The afternoon Keynote speaker was Marci Crozier, a popular contestant on the 11th Season of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser". Marci's presentation was entitled "The Journey" and it shared her and her daughter's experience with the show and the life lessons she gained as a result of her participation on it.
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| Photo Credit: NBC/ET |
At 430 pounds, Marci's daughter Courtney was obsessed with the television show 'The Biggest Loser" - a reality weight loss show on NBC. Courtney had auditioned for the show twice and twice had been rejected. But she had a vision of a dress that she would wear on the finale of the show and knew in her inner self that she would get there. Marci wished and hoped, as every mother does, that Courtney would realize that the power to make changes in her life were within herself and she didn't need a show to make it happen. But Courtney continued with her belief. She was contacted by Extreme Makeover Weight Loss, another reality show with a similar concept but this would eliminate the competition aspect and instead chronicle a years worth of weight loss in every one-hour episode. Courtney spent time in Los Angeles auditioning for the show, and called home to tell her mom that the producers seemed to like her and she felt hopeful. She returned home and received a phone call soon after telling her that they selected eight contestants to participate in the show and she was number NINE. Courtney was crushed, and Marci was heartbroken for her. But Courtney found her inner strength, her inner voice and said the heck with them - she could do it on her own! And she DID! She worked hard and lost 112 pounds on her OWN, chronicling her journey on social media. Pretty soon, "The Biggest Loser" called HER. They wanted her now, and she said "No thanks, not interested." Marci said her determined daughter felt that she had done it on her own and didn't need them to finish her journey on her own. But the producers kept calling, kept asking her to come and audition. There was just one catch - it was a couples show. When Courtney shared this with Marci, she said her first reaction was "No way!" When Courtney said, "Mom, it takes courage and I need you.", she agreed to go. After going through the casting process, they were selected for the show and left home a few days later for the Ranch. Marci shared some stories from filming the show, and some of the behind-the-scenes craziness between Jillian Michael, Bob Harper and the producers. Courtney didn't win "The Biggest Loser" - but she went from a size 32 to a 14 and lost 230 pounds in 18 months. She has an amazing boyfriend (who was a contestant on Extreme Makeover Weight Loss) and owns a store called Yo-Mazing in her home town. Marci didn't win "The Biggest Loser" either. However she was the first woman in BL history to reach her ideal weight while at the Ranch. She went from 238-158, and left the ranch no longer requiring her high-blood pressure and anti-anxiety medication that she had been on for years prior. She realized that exercise IS her medicine now.
Marci then talked extensively about a team challenge that she had during her time on the ranch and what long-term lessons she took away from it. These are the highlights of those lessons:
You have to have a dream
You need to have great communication
You need to be a good listener
Have a plan
Have a strategy
Take the time to build a strong foundation
Give support to get it
Accept that you will make mistakes
Have blind faith
Make sure you cross the finish line
Celebrate victories
Don't judge yourself against other people
Make decisions with your gut
Any change takes courage
It's not selfish, it's self-less
Marci explained that she had been raised her whole life to put God first, her family second, and everything else third. It took her until after her experience on 'The Biggest Loser" to realize that it was not only ok but necessary to put herself first so that everything else in her life would have balance. She spent a long time talking about the mind-body-spirit connection and that, for her, God was the cog in the center of her balance wheel (with sleep wrapped around it all like the inner-tube!). Marci is an amazing and uplifting woman and I was honored to have been able to hear her speak!
Favorite take-aways from Marci's keynote:
"If you want to be the best YOU you can be for other people, you have to say NO sometimes."
"Knowledge is NOT power. The proper application and use of knowledge IS power."
"Do everything in love and you are guaranteed success."
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| MJ Tam, Marci Crozier, Beth Rosen, JustJen |
You can find Marci on Twitter at @BL11Marci
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