Kristin says. Given these tough financial times, she may well be tempted to turn to food when tension runs high. "My weakness is chocolate. Candy, cake, ice cream,cookies... anything chocolate."

GH Strategies: "Kristin got heavy because she didn't pay attention to herself," says Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia. "Now she's going to have to make time for grocery shopping, for preparing meals and snacks to bring to work, and for exercise. She'll need to schedule each of these things in her planner until the behavior becomes automatic."

Still, Beck adds, something may have to give if Kristin's schedule is crazy-busy. One strategy Beck uses with time-pressed clients is to have them think about what they could delegate, do less thoroughly, or drop altogether if they absolutely had to — say, if they had to go to the hospital every day for a blood transfusion. "That's when they realize they can find time for themselves," she says. As for Kristin's chocolate cravings, Cassetty suggests these low-cal options: No Sugar Added Fudgsicle (40 calories), Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds Dark Chocolate Flavor 100 calorie pack, South Beach Living Snack Bar Delights in Chocolate Mint (100 calories). "The key is to set a limit of one treat a day," says Cassetty.

Concluded in our next post...

Next: Helen, The Biggest Loser "Mom"

Helen Phillips
Age: 48
Hometown: Sterling Heights, MI
Starting weight: 257 lbs.
Lost so far: 86 pounds

Soon after she arrived at the ranch, Helen earned the nickname "Ma." One reason: She (along with Ron Morelli) is the go-to cooking instructor for younger contestants. "They were clueless," says Helen. "They'd make smoothies without putting the top on the blender! My own daughter" — Helen came with 29-year-old Shanon Thomas, who has since been eliminated — "once set her dinner on fire." Helen is also a bit of a devil.

Following an episode that featured a "temptation" with Krispy Kreme donuts, the producers accidentally left behind a box. Helen placed three donuts on a plate by Tara's bed, with a note: "Good job today!" (Tara resisted.) But beneath it all, Helen isn't so sure of herself. When she got to the ranch, her self-esteem was so low, all she could think was, "Maybe I'll lose 10 or 20 pounds and then gain it back, like I've done my whole life."

As she started working out, however, she was surprised by her own strength. "When you're as big as I was, your emotions shut down. Once you realize you're worth the effort, it's such a positive feeling." She had the ultimate payoff when Jillian, her trainer, told her she ran like an athlete. "Tears rolled down my cheeks, because I'd never been good enough to play sports, and I'd let all those opportunities pass me by," says Helen. "Now I want to go home and inspire other women my age — people who feel the way I used to."

At-Home Challenge: Cooking fun foods for her 17-year-old son and his friends on the football team. "I was the ultimate sports mom," Helen says. "I have a refrigerator in the garage stocked with soda and pizzas and hot dogs and burgers. I was the maniac chef for these boys, always having cookouts and making cookies and candy. But now I don't want to be tempted by those foods, and some of the boys who are heavy want me to help them lose weight, too."

GH Strategies: Since Helen and the team are frankfurter fans, we recommend she try one of the winners of our "Healthier Hot Dog Taste Test." Ball Park Lite Beef Franks, for instance, have 50 percent less fat and one-third fewer calories than most dogs, Cassetty points out. "If Helen's firing up the grill, I'd also suggest roasted fruits. Plums and peaches work well," says Cassetty. "And vegetables — even confirmed veggie haters have been converted when they tasted asparagus or peppers off the grill."

The goal for Helen is to incorporate healthier choices into the same fun activities, like cookouts. For dessert? A leaner version of the cookout classic, s'mores: Place one roasted marshmallow on top of a 2.5-inch graham cracker square, and drizzle a teaspoon of chocolate syrup over it. Or serve with one Hershey's Bliss square (each s'more, about 90 calories).

To be continued...

True revelations from The Biggest Loser

By Joanna Powell

Weight-loss woes? You're not alone. Four of The Biggest Loser contestants share their diet difficulties.

Recently, a mysterious bag of Doritos has been appearing on contestants' beds at The Biggest Loser ranch in Calabasas, CA. No one's been fingered yet, and perhaps more remarkable, no one's opened it, either. Or maybe that's not so surprising: This season — the seventh for the hit NBC weight-loss competition — has been a nail-biter, as the original 22 contestants have been fighting to out-lose one another in week after week of tense weigh-ins. They've been put through punishing workouts and special challenges. But all agree that their biggest test will come when they return home and face the temptations of their everyday lives. Here, four of the contestants talk about the diet difficulty that has most tripped them up in the past. And to help them, our experts, including the Good Housekeeping Research Institute's nutrition and food directors, offer smart solutions that anyone can use to become a successful loser.

Tara Costa
Age: 24
Hometown: New York City
Starting weight: 294 lbs.
Lost so far: 105 pounds

Her fellow contestants see this former plus-size model as the biggest threat — she's been consistently among the top losers — which may be why they give Tara such a hard time. For a challenge that required pulling a two-ton car down the straightaway at California's Fontana speedway, the others wanted to make it even more difficult for her. "They added an extra 257 pounds to my car," Tara reports. Her trainer, Jillian Michaels, also tries to break her down, she says, to help her get to the bottom of her overeating. "I lost a career in modeling because I ate too much, and there was no one to blame but myself," she says. While some viewers are betting on her to win the $250,000 prize, Tara is focused on what comes next. "Now I want to reclaim my life."

Tara's transformation

At-Home Challenge: Nighttime snacking. "I took food to bed with me," Tara says. "A pint of Ben & Jerry's or a bag of Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies and a glass of milk...I looked forward to it."GH

Strategies: A new routine — eating only in the kitchen, for example — will help Tara break that unhealthy practice, says GHRI Nutrition Director Samantha B. Cassetty, M.S., R.D. Then the trick is to replace the high-cal habit with a diet-friendly one. "As long as Tara's eating a satisfying diet and isn't starving at night, the new practice will start to feel routine quickly, in as little as two weeks," says Cassetty, who suggests that instead of cuddling up with a pint of ice cream (easily 1,000 calories) before she heads to bed, Tara might sip a 100-calorie cocoa nightcap, like the Heavenly Hot Chocolate from GHRI Food Director Susan Westmoreland.

(Continued in next post)...

The Docs' Step-by-Step Plan COMPLETED!

1. Get Started

Find your favorite meals on the menu planner. When you've picked 'em, stick with 'em. Why? In studies, people who minimize food choices lose more.
Ditch the scale in favor of the tape measure. You'll lose plenty of pounds, but focus on inches instead. Waist size is more important, because belly fat is so strongly linked to heart disease, diabetes, and more.

Test the 20-Minute Workout. Work up to doing it three times a week to get stronger and leaner and banish belly flab.

2. Track Your Progress

My Waistline Tracker
Decide how many inches you want to lose, set your goal, and watch your waistline shrink.

My Walking Tracker
Every day, record how long you walked. Do at least 30 minutes. Rotten weather? Walk around the basement, the office, the mall.

Talk with Other Waist-Watchers.
Use our message boards to connect with people like you. Regularly checking in with one another will help all of you succeed.

3. Every Day, Check These Off

Be sure to have breakfast. It helps control afternoon cravings.Walk 30 minutes. No excuses! "It's as important as daily sleep," says Dr. Roizen.Eat every 3 hours. You should never feel hungry.Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Fatigue makes you crave sugary foods.

Courtesy: RealAge online Newsletter/ Dr. Roizen

Give Your Blood Pressure This Daily Treat

Just 30 calories per day of chocolate may be enough to help reduce your blood pressure. As far as serving sizes go, that’s about a Hershey’s Kiss worth.

But you have to eat the right kind of chocolate, according to Joseph Maroon, MD, author of The Longevity Factor. He recommends nonsweetened or minimally sweetened dark chocolate that’s at least 70 percent cocoa.

Crazy for Cocoa

Dark chocolate can also help reduce atherosclerosis and blood clotting, aid blood flow, contribute to an overall reduction in heart attacks, and improve cholesterol levels, according to Maroon. And it’s all thanks to the powerful antioxidants found in the cocoa bean. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about this heart-smart treat.

More Good Reasons to Eat Chocolate

As if you need them . . . Maroon offers three more great reasons to indulge:

1.For better blood sugar. Chocolate enhances the effect of insulin and sugar utilization. Drop your blood sugar even further with this one painless click.
2.For a finer complexion. Yep, fewer wrinkles and fine lines. Here’s how you can help your skin with chocolate.
3.For a better mood. The taste isn’t the only reason it makes us smile. This is how you get happier with chocolate.

RealAge Benefit: Getting 31 milligrams of flavonoids a day -- like those found in chocolate -- can make your RealAge 3.2 years younger.

Courtesy of: RealAge online newsletter

Inspiring Thoughts In Courage...

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint on the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So, stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things go wrong that you mustn't quit.

—Unknown

Have continued rest of the Fourth of July weekend!
And, yes! this also applies to shedding excess pounds!
Best always.

Jacques

Watermelon May Have Effects Similar to Viagra

Herbie Hancock's 1962 jazz hit "Watermelon Man" takes on a whole new meaning from this little-known fact: One of its ingredients triggers production of a chemical that works similar to Viagra.

And the millions of watermelons being enjoyed across the nation this Fourth of July weekend just might help men get their groove back.

In fact, the ingredient, citrulline, might not only treat erectile dysfunction but also help prevent it. In the body, citrulline is converted to arginine, an amino acid known to improve the heart and circulatory system and to boost the immune system.

It helps erectile dysfunction by relaxing blood vessels, similar to Viagra's effect.

“The citrulline-arginine relationship helps heart health, the immune system and may prove to be very helpful for those who suffer from obesity and Type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center in College Station. “Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it.”

“The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body,” Patil says. “Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it’s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects.

“We’ve always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study,” he says.

-----
As out of the usual theme of my Posts as the above may seem, nevertheless it is meant to wish al of you (*) and yours a Happy, Safe and fruitful Fourth of July weekend!

(*) Although this information is good news for you guys...it can also help bring more Joy to you gals! :o)

Best of Everything!

Jacques