Who doesn’t LOVE a makeover and, let me tell you, this makeover show was AMAZING!! Let me just start by saying that it was totally annoying that Jillian and I were completely cut out of the show. We were all dressed up. Jillian looked gorgeous in this very sexy black dress and I was wearing a tuxedo. I posted a pic below so you can see it. All 5 of the contestants looked so good. I thought that Irene’s hair looked fantastic. We kept calling her Jennifer Lopez. Olivia’s short haircut was so beautiful too. Hannah’s body looked incredible in that dress and of course, the boys looked very handsome. I have seen many makeovers but I think that this one was absolutely one of the best. Their transformations were just so breathtaking. It is so nice when our contestants get to spend a little time out of the gym and actually see how much all their hard work has paid off. Here is what I want the viewers to take home with them and try something different when it comes to “rewarding” yourself for all your hard work with your diet and exercise. You don’t always have to use food as a reward. It could be giving yourself your own makeover by shopping for a new outfit, a haircut, or a mani/pedi. I guarantee you that you will feel so good and it won’t cost you any calories!! xoxo

First of all, I CANNOT BELIEVE I jumped off of that sky tower in Auckland, New Zealand.  That was one of the scariest things I have ever done.  I remember that day and getting up to the top of the sky tower and there was all this talk about if I would do the jump or not and I was just laughing about it.  There was no way and then all of a sudden the contestants got up there and I was meant to talk to Ken about overcoming his fear and jump.  Well how in the world was I supposed to get him to do that when I had no intention whatsoever of doing it myself.  All of a sudden while Ken & I were speaking to one another about it those words just came out of my mouth, “Ken, if you can do it, I will do it too.”  Well that was all he needed to do it and now I was in a very sticky situation. The next thing I knew they were strapping these harnesses on me.  That one comment I made about it not being tight enough actually made me laugh out loud!!  That walk out to the edge was just crazy and I mentioned that this was not natural and it wasn’t.  If you could only get a real close up of my hand holding onto the rail you would see that I almost put a dent in that metal. The next thing I knew I was flying off that building and it was really exhilarating and, at the end of the day, I was happy that I did it.

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…

I have a few things to say about last night’s episode but I’m not going to begin with Courtney and the weigh in.  I’m gonna begin with the conversation that Jillian had with Rulon in his room.  I think that so many people can relate to what Rulon was saying.  Rulon felt like he was working so hard on campus and he was “entitled” to treating himself with a bunch of food.  How many of you can relate to that?  I think that Jillian handled it so well by saying that it was not that he couldn’t have the chips or whatever it was that he wanted, but there needed to be moderation and, more importantly, Rulon needed to figure out why he was going for more self destructive and counter productive rewards.  I’m a firm believer in treating yourself but I think that we have to redefine what those rewards can and should be.  If you have been working so hard to lose weight and gain control of your mind and body, probably rewarding yourself with a pint of ice cream is the wrong direction.  I loved when Rulon said that he still wanted to eat those things but instead of getting 3 hamburgers, he would get 2.  I really think that we should all really be aware of that kind of behavior and learn how to break that cycle.

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!!!

Okay, I gotta talk about the one thing that really stands out from last night’s episode and it was Arthur in the weigh in.

Let me give you a little backstory and a bird’s eye view that I have had with Arthur. This guy came into our house having lost over 100 pounds on his own, ready to make a difference but he continued to make these bad choices from a place of fear. I am in no way saying that Arthur was a saint and did he make some “game play” moves that benefited him and hurt others, YES! Absolutely. Fear makes you do some dumb things and Arthur was no stranger to making bad decisions. He was a man that ate his way up to almost 700 POUNDS!!! That is complete madness to a lot of people and maybe foreshadowing to some.

So did I sympathize for him?

You’re damn right!

I believe in karma and I think the universe has a way of evening things out and Arthur’s game playing was probably karma and I see that.  I just remember standing in that weigh in room and everyone was getting so emotional and Arthur was standing up there with his red shirt on, crying and it was killing me. I knew right there and then that Arthur would be eliminated because he had no alliance on the Red Team.  That is exactly why I said what I said on TV last night.

What you didn’t hear because it, for whatever reason, ended up on the cutting room floor was that I recognized his bad behavior and I understand how this game works BUT I also believe in the bigger picture and that it shouldn’t just be about alliances and who your friends are in the house.  It should sometimes be about people that come into our house that are knocking on death’s door and need to be forgiven for their past behavior. Sometimes people deserve another chance and that is what I thought about Arthur. When I watched that episode last night, it just almost brought tears to my eyes. That man was so broken, unhealthy, and in need of help and I understand that everyone deserves to be there but sometimes there has to be levels of need and Arthur’s level of needing to be in the house ranked extremely high.

With that said, I know that Arthur will do well at home, I just wanted him to be there longer to really tackle the demons that live inside of him for a little longer. I said a little quiet prayer last night for Arthur and I’m really working on my tools for forgiveness. I’m asking you to do the same.

The phrase, “Miracles really do come true” really stands out to me for this episode.

When Jillian and I found out that our team had lost the pop challenge and were no longer going to be able to use the gym for a week, well, to put it nicely, WE FREAKED OUT!!  Jillian and I have always said that the bread and butter to weight loss in the Biggest Loser house is cardio and to be without all the cardio equipment tied our hands in a way that made us very uncomfortable.  I also had to remember that in the history of the show, whenever a team was not allowed access to the gym it put a fire in the team to work harder and they ended up prevailing in the weigh in.  That was my mantra for the week and we really took advantage of all there was to offer on our campus.  Mainly walking and jogging outside and we also had access to the rowers and spin bikes, so that was a good thing.  To me what else stood out for this episode that I believe many people can relate to is Arthur was working from a place of fear and that is why he sent the green team over to the red team.  So many people get attached to their fear and allow it to make decisions for them and until you face your fears, you will always be more of a person that reacts instead of being a more proactive person.

Was I upset with Arthur?  Of course, but I understood where he was coming from and we were able to sit down and talk with Arthur and got him to face is fears and acknowledge his past behavior.  His past behavior that got him to almost 700 pounds.  All in all, with no gym, by the end of the week we all felt pretty good with our accomplishments.  When it was time to go into the weigh in, suffice to say, we were extremely nervous.  Jillian made a funny comment earlier in the episode that made me laugh.  We are like The Care Bears and they are a football team. Well the Care Bears walked into that weigh in with their heads held high.  It was such a competitive environment that night and I really don’t like when it gets that way, but I really wanted Arthur to prove himself and man did he!!!  When he got on that scale and dropped 20 pounds, we were ecstatic.  Did you notice that Jillian made a beeline to me and jumped right into my arms?

It was the best thing in the world.

We were extremely proud of our team that night.  I believe that whatever you put your mind to, as long as you work from an open and positive place, you will me able to make miracles happen.

So after watching last night’s episode, the main thing that came to my mind and what I was left with is that The Biggest Loser House is a really tough house and it is definitely not for everyone. It broke my heart that Dan & Don couldn’t make it in the house because they really needed to be there and could have gotten so much from the experience. Here is the deal. Jillian & I push people harder than they have ever been pushed because we want them to remember this experience and we want their defenses down so they can take a real hard look at their lives, what is broken, and what is not working. Hundreds of thousands of people try to get on our show every season and the casting people saw something in Dan & Don. I really do hope that they find what it is that they are looking for but they were not going to find it at the Ranch. I said it on the show that if Don would have stayed any longer it could have an adverse affect on his journey so leaving was the best thing for him. Let’s see at the finale how he does. Fingers crossed because I do want what’s best for him.

Now onto the rest of the show. I was so proud of our team for only having a limited amount of time with us to pull such great numbers. These guys work so hard and the scale really showed that. At one point Arthur said that you have to continue to push harder than you did the day before or you could go home and I totally agree with him. You can never get comfortable in our house because everyone is moving forward at such a fast pace that you could easily get left behind. What did you think of the Challenge? I don’t like when there are Challenges that target people. It leaves such a bad taste in my mouth and just seems so petty. I really don’t know what you learn from doing anything like that but oh well.

It never gets old watching Biggest Loser. I love seeing what the editors come up with to put together an episode. You have no idea how much you are not seeing. It looks like people just work out a little and achieve great results. If you only knew the mental and physical strength required from a Biggest Loser Contestant. That is why our house has the ability to change you for the better if you allow for it and come in willing to do anything and everything that is required of you but, like I said in the beginning, our house is not for everyone.