I can’t speak for Sam and Cosi, but it was an absolute joy to visit Camp Biggest Loser and meet all of the wonderful couples whose journeys I have been witnessing and writing about for the past seven weeks.
If you didn’t see it, on last night’s episode the three of us returned to The Biggest Loser to share a little inspiration and give the contestants some moral support. You see, the couples are smack in the middle of their journeys and at a very hard part in the game. Sam put it well when he said they’re a long way from the start and still a very long way from the end!
But it was such a privilege to get a personal tour of the Camp – it’s every bit as impressive as it looks on TV! While it has a very different feel to the ‘White House’, it still invokes that sense of aspiration and awe. Seeing that proud Biggest Loser flag flapping so confidently in the breeze brought a smile to my face as it represents (for me at least) so many beautiful memories.
In one of my early blogs, I did a lot of verbal drooling over the Camp kitchen and it’s every bit as spectacular in the flesh, let me tell you. I couldn’t believe the size of it! The kitchen at the White House was very small and we used to have so many fights in it. With 15 overweight hungry people all clamouring to make their meals, you could get eliminated for offending someone in the White House kitchen – seriously!
Another room that brought back a lot of memories was the gym. It was overwhelming, actually. I don’t think anyone has a true idea of how hard we train on the show, and how difficult it is because of our weight. So, standing on the floor of the big gym I was overcome by memories of the many, many hours of pain I pushed myself through to be where I am today.
Perhaps the most special moment for me was the alone time I had with Tiff, Teresa, Julie, Meaghan and Sammy. As I mentioned earlier this week, one of the side effects of the fast pace of Loser is that your mind doesn’t have time to catch up with the changes occurring in your body. So I asked each of the girls to stand in front of a big full-length mirror and tell me something positive about themselves.
It was very sad to see each one of them struggle to look at themselves, let alone find something nice to say. While they were all very generous and sincere with their compliments of each other, they’re yet to see the beauty in themselves which breaks my heart.
But I shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve been in that same place too. It’s taken a long time for me to stop seeing the obese woman I once was and start seeing the person I now am. Which is why it’s so liberating to finally feel confident and good about myself and proud of what I’ve achieved.
That’s not to say I still don’t have ‘scars’ from my previous life. For example, when everyone was gathering for a game of touch footy and Shannan arrived, I was so excited to see him that I ran across the field and jumped into his arms. While the new Ali did this with joy and spontaneity, a horrible thought flashed across the old obese Ali’s mind: “Oh, my goodness, I’ll crush him!”
Thankfully he survived! And I have to say he was very gracious when he explained to the Blues how Sam and I had played the game with respect and dignity. These were, afterall, lessons we learned from Shannan.
I truly meant it when I said The Biggest Loser gives you the tools you need for life. Not only has the experience of losing weight turned my whole world around, it’s given me the strength to get through some very difficult times such as losing my husband late last year. I have every faith that it can do the same for the couples too.
Thank you to Bob, Tiff, Teresa, Sharif, Nathan, Andrew, Meaghan, Julie, Sammy, Cameron and Sean for welcoming me, Sam and Cosi so warmly into your world. I can’t wait to see you all again at Finale!
xo
Ali
Episode 40 highlights
If you missed last night's show, you can watch the full episode at The Biggest Loser TV show website.
Below I've shared the 'mirror' segment which I think is very insightful for all of you trying to lose weight at home.