The main lesson from Biggest Loser 9, Week 2 is that you are not the only one affected by your unhealthy tendencies. In this powerful episode, we saw how people have lost years of life, employment, income, and more by continuing to life an unhealthy life.
Dr. Huizenga met with the contestants to deliver their health assessments and as we all could’ve guessed, there wasn’t much good news.
Challenge: Letting unhealthy tendencies define us
Patti tearfully admits that she has been diabetic for 20 years. Though she knew it was reversible, she didn’t have any symptoms that affected her day to day life, so she never did much about it. Now she has neuropathy in her feet, leaving them numb up to the ankle and making it hard to balance. This hampers her in the challenge, which involves walking across a beam suspended over a shallow pool. While she could’ve helped her daughter win immunity for the Purple Team, the problem with her feet holds her back and they don’t win.
Maria has a fear of water that also affects her in the challenge. She doesn’t want to go across the beam and instead watches her son, Michael, who started at 526 pounds, struggle to get across. She has an anxiety attack and instead of jumping into the water, she dives off the platform, onto the cement, splitting open her nose and fracturing her finger. Michael insists on going with his mother to the hospital, forfeiting the challenge and gaining a two-pound penalty at the upcoming weigh-in. Jillian later works with Maria, telling her that she’s just as strong as all the other moms there, she’s just not letting herself be. “The thing about not getting over fears is that it brings them about,” Jillian tells her. So they head to the pool, in the rain. (Oh, the irony.) Maria is terrified at first but after a while she floats and even swims. “The only thing you have to lose right now,” Jillian says, “is letting go of that self-image that isn’t real, that’s weak, that can’t do it.”
Lance used to work as a commercial diver but had to quit when he became obese and couldn’t pass the physical. Dr. Huizenga shows Lance and Melissa how much their obesity has cost them, in terms of income, living expenses, and medicine. An armored truck pulls up and inside is $3 million in cash. They are both stunned and vow to make changes in their lives.
Other teams have equally startling revelations about the affects of their poor health. Both Sam and Koli of the Gray Team have sleep apnea. Darrell on the Black Team is told he is probably the unhealthiest contestant there, even sicker than Michael, who started the competition over 500 pounds. Darrell says the last 10 years of his life he just “sat back and let it happen.” Cheryl from the Orange Team learns that her true age is 75, although she is only 51. Half of those extra 24 years are from obesity and the other half are from cigarettes. Ashley from the Pink Team, learns that her inner age is 57, more than double her actual age of 27. And to top it off, she discovers that she is diabetic. Her mother, Sherry, says, “We’ve been playing around with the most valuable thing we have, our lives.”
Lesson: Love yourself! If you have unhealthy tendencies, it’s only a matter of time before they become unhealthy habits and then in turn become an unhealthy lifestyle. Don’t let another day go by without addressing your health. It affects you in more ways than you know.
At the weigh-in, the Purple Team fell below the yellow line and Patti volunteered to go home so her daughter Stephanie could stay. Patti looked great in her after video, having lost 43 pounds and now on track to get her diabetes under control.
Talk it up:
Do you have unhealthy tendencies or habits that are taking over your lifestyle?
What did you find most surprising about this episode?
Do you have a favorite team or contestant yet?
Read all the Lessons from the Biggest Loser articles
See how Patti looks now in this video
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