By Ali Vincent, Special to BiggestLoserClub.com
It was sad to see Dan leave the Biggest Loser ranch at the end of week 4, but unfortunately at some point everyone has to go home. In some cases, however, I wish that some contestants had a little more time on the ranch.
Every season we see contestants open themselves up, heart and soul, for the world to see and judge -- all because they want a chance to change their lives. Maybe they've gotten to the point of being so overweight, they've forgotten who they are. Or maybe they give to everyone else before they give to themselves. There are those who have just gotten so busy with family, work, and being a part of their community, and then there are those who have just lived no other way than being overweight all their lives. Everyone has a story.
The power of The Biggest Loser ranch is that it removes the few lucky contestants from their lives and helps change their stories. It is a place to reinvent yourself. Some of us start to remember who we used to be, and some of us get the opportunity for the first time in our lives to show the world who we have always known we could be. In either case, you are never the same.
I think this season is so special because we at home have had the opportunity to see both sides. All of the contestants stepped foot on the ranch as part of a team. (Who would you choose to be your partner for the opportunity of a lifetime?) Tonight we got to witness triumph and shame. Although every contestant who went home for 30 days did an amazing job, sometimes our goals and plans don't happen the way that we plan them.
Olympics of Weight Loss
Jillian was right when she made reference to the ranch being "the Olympics of weight loss," and as much as I kind of got a little angry when she called Aubrey out for her two-pound weight loss for 30 days, she was also right.
There is no more time for excuses. When we really take a moment to look at it, who are we really excusing? And for what? How is it serving us? It's not. It took me awhile to understand this and quite frankly I am still grasping the idea. This is how I best understand it: I have to love me before anyone else can. No matter who you may fall asleep next to, each one of us goes to sleep as just ourselves and wakes up as just ourselves. So we have to be proud of the choices we make and forgive ourselves for the not-so-good ones.
I know that each contestant on the ranch felt a lot of pressure in the past 30 days to stay in the game so they could give their partners an opportunity to come back, to have the ranch experience that they have enjoyed. So I was glad to see that the at-home partners also had the opportunity to win immunity for their ranch partners through the results of their hard work at home. Congrats, Sione!
Importance of Working as a Team
The challenge this week really solidified the importance of working together as a team. I love the way that Cathy and Kristin work together. I know I may be biased, but I love both the mother and daughter teams. Aubrey and Mandi however took a leap of faith that really paid off, I mean talk about cutting it close. Remember week 1 when those sisters kicked some serious booty!!!!
Wow. The pressure of this week's weigh-in. I could tell -- as I'm sure you did -- that Joelle was not going to put up the kind of numbers she was capable of. It's funny how sometimes when we are around different people, we "show up" a certain way. For whatever reason, it seems Joelle isn't able to give what it takes in the shadow of Carla. I am not saying it is right or wrong, I am simply saying it is true.
I hope that Joelle and Carla figure out how to really support each other at home. It will probably occur over several hours in the gym and many conversations, but I have faith that they will find a balance in their friendship that will encourage amazing results for all of us to witness come finale!
Ali Vincent of Season 5 was the first woman to ever win The Biggest Loser grand prize.
It was sad to see Dan leave the Biggest Loser ranch at the end of week 4, but unfortunately at some point everyone has to go home. In some cases, however, I wish that some contestants had a little more time on the ranch.
Every season we see contestants open themselves up, heart and soul, for the world to see and judge -- all because they want a chance to change their lives. Maybe they've gotten to the point of being so overweight, they've forgotten who they are. Or maybe they give to everyone else before they give to themselves. There are those who have just gotten so busy with family, work, and being a part of their community, and then there are those who have just lived no other way than being overweight all their lives. Everyone has a story.
The power of The Biggest Loser ranch is that it removes the few lucky contestants from their lives and helps change their stories. It is a place to reinvent yourself. Some of us start to remember who we used to be, and some of us get the opportunity for the first time in our lives to show the world who we have always known we could be. In either case, you are never the same.
I think this season is so special because we at home have had the opportunity to see both sides. All of the contestants stepped foot on the ranch as part of a team. (Who would you choose to be your partner for the opportunity of a lifetime?) Tonight we got to witness triumph and shame. Although every contestant who went home for 30 days did an amazing job, sometimes our goals and plans don't happen the way that we plan them.
Olympics of Weight Loss
Jillian was right when she made reference to the ranch being "the Olympics of weight loss," and as much as I kind of got a little angry when she called Aubrey out for her two-pound weight loss for 30 days, she was also right.
There is no more time for excuses. When we really take a moment to look at it, who are we really excusing? And for what? How is it serving us? It's not. It took me awhile to understand this and quite frankly I am still grasping the idea. This is how I best understand it: I have to love me before anyone else can. No matter who you may fall asleep next to, each one of us goes to sleep as just ourselves and wakes up as just ourselves. So we have to be proud of the choices we make and forgive ourselves for the not-so-good ones.
I know that each contestant on the ranch felt a lot of pressure in the past 30 days to stay in the game so they could give their partners an opportunity to come back, to have the ranch experience that they have enjoyed. So I was glad to see that the at-home partners also had the opportunity to win immunity for their ranch partners through the results of their hard work at home. Congrats, Sione!
Importance of Working as a Team
The challenge this week really solidified the importance of working together as a team. I love the way that Cathy and Kristin work together. I know I may be biased, but I love both the mother and daughter teams. Aubrey and Mandi however took a leap of faith that really paid off, I mean talk about cutting it close. Remember week 1 when those sisters kicked some serious booty!!!!
Wow. The pressure of this week's weigh-in. I could tell -- as I'm sure you did -- that Joelle was not going to put up the kind of numbers she was capable of. It's funny how sometimes when we are around different people, we "show up" a certain way. For whatever reason, it seems Joelle isn't able to give what it takes in the shadow of Carla. I am not saying it is right or wrong, I am simply saying it is true.
I hope that Joelle and Carla figure out how to really support each other at home. It will probably occur over several hours in the gym and many conversations, but I have faith that they will find a balance in their friendship that will encourage amazing results for all of us to witness come finale!
Ali Vincent of Season 5 was the first woman to ever win The Biggest Loser grand prize.
