The weight loss reality star, Ruby Gettinger is slowly but surely dropping the weight. At one time she was up to 700 pounds but has since dropped 400 pounds. Considering she’s still considerably overweight she felt the need to respond to the situation that occurred this week when film director Kevin Smith was kicked off of flight while he was already on the plane and waiting for take-off.

Ruby said that she remembers one time while flying and weighing 700 pounds the man next to her was very upset and she felt bad about it. She said,

“After that experience, I never flew without a friend to sit next to me, or I would buy two seats.”

Ruby admitted she doesn’t know the details of Kevin’s experience with Southwest airlines but she thinks that these issues need to be taken care of discreetly while inside the airport, not once everyone is on the plane. She explained her reasoning,

“We need to remember that we may have different shells, but we are still the same on the inside.”

Ruby has done a great job on her weight loss journey and it’s good to see that she’s gaining the confidence now to talk about current issues in regard to weight and obesity.
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After months and months of waiting we’ve finally got a date for Jessica Simpson’s talked up reality show, The Price of Beauty. Mark your calendars for March 15th to see Jessica and VH1 travel to Thailand, France, Brazil, Uganda, Morocco and India to report on the different beauty ideals around the world. Jessica, who has always been scrutinized for her weight, her breasts, her hair, and everything else imaginable but since she’s done this reality show she’s a changed woman. She said,

“It changed me completely because I haven’t always had an inner confidence. The journey really was finding something beautiful inside me, and [knowing that] I own it.”

Simpson explained that she is different now and will no longer allow others to define her own beauty. She feels called to be a positive role model for women all over the world and she wants everyone to know that her life is changed. She said,

“I carry myself differently [now]. And any man I find, they are going to be darn lucky.”

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Americans can’t seem to get enough of reality shows that expose morbidly obese people. There’s Biggest Loser where we watch them go through painful workouts and challenges. Or for those who like DWTS, there’s Dance Your Ass Off, a show where contestants wear outfits that are way too small for their large frames and they dance their way to a healthy weight. Then there’s Ruby, one of the heaviest women in US history who gets her very own show as she tries to lose weight because if not she’s going to die.

Let’s not forget the celebrities who also cash in on weight loss. There’s Celebrity Fit Club where the likes of Kevin Federline sweats in front of the camera and the failed Jenny Craig spokesperson Kirsty Alley is currently filming her own reality show where viewers will watch her as she will most likely moan about going to the gym and dramatize her temptation to reach in the freezer and grab a pint of ice cream.

There’s now a new show to add to the weight loss reality world, One Big Happy Family. The show follows the Cole family in North Carolina. There’s mom Tameka, dad Norris and the kids Amber and Shayne who each weigh more than 300 pounds who have all decided to get healthy after the doctor told them they are all borderline diabetic. Good for them for trying to lose the weight but the weight loss reality show formula is old news and I’ll be glad to see the day when these shows have lost their following.

Celeb Diet Doc..
A family that loses weight together, stays together.

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Ruby Gettinger is back this week for the start of season two of her show, Ruby, which airs on The Style Network.  Originally she weighed 500 pounds and she has already lost over 100 pounds!  During the second season Ruby will learn some new ways to eat properly and get in some more exercise now that she is much more mobile.

Also this week, her DVD will be released:  Ruby: A Journey to Lose the First 100 Pounds which includes the season one episodes as well as mini-workouts and diet and fashion tips.  Ruby is so motivated, she is even hoping for a meeting with President Obama to discuss health issues:

“I’ve written a letter to him.  It’s my dream to have the President and First Lady come out and walk and talk to me.  I have so many ideas,” she says. “I have a program in my head that I want to go over with the President, because they talk about money and cost of things and that has a lot to do with obesity and health issues. I have to get to him. It will save the economy. It will save the American people. People are dying from this.”

Episode one of Ruby season two airs on July 5th at 8/7c.

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This year’s drama filled Biggest Loser is becoming more a game of “Survivor” rather than an inspiration for those looking to lose weight. With the Biggest Loser contestants now competing as “Trios”, Neil sabatoged the weigh in last night by drinking 2 gallons of water and gaining 17 pounds of “water weight” from last week. His former blue team members as part of a conspiracy voted off Jez.

You may be surprised but I don’t blame Neil. It’s the system and incentives that the producers of the “Biggest Loser” created that is to blame. Currently it rewards those who know how to “play the game” rather than those who are successful at weight loss and deserve to remain. It seems every week that the real role models for weight loss are voted off because they are viewed by the other contestants as threats. Weight loss and eating healthy is tough enough as it is. Rewarding dishonesty and game playing, seems not in keeping with a positive health message this show is purportedly trying to convey. The Biggest Loser is rapidly sinking into insignificance. The Biggest Loser is turning into a “loser” of a show and frankly it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This latest installment started off with a perverse temptation. Each contestant spent 4 minutes in a room filled with high calorie foods. The contestant who ate the most would be given a 3 lb pass. Hey I thought this was a weight loss show? Patty of the Blue team went awol eating the most and creating controversy as the rest of the Blue team agreed that Neil would eat for the gold.

The red team finally won a weigh in and the blue team was left to eat its own so to speak. Patty was safe with her 3 pound pass which put everyone else on the chopping block. It was a surprise to see the elder statesman, Jerry voted off. The team captain, the contestant who lost the most weight so far and he’s out? The blue team just cut off its own head and is weaker for it. Jerry left with these parting words, “When I picked the team, I thought that I had picked a team that would have the biggest loser on it. I don’t think the blue team is going to have the biggest loser anymore.”

We’ll miss Jerry…

Enter the Black team!  The castaways from show one, show what stuff they’re made of.  The Red and Blue teams were in for a surprise as they marched into the weigh in only to see that Black is back, with Jillian!

The Black team trained without any fancy equipment or air-condition gyms.  Just good old hauling sand bags up a hill, and doing bench presses with logs out in the desert.  Of course it also helps to have a drill Sargent like Jillian making sure you’re on track.  And the Black Team put a stake in the ground by winning the weigh in.  Just shows what a little elbow grease and motivation can do!  Lezlye, the Katrina Survivor, from the Red Team was voted off.  The Black Team is going to be the team to be reckoned with.

Season 4 of the Biggest Loser will debut September 11 with a few new twists. Allison Sweeney, soap star from “Days of Our Lives,” will be replacing Charlotte Rhea, as the Biggest Loser host. While Bob Harper and Kim Lyons will continue to train the Blue and Red teams respectively, Jillian Michaels will return to the show this season to train an all-new Black team.

Here’s the cast for the 2007, Season 4 of the Biggest Loser:

The Twins
Twins, Jim Germanakos and Bill Germanakos, are 40 years old and hail from Long Island New York.

The School Teacher
Amy Zimmer, first grade school teacher, is 28 years old and hails from Rochester, New York.

Private Kae
Kae Whang, former private in the US military, is 27 years old and hails from Clark, New Jersey.

The High School Music Teacher
Bryan Washington, high school music teacher, is 29 years old and hails from Riverdale, Georgia.

The Paramedic
Amber Walker, a paramedic with southern charm, is 30 years old and hails from Houston, Texas.

The Chemical Engineer Interrupted
Neil Tejwani, pursued a career as a chemical engineer, is 25 years old and hails from Marblehead, Massachusetts.

The Lawyer
Ryan Rodriguez, a high-powered corporate litigations attorney, is 29 years old and hails from Jackson Heights, New York.

The Cheerleader
Hollie Self, English teacher and full-time Cheerleading coach, is 28 years old and hails from Phoenix, Arizona.

The Performer
Isabeau Miller, singer and songwriter, is 21 years old and hails from Franklin, Tennessee.

Aspiring DJ
Nicole Michalik, a company receptionist, is 26 years old and hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Elder Statesman
Jerry Lisenby, the oldest competitor at 62 years old, hails from Peoria, Illinois.

The Do-Gooder
Jez Luckett, a Children’s Case Manager who helps mentally disturbed and handicapped young children, is 24 years old and hails from Garden, Kansas.

Aspiring Firefighter
Phil Hawk, whose dreams of becoming a firefighter are on hold after his firefighter application was turned down due to his weight issues, is 27 years old and hails from Powell, Ohio.

Beauty Queen
Julie Hadden, was once a pageant girl, is 34 years old and hails from Jacksonville, Florida.

The Cowboy
David Griffin, works as a rancher is 31 years old and hails from Cedar Hill, Tennessee.

Working Mom
Patty Gonzalez, a senior loan officer and mother of 3 children, is 34 years old and hails from San Diego, California.

The Survivor
Lezlye Donahue, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, is 34 years old and hails from Metairie, Louisiana.

I want to thank Matt for this update he sent me the other day in response to my earlier post on Matt and Suzy Hoover.  More after the jump.

“Thank you for the very fair article. It’s nice to see an article that says some weight gain is to be expected and not be crucified for it. Suzy and I have been working together to take the weight off slowly and keep it off. One of the most important things for us in raising our son is to not have him see us yo-yo all over while he is growing up. We also have been taking him for walks since he was 3 days old. People are shocked to learn that Suzy was working out up until the day of her delivery and began walking immediately after.

I think the real difference between what we did on the show and what we are doing now is that we are genuinely happy with 1-2 lbs of “real” weight loss a week as opposed to 10-20 lbs of weight lost in a week only to be taken off again and again.

We are no longer competitors on a show and have finally, after two years, learned that a healthy lifestyle can be achieved by “ordinary” people and are working everyday to achieve that. “

Thanks Matt! You and Suzy are an inspiration!

Since season 3 of the Biggest Loser ended last December, Amy Hildreth has been dating former blue team member Marty Wolff and together they live in Omaha. They will be featured on the NBC Biggest Loser reunion show Sept 4th. So how has Amy fared in the weight loss department since the show?

Amy Hildreth Biggest Loser Update
Amy lost an incredible 106 lbs going from 260 lbs to 154 lbs at the Biggest Loser finale on December 2006. She reports that she went from a size 22 to a size 8 and her body fat percentage went from 49% to 23%. Since than she as gained back 26 lbs and weighs 180 lbs. She considers 172 lbs to be her realistic weight goal. “I believe this to be my true “liveable” weight, and the weight that I want to work to maintain for many many years.

Amy’s Biggest Loser Diet
Amy’s calorie goal on the Biggest Loser was 1200/day. Her diet consisted mostly of lean protein, vegetables, high fiber carbs, and some fats.

Breakfast – High fiber cereal and fat free milk
Morning Snack – handful of almonds
Lunch – Big Salad with lots of veggies and a grilled chicken breast for lunch
Afternoon Snack – Wasa cracker with light spreadable cheese for mid afternoon snack
Dinner – Grilled shrimp and chicken, Vegetables a sugar free popsicle or jello for dessert

“One of the most important lessons I learned on the ranch was that you have to eat to lose weight! If you don’t fuel your metabolism, you won’t lose weight.”

Amy’s Biggest Loser Workout
Contestants worked out 4-6 hours per day. With trainer Bob, Amy reports they engaged in intense cardio and weight training. On their own, the contestants were instructed to do an hour of cardio in the morning and another hour at night.

Since her Biggest Loser days, Amy now works out 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week. She joined a gym and got involved with every program she could: running group, triathalon training group, fitness classes, learned to kayak as well as weight training 3x per week with a personal trainer. Her secret to sticking with a more active lifestyle was to “keep it exciting.”

Amy’s weight loss words of wisdom

“Losing weight is isn’t just a physical battle, but an emotional one as well. I would take some time to really reflect on why you want to lose the weight. Write yourself a letter. Look at that letter every time you are feeling a little down and perhaps you don’t want to stick to your program that day. Tap into that desire from time to time and you will not want to give up. After you identify your motivations, I would enlist the help of others. I absolutely needed my trainer, my team, my friends and my family to succeed. Don’t do it alone. Get help.”

Celebrity Diet Doctor weigh in…
Amy’s weight loss is astonishing and some weight gain is to be expected, considering that as you lose weight your metabolism is genetically programmed to slow down. Amy’s advice to eat throughout the day to fuel your metabolism is well founded. Skipping meals is a really bad idea because it will slow your metabolism making you more prone to binging and weight gain later. However always remember calories count! So the best strategy is to eat low calorie density foods such as unprocessed fruits, veggies and legumes. Snacks such as nuts are good too because they really help to curb your hunger, but portion control is essential with these more calorie packed foods.

Amy’s best advice straight from her myspace blog is:

“Never settle for being someone who you do not want to be. It’s that simple. Change is scary but it can be so rewarding at the same time. So if you are thinking about losing weight–whether it is 3 pounds or 300 pounds–there is NO DAY LIKE TODAY to get started!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself Amy! Way to go!

Amy’s Myspace Page:
Amy’s Myspace

Amy and Marty have also started a weight loss coaching program.
www.realitywellnessinc.com