Some couples are definitely starting to stand out!
I know that this week was a hard one for John being the first and only person on campus without a partner. Especially after Jillian took him on to make sure he was ok and we found out that he has always or at least for a good part of his life felt cursed by loss. First his father, then his grandmother and then his older sister all dying 3 months after one another. I can only imagine when he walked back into the house after the elimination that those thoughts and thoughts of being cursed must have been weighing heavy on his mind.
It's important that when we are dealing with such major issues that we acknowledge and try to understand who we are in the moments that deplete us so that we move through them and forward. We have to be willing to take a look at how we process and digest the feelings of helplessness so that we can take the steps to work through them. Even if it comes down to taking a mallet to a tractor tire!
One of the most dumbfounding and hard things to look at when being on the Biggest Loser ranch is the point that we have allowed ourselves to get to, not only appearance wise, but also medically. The Biggest Loser literally saves our lives!
Like Michael, often we gain weight gradually and don't realize how much weight we are carrying around. Until we find ourselves declining party invitations where we might have to wear a swimsuit or costume. Or we lose relationships that we care about or never even give ourselves a chance to experience. Then there comes a day, whether you are on the biggest loser ranch or not, where you experience a situation that is right in your face and someone that never has never experienced your pain is carrying around your weight. It is in that moment that your realize that you can no longer exist as you have. Or maybe it takes Dr. H going to your house and telling your loved ones that you are on your way to sudden death if your day to day doesn't change, either way it is a huge wake up call and you are no longer the same.
With that in mind you do everything you can to stay on the Biggest loser ranch as long as you can, only to come to a challenge where everything that scares you is also right in your face. Talk about a difficult week! Maria had it all come up and let her fears get the best of her. YES it was scary for her, with her fear of water, to cross a pool on a balance beam with the possibility of falling in, only to psyche herself out. Not only did she have to be rushed to the hospital but also Michael went with her, only to be confronted with his own issues by Bob and Jill. Often we find ourselves being the biggest enablers to the ones that we love.
Probably one of my most favorite Biggest Loser moments was with Jillian's next move. Yes she went, as we all know her to, and brought up the issues that we all see but often the contestants don't and put Maria in the pool. Not only was she in the water that caused her and Michael to receive a 2 pound disadvantage at the weigh in but also a fear that has represented so many areas of her life that she has allowed herself to be held back by. It was just an example of so many ways that she has let her fears hold her back from her true self.
With that disadvantage I think we all thought that the white team would fall below the yellow line, only to find out that the red team, or Melissa in particular, gained a pound! I know and I get it, it's the second week but I'm sorry, I have been on ranch and you can not tell me that there was not some game play with anyone who has immunity and gains weight.. it is IMPOSSIBLE unless you "fix" it!
I was sorry to see the purple team fall below the yellow line but was proud and glad that Patti stepped up and let her daughter Stephanie stay on the campus so that she has the opportunity to experience her greatness on her own.
So is it game play that works? Well it did this week for Melissa. Or is it facing your fears that makes a difference for a lifetime?
Until next week, Ali XO