Loser Magnet

I have spent the majority of the last two hours sitting on my couch blubbering like a baby, but, this is pretty much standard fare for me on Tuesday nights at seven o'clock. No, I don't attend a regularly scheduled pity party at this time; it's simply when The Biggest Loser come on.

I'm sure at least a few of you are rolling your eyes at this point, and that's okay. I roll my eyes when people talk about watching Desperate Housewives, so I guess it all evens out.

Perhaps you've never watched the show, or perhaps you just don't see what could possibly be enjoyable about watching these overweight people sweat for two solid hours? Perhaps you think all they do is whine, and if they had any self-control they wouldn't have gotten themselves into this situation in the first place? Perhaps you'd just rather watch American Idol?

Fair enough.

I, however, started watching this show several seasons ago and have been hooked ever since. I literally weep every single week, as I watch these people change their bodies and their lives. As a person who struggles with weight issues daily, many of their stories resonate with me, and I get great inspiration from their strength and hard work. Some days it seems like I've been on a diet since I was eleven and tried every fad; seeing someone else fighting that battle and winning it makes my heart soar. Like I said, I sit on the couch and weep every week.

Seriously, I have tears rolling down my cheeks; my eye makeup pools hideously under my eyes; sometimes I can't catch my breath and I get the hiccups. (Perhaps it's good that so few people I know share my affinity for this show, as it gives me latitude to watch the show in glorious solitude and sob to my heart's content?)

This season I secretly get an added pleasure from watching the show, for I have a mini-crush on Mike, the 18-year-old contestant who has lost over 150 pounds in sixteen weeks. He's sweet and cute, and he has the most perfect teeth. Ah, to be a few (ahem, six) years younger...