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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Delayed reaction


I watched most of The Biggest Loser last night. They revealed the two new trainers, but I missed that part. I'm sure you could find it on Google. What the internet and the office chit chat was buzzing about today was the twin police officers, Don and Dan, who each gained 9 pounds. 

As trainer Bob Harper said, you don't go to the Biggest Loser ranch and gain 9 pounds. One of the brothers, Dan, had made it pretty clear earlier in the episode that he was missing his wife and daughter very much and he wouldn't be sad to be sent home to be with them again. 

Most of the posts that I read and the people I talked to were furious. They agreed with Bob who pointed out that there are thousands of people who wanted to get on that show and have the opportunities TBL provides and this guy -- with added insurance from his brother's gain -- basically threw that opportunity away. I understand the point, but I don't agree.

It relates to last week's thoughts about motivation. Most people who lose a significant amount of weight have something that triggers their success. For some it's a health crisis. Sometimes it's an insult or a well-intended but still offensive comment. I think the success trigger is different than just being motivated by a class reunion six months away. In my mind, the trigger is something deeper and more intrinsic.

For Dan, the trigger was the realization that he did not want to be separated from his nine-year-old daughter. As Harry Burns in "When Harry Met Sally" said, "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." 
 
I  think it took him leaving his daughter and being away from her for several weeks to wake him up to the fact that if he didn't do something about his weight, that separation would be permanent. And once he figured that out, he had what he needed most to succeed. 

4 comments:

kimybeee said...

very good point. i don't watch, but i am often like you, i see the different perspective. i can understand the outrage too since so many people want what looks like a quick fix on a tv show. i don't think anybody realizes what the contestants have to do to drop that much weight in that time period. and those intense workouts from the beginning can't be healthy for anyone. i can't even stand a picture of jillian, so i don't expect to be tuning anytime soon either. happy watching to you!

Amy said...

@kimybeee -- You'd be happy to know that Jillian has been a bit absent from the show. I read somewhere that she's going to be gone a lot, which may be why they are bringing in 2 new trainers too.

Sharon said...

I was shocked they each gained not only the same amount, but NINE POUNDS?! It is insulting to the contestants and those who were turned down. I can't fully fault the guys, but I think it was a dumb mistake to make. What's the one going to do that cried because his son disowned him until he's healthy again?! What about THAT child? Ugh.

What do you think of the new trainers? I like the new guy trainer's little speech. He seems solid. The girl-boxer, something about her annoys me. Then again, I'm a Jillian fan!

Amy said...

@Sharon -- I read somewhere else that a gallon of liquid weighs about 8-1/2 pounds. So if they each drank a gallon of water, that would explain the 9 pounds. I'm sure Don will show a BIG loss next week.

I missed the part where they introduced the trainers. Maybe I'll go online and watch that part so I can check them out.