Shibori

Let's be honest, *most* of them will gain the weight back. The show has a shit record in that respect. If anything, of all the reasons people gain weight back after this show pregnancy seems like one of the more reasonable ones. Baby weight isn't just weight for weight's sake. I'm childless by choice, but I can still relate to a woman who is struggling with infertility or other health issues due to her weight wanting to be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant. I can also relate to going through your 20s not trying to get pregnant and not thinking about fertility only to find later that years of obesity have wrecked your hormones and you may not have time left or the ability to fix it. That was pretty much he plot of last season's (awful) My Big Fat Fabulous Life. Now I could see if she lost the weight and wanted skin reduction knowing she might want to get pregnant. I always wonder about that with the younger ones.

I was distracted by that ridiculous dress Jen wore at the weigh in, and not in a good way. That wet-look Lycra looks like something you could buy for $14.99 at the place at the mall that sells nothing but "bodycon" (read:stripper) dresses and platform heels. Money can't buy thin. But here's another commercial for Jennie-O turkey! Dr. H should have his medical license revoked for being associated with this joke of a show. I also noticed Hope's thinning hair and immediately thought of some kind of hormonal problem. She has some moon face going on too, which makes me think Cushing's. It can be next to impossible to get real weight off and keep it off without treating the underlying condition, so I hope she's seeing a good endocrinologist. Another reason why this show is a joke.

Well, three days at Disney if you go by yourself, don't need a hotel, don't park, don't eat or drink, and don't buy any add-ons or souvenirs. There's a resort near me has a Jeep off road adventure course. It's $90 for 90 minutes with an instructor if you bring your own Jeep, and $90/seat for 90 minutes to do a ride along where you take turns. So though I wouldn't be interested in the Sandbox at any price, I think there are plenty of guys with disposable income that would, or parents who buy their 8 year old special snowflakes iPhones that wouldn't hesitate to pay so they could post the pics on Facebook.

Are you allowed to bring your own cutlery and just start chowing down on stone fruit in the produce section at Whole Foods?

I can't stand the sickly-sweet way Lori condescends to the entrepreneurs. I'd rather have Kevin insult me outright than have Lori blowing smoke up my ass.

I love that Squatty Potty is saying they succeeded *despite* Lori's advice! http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/squatty-pottys-ceo-ignored-everyone-made-insane-video-and-boosted-sales-600-168526

Berwoman, I think you're right on the DCC!

Who played the non-Gosling scarecrow? I thought the first few sketches (aliens, Settl, and Santa) killed, but the show went downhill from there.

There are some interesting wage and hour issues raised with the purse production. We really didn't get enough details for me to decide, but I'm curious. Laws differ by state, but in general a piecemeal rate has to average out to at least minimum wage, and I wonder if that's the case here.

I got my sister and brother-in-law a Squatty Potty. Half seriously, half as a joke because their kids are obsessed with the commercial with the unicorn pooping rainbow ice cream. It was pretty life-changing for me, so I suspect we'll all get a good chuckle but they'll be converts as well.

That's a great point. The Biggest Loser is both a horrible and perfect example of that- let's say for the sake of argument that due to verifiable metabolic issues, a hypothetical person can only maintain a healthy weight with severe caloric restriction and intense exercise like we see on TBL. Is that really a choice? Is it sustainable with family, jobs, etc. for the long run? Should people with 200 or 300 pounds to lose be running marathons and exercising until they vomit? Could we blame someone for deciding not to do that? Many TBL contestants have regained their weight. Some have developed eating disorders or heart problems. And given the negative publicity around the use of direutics, questionable supplements and/or drugs, injuries, lying about timeframes for weight loss ("weeks" that are really 10-14 days), TBL is not necessarily the best example of eat less (but Extra gum and Jennie O turkey!) and move more- if anything it shows the kind of extremes some people have to go to for weight loss, and that even under highly supervised conditions people don't always lose the predictable amount of weight.

I don't think the tshirt guys need to get a charitable deduction from donating the backpacks, because the cost of the backpacks, (especially given their model), should be deductible as a business expense. I have some tapioca flour and the recipes look simple, so if I remember this after the holiday, I'm going to bake some.

Moved over here from the ep thread: I'm genuinely not trying to be oppositional, but again, I'd really like to see some kind of citation or research to back this up. Because the research I've read, including the NIH piece below say that the *incidence* of things like insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances (like GnRH and FSH) is independent of weight in those with PCOS but that the *severity* of those symptoms IS weight dependent. That's very different from saying obesity caused the PCOS. And I haven't read anything that even attempts to state conclusively that the lack of PCOS weight gain is solely due to dietary choices. I'm coming from a place of having received contradictory and sometimes bad medical advice from doctors for the treatment of my PCOS in the 20 years since I was diagnosed, so I've found its important to advocate for yourself as a patient and not be afraid to ask questions, while being cognizant of the limitations of my own knowledge. Here's the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861983/

I'm going to move my response to the PCOS discussion to the small talk thread. Unrelated question- I wonder where Whitney gets the studio space she uses for her personal work? (Like working on choreography or filming her YouTube video)? I wonder if she has a friend with a studio? Is that where she teaches the big girl dance class? Just curious.

I keep seeing variations on this thought throughout these threads repeated as fact- that PCOS can only account for X amount of weight. That is not my understanding of the current science. PCOS is still poorly understood and produces a range of symptoms, and as far as weight, some people with PCOS don't gain weight while others are morbidly obese, and it's not entirely clear why yet. You can be diagnosed with PCOS and not actually have cysts, but we don't say that means that if people get cysts that it must be because of something they did. If you have seen a study that sets some limit on how much weight gain can be attributed to the metabolic processes at issue, I'd like to see it. Otherwise it's just theories and conjecture.

Wow. They don't even look remotely related. (Nyle and his twin.)

Ooh! For once my fiber science degree comes in handy in everyday conversation! So, felting is usually considered permanent because the process creates chemical bonds among the keratin proteins in the fibers. If you can break the bonds you can reshape the garment. But it's a pretty hardcore chemical reaction. Think old school perms or keratin hair straightening treatments. So you might be able to get back to some semblance of the original shape, but you'll have damaged the texture and hand of the garment in the process to some extent. And probably smell like a perm. So it won't really be good as new, but probably still wearable.

I guess I'd feel differently if we actually saw her working towards her goal of being a dancer and not just taking the famewhore/reality shortcut. I don't get the sense from this show that she spends more than a few hours a week in the studio, and what we have seen is either her leading her big girl class or working on her watered-down choreography. No training, no taking class, no stretching or technique work. Wouldn't it be a much more interesting show if we saw her taking classes, going to conventions, etc? Imagine the drama of exploring how she'd be received in that environment and whether she could keep up. Or in the alternative, I'd be fine with celebrating the fact that she enjoys dancing and that it *is* groundbreaking to see someone her size moving and enjoying herself and encouraging others to do the same- if she didn't try to portray herself as a professional dancer. That's when it veers into special snowflake syndrome for me, because I see that as insulting to people who (regardless of size) truly make dance a career and put the time in. Or at a minimum make it a full time job.

And calling it dancing is generous.

Wow, Ketzel, that's just the worst. That whole video. I'm speechless.

I completely agree. I've seen larger dancers (and been one, 20+ years ago) who have technique, and grace, and talent. They put the time in and do the work. Whitney is not that girl. I have yet to see a video of her at any size that shows any real dance skill or talent. I've also seen nothing to suggest that she spends any real time dancing. A professional dancer (whether classical ballet, hip hop, modern, ballroom, or even street dancers) spend a grueling amount of time, you know, dancing. A few hours a week doing heavily watered down Zumba does not a professional make. Have we ever seen Whitney take a class? I'd bet she'd have a hard time getting through one even if she made the effort. A year or two ago I watched the series "Big Ballet"- a Britsh documentary about a performance of Swan Lake featuring entirely plus size women. Some who auditioned were even cut for not being big enough. I wanted so much for it to be good, and the choreographer seemed really interested in developing choreography and lines that suited the larger bodies. I was really bummed to see the outcome, as I think it failed pretty miserably. As Ketzel's friend pointed out in the post above, classical ballet is a tough sell for big bodies. The movements have standards that developed over hundreds of years on thin, long, lithe bodies, and translating that to those of us resembling balls more than sticks is tough. Even if we can physically perform the movement correctly, the lines just aren't there. I think a contemporary/modern style would be more suited because you see different types of movement, including those intended to be awkward. I find the idea of choreographing for different shaped bodies intriguing, I just haven't seen it done well yet. I consider myself a former dancer. I still take classes on occasion. I can make it through yoga, and barre, and Zumba. But even if I taught the occasional class, I wouldn't dream of calling myself a professional. I find it insulting that Whitney does, not for her size but for her lack of commitment and talent for her supposedly chosen profession. I just think there's a huge leap from saying dancing occasionally makes me happy to calling oneself a professional dancer. And it goes back to that special snowflake syndrome I find so endemic with people like Whitney (big or small)- this need to be applauded for doing something (no matter how poorly) because you're the underdog, or you "wanted it", or because society says you shouldn't. If singing in my car makes me happy, then I should sing. But I should also expect to get roundly trounced should I take my three-note vocal range to an American Idol audition. Should Whitney try out for So You Think You Can Dance, she'd be put through to Vegas, because the judges on that show love to pat themselves on the back for supporting the underdog (as long as you're not a guy who's too "feminine", but that's another rant). But the reality is that she simply isn't capable of doing the dances at the level the show requires. I'd be interested in a version of this show where she genuinely tries to develop herself as a dancer at her current size and works hard towards that goal, but hey, that's not Whitney. She simply doesn't have the commitment. Or even show her starting a studio dedicated for classes for all ages and body sizes- making a business of it. It's much easier for her to spend a few hours in a borrowed studio doing a sad "Single Ladies" impersonation and becoming a personality rather than a professional or a dance.

What's funny to me about the whole thing is that her original debts were $356k, mostly in two mortages, well less than the amount (even after taxes*) she supposedly hid. She filed for BK before the show started and before she knew the money would be coming in. There's a good chance that had it not taken off, the studio would have gone under. (I'd like to live in that parallel universe!) She wouldn't have had to pay the mortgages off outright, she could have continued making payments, so the idea that she'd be willing to risk jail and many times her original debt in fines to avoid debts she could now easily afford just goes to show what an arrogant, obstinate, asshole she is- and she had to think she wouldn't get caught. *Though this thought raises the question of whether there is tax fraud hiding out there too, and if so, it will likely come to light if it hasn't yet because of this trial. I have no doubt the feds will want to make an example of her, and if the fraud is as blatant as it appears, she and her (not yet charged) alleged co-conspirators are in for a world of hurt. Love one of the commenters on this Jezebel article that Abby's next venture will be Dance Cons, where Abby teaches a bunch of down-on-their luck cons to tango.

I'll be on the next episode pitching my new candy company that makes fake candy that your kids don't actually eat. It's half the price of regular candy, gluten, allergen, carb, and calorie free. It cuts down on your candy purchase budget, and allows picky parents to take it away from their kids and pitch it guilt free! There will be a diet version for adults.

I was ok with DVF saying something about HB's lips for the same reason I was glad Stephanie tried to get them to drop the likes (which drives me nuts) or telling Alli to change her shoes. I personally think part of being a good mentor is being willing and able to have those awkward conversations. If something like that bothers a potential employer, I'd rather know than lose a job or promotion over it. HB's lips look as ridiculous as Alli's shoes. Good on someone for telling these kinds of girls that the faux Kardashian look is tacky and not on brand. If she is in fact getting injections, and I personally think she is- he lips look like they hurt!- It's a personal choice as much as the jet black hair and kabuki makeup. And HB was a shitty liar in that moment. Imagine someone coming in with DDD implants- great at Hef's mansion, not so much in a DVF wrap. On re watching- I loved that Cat looked like she was about to argue with DVF when she announced the winner.

I think I'm going to put a pic of Cat's face when Diane announced her decision on my phone so I can look at it any time I'm sad or angry. And the part where Diane said Cat was her favorite will make excellent evidence in a competency hearing someday.