Biggest Loser-Couples: Shedding Baggage and Weight
Well, it's week three and there appears to be no relief in sight for the boredom. There was some interesting inter-personal drama, which undoubtedly is the hope of this couples edition, but they really need to give the hour-long weigh-in a rest! It would be more interesting to see an expanded view of the challenges, learn more about their nutrition, how they deal with medical issues, etc., than to spend close to an hour on that parade to the scale.
However, there was some real progress last night, which while not related to physical weight loss, nonetheless had to do with shedding baggage.
The mother-daughter duo of Bette Sue and Ali have had relationship issues for years. Jillian, teetering closely on the edge of over-stepping her role as trainer and venturing into the role of therapist (for which, as far as we know, she has absolutely no formal training) took Ali aside and encouraged her to face the issues that brought her to her current weight. (If this sounds like a familiar scenario, it's exactly what Jillian did with Neill last week.) So Ali revealed to Jillian that her parents divorced when she was young, and that she'd always felt alone. She used her weight to protect her, believing that if someone left her, like her father did, then it was because she was fat. Ali's issues with her mother were also around abandonment; Bette Sue evidently had a string of boyfriends (losers not in the positive sense), and was not around much. Jillian wisely encouraged Ali to embrace this self-awareness as an opportunity, in Jillian's words, "Dig it up and deal with it."
Uh-oh. "Deal with it!" That was the recurring phrase spoken by Taylor, the ten year old supreme brat on "Kid Nation!!!" Is it possible that Taylor could grow up and be someone as terrific as Jillian? Nah, not possible.
Apologies for the digression. Okay, back to The Biggest Loser.
Anyway, Ali's personal confession seemed to help her with the task at hand. In a later scene, Jillian approached Bette Sue, shared with her the conversation with Ali, and offered to mediate a conversation between the two of them, where they could share their feelings in a non-threatening environment. Again, we fear for Jillian's overstepping and worry about her playing therapist. After all, these people are incredibly vulnerable and going through a tremendously difficult time. But Bette Sue responded beautifully to Jillian, whom she clearly respects, and mother and daughter talked, cried and took steps toward repairing their fragile relationship.
There were other relationship issues that arose in the house. During the challenge, which pitted teams against each other in a more obvious way, the black team--brothers Mark and Jay--had a verbal sparring, which left the other teams feeling threatened. Mark, the clear leader (older brother) of the two, called a "town hall" meeting in the house and all the contestants sat around the living room airing their feelings. The black team, by virtue of their success thus far in the show, is the team with a target on their backs. Anger was expressed, apologies made, and the group seemed to have dealt with the problem best they could. Still, there were residual feelings about Mark's behavior.
At the weigh-in, the big news (pun intended) was that the yellow team--divorced couple Paul and Kelly--won! Last week, they were almost eliminated. Working together, working harder, and determined not to go home, they triumphed. But it was bye bye to Neill and Amanda. It's fair to say that the other teams felt sorry about Amanda, whom they liked and felt deserved to be there, but Neill had consistently demonstrated apathy about the entire process and no one felt he should be there any longer.
Moral of the story: it's important to deal with the underlying issues surrounding weight problems if you're going to get the weight off and keep it off. This is not specific to couples, obviously; it's a very individual process. But having a significant other along for the ride, sometimes bringing those issues to the forefront faster, may be the greatest attribute of this season on The Biggest Loser.
Okay, here's our big prediction. When this season is over, someone (yoo hoo...Oprah...?) will be creating a new reality show starring Jillian Michaels, where people's physical and emotional health are "dealt with" and great results are achieved. The next Dr. Phil? We'll see. But don't say we didn't warn you.
(c) NBC Universal.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Biggest Loser, NBC, weight loss, fitness, diet, nutrition, relationships
However, there was some real progress last night, which while not related to physical weight loss, nonetheless had to do with shedding baggage.
The mother-daughter duo of Bette Sue and Ali have had relationship issues for years. Jillian, teetering closely on the edge of over-stepping her role as trainer and venturing into the role of therapist (for which, as far as we know, she has absolutely no formal training) took Ali aside and encouraged her to face the issues that brought her to her current weight. (If this sounds like a familiar scenario, it's exactly what Jillian did with Neill last week.) So Ali revealed to Jillian that her parents divorced when she was young, and that she'd always felt alone. She used her weight to protect her, believing that if someone left her, like her father did, then it was because she was fat. Ali's issues with her mother were also around abandonment; Bette Sue evidently had a string of boyfriends (losers not in the positive sense), and was not around much. Jillian wisely encouraged Ali to embrace this self-awareness as an opportunity, in Jillian's words, "Dig it up and deal with it."Uh-oh. "Deal with it!" That was the recurring phrase spoken by Taylor, the ten year old supreme brat on "Kid Nation!!!" Is it possible that Taylor could grow up and be someone as terrific as Jillian? Nah, not possible.
Apologies for the digression. Okay, back to The Biggest Loser.
Anyway, Ali's personal confession seemed to help her with the task at hand. In a later scene, Jillian approached Bette Sue, shared with her the conversation with Ali, and offered to mediate a conversation between the two of them, where they could share their feelings in a non-threatening environment. Again, we fear for Jillian's overstepping and worry about her playing therapist. After all, these people are incredibly vulnerable and going through a tremendously difficult time. But Bette Sue responded beautifully to Jillian, whom she clearly respects, and mother and daughter talked, cried and took steps toward repairing their fragile relationship.
There were other relationship issues that arose in the house. During the challenge, which pitted teams against each other in a more obvious way, the black team--brothers Mark and Jay--had a verbal sparring, which left the other teams feeling threatened. Mark, the clear leader (older brother) of the two, called a "town hall" meeting in the house and all the contestants sat around the living room airing their feelings. The black team, by virtue of their success thus far in the show, is the team with a target on their backs. Anger was expressed, apologies made, and the group seemed to have dealt with the problem best they could. Still, there were residual feelings about Mark's behavior.
At the weigh-in, the big news (pun intended) was that the yellow team--divorced couple Paul and Kelly--won! Last week, they were almost eliminated. Working together, working harder, and determined not to go home, they triumphed. But it was bye bye to Neill and Amanda. It's fair to say that the other teams felt sorry about Amanda, whom they liked and felt deserved to be there, but Neill had consistently demonstrated apathy about the entire process and no one felt he should be there any longer.
Moral of the story: it's important to deal with the underlying issues surrounding weight problems if you're going to get the weight off and keep it off. This is not specific to couples, obviously; it's a very individual process. But having a significant other along for the ride, sometimes bringing those issues to the forefront faster, may be the greatest attribute of this season on The Biggest Loser.
Okay, here's our big prediction. When this season is over, someone (yoo hoo...Oprah...?) will be creating a new reality show starring Jillian Michaels, where people's physical and emotional health are "dealt with" and great results are achieved. The next Dr. Phil? We'll see. But don't say we didn't warn you.
(c) NBC Universal.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Biggest Loser, NBC, weight loss, fitness, diet, nutrition, relationships
2 Comments:
Having just watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) the season finale of "The Amazing Race", in which the sweet, laid-back, and beautifully compatible couple won the million dollar prize, I am wondering if we'll see a similar outcome on the Biggest Loser this season. My money's on the fact that the duo which gets along the best will take home the (low-fat turkey) bacon.
It's not surprising that the couple with the unhappy and unmotivated husband was sent home this week, or that the father-daughter duo with the unhappy and unmotivated father went home earlier. These people have to have each other's backs, because it's hard enough to lose weight on your own, not to mention having to worry about how much weight another person is losing as well.
Ditto about being bored this week: http://wadeonbirmingham.com/2008/01/20/weight-and-see-chew-chew-train/
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