The Biggest Loser - Season 12 (yes, spoilers)
 

I can't believe I'm the one to start this thread!

Oh Alison! Oh Bob! Oh sweaty fat people! I have missed you!

What do we think of the new season? Do we have a favorite yet? New trainers? Weird age division for teams?

I miss Jillian already and I don't like Anna at all. But I love Dolvett! He's really encouraging. Of course, I love Bob.

Last season, I loved the lack of games people played (and I loved when someone played a game, they got punished). Will we see game playing this season?

The former NFL star is interesting because BL failed with the former Olympian last season and I wonder if they're trying to make up for that. I love that he's a cry baby. I love cry babies.

I'm not crazy about the age divisions but I was THRILLED that "my" age group (the middles) won the challenge. Go us.

I cry every episode. Truly. I do. I'm a softie. My cry moment was when Anna ran out with the flag. That was pretty awesome.

That was a tear jerker moment when they all ran out to help the oldies to the finish line. I don't really like the age divisions. It seems the oldies are at a big disadvantage because they will have slower metabolisms, probably more mental hangups about feeling they can't do it and not feeling strong, AND they have the very soft trainer who doesn't have experience training others. From my understanding, Anna is a great athlete herself but hasn't been a personal trainer. pushing yourself and pushing others are two different things. She may not have the knowledge that will push her team to drop the big numbers they need to keep up with the other teams.

So, i feel like the odds are stacked against the oldies, but there are a couple that might pull through and make it past the team phase. They will need the right attitude and the right workouts to make it...but can Anna give them what they need? I don't think so. I don't see why she was chosen for this. I MISS JILLIAN!

Anna...well, she was probably chosen as eye candy to rope in more male viewers? I don't see any other reason for choosing her.

I haven't watched in a few years cuz I hated Jillian so much (oops sorry!) LOL I could stand her shrill voice making them move more, that part was fine. It was when she veered into the cartoonishly bad 'therapy' moments that I felt my dinner coming back up.

I'm not too sure about Anna, if she can relate to being obese..." c'mon gang..i've been there too... one time I was banging Enrique Iglesias and I think I saw some fat on my thigh...it was only a shadow but WOW it was scary, so I know how you feel" bahahahahha

I'm a sap too, and that was definitely had me going. :hug:

This is the first season that I've tried to watch, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I was surprised how quickly the trainers went from all smiles to all serious business. It was a little scary. :D

Anna, can't relate to being overweight, but she can relate to having to make sacrifices and having to push herself to the limit to do something. To be a top 10 tennis player in the world is a major accomlishment, and it takes everything one has to be a professional athlete, so that could be a good thing. I'm willing to give her a chance. :dunno:

Here's my two problems with Anna.

1) It's not that she doesn't know what it's like to be fat -- I doubt Bob or Dolvett or Jillian know that either. However! All those other people at SOMETIME in their lives had to have... a life. They had to go to high school or a job. Anna has been an elite athlete training since before puberty. Her job as been to workout and eat right. It was never something she could sideline. So it's hard for me to see how she can give advice.

2) It is one thing to have a trainer your whole life. It is another thing to BE a trainer. Even when she was working with the oldies, I felt like she had no idea what she was doing. She's never trained. I am sure the show made her get certified but if she has never worked with the general population, she doesn't have the experience. I don't care how much you eat, it doesn't mean you're a chef.

Obviously they did it for viewership. They lost Jillian. They needed another big name. My solution would have been another reality tv show where trainers had to compete to be the BL trainer. Then they would have had all these people who would fall in love with their trainer and then watch the show to see how they did. I am such a genius.

Lol, it is a very good idea.

I don't know about Anna yet, but I worry about that group since they have a lot more to overcome. I also don't have a favorite yet. I'll have to wait for next week.

as an FYI, there is a Biggest Loser thread here http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/bigg...you-ready.html

also, fwiw, Jillian was overweight at one point in her life. I think she said she weighed about 180 and she's pretty small so that was a fair amount of extra weight. I don't think you had to have been overweight to be a good trainer, but I definitely think that played a big role in the kind of trainer she is and why she puts a big emphasis on the WHY and not just the how to lose weight.

As for Anna, I am reserving judgement. I think she probably does know what to do, and is still learning how to effectively motivate others to do it. I don't know if she'll make that leap or not, and I think she is handicapped by having the old team because they would be the toughest for any trainer to achieve success with. As a team at least -some individuals in that age group will do fine but unless you happened to have a team of all former athletes, all things being equal, a non-athletic 30 year old is going to lose weight and get into shape more easily and quickly than a non-athletic 55 or 60 year old. And I'm 49 so I'm not too far off from the age group I'm dissing here! lolol!

This is my first season of actually trying to watch all episodes. My thoughts about Anna will be on hold until I give her more time.

A few things to remember about the oldies, though. They usually have a different mind-set and different life circumstances than the younger players. That could work to their advantage. Also, while more than metabolism slows down with age (ask me, I'm 60 - EVERYTHING slows down!) the metabolic slowdown for women is only about 5 calories a day per year after age 30. That means, all else being equal, a 60 year old woman only has to cut about 150 calories a day to be on equal ground metabolically with a 30 year old woman. I wasn't surprised to learn this, because I don't feel I've had a more difficult time losing than younger people in here or among members of my gym, etc.

One last word, though, and before anyone chimes in, I already know it's sexist - I think the women will work harder for a man trainer and so will the men. The women will feel a push to do well for them and the men will be less likely to be "shown up," so to speak. Just my opinion, and pretty impossible to measure, but I think this gives the groups with the guy trainers, regardless of age, an edge.

Lin

Hi!
This is my first season to watch, also. I agree about Anna...but we wll see. It could just be a bad first impression.
I am 51, so I was rooting for the oldies. I did feel sorry for them. They seemed at such a disadvantage to the younger groups. Maybe that's because I can relate to them :P but I can't see where they could possibly win. I was surprised to see Debbie leave. I thought it would be Bonnie.