A lot of what happened this week was very similar to last week.

Everyone is still in New Zealand, but they moved from Auckland to Queenstown. I must say Queenstown is amongst the most beautiful places that I’ve ever seen in the world.

Now I really, really want to go!

So the show was still a big advertisement for New Zealand tourism, but it was a little more subtle than last week. And it was so beautiful that I really didn’t care. They still focused on the same issue. Over coming your fears.

I’ve come to the understanding that at the very core of obesity is fear. The fear is deep rooted and is emotional and psychological in nature. It is way beyond my training in fitness and beyond my scope of expertise. For obese people the fear seems to be rooted in a lack of confidence and insecurity. They seem to find comfort in their obesity at the same time they are tourtured by it.

But the uncertainty of who they’ll become once (or if) they lose the weight seems to trump the tortured life of being obese. So they stay fat.

Until the emotional, psychological issues, and the core reasons behind the fear are addressed, their chances at successfully losing weight is minimal. The proven science that support both exercise and nutrition will fail them.

The path to successful weight loss begins within one’s mind. And the body will follow.

Now this is hard for me to admit. I’m a fitness person, and I know quite a bit about nutrition. My answer for clients who’ve wanted to lose weight was always “Eat what I tell you to eat, keep a food journal, and do the exercises that I tell you to do”. To me it was always simple. Because it is indisputable that proper nutrition and exercise will work, every time, it’s simple.

But I don’t believe that it’s simple anymore. At least not for the obese.

Their journey begins within their own mind. And they’ve got a lot of work to do, and a lot to accept about who they are and who they’ll become if they address those issues.

Then and only then will the proven science of proper nutrition and exercise work for them!

OK back to the show

The only changes this week were that all of the teams have been dissolved. The contestants now are competing as individuals. So the two that lose the least amount of weight will “fall below the yellow line”.  And the rest of the contestants will have to vote one of them off.

Oh Yeah! Brett Hoebel is back!!!

As I said earlier this episode used the beautiful scenery and outdoor adventure of New Zealand to challenge everyone’s fears. Some of them rock climbed,  some bungee jumped, and some did a “Canyon Swing”.

There was one challenge and the winner would earn immunity and a helicopter ride over Milford Sound. They all had to River Board for a half mile on a river that had some pretty good rapids.  Olivia won and she took her sister Hannah on the trip. Again it was super beautiful.

The other big theme this week was that Hannah (remember I picked her to win the whole thing last week), was stressing about not being on a team. She had some doubts about whether she could do well on her own. She was scared that she’d “fall below the yellow line” and face elimination. She was afraid to go home. She said that she wasn’t ready, that she still needed help.

What up with my pick stressing out and losing so much confidence in one week?

Any way it wasn’t unwarranted

At the weight in Hannah came in second to last, losing only 3 pounds. And Ken came in last, losing a total of 4 pounds. Remember it’s not total weight loss that they measure, it’s a percentage of total weight. Since Ken weighs more than Hannah, his 4 pounds was a lower percentage than her 3 pounds.

They both had some very c0mpelling reasons to stay on the show. So it was pretty difficult to guess who would be voted off. Obviously I was hoping they’d vote Ken off, because Hannah’s my girl!!!

In case of a tie Ken would be going home since he came in last at the weigh in. So Ken only needed three votes to lose, but Hannah would need four votes. There were are couple of obvious picks. Austin voted for Hannah, because Ken is his dad. Olivia voted for Ken, because Hannah is her sister…but what would happen next?….

I’ll tell you…

Kaylee voted for Hannah, only because Ken had been on Kaylee’s teams for most of the show. Then Irene voted for Ken…the tension was mounting!

Jay then voted for Ken, and he really didn’t have any great reason. But his vote meant that Ken was eliminated.

WHEW!!! My girl, Hannah, is still on the show.

Now for the quotes of the week

“I can do anything, there are no limits for me”

“Fear has gripped my life for many, many years. It’s such a debilitating thing, you don’t realize it until you’re not afraid any more”

“I’m ready to live my life the way that I’ve always wanted to live it. I’ve always been too scared, too broken, too fat to do it”

“It feels good to be strong, it just feels good. We’ve earned our life back”

“There are great things ahead for me”

“Go all out”

“It’s so empowering and so motivating to me. I’ve proven to myself that I can do this on my own. I’m strong and I don’t need anyone else. I can do this”

“It truly is a whole new life for me”

See you next week…