Two words: Emazon = pain! And to quote the butt-kicker herself, “Pain is going to be your best friend.” The pain this mysterious new Loser trainer refers to is not physical, it’s more mental and emotional.
And you can use it as a focus point, as something to fight back from. I’ve certainly used it on my own journey in more ways than you realize.
As Holly and Mel discovered after being dealt the ‘Pain’ disc (which was the result of Sharif and Teresa’s immunity Walk), there’s also the very real pain of a tough session with a 'scary lady' trainer such as Emazon. But I'm not talking ouch pain – I mean that I-can’t-do-this pain which, unless you let it get in your way, can push you out of your comfort zone.
What Emazon was trying to teach the sisters is that pain can make you stronger; it can teach you to survive and stand up for yourself. But avoiding pain (or trying to numb it with food) limits you – it restricts and controls you. If you face pain, you control it.
On the topic of control – and forgive me for quoting this a third time this week – as Shannan says, you’ve got to focus on “Controlling the controllables and letting the variables deal with themselves.”
This is the lesson he was trying to teach Cameron when he gave him a hard time about his takeaway meal. And Shannan is right: we all have to be aware of and accountable for what’s on our plates. There’s no use saying, ‘somewhere else ordered this dinner – it’s not my responsibility’.
I had a good personal reminder of this yesterday. I was having lunch at a café and ordered a steak sandwich. It came with a massive serve of chips which I hadn’t seen on the menu. I knew that if they stayed on my plate I wouldn’t be able to resist (even after losing over 50kg, I am still a food lover extreme!) so I asked for a spare plate, moved the chips onto them and then placed the plate onto a spare chair at the table. But they were still in the corner of my eye, and boy was I tempted! So I ended up calling out to a waiter and asking for them to be removed. Problem solved.
When I saw the show last night, I felt very proud as I knew I’d done just what Shannan ordered: taken 100% responsibility for what was on my plate.
Shannan really did come out with some ‘pearlers’ last night. When he said, “Positive mental attitude is everything in the game,” I thought, yes – and everything in life really.
Which is why I’m interested to see how the contestants overcome tonight’s ‘Couples Overboard’ challenge – their mental attitude will be key. Be sure to tune in at 7PM on TEN and check your inbox in the morning for my daily updates.
If you missed last night's show, you can watch the full episode at The Biggest Loser TV show website.
I’ve shared my favourite segment below – it’s where Holly and Mel get their butts kicked by Emazon!
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Alison Braun is one of the most-loved contestants in Biggest Loser history. Since losing over 55kg during Series 3, she has kept the weight off with the help of The Biggest Loser Club and, more recently, The Biggest Loser Club Meal Replacement Program.