I Shredded today and although I am feeling somewhat ill, I pushed myself and felt good about my performance afterward. Last night I watched The Biggest Loser for the first time. I don’t have TV, so I downloaded episodes on Hulu.

All I can say is, wow, they are making a ton of money from this show! I have not had TV for like 10 years or so therefore I’ve missed this whole “reality television” phenomena. On each episode they endorse new stuff like water filtering pitchers and sugarless gum, and there are ads encouraging people to make reservations at Biggest Loser resorts. Wow, $$$!

The 30 Day Shred really helped me when I first began exercising, but had I watched The Biggest Loser before buying a Jillian Michaels DVD, I don’t think I would have tried it. I think it is wonderful when contestants who weigh 400 or 500 pounds lose weight, but there is something exploitive about the show that turns me off. The shirtless weigh-ins, Jillian perched like a gargoyle atop the treadmill screaming into the face of a contestant, Bob offering a “trainer tip” to a contestant telling her to chew a particular brand of gum when she gets a craving for sweets, and all the constructed drama. I feel intrusive and voyeuristic watching it.

Breakfast:
1/2 frozen banana and 1/2 cereal bar – 150 calories

Breakfast after working out:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt with chopped apple and teaspoon of peanut butter – 250

Lunch:
Raw veggies (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower) with about 3 tablespoons hummus – about 200 calories

Snack:
1/2 lemon Luna Bar with a cup of coffee with 1/3 cup almond milk – about 200

Early Dinner:
Six inch Subway chicken breast sandwich – 400 calories

Snack:
Coffee with 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa, 1 teaspoon light brown sugar – 100

I stopped drinking daily coffee months ago. It just seemed that as I began eating better, I felt so good in the morning that I didn’t need caffeine to get going. It is usually on days like today when I am feeling blasé that I begin hitting the French press hard. Still, this was a really tasty coffee treat for only around 100 calories (approximately 15 for coffee, 25 for sugar, about 15 for cocoa, and 40 for almond milk).

Dessert:
1 whole wheat cracker with a tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt with a diced apple – 350

This “dessert” was all crunched and mixed together and tasted a lot like pie.

Total: 1650