S04.E01: Ty and Charita

[David T. Cole]

Your S04.E01 topic!

[ari333]

I hope I'm in the right thread because I don't know the seasons; but the names on this one sounded unfamiliar so I went with it. :)

 

Two hour season premiere tonight (?)

[Chip]

This is for tonight's show!

[k2p2]

Between the mimosa and her momma's snippy attitude about the pregnancy, I would have bet money Charita would be the one to flake. Well played, show.

 

What a disappointment Ty turned out to be.

 

I was surprised to see that they opened the season with two people who consistently did not hit their goals.

[QuePasa]

I call shenanigans. There's not a chance on Earth that guy was going to go straight to a major league team immediately just by losing some weight. I don't care how great a hitter he was. Certainly, if that were true there would have been other agents than the shady one out there to work with him. So this was all either fake or he was set up to fail by the show making promises to him that couldn't be kept. As soon as that fell through, it was over for him. That and his complete unwillingness to leave home.

Edited May 28, 2014 by QuePasa

[Ketzel]

Nineteen years old, emotionally scarred by his alcoholic mother, enabled in his unhealthy habits by his father and completely unable to face the reality of what a pro sports career would mean in terms of both the work involved and the changes it would make in his life, I'm not even a little surprised that Ty was the one who backed out. I'm more surprised he was persuaded to apply for the show in the first place. He may have been holding on to the fantasy that he would be a rich and famous athlete someday. but faced with what it would really take to get there, he couldn't cope. Too bad for him, because he did seem to have marketable talent.

 

 That  whole scene with the father figure who promised to get him a contract if he lost the weight, yadda yadda -  I didn't believe it for a second. First of all, the guy called himself "a marketing agent." Marketing agents promote products and industries. Sports agents represent athletes in negotiations. And why put him on camera and agree to work with him and THEN do due diligence on his bona fides? The producers didn't even google his name first? Bleh.

[k2p2]

Oh, I missed that he was 19. That's a lively rap sheet for a 19 year old.

[ari333]

I don't like the wife trainer and IDK why.

 

"Sports marketing" -- Well to me that is clearly not an agent and maybe it was on purpose? As in, if you lose __ number of pounds/ weight, you can be considered as the spokesperson for X weight loss products that may or may not have a sports theme.

[ari333]

Charity had a lovely face even before any weight loss. And holy crap if someone stopped me on a outing and asked me to dance on the spot, I'd be all,  "Wait! I need to go get a bra or sah-um or somebody's gonna lose an eye."

Do any of you know how to figure one's resting metabolic rate? TIA. DId they explain it and I missed it?

[readster]

Everything with Ty was a confusing mess. Didn't know if everything was made up or Ty was really that ignorant not to mention him even showing up again to: "Just leave me alone." Made no sense, more like it was said about being on TV and getting free trips to parts of the West Coast. What a mess and I hope we don't see him ever again.

[Rickster]

Haven't seen this show in years, but tuned in last night and it left me sort of disgusted with the Ty story. I find it impossible to believe that the producers didn't know the issues with the agent, which they found by googling? - before they ever put him on camera. Which means they set Ty up, probably hoping he would "overcome the crisis", but it backfired.

I also intensely disliked the trainer wife.

[ari333]

As mentioned, I too have a huge problem with the, "You only lost 75 pounds or 129 lbs or whatever the number..." That is astounding to me. Jesus, losing anything is a bit toward a goal. Walking to China starts with one step in the right direction.

 

Ok I know I can't walk to China from the US. :)

Edited June 2, 2014 by ari333

[k2p2]

I would think the vetting process asks about anything that might keep you from completing the year, and the contract undoubtedly stipulates what happens if you don't finish. So either Ty lied to them (I suspect telling the truth is not his strong suit), or the production team knew, and took a chance anyway, for whatever reason. Anyway, it seems pretty clear that diet and exercise are the least of his problems.

 

I wonder if he is on his mother's path to alcoholism? The "I quit" phone call sounded sort of drunk-dialish to me.

[ramble]

Add me to the anti-Heidi group. She seemed less caring in a way I can't quite define. I vaguely remember reading a snippet with her bragging about some hyper hard workout while about to drop this last baby & had the thought then that she might be a bit of a fanatic & would make me punch happy. I think I can say a definite yes on that thought.

Charita is gorgeous. I'm so impressed with the stay at home part she did. One husband, two jobs & three kids & she still did it. I think her teaching Zumba could make a huge difference in her staying on track. That's if it wasn't just a scripted set up & I really hope it wasn't.

Something fishy was going on with Ty. I'm not sure I buy the bit about everyone just discovering the shady agent-ish dude. It sounds like Ty likes to talk about change but rarely wants to do anything about it. Well don't we all, but most of us don't apply to a tv show focused on change. He wanted money to go to school & for a car? Maybe he didn't know what show he was applying to after all. I will say for such a young guy he has a very manly voice. It made Chris sound a little wimpy in comparison.

[Canada]

I don't think Ty had much chance of success.  Looking at his family, they are all obese as well and no mention was made of them making any changes to support him.  His dad actually looked bigger at the 3 month reunion.  He seemed to have a heck of a lot of issues that would need to be dealt with before trying to lose weight... he was very large from a very young age, and mentioned having been in "dark places", meaning this was not going to have a quick fix.  He also seemed quite selfish and entitled.  All in all, not a great combination for success.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I was so disappointed for Ty. He's going to look back and realize he missed a huge opportunity. I wish he had more support at home - I think that was his downfall, what with the alky mom and the dad sort of out of touch with reality. I mean - where were either of them when he was ramping up to this weight? He was like 300 pounds at age 12, I think he said - um, a 12 year old is not buying his own food. (And I say this as a fat person and from a place of love.)

[oceanchild3]

I had a big problem with Ty. The second the baseball contract was off the table he didn't care one bit about his health or weightloss. He said he wanted college tuition and a car. He was expecting "millions and millions". The whole thing really bothered me because Charita was such a better example and more deserving of the opportunity. Too bad Ty took someone else's chance.

[backformore]

Oh, I missed that he was 19. That's a lively rap sheet for a 19 year old.

 

no - the kid is 19, the rap sheet was for the agent or scam artist, or whatever he was.

 

The show was good, but it's VERY unrealistic to expect people to reach those goals.  Lose a lot of weight very quickly, and once you return to your normal routine, the weight will come back.  Especially if you're 19 and living with an overweight parent.

 

Something really bugged  me with Charita. at the final "reveal"  when the trainer was talking to the large group of people, he told her story  -  and connected her previous ABORTION to her weight gain.   Maybe it's related, maybe it's not, there's not way to know.  But that's a pretty personal thing for someone else to talk about.  Charita could tell whomever she chose to.  But to have someone else talk about her abortion, especially in front of her KIDS?   No, it's just wrong. 

 

Edited to add:   I also was not happy with the beginning of her segment, where she danced with the street dancers.  The dancing was OK, but when they made her TAKE HER SHIRT OFF to get weighed!  Really? outside, in front of family and strangers, standing there in her BRA?  It's not like you can't be weighed with a shirt on.  It was clearly done in order to show her rolls of fat.  Not classy.

 

What i liked about it the most, was how great Charita loked at the end, and she was a normal looking person.  160 pound woman, not a 110 pound waif. 

( I guess if 160 pounds looks good, i can feel better about myself, too)

 

 

Edited May 31, 2014 by backformore

[ari333]

no - the kid is 19, the rap sheet was for the agent or scam artist, or whatever he was.

 

The show was good, but it's VERY unrealistic to expect people to reach those goals.  Lose a lot of weight very quickly, and once you return to your normal routine, the weight will come back.  Especially if you're 19 and living with an overweight parent.

 

Something really bugged  me with Charita. at the final "reveal"  when the trainer was talking to the large group of people, he told her story  -  and connected her previous ABORTION to her weight gain.   Maybe it's related, maybe it's not, there's not way to know.  But that's a pretty personal thing for someone else to talk about.  Charita could tell whomever she chose to.  But to have someone else talk about her abortion, especially in front of her KIDS?   No, it's just wrong. 

 

Edited to add:   I also was not happy with the beginning of her segment, where she danced with the street dancers.  The dancing was OK, but when they made her TAKE HER SHIRT OFF to get weighed!  Really? outside, in front of family and strangers, standing there in her BRA?  It's not like you can't be weighed with a shirt on.  It was clearly done in order to show her rolls of fat.  Not classy.

 

What i liked about it the most, was how great Charita loked at the end, and she was a normal looking person.  160 pound woman, not a 110 pound waif. 

( I guess if 160 pounds looks good, i can feel better about myself, too)

 

 

I quoted your whole post because you took the words right out of my mouth. Totally agree.

 

She did look lovely at 160.

 

I felt bad for the other baseball guy because I feel like he kind of got duped and when he balked at being duped he got shown the door. Sad (imo) He really needed some help

[auntie thesis]

Just watched this episode.

 

Ty bothered me on many levels, but the highest level of annoyance was his pissing a wonderful opportunity away. So you're not going to be an insta-star. Big effin' whoop de whoop. Hitting 500 ft home runs might be a big deal but newsflash! There are guys out there that can hit 400 ft homers AND run the bases AND play multiple positions on the fields. Those guys go to college, play in the minors and end up riding the bench for most of their professional careers. And this kid thinks he's going to waltz onto a pro team if he gets below 350 because?

 

En-fucking-titlement at it's finest. Obviously, he was only cast for his backstory of "promising baseball hopeful with a chip on his shoulder due to mommy issues.". Either the casting department is asleep at the wheel and the whole thing backfired horribly, or it was a set up from the get-go. My question is why bother with people like this guy in the first place? He obviously wasn't ready to change, wasn't willing to change and most damning of all, had no perspective on what being "normal" or having a "real" life meant. Did his family and coaches just give him a free pass for 10+ years, telling him that if he hit enough home runs, everything would be okay in the end? 

 

That was my take on it and EWL needs to wake the fuck up and quit casting these pie-in-the-sky immature sob story characters. These people are better off on TBL where they are quickly dealt with by the meatgrinder named Jillian who decimates their egos on day 2 and sends them packing when they can't figure out how to play the game.

 

-----

 

Charita looked nice and I enjoyed her story a lot. She was very down-to-earth and relateable. I didn't like the talk of her abortion outside of the staged talk with her parents. It seemed a bit tasteless when juxtaposed with the friendly joking about Heidi's pregnancy at boot camp and at other times during the show. Otherwise, I think that Charita could have easily pulled off a 90 minute show of her own without it feeling too forced. I'd rather they have given Ty's spot to someone like Charita, who actually wanted to lose weight despite the struggles.

 

-----

 

Add me to the Heidi halfway-to-hateville train. I was okay with her guest appearances last season, but I feel like they are shoehorning her into their scripted plots a bit much.

[Eeksquire]

 

Add me to the Heidi halfway-to-hateville train. I was okay with her guest appearances last season, but I feel like they are shoehorning her into their scripted plots a bit much.

Yeah… the thing about Heidi is that, ok, I get it if Chris doesn't want to be on the road and away from his family all the time (now that they have 5? kids) so a format change was required, but: just because YOU Chris Powell, are now spending a lot more time with your wife does not mean that WE America, need to spend a lot more time with your wife.  I get that people who have made fitness their lives' work are REALLY INTO IT, but something about her attitude seems way more judgmental to me than Chris's.  It might be the "I'm [however months'] pregnant and still kicking your ass!" - I seem to recall Chris being much more about the people on the show competing with themselves and using what they used to be able/not be able to do as the yardstick rather than trying to get them to compete with Chris.

[auntie thesis]

I like Chris. I would totally watch a weight loss show with Chris Powell and Dolvett Quince as the only trainers. I don't know if anyone else here watched TBL Season whatever when they had the trainer competition for what was supposed to be the vacancy left by Jillian. That was the season where they had Dolvett, Brett (he's on Dr. Oz now, I believe) and this professional boxer named Cara competing for Jillian's spot. Heidi reminds me a lot of that Cara chick who seemed to just be along for the ride that season. She wasn't a good trainer, didn't really inspire people, and had zero acting ability. She had a elite athlete/Jersey girl thing going on and no one liked her.

 

Heidi has a "trainer's wife/badass Crossfit mama" thing going on. She isn't particularly warm, has no acting ability, and doesn't seem to have the sincerity or the seriousness that Chris does. She's just sort of there and TPTB write her into the script to justify her continued presence on the show. I'm all for her being there IF she is really a good trainer (I tolerate Jillian because she does get the best out of her TBL peeps) or has something to offer a contestant that Chris cannot handle. (I'm thinking of that girl who developed an eating disorder last year as an example.) Realistically though, this show needs to learn from TBL's mistakes and put these people in therapy with professional therapists, stat! Trainers are not therapists, counselors, psychologists, doctors or life coaches. They are there to help you exercise and reach your health, fitness and maybe dietary goals. They can be your friends, but you shouldn't be living with them, vacationing with them, or crossing other boundaries.

 

Personally, I think that Chris tries to fill the Daddy void that a lot of this people seem to have and maybe Heidi is doing the same for people with Mommy issues. The shit is getting old and it isn't helpful. Overweight people with those sorts of issues need to deal with those first, then work on weight loss, imo. Most of the success stories are not young people like Ty, Josh, Alex, and the girl with the eating disorder whose name I can't remember who are still reeling from terrible childhoods and bad parenting; they're adults like Charita, Kathie, Ashley and her husband and Jacqui who have incentives to clean up their own acts.

 

I suppose that I am only bitching about this episode because it pissed me off so badly. Ty threw a golden opportunity away. Out of thousands of people who tried and prayed and desperately wanted the opportunity offered by EWL, he was chosen. He said he dreamed of playing baseball and they were there willing to help him achieve that dream to the best of their ability. He chooses to go back to Oklahoma for whatever reason instead, quitting the program entirely. I would love to know if there weren't solid reasons why he quit. It seems so...stupid to just give all of it up to go home to be "normal".

 

Didn't he realize that if he lost the weight and got in good shape, he probably could have gotten a scholarship to pay for college? Wasn't he aware that if he would have stuck it out another 8-9 months, he would have gotten a chunk of change from Walmart? Don't these people get paid stipends while they are in sequesterville like contestants on other shows? So even if there wasn't a chunk of change or promises of scholarships down the line, he could have at least saved some money to put down on a car and pay for a semester or two at the local community college when the show was over?

 

Questions, questions!

[AV8n]

Speaking of the chunk of change from Walmart, are they no longer our friends?  I don't remember Charita getting a gift card or bag o' groceries.

[auntie thesis]

Now that you mention it, I don't remember seeing Charita get any parting gifts. Maybe Wal-mart isn't sponsoring the show anymore?

 

My DVR cut the last episode short due to bad weather advisories, so I don't know if they got anything either.

 

I was pretty sure that they at least got a cash gift though, even in the first season before Walmart stepped in they got a cash gift, I think.