Now let’s talk about one other thing….all the competitiveness that is going on this Season. From the sound of it so many of you out there do not like it AT ALL. You are wondering where the inspiration is this time around. You have seen all of us, including me, get wrapped up in it and you don’t like it. I have to accept my responsibility for my part because you have seen me get worked up to say the least. All I can really say about it is that we live in such a tiny bubble when we are working on this show and everything gets magnified. The good and the not so good. Have you ever gone on a vacation with a group of friends for a week or two and all of a sudden, everybody starts getting on your nerves? People could start to drive you crazy or you start to drive others nuts too? Well imagine all of the contestants together, total strangers for now over 4 weeks with no phone, tv, computer or cars. It can get to the best of you. Now put on top of all that our contestants not having the drug of choice, FOOD, to appease them. Well people are gonna get hot under the collar. I know that I pick up on energy and sometimes I have to remind myself of my position and my purpose but let me say, nobody is perfect. I will say that I do want to see more of the inspiration and the motivation on our show this season, rather than all of us getting nasty at times so if you feel the same please write back to me or go onto the Biggest Loser website and make your voices heard. There is power in words especially when there is action behind the words.

Now let’s talk about the BBQ place. I know how hard it is to eat healthy in the south, but it can be done. You just have to make a few adjustments to the menu. Stay away from all the bread and fried foods and lean toward the veggies and lean choices of meat. Did you like seeing me on that mechanical bull??? I have to say that it was actually fun to do that but I was not happy about it at first and my hand HURT from gripping on so tightly!!! The only other thing that I was left with after watching that episode was the feeling John had and really finally beginning to express them. Here is a man that has been in control of his journey since the first day and now all of a sudden he had to relinquish that control and it was very hard for someone like him. There comes a time in life that you have to begin to trust other people and when you do that so many other doors open. I was proud of him that day and I was really proud of Sunny. She really did step it up for her, her team and her family. It was a fun week and I gotta say……Don’t mess with Texas!!!

Okay let’s talk a little more about the episode. Sometimes, and I’m just being honest, I think the challenges are silly and sometimes annoying. Don’t tell anybody I said that but this challenge was so much fun and it made so much sense. I loved being able to show people how certain exercises will burn more calories than others and at the end of the day you can see that all that hard work that you do in the gym really does BURN CALORIES!! I was really proud of my team that day and the fact that I was gonna give that MVP to Antone was the obvious choice, but when I thought about it for that split second I knew that it had to be Jennifer aka Jiggly Butt that had to take that honor. I was so proud of that girl during the challenge because she was working so hard and remember, she walked into that gym ON CRUTCHES!!! Are you kidding me??? That is a true athlete. She overcame her shortcomings and found a new path. That to me is one of the biggest lessons of last night’s episode. There is a way to work out and stay on your healthy lifestyle even if life puts an obstacle in your way. With Jennifer it was her stress fracture so instead of rolling over and saying that she couldn’t do anything, we found a new plan of attack and what an attack that was. That girl burned mad calories in that challenge and she blew up the scale in the weigh in.

The Black Team is definitely a force to be reckoned with and last night was no different. This team has come into their own and they are no longer going to settle for mediocrity. Antone is really coming around and to see him step it up for NFL week, even though it was definitely a humbling experience for him was great. Imagine, it wasn’t that long ago he would have been the football star to come in and work the contestants out. Now he is a contestant getting trained by the elite athlete. I think in the big picture it was just the motivation that he needed in week 3. He saw a glimpse into his future and he wants it again. I loved when we were doing that hard last chance workout and I asked him how he was doing and he said he loved it. That was exactly the answer I was looking for. Also, how about the Black Team victorious again at the weigh in. We pulled out some more amazing numbers. I love my team!!

So now for my final thought on the episode…..Don’t let obstacles in life hold you back from pursuing whatever it is that you want out of life. If you have an injury that is holding you back, find a new and effective way to workout. Get your diet ON POINT!! Take the steering wheel on the car of your life and drive it in the direction that YOU want. Never accept “no” or “I can’t” as an answer and, by all means, do whatever is in your power to change your direction if you don’t like where you are going. You can do it, what ever “IT” is if you just believe that you can and let NOTHING stand in your way…xoxo

Now let’s talk about John eating all those donuts. You know that I hate that kind of stuff on our show because I don’t think that it really teaches you anything. I don’t think you will find yourself in a situation where you are asked to eat a bunch of stuff to gain an advantage in your life. The only way I could look at this was that here is a man that needs to be in control in his life and he chose to do this because he didn’t want anyone to have power over his destiny. He wanted to be able to make his own decisions and that is something that I can relate to. People come into my house and they have lost all control and when I’m teaching them how to regain it and then all of a sudden a fork in the road happens and you have to decide what to do, I have always said that the only bad decision is not making a decision. John decided to make a decision at that very moment and that is something that I respect. The thing I love about John is his dedication to taking care of himself and what he needs. More people that I come in contact with have lost that and it’s a hard road back but it can be done.

You know how I always love to give you a challenge when I write these blogs and well, here it goes… When you are faced with a challenge or difficult decision to be made and you find yourself “on the fence”, make that decision on how it can benefit you and don’t second guess it. Whatever it is, as long as you are taking care of yourself, will be the right decision and the real challenge is to NOT SECOND GUESS YOURSELF!! One final note. How about how hard my Black Team worked!! Those guys were so focused and dialed in that week. I teach people to just do what you can do in the course of a day and everything will all work out. Try to make the right decision 80% of the time and you will always come out ahead. Love you guys…xoxox

When that day started and I knew that the teams had to run a mile in the desert I just didn’t want anybody to go down, and they didn’t, and I got the “Middle Aged” group and loved them immediately. Antone and John were my kind of guys, just big and strong. I LOVE THOSE TWO GUYS!! I thought that Jennifer was going to be a handful but I was pleasantly surprised at her work ethic and Sunny could cry at the drop of the hat but she was southern so I loved her. I really got a good feeling from this group and I was very excited to show America that age is nothing but a number. Do older people have to work harder to get the same results as the younger people? Yep. Was that no longer gonna be an excuse to not do anything? You are damn right. I think that this season is going to inspire our audience in a whole new way because Battle of the Ages is gonna show the seniors out there that it is never too late and hopefully get the young people off the couch and away from their computers and start gaining control of their lives early on. There are so many positive messages with this format and I’m really excited that you guys have started this journey with all of us.

How about that moment with Antone on the ground outside? How many of us can relate to that? All of a sudden you reach a point in your life when you can no longer deny where it is you are – emotionally, physically, and spiritually. That is exactly what happened to him in that moment. He was on the ground and came to that realization and it was so honest and raw. That is how you make real and lasting changes. You’ve gotta give yourself a really good look in the mirror and make that assessment and I promise you, when you do that, no matter how bad it is, it will only get better because it was at that moment when you looked yourself in the eye and was honest with yourself, that the change will start to happen. I promise you that it will get better if you just take that first step and I’m gonna be right here for you…..Big Love to all of you out there…xoxoxo

Now here is the interesting part of this story.  I’m all about people overcoming their fears and changing behaviors that hold them back from fulfilling their dreams and finding happiness.  So I have to think about what I learned from jumping off that building and I would love to say that I overcame my fear of heights but I really don’t think that I have.  But I think that’s OK because my fear of heights is not holding me back from anything in my life in regards to reaching my dreams and happiness.  I think that this was a great stunt that was scary and a lot of fun.  I think if I wanted to be an astronaut, pilot, Cirque du Soleil performer, or tightrope walker, then overcoming my height issue would be a number one concern but my job lets me stay on the ground and I think I’m doing just fine…hahahahahaha!!!  So the moral of this episode for me would be that if you have a fear that is holding you back from your destiny then you must face that fear head on and not let it get the best of you and paralyze your life.  Get out of neutral and put yourself in drive and reach for anything and everything you want out of this life.  You are worth the chance.  We had the best time in New Zealand and I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings so being down there was like being on the set and if you ever have the chance to go, I say GO!!!  Stay tuned for next week’s episode where we head to Queenstown.  I have never said “WOW” so much in my life.  Stay tuned…

Now let’s talk about Hannah and what she said about how doing one thing differently in her life completely changed her life.  That made me so happy. Here was a woman living in Nashville, TN that seemed like she wanted more so she decided to apply to get on The Biggest Loser and the next thing she knows, she’s on the show getting yelled at by Bob & Jillian and then she is walking around Hollywood, CA in a hot black outfit with a guy flirting with her.  I just absolutely loved seeing Hannah come out of her shell and welcome a change and opportunity.  That to me is what life is all about.

Now let’s talk about Courtney.  I was so upset and sad because I really do believe that there are certain people that need more time than what they are given on our show and Courtney definitely falls into that category.  I believe that she will be fine but what I was most upset about is that this very young girl that got up to over 400lbs needed to be with us on campus for as long as possible, because in the beginning the light was shining brightly for Courtney and then through every twist and turn on our show, that light started to dim, and I wanted to be able to get my hands back on her to guide her back on her course.  We can all understand how frustrating it is when you hit a wall or plateau and that it can drive you so easily back to the “dark side”.  Courtney is such a loving and beautiful person and her time on the ranch was cut short but all I can be is positive and know that she will show us all at the finale that no wall or plateau is gonna stop her or you from achieving anything that you want to accomplish.

So this is the episode that we get separated into teams which was a really stressful time for a lot of the contestants.  I think when you get really connected to your trainer, it becomes very difficult to change.  I know that I’m not a big fan of change at work so I understood.  Jillian and I have been working together for such a long time that we decided that we would continue to work with one another so Black & Blue would stay connected.  I was so happy that the Black team gave Jay another chance because he really deserved to be there.  I was so sad for Arthur because of the weight that he had to lose, I believe that he could have also benefited by that “golden ticket”, but I gotta tell you that Arthur is doing so well at home and he is gonna blow us away at the finale….just wait!!!

Now let’s talked about that MESSED UP weigh in.  The fact that Kaylee thought she was done at the ranch and her trainer was supporting that decision made me nuts.  We have done such amazing work with so many people on The Biggest Loser Ranch and when people think that they are ready to go home, it is my job to remind them that they need to stick this out and continue to learn about themselves, which is really hard for so many people.  When people get up there to “throw” the weigh in, it just puts a bad taste in my mouth and slaps the face of Biggest Loser.  So when the Green Team decided to do what they did, it completely threw the balance off of the house and what ultimately happened is that someone went home that didn’t deserve to go home.  It was just one of the lowest moments in Biggest Loser history for me.  The hardest part after that night, for me, was to move on and not dwell in the past.  I really believe that our past can really hold us back from growth, so the best thing that we all could do after that night is MOVE ON and NOT DWELL.

I think that  the biggest lesson about this episode is to finish something that you started with everything that you’ve got.  It is so easy to start something and lose motivation.  The motivation has to come from within to help you push through when things get tough and you feel like you are ready to quit.  Never give up on yourself and the dreams that you have for yourself and fight that urge that tells you that you’ve had enough and you are ready to quit.  DON’T EVER QUIT!!!

So this week was all about picking Team Captains, which I’m still trying to figure out exactly what this was supposed to do.  I understand team building but these teams seem to be very connected so I didn’t really get it, but I’m not a producer so what do I know.  One other thing that I thought was funny is that I have worked with Jillian for so long and she and I are very similar in many ways… and one of our shared feelings is that we are the only team captains on our team at all times so it was funny to think that Marci was going to take that power… hahahahahahaahahahahahahhaahaha!!!