The experience of living as an overweight person and the life changing transformation he experienced on “The Ranch” come together in “One Size Fits Most,” a presentation by Chris Blackburn, a motivational speaker and Biggest Loser contestant from season three.
Americans are familiar with the television reality program “The Biggest Loser,” which is now in its 14th season. They may not be aware, however, that the country has a 60 percent obesity rate.
Blackburn will visit the University of Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Education Auditorium as part of Body Image Awareness Month.
“I think we live in a society where perfection is dictated for us physically. For the male it’s the six pack abs. For females it’s a flat stomach,” he said. “I realize we all go through struggles and that type of physique is perfect for some people, but not necessarily what people should strive for.”
Blackburn struggled from a very young age with weight and body image issues and when he entered college, he tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds.
The hardest thing for him to maintain after leaving the Biggest Loser ranch, he said, was the eating habits. He still struggles with food and considers himself a compulsive eater. If you put him in a room with a plate of brownies, he would probably eat them, he said.
“On the show someone else does your grocery shopping for you. Everyone is eating the same thing you are. When you get home, it’s not like that,” he explained, “The people around you are eating the same way they were when you left.”
Planning meals, grocery shopping and preparing food can take hours for most people trying to watch their weight, and Blackburn is no exception. He said when he is home, he typically buys the same basic meal ingredients from week to week and spends time on the weekend chopping vegetables or preparing a large batch of basic meal ingredients, such as chicken breasts for use in salads and soups.
Blackburn also stays active. He tries to get some form of physical activity at least five days a week, whether it’s walking, using workout videos or going to the gym. So far, he has run two marathons, a 200 mile Ragnar relay and an Olympic distance triathlon.
“The moment I stop moving is the moment I start putting on weight,” he said.
For those times when the motivation to get out the door eludes him, Blackburn, “keep[s] a pair of my largest pants, which are a size 52, stapled to my wall in my bedroom.” He also keeps some of his “fat” pictures around the house.
