This episode begins with all 20 people gathered outside of the gates to the Biggest Loser Ranch. Alison, the emcee for the show, announces that only 9 of the teams will enter through the gates and one team will be eliminated without setting foot on the ranch itself. Three challenges narrow the contestants down ending with one couple being asked to leave. The losing couple was a brother/sister team from Evanston, IL., Daphne and Adrian Dortch. Daphne is 37 years old, a single mother of three and arrived at the Ranch weighing 271 lbs. She earned a degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University with two children and one on the way, and is a music producer and community activist. Her brother, Adrian, weighed 370 lbs. and studied music and business at Columbia College in Chicago.
It was a heartbreak to see them standing in tears outside the gate as the other 18 people celebrated with smiles and high fives as they passed under the arches and into the hopes of losing weight and gaining a new lease on life. As the couple embraced and attempted to comfort one another, I could not help but think of the kingdom of heaven and those that will be left outside of the gates. How happy I was to remember that we do not have to win a contest or earn our way into those gates. The gates open with the key of grace, the free gift of God through the sacrifice of Jesus for us, and the redemption that comes from the loving God to all who trust in Him. After the others entered the ranch, Alison talked with Adrian and Daphne. She notified them that they will have a second chance to enter the game. After one month, they will be asked back to the ranch. If they combine for a weight loss of 50+ lbs, they will rejoin the group and compete in the game. Adrian seemed motivated; Daphne seemed deflated – only time will tell of their reaction to this second chance and the results over the next 30 days.
Upon entering the ranch, the rest of the teams found out that they were no longer couples but had to split up and each member selected to work with one of the two trainers (Bob and Dolvett). As the trainer began to get to know the players and the players began to understand the challenges ahead, many leadership qualities quickly emerged. Bob began to inspire his team members and encourage them toward the transformation that was going to take place in their bodies. One team member was so encouraged to realize that “Bob Harper would believe in me.” Although Bob pushed his team to physical exhaustion, he propped them up with hope and instilled in their minds that he truly valued them. How incredibly important this is for effective leaders. Leaders can push and demand if those under their supervision know that the leader values them. One of the characteristics of a servant as leader is that he/she values people and Bob demonstrates this quality on a consistent basis earning the respect of his players.
Dolvett was just as verbal in his challenge and his encouragements. At one point in the work-out he noticed his team lacking passion, so he called the whole team together in the gym and confronted the “culture of moping” that he was observing. He exhorted them to develop an awareness of the urgency of the moment. The team members responded and renewed their commitment to one another and to his leadership. Casting a vision and capturing the urgency of the mission enables leaders and their team to accomplish great and significant things.
At the first weigh-in of the season, Dolvett's team lost the highest percentage of weight. Bob's losing team then had to vote to eliminate one of their members. In a group meeting prior to the vote, Megan (who lost the least amount of weight on her team: 7 lbs) asked not to be voted out because there was nothing to help her back home. Ben, who lost 15 lbs and presented himself as a strong player, shared that he had everything back home for success, that he greatly missed his family, and requested that the team vote him off the ranch. And so, Ben became the first player to leave the competition. Ben's sacrifice enabled Megan to stay in the game and she acknowledged that his decision may have saved her life. Part of me hates to see a player throw in the towel and “give up.” I know that Daphne and Adrian would have loved to compete and yet Ben was willing to bail out after just one week. On the other hand, Ben's sacrifice allowed Megan to stay on the ranch for at least one more week.
Ben (Shuh) is 34 years old. He was born in Dayton, OH (where I currently reside) and has lived in Ohio, Florida, Texas and currently in Howell, Michigan. Ben is a retail store manager and has a family of 9 children with number 10 on the way. Ben is divorced and remarried and enjoys a blended family that consists of 4 children from his first marriage, 4 kids from his new wife's first marriage and one child together. He came to the ranch weighing 396 pounds; he lost 15 pounds the first week and since being home has dropped 35 more pounds. His goal is to lose 150 pounds by the season finale. I will be interested to see if he is able to utilize his supportive family to accomplish his goals.
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