Obsessed

When Dave asked me recently what night of the week would be a good one for him to go home teaching (visiting church people) I said without hesitation, "Tuesday!" This means he will be out of the house and unable to snicker at my emotional tirades as I roller coaster through my favorite show- The Biggest Loser.

I'm thinking there may be a few more fans amongst my circle of friends, but for now my pal Nicole and I are filling our facebook walls with chit chat about the show. We even toyed with the idea of auditioning but decided that with 9 kids between us we might want to think twice. (I know, Aubrey has 5!) Anyway, it was going to be "Nicole and Clair: Mormon Mommies" or "Nicole and Clair" Former Mormon Missionaries." But alas, the dream was short lived and we are living vicariously through the contestants on the ranch as they take off 2 sizes a week while we drop a mere 1-2 lbs at home.

First, I'd like to get my feelings out about the trainers...


Any questions?

From the very beginning I have been drawn to the Father/ Son team of Ron and Mike. Ron has had gastric bypass before, and Mike is one of the youngest contestants ever. Their encouragement for one another is very touching. They are clearly more excited about each other's successes than they are their own. And when Mike gave the "years worth of free groceries" that he won to Aubrey, that was totally sweet. I just think Ron and Mike are great people. Last night it was heart wrenching to see the reaction of Ron's other son (Mike's younger brother) when he saw his family for the first time since they've lost about 100 lbs each. The brother cried and said he now felt "left out" because he was the only fat one in the family. I'm sure Ron and Mike will inspire him and teach him the ropes.


Let me give a shout out to the most awesome gal on the show- Cathy! Cathy did an amazing thing last night in offering to go home so that her daughter Kristen and her new friend Aubrey could stay on the show. Cathy was so unselfish and I was estatic to see in the aftermath that she looks totally awesome and is carrying on like a trooper at home. Cathy and Kristen were another pair that I liked from the get go. Kristen always has some really enthusiastic commentary.

I don't really have an absolute favorite, I'm just going along for the ride to see what happens. Felipe and Sione are cool. At first Tara got on my nerves but I'm sure that's just because I was jealous 'cause it seemed to easy for her or something but she is a totally hard worker. Laura seems to be coming around and Aubrey is growing on me. That leaves Helen who I really think should have gone home in place of her daughter, but it seems to have all worked out for them. To me, Helen and Tara are like normal sized now but I guess they are on a quest to be thin, not normal.

Well, that's probably enough jibberish about the show. But wait- what's up with Alison Sweeny hosting? What qualifies her to be on the show? I guess it could be the fact that as emotionally unstable teenybopper Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives she battled bulemia one season. When I see Sami... I mean Alison... I just remember back to the summer that my best friend and I followed Days of our Lives religiously- mostly to make fun of it, but nonetheless we were fans. We had to miss a few days in a row for cheerleading camp (or some other adventure) and were so excited to see the much anticipated "makeover" that Sami was going to be having. When we got back from our trip and fired up the recorded episodes we were way disappointed to see that Sami merely had her hair french braided. A very lame makeover and big let down for two high school girls who were hoping to see a perm or at least a haircut.

I think the Biggest Loser is a great show. It helps me want to push a bit harder when I exercise. (Even though I did have to cut my walk a few minutes short last night so I wouldn't miss the beginning of the show.) The people on the show do some physical challenges that really seem impossible for someone their size. But they are showing me that with determination the difficult things are possible. I can do hard things!

(I went back and corrected some run-on sentences, but I don't think I caught them all. If this reads like a big blur, well, that's fairly accurate and why Dave snickers at me when I spew opinions without any breaks in between.)