Biggest Loser Week 18

May 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This weeks show was pretty interesting and entertaining.

It was Makeover Week!

To start off the remaining 5 contestants were on their way to the gym, when a big Cinderella type horse drawn carriage pulled up. Riding in it was Tim Gunn. I’ve seen and heard of Tim Gunn, but I’ve never really watched any shows that he’s been on before. But everyone on The Biggest Loser, seemed quite excited that he was there. He’s a fashion expert, but on this show he’d be their Fairy God Father (funny on every level) He told them that this was Makeover week. He’d be granting them three wishes.

The first wish was the actual makeover. So they all spent the day at a Salon owned by Ken Paves, who I’ve never heard of before. Again they were excited.

After the day at the spa each person was revealed separately. They followed a fairlytail theme and arrived in the “Cinderella” carriage. They weren’t made over in regular clothes but instead very formal “fairytale” type gowns and tuxes. They all really did look fabulous!

Their second wish was a surprise visit from a relative

  •  Hannahs father (and Olivia’s too) was there for Hannah
  • Olivia’s husband (who’s lost 99lbs on his own during the show)
  • Austin’s mom
  • Irene’s mom
  • Jay’s son

It was extremely emotional to watch the reaction of their relatives, not only because they’ve lost so much weight, but also because the makeover really did transform them tremendously.

I really like this show because it sets a great example of how you can reward yourself for all of your hard work in ways other than stuffing your face!

Also part of their second wish was a surprise performance by One Republic. Everyone danced, partied, laughed and cried.

After the fairytale it was time for the challenge. This week’s challenge was a Mazda commercial. Don’t get me wrong I like Mazda’s. I’ve had three and I currently drive one. But this product placement advertising seems like the only way to get people to watch commercials. I wonder if we stopped fast forwarding our Tivo’s and DVRs through the commercials if they’d stop this type of advertising…..OK back to the show.

On the beach were 50 little sand castles that look like the Mazda 5 they’d be trying to win. They’d have to dig into each sand castle and find a key (that was in a box). Then they’d run 1/4 mile the the end of the pier to try to start the car. Who ever started the car would win it.

Here’s what I like about this challenge. With only 5 people left and 50 keys each person could potentially run to the end of the pier 10 times. That’s 5 miles.

But there was another surprise. A second Mazda pulled up, they’d be giving away 2 cars.

Irene won the first car with her second key, only 15 minutes into the challenge. How lucky is that? It took until the next to the last key and 1 hour and 45 minutes for Olivia to win the second car.

Then it was time for the “last chance workout”. Other than the challenge this was the only workout of this weeks episode. Which is part of the reason I thing the show was a little more enjoyable to watch. Not that I don’t mind watching workouts, but it was something different.

Then it was time for the weigh in. Here’s what happened…

Hannah lost 2lbs

Jay lost 3lbs

Austin lost 7lbs

Irene lost 2lbs

Olivia lost 4lbs

Based on percentage of weight lost, both Hannah and Jay had “fallen below the yellow line” (The Biggest Loser speak for facing elimination). So Austin, Irene, and Olivia are safe and on to the final four, where one person will win the whole deal! But the three of them would also be voting off either Jay or Hannah.

Remember Hannah’s my pick to win the whole thing. And this is her second week in a row to face elimination, so I was a little stressed!!! At this point I’m thinking that Jay will get voted off. Olivia is Hannah’s sister and Olivia, Irene and Hannah have all become fairly good friends. Even if Austin voted for Hannah, Jay would still lose…BUT…

Remember Tim Gunn promising 3 wishes? He only gave them two so far; 1 the makeover, and 2a, family member surprise, 2b One Republic. So Tim Gunn came out of nowhere and granted a third wish. He eliminated the yellow line. No one would be eliminated this episode. That was a great twist.

The other cool thing is that Olivia passed a total of 100lbs lost. She promised that she’d sing on stage when she passed the 100 pound make. She’s a trained Opera singer. I will say this she sang beautifully and it was very moving! Even Bob teared up…

Here are the quotes for the week

“I love the way I feel right now”

“Walk with your head up high, showing who you are”

“At 261 pounds I watched life go by. Now I’m not only in my life, but I’m living”

“I like who I’ve become”

“I’m living a life that I can be proud of”

 

See you next week….

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Biggest Loser Week 16

April 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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…

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Biggest Loser Week 15

April 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This weeks episode got off to a really interesting start.

The show started out at last weeks weigh-in. As soon as the weigh-in was over Allison announced to everyone that they’d all be going to New Zealand for two weeks. That was super cool, but what it really turned out to be was a big advertisement for New Zealand and Air New Zealand.

But it seemed to work because New Zealand is absolutely beautiful, and now I really want to go!!!

I will say this, the producers of the show are great at integrating marketing into every episode. In fact they are genius at it. They are probably rolling in cash!

Anyway back to the show. From an exercise and weight loss stand point this show wasn’t too interesting. The focus was on adventure, and over coming fear and obstacles. The human interest aspect of this show was great!

The first thing that everyone did was to jump off of the Sky Tower (Which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere). It wasn’t really a bungee jump, it was more of a cabley, bungee, free space, really fast elevator type of jump.  Two interesting things happened during this part of the show.The first was that Rulon, Jay and Moses all exceeded the weight limit so they’d wouldn’t be able to do it. It was a reminder to each of them, of how much of a negative impact being obese can have on every aspect of your life. Start making your changes today!

And second, Ken is deathly afraid of heights. He opted not to do it…until Bob (trainer Bob), shared with Ken, that he also was deathly afraid of heights. It took some coaxing but Bob finally convinced Ken to do it if Bob would do it. It was obvious that they both were truly afraid of heights. But you could see and feel how much more afraid Ken was. But he faced his fear and jumped. Ken faced his greatest fear and over came it.

Lesson learned! What ever it is you are afraid of, face it!! If you are overweight and you are afraid of who or what you’ll become if you lose the weight, figure it out, be honest with yourself, face it and change it.

Another interesting twist in the show was that Moses’ father went to school in Auckland, New Zealand. His father (one of about 10 kids) who is from Tonga was choosen by his parents as the only child they’d send off to school. It is that choice and his fathers education that resulted in Moses and his daughter, Kaylee who is also on the show, ending up living in the US. Now Moses has come full circle back to New Zealand. It really was very emotional and inspiring to watch.

I can’t imagine that the producers had the foresight to see this coming. I think they just lucked out, and it made for excellent television.

Like I said before the workouts were pretty basic. They worked out outside doing some typical boot camp style workouts.  They showed them going through one workout. The only thing that stood out was that Ken really called out Cara, the trainer. He didn’t think she had what it took to help the green team. He didn’t think that she was as good as Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. They got into a major argument over it.

But I will say this Cara did what he asked, she changed up the workouts, from her typical boxing. She really got in his face and pushed him.

There was a team challenge. A 5k. They’ve already done this twice before on the show. Except this time instead of being on a treadmill, they’d actually have to run over a variety of terrain. They had to run on a dirt road, down a hill, in a stream, then climb up a tall and steep sand dune, then finish by running along the beach. The scenery was beautiful, but it did look really difficult.

The winning team would win a helicopter ride over (a part of) New Zealand, and then have lunch on an island. The Blue team of Olivia, Irene, and Moses won. In a show of super awesome sportsmanship and decency, Irene and Olivia decided to give up the helicopter ride so that Kaylee could go with her father. Remember Moses and Kaylees’ family have a history in Auckland, New Zealand. That decision restored my faith in humanity! OK, it wasn’t that dramatic, but it was a super nice thing to do….

After the last chance workout Cara pulled Ken aside and took him through a bonus workout. And she was really in his face an pushed him hard.

I was curious about what would happen at this weigh in, just because of the travel and all of the distractions.

At the weigh in the Blue team lost a total of 5 pounds, the Black team lost a total of 9 pounds, and the Green team lost a total of 10 pounds. Some people did seem to struggle with the travel, Moses (blue) lost zero pounds, Jay (black) gained 2 pounds, and Kaylee (green) gained 4 pounds. Kaylee decided a couple of weeks ago that she was ready to go home. Her results have been terrible since then so she could be right. But because her team did so good, and the black team did well too both Kaylee and Jay were safe.

So the Black and Green team would be voting someone off of the blue team. Irene is immune because she lost the most weight on the blue team. So it’d be either Olivia or Moses.

During the discussion over who to vote for, Olivia brought up the reasons she was on the show. She’d been married for 15 years and is 35 years old. She wanted to lose the weight so she can start a family. OK done deal, Moses is gone! Moses said he wanted and needed to stay on the show. But he has a wife and two children and his family brings him the greatest joy in the world. And he would never deny Olivia that opportunity. He asked that everyone vote him off.

And with the exception of Kaylee, his daughter, everyone did.

During this episode I started to wonder about this seasons outcome. Everyone who is left is losing an amazing amount of weight. They are all working hard. They all seem to be very nice people and have incredible reasons for being on the show. It’s hard to see any of them go at this point. Who is going to win this thing?

Here’s my prediction! Hannah will be this years Biggest Loser!!!

Here is my thinking. In her “interviews”, she seems to have figured out the process. She seems the most confident. She is fully engaged in every aspect of what it takes to lose weight. She already is the leanest, and she still continues to lose significant weight each week. She is a former college volleyball player, so she’s got a competitive edge. She is a very likable person.

That’s my pick. Make sure you leave your pick and your comments at the bottom of this post!

Now for the quotes of the show

“Now I’m one of those annoying people who always us the stairs, and it feels awesome.”
“I never want to look back”

“We’ve lived in a world of no and cant’s and now my life is going to be filled with yes’s and cans”

“It feels like a truly new life and it feels amazing”

“It’s not always about being first, it’s about finishing”

“You deserve everything”

“I will never allow my weight to hold be back in anything that I do”

“I’m free, I’m able to do what ever I chose to do”

 

Good stuff…see you next week!

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Biggest Loser 2011 Week 14

April 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This will be the shortest Post so far, and that’s because this was a relatively uneventful episode.

I think this was by design. Because there have been several really good shows and it was really getting good. It feels to me like the producers pulled back the drama a little bit so they can start building it back for the final episodes of the season.

The show started right off with a challenge. The teams had fifteen minutes to place a flag one mile from the start point. Which ever team placed the flag closest to 1 mile would win a night out in Hollywood. The other three teams would have to clean the entire campus.

The black team won, so Rulon, Jay and Hannah all went out for a night on the town. They made some great choices at dinner. There was one interesting scene where a guy that was interested in Hannah, introduced himself and they spent some time talking. It was pretty motivating to see how much confidence Hannah had in herself now compared to before the show. It’s interesting to watch the psychological improvements that occur with weight loss. In fact, those are the true and meaningful benefits of being fit.

They showed one scene of the losers cleaning the kitchen as the black team was getting ready to go out.

The overall emphasis of the show was on Courtney, the only person left on the red team. If she lost the weigh in then she would automatically be eliminated. Apparently her trainer, Brett, would also be off of the show. And there was a real concern on her part, because she’s been going through a plateau for the last couple weeks.

Other than that, nothing exciting happened during this episode!

Turns out Courtney’s concerns were warrented. She only lost one pound and was immediately eliminated. Brett is gone too!!!

But here is something that is really important, and I think that you can derive a lot of inspiration and motivation from. When she was eliminated she weighed 231lbs. When they went back to chekc in with her, she was down to 210lbs. She figured out how to breack through her plateau and continue to loss weight (in the real world), and if she can do it; so can you!!!

This show did have a some great quotes, and here they are…

“There are ways to nurture and reward yourself that don’t involve eating a whole bag of chips”

“Find ways of coping with life’s hardships that aren’t destructive”

‘In the real world all of that stuff is going to be there, I want to teach you how to consume it in a healthy way”

“Believe in yourself, and let others believe in you too”

“I Finally make a change and I stuck to it, and look where it’s gotten me”

“I’m a beutiful person and I’m learning that”

“I’m constantly worring about other people and I have to take time for me”

“I Feel the best I’ve ever felt in my whole life”

“I’m going to keep going everyday, that’s all you can do”

“I took the first step and followed my dreams, now I’m going to fully live my life with health and happiness”

“You do not need to be on The Biggest Loser to lose weight. All you have to do is believe in yourself and trust the process!”

 

See you next week….

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Biggest Loser 2011 Week 13

March 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I have to say that at first this episode seemed like a real let down.

That’s probably because last weeks show was so good. But as I continue to think about it, there are some really good lessons that can be learned from this weeks show.

To start off Kaylee wanted to speak with the group. She felt bad because she decided that she was ready to go home last week. She sabotaged her results so her team would lose the weigh-in and everyone would vote to send her home. Except the red team lost and Justin was voted off.

She said that she was sorry, and that she had learned her lesson.  She claims that she learned from experience that if you don’t put your best effort into something, you might not get the results that you want. (Lesson #1 from the show).

Although I agree with her big time, it really didn’t effect the show. If she had worked hard and lost weight, the red team would have lost by a larger margin and Justin still would have been voted off of the show.

Kaylee also learned that you have to complete your journey (Lesson #2 from the show).

Then everyone met Allison in the gym. She showed them a video from the day they were selected. It was very emotional, there was a lot of crying. I have to admit it is pretty amazing to see how much everyone had changed in just 12 weeks! Incredible!!!

So Allison mentioned that the show started with 11 teams. She asked them if anyone ever wondered what happened to the 12th team. Then she surprised everyone by bringing the 12 team (the last team to not be selected for the show) back. It was an interesting twist.

Everyone had the same reaction that I did. That this might be a little unfair. They were much bigger and would have an advantage losing weight for the next few weeks. But there was another twist. The 12th team, Vance and Leanne, were told on selection day that they were the 12th team. They were also told that they’d have an opportunity to get back on the show. Now for the twist…

They’ve been losing weight on thier own for the past twelve weeks. If they had lost more than the contestant with the lowest percentage of weight loss, they’d be on the show. Kaylee had lost the lowest so far; 25.23%

Vance weighed 379lbs. To get on the show he needed to lose 95lbs. He lost 30 and didn’t make the show. Leanne, Vance’s mom, weighed 315lbs. and would need to lose 79lbs. to get on to the show. She lost 45lbs., and also would not be on the show.

All of the contestants, were very supportive, and gracious. It was nice to see. Here’s the thing, both Vance and Leanne were happy that they had begun their journeys, but they both acknowledged how difficult it was to do on their own. They both spoke of how much temptation there is and how difficult it can be to change habits.

As exciting, motivational, and inspiring as it is to watch the contestants on The Biggest Loser lose weight as rapidly as they do; it is far more realistic to lose weight at the pace that Vance and Leanne have (Lesson #3 from the show)

Now be honest with yourself. If you were to lose 45lbs. in the next 12 weeks, wouldn’t you be Ecstatic!!!

Next up was a “Pop” challenge. For this challenge each team had to work with a partner to balance small balls on a board. Carry the board across a field without dropping the balls. Then let the balls fall through a hole in the middle, into a basket. The first team to get 10 balls into their basket would win. The last team would lose. The two teams in the middle really got nothing…

The winning team (the green team), won a 1 minute advantage in the next challenge. That’s a pretty good prize.

The losing team (the red team), would have to spend a week off of the ranch. OK that doesn’t sound good. That’s a HUGE disadvantage!

Here’s the deal with the red team. They got a $1000 budget for the week. They could select things like groceries, biggest loser food, a chef, a trainer, gym membership, massages, phone calls to family, meals at restaurants.

They Chose

Groceries $300

Gym/X@ $300

Phone Calls $200

Massages $100

Restaurant $50

$50 left over…

 

They didn’t chose to work with a trainer. Brett was shocked, but he handled it well. He spent some time writing out their workouts for the week, then they were on their way.

Losing a challenge should be a punishment. Instead they sent Jen and Courtney off to an absolutely beautiful house in Ojai Ca. They had food, a gym membership, restaurant meal. They were loving it.

Now for the challenge (which they brought the red team back for). The Biggest Loser crew put 5000 colored eggs on a hilly field. Each team had to find 600 eggs that match their team color and fill up the egg crates that also match their team color. There was also a golden egg that had a prize in it for the person who found it. Remember the green team had a 1 minute advantage.

And for the prizes?

The first team to finish would win tickets to the world premier to the movie Hop.

All of the teams that finish would get to go to a special advances screening of Hop.

 

The whole challenge was just a big promotion for a movie. I can’t believe that they got any of these adults to even care about this challenge. None of it had anything to do with the outcome of the show, except for the golden egg. Just find the golden egg and forget the stupid challenge.

Turns out Olivia found the golden egg, and who really cares who won the challenge?

So what was the prize? Turns out it might not actually be a prize at all. As long as Olivia’s team (the blue team) didn’t lose the challenge, Olivia would have the only vote to eliminate a person from the show. Yes, she was a little disappointed, but it was a good twist.

Now for the weigh in

The blue team lost 14 lbs.

Then the green team lost 18lbs. So Olivia still didn’t have the only vote.

Then the black team lost only 11lbs. Everyone on the green and blue team were now safe and Olivia would be voting someone off. Here sister Hannah is on the black team. Therefore Olivia would either vote for Rulon or Jay. In a masterful display of gamesmanship Hannah, who knew her sister wouldn’t vote for her, sabotaged her results and lost zero pounds. This will really set her up to have a big weight loss week next week and ensure another week on the show.

The only way that Olivia wouldn’t vote for either Rulon or Jay would be if the red team lost the weigh-in. Remember there are only two people on the red team, if they lose the weigh-in the person who loses least amount of weight would be eliminated without a vote. The red team, if you recall is the team that spent the week off of the ranch, getting massages, going to restaurants and calling home. They needed to lose a total of 6 pounds.

Courtney when first and lost 2 pounds. As long a Jen loses 4 or more pounds, then Olivia will get to vote.

Jen lost Zero pounds. And She is Eliminated.

When giving the choice to “pay” for proper training, food etc. Jen was tempted by restaurants, massages and phone calls (Courtney wanted to hire the trainer, but Jen talked her out of it). The choices that you make will impact your results every time (Lesson #4 from the show).

Jen deserved to be eliminated. She made the wrong choices!

Now for the quotes of the week.

“My shape, shapes my life”

“All that is important, is that I’ve started this journey”

“You started out on this journey….finish it”

“You need to realize that there are temptations around every single corner”

“I can conquer anything in this life”

“Nothing in my life is holding me back”

“The possibilities for me are endless”

 

See you next week…

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The Biggest Loser 2011 Week 12

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This weeks show was really good! Here’s why.  

To start off, the very first thing that happened was the remaining 11 contestants all met Allison in the gym. This is the first time I’ve see that this season, but apparently it means that not-so-good things happen.

What happened may not be good for the contestants, but it really made the show much better.

Each person had to grab a dumbbell (which was sitting on it’s end) off of a weight rack. On the bottom of the dumbbell was a color. That color would determine which team they’d be one. There were to be four teams of 3 people. Each team would work with one of the four trainers; Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Brett Hoebel orCara Castronova.

What was awesome about this was that the previous two teams (red and black), had created alliances and it was pretty obvious who would be eliminated from week to week (excluding immunity winners). Plus it was also completely random. The player chose in order of total percentage of weight loss, but the dumbbells were completely random so no one would have control of where they ended up.

But there was a twist!

Since there were only 11 contestants left, one team would only have two people on it. Turns out it was the black team of Rulon Gardner and Hannah, They got to choose anyone who had previously been eliminated from the show. They had 30 minutes to make a decision. This was an interesting process, they deliberated over 3 people;  1) the person who needed to be there the most (Arthur), 2) someone who could help the team but not challenge them to win the overall title (some dude that was eliminated before I started watching this season), 3) someone who could help the team, but may challenge them to win the entire show.

Rulon quickly eliminated Arthur, he said that Arthur had “made his own bed…” So they continued to decided….

But they wouldn’t reveal their choice until the challenge.

Before the challenge the trainers did their thing and used the training sessions to get to know the contestants whom they hadn’t had a chance to train yet.

Jillian took Rulon and Hannah to her Malibu beach house (didn’t Barbie have one of those too?) to train them on the beach. Jillian used that time to learn more about Rulon. Rulon confessed that even though he had found the perfect wife and everything he wanted, that he began to eat because he didn’t feel like he was worthy of being truly loved.

I’ll admit two things. One, it was good to see that side of Jillian. She’s normally such a hard ass that you sometimes forget that she really cares. And two, I continue to learn and accept that both weight gain and weight loss is far more emotional than it is physical. It is primarily a mental challenge.

Brett took the red team on a hike to the top of a beautiful mountain in So Cal. At the top he asked them to separate and reflect upon their journey thus, far. Who they used to be, who they are now and who they want to be. Again it was another reminder of how emotionally challenging this process has been for all of the contestants. It is the change from the inside that results in physical change. And it is the source of one’s confidence and power.

Subject Change

The Challenge this week SUCKED!

Each team had to hold a rope that collectively had the total weight loss of that team hanging from the other end. It took over 45 minutes and all they did was stand there and hold a rope. Luckily TV can edit boring stuff out. What made it worse was that they were playing for the chance to video chat with their family. That seems somewhat cool except, these people aren’t in jail. I think they can stay in touch with family members during the show…

The only exciting thing about the challenge was that the black team selected Jay. This was interesting from two stand points, 1. Jay was who they thought might be able to beat everyone and become “The Biggest Loser”, so they took some risk inviting such a strong player back. And 2. Jay is Jen’s father, who is now on the red team.

One other side note before the weigh in, Kaylee, from the green team decided that her journey was complete. She was close to her goal weight and had found her confidence and was ready to get back to “real life”

The weigh in was also very good!

The team that had the lowest percentage of total weight loss would lose a player. But the player on the losing team that lost the most weight would win immunity from elimination. After the black, blue and red team weighed in, the red team was in last place (they had lost 9lbs). As long as the green team lost 10 or more pounds, someone from the red team would be going home.

But remember Kaylee was ready to go. And she meant it, because she lost zero pounds. After Austin weighed in for the green team with 3 pounds, it seemed certain that Kaylee would be going home. But Ken shocked everyone and lost 7 pounds, to make the red team the losers.

And the nine people from the other 3 teams would be voting to eliminate someone!

Then is got a little crazy.

Kaylee immediately realized that she would be staying. Ken felt horrible for two reasons, he wanted to grant Kaylee’s request to go home, and two of the more popular contestants were on the losing red team.

Allison kind of got pissed and told Kaylee that this show wasn’t a prison and everyone was free to leave whenever they wanted. Then Moses, Kaylee’s father, from the blue team spoke up and requested that he talk to his daughter.

See how fun the team shake up thing is?

Moses talked Kaylee into staying, so it’ll be interesting to how she does next week.

Turns out Jen had lost the most weight on the red team so she was immune from elimination. so it was between Justin and Courtney, two of the most popular people on the show.

Justin told everyone that Courtney needed to be on the show more than he did (which is true), and to vote for him.

So there was really no drama over the vote and who would be eliminated, Justin was gone. But everyone on the show cried anyway!!!

Now for the quotes from the show

“You’ve got to find a way to feel worthy”

“Today is the beginning of the rest of your life and today is the day your making the changes to change the rest of your life”

“Nothing is impossible, you just have to reach for it”

“I’m becoming who I want to be”

“I was looking to find myself, to find confidence, I found that”

“Get off the couch, look in the mirror. It’s time for you to be honest about who your are. Have the courage to stand up and do it. It’s the best thing that could happen to you”

OK , this post was a little long, like I said it was a good episode!

See you next week…

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Biggest Loser Week 11

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This week’s show was very interesting.

To start things off the black and red teams were merged into one team. The blue team. The blue team had a common goal, lose more total weight than the previous week. The twelve remaining contestants lost 64 pounds the week before. If the blue team worked together to lose 65 or more pounds, then no one would be eliminated from the show.

My first thought was that this would be next to impossible. Last week the red team followed a miserable weigh in (during the two weeks spent at home), with incredible results. The thing about weight loss is that is often comes in stages. If you have a great week it’s not uncommon to not quite lose as much the next week.

The cool thing about this episode was to see how quickly the blue team accepted their common goal. The red and black teams had spent the last 5-6 weeks really battling each other. I thought there might be some tension, but there wasn’t. They got right to work!

The four trainers; Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronova all seem quite shocked by the merger of the two teams. I don’t know if they really keep the trainers in the dark about the challenges and twists or not, but if they don’t the trainers are also excellent actors. Bob and Jillian took the men and Cara and Brett took the women. In essence the trainers took the team members that they hadn’t had a chance to train yet.

Soon after the teams merged each person met again with Dr H. (Dr. Huizenga), for their mid-point check up. He reassessed them and showed their improvements by using The Biggest Loser “real age” program. This was yet another cross promotion. But it was really awesome to see how much each person really improved their health in just 10 week.

This show puts so much emphasis on weight loss that it’s easy to lose sight of the true benefits 0f exercise and proper nutrition; Good Health, Decreased Risk of Chronic Diseases, Improved Quality of Life and an Extended Life Expectancy!!!!

In the middle of the show they brought in Curtis Stone and Lorana Garcia. I think they are from the new show America’s Next Great Restaurant. This was obviously a chance for NBC to cross promote the show. Anyway the blue team was divided up into 6 teams of 2 (one person each from the former red and black teams).

Each team had 30 minutes to create a dish. The two guest chefs would vote on the best one based on calories, taste, and presentation. The winning team would win The Biggest Loser meal plan from the time they were eliminated from the show until the finale. This was yet another cross promotion. But the food they made looked great, and was healthy and nutritious. So it was cool to watch.

Olivia and Moses Won!

Before the weigh in there was one team challenge. The entire team had to pull a rope (think of the type of rope that is used to tie ships to the docks), out of the dirt. At the end of the rope were questions that they had to answer. If they got it correct they’d continue in one direction (presumably the shorter route), and if they got it wrong they’d go in another direction. Each time the got the correct answer two more teammates would help pulling the rope.

They had 90 minutes to complete the challenge. If they finished in time then the team would get a 5 pound advantage at the weigh in. They were very motivated to win this challenge.

Now this sounds really easy, but they buried the rope really deep in the dirt. They had to dig and pull. Even Rulon Gardner (who won a gold medal at wrestling and has been training hard for the last 10 weeks), could hardly pull the rope out of the dirt.  Long story short, they completed the challenge with only 15 seconds to spare and won the 5 pound advantage.

At the weigh in it seemed like they edited the order that each person wieghed in, to create the most drama. It is TV after all. Each person needed to lose an average of 5 pounds to prevent anyone from being eliminated.

After the first four people they were 3 pounds behind the pace.

After the next three people they were 4 pounds ahead of the pace.

Three people after that they were only up 1 pound with two people to go. They could do it!!!

But Marci didn’t lose any weight and Kaylee actually gained 2 pounds, So someone would be eliminated.

They had to vote for one of the bottom two; Marci or Kaylee.

Marci who had lobbied to be voted off the last two weeks, asked everyone to vote her off. There are two reasons she seemed like the best person to eliminate. She now weighs 162 pounds, and is at her goal weight. She is the mother of another contestant, Courtney, who still needs to lose more weight. Plus Marci has become a mother figure to a lot of the younger people on the show.

Everyone except one person honored Marci’s request (not including Moses, who wouldn’t vote off his own daughter, Kaylee). So Marci is gone!!!

Now for the quotes of the week:

“Nothing is more important than you”

“One step, one day, one choice at a time, and you will get there”

“I’m fully happy and fully confident and I’m proud of myself”

“The most important thing you can take care of is you”

“These small victories are everything to me”

“Parents set an example for their children”

“I just want my life back so bad”

See you next week!!!

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Biggest Loser Week 7

February 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

During the first season of Biggest Loser I tuned in. As a fitness professional I was intrigued with the premise of the show. I only watched three episodes and haven’t watched it since. The reason for this is that during the first season the contestants would vote off the strongest contestant (i.e. the person losing the most weight), so that they would have a better chance to win. I didn’t see the point of punishing the most successful people for their efforts. It was Survivor for the Obese.

Obesity isn’t a game. It’s sort of life and death. In that it ruins lives and death comes about prematurely.

Now I’ve known for some time that The Biggest Loser’s producers have resolved this issue, so that the person losing the most weight gains immunity from elimination. But I still haven’t watched it since.

That is until this week. It’s week seven of the current season and I’m a little out of the loop. But from what I can tell it is Biggest Loser couples (most of the couples being parent/child). There are two teams, red and black. And it seems like there was some type of team shake up last week. It seems as though a father-daughter team switched from the black team to the red and entered some type of “team pact” that would automatically eliminate them if the red team lost the weight in…

And it also seems like the black team had a fatherson team, where the son(Arther) was responsible for the shake up.

Here’s a quick synopsis. The black team didn’t like the shake up but quickly(by the end of the show) accepted Arther on the team. The father/daughter team seemed to accept their fate that they would be eliminated and the father said it would be him over his daughter (what father wouldn’t). As any one could have predicted the red team lost. Ironically at the hands of Arther who lost 20pounds in one week after under performing for the previous few weeks. And the father was eliminated.

OK enough with the reality show drama. what I’m interested in is the process of weight loss, because it is difficult for so many people. I believe everyone would lose weight on The Biggest Loser. When you are pulled from reality and all you have to worry about is your workout and eating right (in a very controlled environment), you will lose weight. Plus the contestants have access to personal trainers all day long, everyday.

My concern is that the show might send the wrong message. On average the red team lost 7.8 pounds during the week, and the black team lost an average of 7.2 pounds during the week. Some of the contestants have lost 90-100+ pounds in just seven weeks. That amount of weight loss should not be considered normal. Everybody is looking for fast, easy weight loss. And The Biggest Loser delivers!

I think the show is setting people up with unrealistic expectations, mostly because the contestants aren’t in a realistic situation.

That being said the general approach that they take to lose weight is the answer to safe effective and permanent weight loss: Proper Nutrition and Exercise.

But I did learn one important thing during the show and that is…Weight loss is emotional, because the weight gain was also emotional!

OK! Now for my favorite quotes of this episode

“Anything is possible”

“No person is an island, you need help from others to be successful”

“I want to be proud of myself”

“I stopped taking accountability of who I was, I have to compete against myself”

“I won’t gain the weight back”

“Let yourself change”

And the Top Quote of the Week!

“We got something back, that we didn’t know we lost”

I think I’ll keep watching and I’ll be back again…next week!

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