"The Biggest Loser" is off and running!

...and other stuff to tell you...

One of my favorite TV shows--in fact, one of the few TV shows that I even watch!--is back! The Biggest Loser kicked off last night with eight teams of two family members each--four parent-child combinations, and four husband-wife combinations.

It's impossible not to get personally invested in the lives of these contestants. From the first show, when you see them struggling to get up a hill, stay on a treadmill for a few minutes or lift a weight--till the end of the season, when they emerge slim, fit and healthy--it's a fascinating metamorphosis.

I already have my favorites, but that sometimes shifts a bit during the course of the season.

For someone who is own their own fitness journey, the show can't help but be extremely motivating. However, there are a couple of things that do concern me. Is it really healthy for these hugely obese people to lose weight so quickly? And how long will most of them keep it off? It will be interesting to see if there are any long-term studies on that.

For now, though, it's obvious that job number one for most of them IS to get the weight off as quickly as possible--not just to win the big bucks, but because their very lives are at stake.

Other stuff to tell you:

--Barb at A Chelsea Morning is giving away a Chris Tomlin CD.

--Joe Carter morphed his Evangelical Outpost into a team blog not long ago, but he says his popular "33 Things" posts are now a regular feature at Culture 11. I don't think I've ever read a 33 Things post that hasn't contained a lot of fascinating stuff.

--A sad but heartwarming story about a man who literally gave his life for his son. He sounds like a truly remarkable man. (Hat tip to Amy's Humble Musings.)

--I'm a calligraphy buff, so I was interested in checking out this calligraphy site (hat tip to Jen at Unmerited.)

--Can't wait to try this: an apparently foolproof way to peel an egg. (from Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee.)

It's Wednesday, folks!