S04.E10: Sara

[Ketzel]

From TV Guide: A 39-year-old overweight little person attempts to shed pounds.

 

[sorry for starting this thread a week too early -- TV Guide didn't tell me it was being pre-empted for a country music special.]

Edited August 6, 2014 by Ketzel

[zachory98]

Has anyone seen more previews for this show?  It looks intense.  Wonder if she can make it through Chris and Heidi?

[Whimsy]

That sister sounded like a truly hateful, vile person. I bet a lot of the things Sara got or was given (according to the sister) were because Sara was a good person who seemed to try hard for everything she had and still seemed to be a pleasant person- which has absolutely nothing to do with her size. Sara's sister is probably so toxic that no one wants anything to do with her, which turned her bitter and jealous.

I think Sara did an awesome job, but I always worry when these contestants on either this show or TBL get SO into fitness because I feel like they traded one addiction for another one. I hope she maintains a healthy balance of every day life and fitness.

[WhineandCheez]

Sara wanted to become a nun because she thought the sisters would be nice to her.  Words fail.  Didn't she go to Catholic school?  NUNS ARE BRUTAL!!

 

I was wondering if she had PCO (polycystic ovary disease) because of her hair loss, also the large abdomen too.

 

I was wondering how she was so lucky to get Orville Redenbacher as her surgeon.  I thought that dude was dead.

[kleebee]

Sara's family should excommunicate the rotten sister. So messed up.

[DrSparkles]

Wow! Sara, you are the bomb!!!! Your sister is a dickhead.

When she made it to the top of the stairs at Red Rocks, I was crying!

[AV8n]

Sara's sister seems like a miserable person. It's bad enough to treat people that way when you're a child, but when you're a grown-ass woman there are no more excuses.  Seems like the whole fam-damily pretty  much keeps their distance, which is probably for the best.  I was thinking there would be some sort of confrontation where the sister decides to quit being such an ass and support her sister - or at least be civil.  In a way, for the show, it's good that that didn't happen, as it shows that you can't let other people's drama hold you back.

[SunnyBeBe]

This is the first episode I've watched in awhile. Loved seeing Sara.  What an inspiration.  It is difficult to understand how Sara did that marathon seemingly with so little effort.  She only stopped once to stretch, but she never seemed out of breath or exhausted.  I know people who run marathons and they are very exhausted at the end.  As Chris said, at 4'8, it was like an average sized person running two marathons.  I don't get it.  I am impressed.  

 

I do wish that with all the efforts Sara and the producers made, no one got her into a properly fitting sports bra.  That has to be painful.  How do they miss this?

Edited August 13, 2014 by SunnyBeBe

[ramble]

@SunnyBeBe I agree completely about the bra issue. It is something that bothers me on this show & Biggest Loser. There are some great bras out there for even very large chested women that will stop the bouncing! If I owned one of the companies I'd donate my bras, but if nothing else can't they get a sponsorship deal. Good grief it's painful seeing the flying boobs.

Sara was so determined once she made her decision. It was an enjoyable episode. She just seemed pleasant as a person & that's a great thing to see in real life, but especially on reality tv where it seems to be less common. Her body adjusted so quickly to being fit it was amazing to me. I was afraid it would be harder for her & she might only be partially successful, but I was wrong! She looked incredible. I thought she was an attractive lady before but afterwards she seemed to glow.

As far monster sister I'm almost at a loss. The things she said in that text were abusive & cruel. I wouldn't say things like that to someone I wasn't related to & despised. I've always been in that stereotypical group where I can gripe about my sister but nobody else better say a word to me about her. I can't imagine not being supportive of my sister, especially if she'd struggled with something that made her feel on the outside her entire life. If that had happened to my sis growing up I would've taken on the bullies myself. The sister sounds bitter & jealous of Sara & I don't think it has anything to do with Sara being pitied. What a sad & miserable person that woman must be.

Bonus for me last night was Heidi lite. I also think it's the first time I remember them talking about calories so openly & discussing weight loss in a calorie deficient vs. exercise perspective. Did they say typically they expected around 2 hours of workouts per day while in Colorado? I thought I heard that & was slightly surprised. That sounds like a reasonable amount for where they are. Because they're spending time devoted to a lifestyle change in a closed environment I thought it would be more like 4-5 hours a day. Did I hear that incorrectly or was Sara's schedule different or has Biggest Loser warped my mind about weight loss shows?

[Ketzel]

As always, I felt that there were big gaps in the story as presented. Sara came across from the beginning as physically reasonably healthy and emotionally reasonably self-confident. I mean, there she was, on TV, being a public spokeswoman for her agency. We never found out why she was, at 39, living with her parents instead of on her own. The whole "I decided to take religious vows because I thought I wouldn't get made fun of in a convent, but the nuns were mean to me, so I left" was pretty odd. I'm not a religious Catholic, but I'm pretty sure you don't just join and then leave a convent as if it's a sorority that doesn't suit you. And the communication with her sister made the sister sound completely bitter and twisted on the basis of  . . . ? She simply hated Sara from childhood because Sara was a little person? I don't like it when the show paints someone as The Villain with no real explanation behind their behavior at all.

 

Sara's story was basically that she was bullied everywhere she went because she was abnormally short, and she ate to numb all the pain. But clearly her parents loved and supported her (literally and figuratively). Her other siblings seemed supportive. She was employed. When she got to Arizona she had what seemed like an instantaneous breakthrough on her first workout (I deserve this!) and that was that.

 

Don't get me wrong. I think her accomplishments were very significant, the marathon run was impressive, and the focus on how difficult it was for her physically because of her short stature was extremely interesting. But I always wish for less muddled drama and more facts on these shows.

 

Just like I always wish for better styling for the candidates. Good Lord, the woman has disproportionately short limbs and is still overweight and they dress her in skin tight leggings and a short jacket with a fouffy scarf at her neck?

[CaughtOnTape]

And the communication with her sister made the sister sound completely bitter and twisted on the basis of  . . . ? She simply hated Sara from childhood because Sara was a little person? I don't like it when the show paints someone as The Villain with no real explanation behind their behavior at all.

 

 

Sara explained this fairly clearly if you ask me.  And yes, that was exactly the reason.  Her sister felt she was handed everything in her life because people felt sorry for her and she worked for nothing she had.  I don't think the show had to paint her as anything....she did a great job of that on her own.  Sara word for word read that text from her phone.  Regardless of what had gone down before that, what reason would her sister have to say something like that?  

[Ketzel]

Sara explained this fairly clearly if you ask me.  And yes, that was exactly the reason.  Her sister felt she was handed everything in her life because people felt sorry for her and she worked for nothing she had.  I don't think the show had to paint her as anything....she did a great job of that on her own.  Sara word for word read that text from her phone.  Regardless of what had gone down before that, what reason would her sister have to say something like that?  

Well, I could imagine a lot of possibilities, but I have some professional experience with family dysfunctions.  I do know I don't automatically  accept only one interested person's  side of the story when it comes to an interaction as extreme as the one being described.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Ketzel

[Mergles9]

This is the first episode I've watched in awhile. Loved seeing Sara. What an inspiration. It is difficult to understand how Sara did that marathon seemingly with so little effort. She only stopped once to stretch, but she never seemed out of breath or exhausted. I know people who run marathons and they are very exhausted at the end. As Chris said, at 4'8, it was like an average sized person running two marathons. I don't get it. I am impressed.

I don't mean this to be rude, because I liked Sara a lot, but a 7.5 hour marathon is extremely slow. Marathons don't quite get you out of breath the way a 5K would, so I'm not surprised that she looked alright. But she was definitely hurting in the second half of the race. I could tell from the way she was grimacing.

I have read about little people running marathons in the four hour range, so I'm sure Sara will get much faster. She certainly has the drive. In any case, I hate the way that these shows glorify participating in endurance events without proper training. Ask any runner, a 12 or 13 miler as your longest run before a marathon is ridiculously inadequate. That's just asking for an injury (or at the very least, a really slow time and a lot of pain). It's not really something that people should emulate, as inspirational as it may be.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Mergles9

[Whimsy]

In any case, I hate the way that these shows glorify participating in endurance events without proper training. Ask any runner, a 12 or 13 miler as your longest run before a marathon is ridiculously inadequate. That's just asking for an injury (or at the very least, a really slow time and a lot of pain). It's not really something that people should emulate, as inspirational as it may be.

I agree with you, these shows (especially TBL) tend to not properly train these contestants before participating in these endurance challenges, but I thought that she was at the 12-13 mile mark before going back to Arizona to train full time for the marathon? I may be remembering wrong. I don't fully pay attention to this show when I watch it.

[k2p2]

Sports bras, heck, ANY bras, should not have the girls banging around at two different tempos. Can't they add a bra fitter to their makeover crew?

 

I wonder if the "reaching out to the distant sister" idea came from TPTB, to punch the story up with a little drama? Props, I guess, to the hateful sister for not spewing her vitriol on camera, just to pick up a few bucks.

 

If we can't be Heidi-less, this was about the perfect amount of Heidi to have.

Edited August 14, 2014 by k2p2

[backformore]

@Ketzel : Well, I could imagine a lot of possibilities, but I have some professional experience with family dysfunctions.  I do know I don't automatically  accept only one interested person's  side of the story when it comes to an interaction as extreme as the one being described.

Yeah, I agree.  I wonder if sara got special treatment when younger, and her sister resented being pushed aside.  Or she did something foolish that resulted in her moving back in with Mom and Dad.    There were other siblings in that family photo, where were they?   did they take a side in the Sara vs mean-sister fight?   It seemed like sara was focused on  one sister, but did she mentin the others at all?. There was something else that happened, that wasn't shown, I'm certain of it.    And for someone who had no friends, was never accepted, she sure had a lot of friends who showed up at the end for hugs and photos. 

 

I wonder if the text mesage from her sister was really current, as they made it seem (but didn't explicitly say so)  or if it was on earlier message from when sara was fighting with her.  The text seemed a little too close to what sara had said earlier in the episode that her sister had told her - about "you'll never amount to anything." 

 

And I didn't get sara's thing about 'taking her vows as a nun', then leaving.  It's not that quick and esy, it's a fairly long process to become a nun.  and if the nuns were mean to her, she would have figured that out long before her final vows.  You can't join a convent just to escape bullying - you have to be committed to the religion, study, be serious about it.  I wonder if the feud with her sister had something to do with the convent.

 

Even the beginning of the show was contrived and not believeable.  A woman who is 150 pounds overweight is on TV advocating healthy lifestyles?  and her parents, who just happen to be watching her on TV with a camera crew in their living room, are shocked when Chris shows up to surprise her? 

 

Don't get me wrong, I liked Sara.  But there's more to the story, and I felt it was whitewashed to cover something up.

 

[DrSparkles]

This is the first episode I've watched in awhile. Loved seeing Sara.  What an inspiration.  It is difficult to understand how Sara did that marathon seemingly with so little effort.  She only stopped once to stretch, but she never seemed out of breath or exhausted.  I know people who run marathons and they are very exhausted at the end.  As Chris said, at 4'8, it was like an average sized person running two marathons.  I don't get it.  I am impressed.  

 

I do wish that with all the efforts Sara and the producers made, no one got her into a properly fitting sports bra.  That has to be painful.  How do they miss this?

YES!!! The bra issue bugged me immensely!!!! Also, hell yeah, that marathon was insane. INSANE. I did think she'd stop at half, which is still awesome.

[beaker73]

I agree with you, these shows (especially TBL) tend to not properly train these contestants before participating in these endurance challenges, but I thought that she was at the 12-13 mile mark before going back to Arizona to train full time for the marathon? I may be remembering wrong. I don't fully pay attention to this show when I watch it.

Chris asked her what her longest distance was and she said 12 miles.  It's insane to me that she would attempt a marathon when her furthest distance was half that.  That's inviting injury.   And while I applaud her finishing (Lord knows I couldn't do it), 7.5 hours is pretty slow.  She had to have stopped more than once or walked part of it.  Although...maybe it took her longer because of the length of her legs? Shorter strides and all?

Edited August 14, 2014 by beaker73

[DangerousMinds]

It took me almost 4 hours to complete my first half-marathon, so I think she did well!

[Meraji]

 

We never found out why she was, at 39, living with her parents instead of on her own.

I believe she said at the beginning of the episode that she had to move back in with her parents due to the fact she didn't make enough money in her job, which she loved but couldn't support herself with.

 

I was very happy she was successful with her weightloss.  I also appreciated the conversation about calorie intake, as it breaks up the focus on exercise all. the. time. Although, I'm confused why it was still off limits for her to consume below 1200 calories if her RMR was so low?  Wouldn't the 1200 calorie benchmark be for larger/taller people?

[ali59]

Seriously would they please make sure these girls have good, no-bounce sports bras.  Sara could have put an eye out with those things bouncing all over the place.  Women are not doing themselves a favor by skimping on the bra!  Rant over!

 

Sara is so beautiful and she has the greatest cheek bones!  Holy Cow doing a whole marathon!  Wow!

 

Her sister is a real piece of work.

[Guest]

TLC just re-ran this episode (new one for me though!). Anyway, I'm inclined to dismiss the one-sided nature of the sister vs. poor little Sara narrative this show attempted to present. Sara never read directly from the text message she claimed to have received - she recapped what it said (or allegedly said). Who knows what went on in this family -- Sara could have been a spoiled brat (still might be!) and the sister washed her hands clean of her years ago. Something surely happened. But what that something was, no one really knows. 

On 8/20/2014 at 0:34 AM, Meraji said:

I believe she said at the beginning of the episode that she had to move back in with her parents due to the fact she didn't make enough money in her job, which she loved but couldn't support herself with.

Yeah, but girlfriend was 39 years old. Time to get out of the house. I know it's a state job and the bennies are probably good (at least they are in my state - not sure about the Southern ones) but I heard there's a thing called the "private sector" that Sara might want to check out if she's so underpaid that, at 39, she still has to live with her parents. 

I'm glad she lost the weight. She looks much better. But something about her really grated. (Speaking of grating, good grief! The bra situation was dire.)