Being a thrill-seeker, I didn’t find last night’s ‘face your fears’ episode all that terrifying. But that’s also because this time last year I was standing on a cliff in Hawaii, waiting for Shannan’s call before I jumped 33 feet into the sea! I have never been so scared in my life, and the fact that I lived to tell the tale has cured my fear forever – it’s hard to be terrified after a jump like that.
That’s what facing your fears does and why it’s so liberating and empowering. While the hike which aired on Tuesday night is about reflecting on how far you’ve come, these crazy personal challenges the trainers have set the contestants are about shutting out the demons and steeling yourself for the future. They reinforce that you can do anything which is not something you believe much when you’re overweight.
I have to say I’m a little ashamed of the soundtrack that accompanies my leap from the cliff. Typically I like to set a good example but standing on the edge, doubting that I’d survive it, there was an awful lot of swearing going on! I was talking out loud to myself, saying “The water won’t hurt me, the water’s soft; no, the water’s hard, oh my gosh!”
The first time I tried to jump I froze – I couldn’t do it. Actually, the cast and crew around me didn’t think I would be able to do it. But then I psyched myself up, waited for Shannan to call “Jump!” and leapt into this immense and glorious sense of freedom which lasted all of a second before I hit the water – hard! And then I was sinking, sinking… oh my goodness I was sinking! Eventually velocity surrendered to my buoyancy vest and I was returned to the surface. The only way I can describe the exhilaration of getting my head back above the water is first breath of life.
This truly was the first breath of the life I live today which is not constrained by fear, fat or negativity. Something left me when I jumped off that cliff and I truly have never been the same again. It really changed the way I think, the way I feel about myself, the way I treat myself, the way I live life today.
Why it was such a turning point is because it forced me to put myself out there. We overweight people have been controlled by our weight and our minds for so many years that we don’t chase our dreams or put ourselves out there. Many of us resign ourselves to the notion that we’re not capable, not worthy and so we don’t take risks. Yet we’re very capable. As Loser has shown, night after night, week after week, we can do anything that we set our minds to.
Since I faced my fears in Hawaii there’s now nothing that I won’t try. I hope that’s the same for Sammy who navigated the rapids in a whitewater raft, Cam who abseiled down a cliff and Sean who leap from a helicopter into a lake for goodness sake!
I can’t wait to see Tiff, Meaghan and Julie face their fears on tonight’s episode. Be sure to tune in at 7PM on TEN and check your inbox in the morning for my daily update.
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 segment where Sammy takes on the rapids – the look on her face is an absolute scream!
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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.