Like many women in Australia, I had a bad bout of kitchen envy last night! Forget the great race from Cairns to Sydney, did you see the new Camp Biggest Loser house?
My goodness – the kitchen! The spin room! What an amazing setting! Not only is it the most spectacular Loser lodge I’ve ever seen, it’s also a nice reminder that hard work (or the 2500km “world of pain” tour to Sydney, as Amanda described it) has its rewards. And because the contestants have had to fight to get there, I think they’ll appreciate North Head so much more!
My heart went out to Meaghan and Julie who finished last and will carry a 2kg penalty into the next weigh-in. Two kilos can be the difference between staying or going home, so I trust they’ll stay focused and dig deep this week.
As for the other contestants, I was inspired at how resourceful they were on their journey to North Head. They had a very good lesson for all of us at home – that you can’t be afraid to ask for help. The couples who got to North Head first – Nathan and Andrew, Sharif and Teresa, Sammy and Cameron, Jodi and Jeda – were the ones who reached out and asked for help, whether it was in the form of a ride, money for a cab or jumping the taxi queue.
I loved seeing the look of awe on the contestants’ faces when they passed through the doors of the house and explored their new home. I also loved all of the memorabilia and sense of history around the house.
It was quite emotional for me to see the ‘pinkies’, Jodi and Jeda, looking at my trophy cabinet, remembering the moments, reading the quotes. Seeing contestants draw inspiration from what I and my fellow contestants did last year is something to feel proud about. It’s very humbling, really.
I used to do it when I was in the White House. Whenever I was feeling a little unsettled, I’d head down to the trophy room and look at memorabilia from Series 2 and especially from my inspiration, Pati.
Pati had a similar starting weight to mine (her’s was 120.2kg, mine was 121.7kg) and I remember looking at her first weigh-in photo and her hot Finale photo and thinking, “What an amazing dream… if only I could achieve half of that I’d be happy.”
The other contestant I drew inspiration from was Kristie from Series 1. She was a mum, like me, and was able to be away from her kids and achieve her weight loss, which I think is the hardest thing in the whole world.
But it does remind you of why it’s so important to dream the dream. You can transform your life, leave behind the pain and be what you want to be. I did; the Couples are; and you can too if you work hard and believe in yourself…
Make sure you tune in to The Biggest Loser tonight at 7PM on TEN to see what happens when Nathan and Andrew take the walk. (I’m also hoping there will be more scenes in the kitchen!) I’ll be back in the morning with my daily update.
Episode 10 highlights
If you missed last night's show, you can watch full episode now at The Biggest Loser TV show website.
I've shared my favourite bit below where the contestants explore Camp Biggest Loser. Please try to contain your envy while you watch it!