The color purple

When Little started showing her preference toward the color yellow, I realized that I never paid the color much attention. I always dismissed it as being too bright, too attention-getting. For someone who spent her life wanting to blend in, it wasn't a consideration for my wardrobe. Now, I see it entirely differently. It's cheerful and sunny and fits my little girl's personality to a T. I love the color yellow--to the point that I'm already designing her new bedroom (well, new bedroom down the road) once she can communicate what she would like the theme to be, whether it be animals or something water-related or horses or Tangled (I have a really cool idea tying in the lanterns) or something else I haven't even considered that she comes up with.

Olivia (left) started off at 261 lbs, Hannah (right) started off at 248



Something similar is happening with the color purple, thanks to a couple of southern girls, Olivia and Hannah. You see, my Biggest Loser favorites secured their spots together in the top 2 last night, making their amazing season on the show that much more remarkable and inspiring. Week 1, no one thought they'd make it very far, but somewhere along the way, they kicked it into gear and haven't looked back. It's not just their unwavering support and love for each other that gets to me, it's their inner strength and the way they can put into words what I don't think I could. I've teared up several times this season and it's always something to do with them either hitting a milestone or overcoming an obstacle. They are simply amazing women, the kind you'd love to have as a friend. Watching them transform, particularly in the past couple of months has really pushed me. I see them and think "I want to look like them." It helps that they're taller than most of the female contestants who have been on the show. It's harder to have a weight loss connection when the goal weights are so far off from mine. Team Purple started off at 248 and 261 pounds. They're 5'8" and 5'9" so by the time they got under 200, they already looked fantastic, while someone standing 5'1" or so would still look very heavy and be considered obese, if not still morbidly obese. I'm not sure what their goal weights are exactly, as they're rails at this point, both in the 140s now, but it's easier to compare myself to them, even though I have 3 & 4 inches on them.



To give you an idea, my Deanna girl (who is open about her weight loss journey so she doesn't mind me sharing) is 5'1". With her small frame, her goal weight is 105. I have to look at her starting and goal weight relatively. I can't expect to ever see that number unless I start chopping off extremities. I totally support her in her journey, but while her numbers sound so small (her starting weight was lower than my goal weight), I feel a bit self-conscious saying my numbers out loud because I think from her perspective they might sound huge. I think that's a reason I haven't come out and confessed my numbers on the blog. I'm getting closer to that point. I'm getting closer to feeling comfortable enough in my skin to just say it and stand behind that number and be proud. (A few neighbors may have already heard me shouting out my goal number for this past week when I was feeling the pain on the stationary bike around 7am and I needed some motivation...I'm still below that number, even with a little weight gain after recovering the stomach virus. I'm hoping to maintain the rest of this loss now.)



I do want to mention that everyone is different. Deanna has a very small frame. My Sherry is the same height as Deanna, but she's naturally very muscular. It is unattainable for her to ever be 105 or anywhere near that, actually. She runs several days a week (and has been for years) and she's training for a half-marathon. She's fit, but her BMI doesn't show this. For her, a body scan or fat analysis would do better to judge her health level.

For me, my goal weight might sound high for a lot of people who simply can't relate to a different weight bracket, just like someone who's never gone sky-diving can't relate to that exhilaration and adrenaline rush. I happen to think it'll be a good weight for me and it'll look healthy. I have no interest in looking like a skeleton. I'll re-evaluate once I reach my goal weight and see if I want to lose any more or if I just want to work on toning.

Um, now back to TEAM PURPLE, which was supposed to be the topic anyway. I am so thrilled for Olivia and Hannah. I hope one of them wins, though between the two, I would kind of prefer to see Hannah pull out a victory. I think she was more of an underdog and I can't help it, I always pull for the underdog.

Have to admit, I'm going to be sad for the season to end. It's been, by far, my favorite season. The contestants have been, for the most part, motivated from the beginning. There has been very little "game play" and the four finalists are all extremely likeable.

Hannah, Olivia, Irene & Jay

That said, I can hardly wait for the finale. I'm so excited to see all the transformations of the eliminated contestants. I just keep thinking that I'll have my own "finale" someday soon.

I mentioned this moment before, but here's the video of the moment when Olivia reached her 100 pound milestone that still brings tears to my eyes. (By the way, she's now lost 108 pounds.) Pardon the advertisement that shows first.



I still prefer yellow to purple by far, but purple's not so bad after all!