S05.E02: Josh and Kelli

[Ketzel]

From TV Guide: A 399-pound gay firefighter wants to change his life; and a 331-pound former college hoops player hopes to lose weight and find the man of her dreams.

[ChicagoCita]

I'm still laughing over Kelli's description of Chris as "Worst. Wingman. EVER."  For all that Chris comes across as sweet and compassionate, he's kind of a dweeb and it really came out with Kelli and the basketball players.  Adorkable.

 

I liked very much that they didn't try to make Kelli into a stick insect. She's a tall, muscular, curvy woman and I loved that it was fine and acceptable for her to weigh over 200 lbs.

 

Obviously the people chosen for the show are partially chosen because the producers think they'll be good-looking after their weight loss.  But never, NEVER, would I look at the before version of Josh and think he'd turn out to be as attractive as he did.  I've seen people's faces get smaller and I've seen multiple chins disappear, but I've never seen a person's face completely change from round to long and thin.  And after he lost weight, you could more clearly see how pretty his eyes are.  Good luck to them both.  (Kelli was pretty from the get-go, you could see how much of a stunner she would be as an "after" from the first moment she was on screen.)

 

In the previews, they MISSPELLED Rocco DiSpirito's last name.  Seriously?  After all he's done on The Biggest Loser for this same production company?  Bush league mistake.

 

About 90% less Heidi this season so far, which is making me happy.  A little Heidi is just fine.

Edited June 3, 2015 by ChicagoCita

[ari333]

Zero Heidi is better heh

[CaughtOnTape]

Ugh....Josh really got me with the "There's the big firsts after you lose someone and you think they're over and then realize they just keep coming" thing.  I go through that daily after losing my mother and it sucks.  

 

I really love that they didn't make Kelli into a stick figure as well.  She looks fit and athletic at 210 lbs and that's just fine.  My trainer's been drilling it in my head that weight.does.not.matter as long as you look fit and muscular.  Even Chris stating that she wasn't skinny was a fabulous change of pace on these shows.  She wasn't skinny, she was strong.  All these girls who run around wanting thigh gaps should look at Kelli for an idea of what it looks like to be a strong, athletic woman.

[ChicagoCita]

Sorry, CaughtOnTape. I lost my dad two years ago and it's horrible. On the first Father's Day after he died, I started volunteering for a dog rescue (driving transport dogs) in his honor. It helps. Every Sunday, I think about Dad riding shotgun. I liked what Josh said about his dad being with him in spirit.

Edited June 3, 2015 by ChicagoCita

[SmithW6079]

So in the storyboard meeting or however they plot the episodes, who had the brilliant idea to fake a car accident for the participant who watched his father die in a horrific car accident?

I thought Kelli looked fantastic. She reminded me of Queen Latifah.

Josh looked good too, but his tweezed and waxed eyebrows were so distracting.

It's adorable how short Chris is, especially with the pro basketball players. I think he barely came up to their shoulders.

Edited June 4, 2015 by SmithW6079

[ari333]

Wow. Two very attractive people who worked really hard. Good for them.

 

What was up at Josh's homecoming with the mom (?) and gf (?) and the sticky buns? WTH? 

The thigh-gap lovers make me feel sick.

Edited June 4, 2015 by ari333

[backformore]

Something I've never been able to understand. when   people are reluctant or embarrassed to be weighed in front of co-workers, Chris tells  that it's SO IMPORTANT.   why?  what in the world is so important but letting co-workers, neighbors, whoever, see your large flabby belly ad the number on the scale? cant people be motivated to lose weight without public humiliation?

 

Or maybe the question is - why can't Chris just tell the truth - it's not because you need to make it the "first step of your journey" at all.   It's for TV.   The dramatic ending is more dramatic when those huge "before" photos show people looking horrible.

Edited June 5, 2015 by backformore

[SmithW6079]

Something I've never been able to understand. when people are reluctant or embarrassed to be weighed in front of co-workers, Chris tells that it's SO IMPORTANT. Why? What in the world is so important but letting co-workers, neighbors, whoever, see your large flabby belly and the number on the scale? Can't people be motivated to lose weight without public humiliation?

Or maybe the question is - why can't Chris just tell the truth - it's not because you need to make it the "first step of your journey" at all. It's for TV. The dramatic ending is more dramatic when those huge "before" photos show people looking horrible.

The mumbo-jumbo pop psychology the show deals in requires him to spout crap like "the first step of your journey," but I don't feel too much sympathy for the participants (except for the teacher who was weighed in front of his students) -- they signed on for this.

It annoys me that we see them stripped down in the beginning, but for the final reveal, they're completely covered up. I think that's because if they stripped down for the final weigh-in, their transformations would not seem so dramatic if we saw they still had flabby skin or little muscle tone. The obese men are not suddenly going to look as buff as Chris in a year, but that's the fantasy they're selling.

Chris still pulls weight loss goals and numbers out of his ass, but it seemed better in this episode. There seemed to be less emphasis on the numbers by all concerned.

I didn't think Josh seemed terribly overweight to begin with. Maybe it was his height that helped, but I was shocked when he said he was 200 pounds overweight.

Also, I call shenanigans that he had PTSD (not doubting that), but that all it took was a few sessions with Heidi & Chris's magical psychologist for him to "cure" it.

I think the freak-out with the mother and sister (not girlfriend; he's gay) over the food was him realizing the food struggle was going to be harder at home than at the ranch (or wherever they are for the first three months). Plus a healthy dollop of reality TV drama.

The fireman coach Chris got to help Josh with the firefighter obstacle course was hot -- but I think the race was rigged. Not that he didn't complete it, but that he beat an experienced firefighter.

I usually don't care for the female transformations, but I really liked Kelli. It made me laugh to wonder how well received the bearded, tattooed, ear gauge-having hipster boyfriend was at first.

[editorgrrl]

I think the freak-out with the mother and sister (not girlfriend; he's gay) over the food was him realizing the food struggle was going to be harder at home than at the ranch (or wherever they are for the first three months). Plus a healthy dollop of reality TV drama.

I didn't like Josh yelling at his family (paraphrased): "I can't have this in the house! I'm an addict! I'm hungry, so now I have to eat all the sticky buns!" Then he told his sister, Melissa, "You can't have this in the house, either!"

Yes, she's overweight, but perhaps she understands portion control and doesn't demonize food. One sticky bun (which Josh claimed was his favorite food evar) would not undo all those months of hard work. But no, get out the black plastic bin liners and make the family kitchen "safe" for Josh.

The camera panned over those condiments on the refrigerator door as if the mom & sister were hoarders or something. Drama, indeed.

Melissa was a passenger in the ambulance crash which killed their father, Bob. They were volunteer rescue workers, too—Bob was driving the ambulance to hospital. I'm glad Josh gave her the scholarship.

ETA: Josh's blog has lots of photos of him with Kelli and with Raymond & Robert from last week. Do all the participants train together? http://jhanes03.simplesite.com/418197830

Edited June 6, 2015 by editorgrrl

[SmithW6079]

Josh's blog has lots of photos of him with Kelli and with Raymond & Robert from last week. Do all the participants train together? http://jhanes03.simplesite.com/418197830

Chris mentioned something to the effect that Josh and Kelli had become close friends during their workouts. It surprised me -- I guess I assumed they all trained individually one at a time at the facility, but that doesn't make sense if a dozen people have the make-over of a lifetime.

I don't know why, but I find it adorable that Chris is the one who takes the participants shopping, even the women.

Edited June 6, 2015 by SmithW6079