Ben and Sean played the game very well last night and walked away with perhaps the ‘cheapest’ immunity in Loser history – a guaranteed extra week in the house for 70 odd calories!
It was good to see the best mates use temptation to their advantage but still retain control. As Ben said, “I used to give into temptation on a daily basis” and that’s true of me, the contestants and most of us who are overweight.
I have to say that those doughnuts looked exceptionally good. When the chocolate mud one came out, well, yes, I was tempted! But that’s part of the discipline you learn in the house; you learn how to control these foods without them controlling you.
Learning how to have that discipline takes time. I remember standing in the check out queue of my local supermarket in the lead up to Finale and having to keep my eyes closed because I was so desperate for and so tempted by the chocolates around me. Now I have enough control to stand there with my eyes open (!!) but I still struggle with temptation from time to time.
I have learned two very important coping strategies, though. The first is to divert my attention – to walk away or grab something healthy so I still ‘get something’, albeit lower in calories. The second is a pact I make with myself whenever I give in to temptation (which does happen occasionally) and it’s to put in more effort at the gym so I burn off the extra calories and balance things out.
Until you have that control, I recommend staying out of the way of foods you’re tempted by for as long as possible. Do what we do on Biggest Loser and don’t keep them in the house. Or perhaps just picture the face of the Commando and imagine how he'd whip you if he knew that you were giving in!
I loved seeing his training session with Mel and Sharif last night. I think the tough love will serve them well this week. In fact, they’ve got an advantage over the other contestants as not only will the Commando show them a little about themselves that they didn’t know was there, an inner strength that they didn’t think they had, but they’ll also get a great calorie burn. I’ll be very interested to see their results come Sunday night’s weigh-in – my guess is that they’ll be impressive!
I’ll also be interested to see Bob and Tiffany’s results this week. I sobbed my little heart out when Tiffany was reunited with her daughter and husband, and Bob with his wife. But as great as this reward was, I think Tiffany especially will struggle with the distraction of it over the next few weeks. When your family arrives at Camp Biggest Loser, you’re reminded (big time) of what you’re missing out on.
And although Tiff seems to have realised that she’s making a small sacrifice for such a big gain, I know saying a second goodbye to her little girl with haunt her over the next week. Fingers crossed that she can use the separation to steel herself, and push through.
Like all of us, Tiffany needs to do what Bob suggested, which is “honouring the commitment” he made to weight loss. So many of us start diets and give up way too soon or lose weight but don’t keep it off. That’s why I’m going to put the phrase “honour the commitment” up on my fridge. Each day both you and I need to honour the commitment we’ve made to a healthy lifestyle by doing our diaries, sticking to our exercise program, and staying strong when faced with temptation.
It will be interesting to see the aftermath of temptation when Ben and Sean take the walk tonight at 7PM on TEN. Be sure to tune in and check your inbox in the morning for my daily update.
Episode 16 highlights
If you missed last night's show, you can watch the entire episode at The Biggest Loser TV show website.
I can't resist sharing the Commando's second training session with Mel and Sharif – it's over for now, but as he says, "I'll be back!" Look for it towards the end of this segment.