Last night, the contestants made promises and faced their fears, but before they can all sweat for the chance at that money, they have one final hurdle to clear. The Weigh in. And now the game really begins.
Just a reminder of who is what colour
GERALD AND TODD: Father and Son, VIC (Green Team)
SAM AND JESS: Father and Daughter, QLD (Red Team)
MANDY AND BRETT: Mother and Son, WA (Grey Team)
RICHARD AND AMBER-ROSE: Father and Daughter, QLD (Blue Team)
JANET AND KIRSTEN: Mother and Daughter, VIC (Pink Team)
ROBYN AND KATIE: Mother and Daughter, TAS (Orange Team)
CHRIS AND MARK: Father and Son, VIC (Black Team)
After a brief recap, we are welcomed back into the shiny new weigh in room where Hayley reminds us that the couples will weigh in and be eliminated together. First up to weigh in is the orange team. Katie says going first is gut wrenching and one of the most confronting things she’s ever done while Robyn admits she didn’t want to be first as everyone will know what she will weigh and its humiliating. Robyn weighs in at 112.1kg while Katie weighs in at 136.8kg. Together they weigh 248.9kg. When asked about what it’s like to be a teenager at 137kg, Katie admits there is nothing she hides because she doesn’t want to be judged, so she doesn’t go out. Robyn finds it heartbreaking and blames herself for trapping Katie in that state. This upsets Katie as no one forced her to eat. Hayley calls them brave and reminds them that the number can only go down from here.
Next up to weigh in is team blue. Amber admits on the way up to the scale that due to hiding in her room she’s the only one that knows her weight. Amber weighs 111.6kg while dad Richard is 139.7kg giving them a combined weight of 251.3kg. Amber doesn’t feel good because she gets up in the afternoon and goes straight for the food and TV and she’s not living. Richard tells us that his wife passed away due to weight and health issues. This set off alarm bells and explains why they are here. Michelle asks Amber what she wants. She wants to the let the darkness out and accept light in to her life with the trainer’s help.
After them, it’s team red’s turn to weigh in. Jess hasn’t weighed herself in over 5 years. Sam weighs in 129.4kg while Jess is higher at 134.1kg, giving them a total of 263.5kg.
Sam is shattered that Jess is heavier than him. It’s devastating and sparks a fire within him while Jess tells him it’s not his fault.
The grey team weighs in next and Brett can’t remember the last time he took his shirt off in front of people and Mandy only realises how big she actually is when she buys clothes. Brett is the heaviest contestant this season, weighing in at 187.9kg while Mandy is 113.3kg, giving them a combined total of 301 .2kg. Brett feels terrible and is not happy. In fact, the last time he was happy was at age 12 while playing basketball and he promises to put in 180%. Next up is team Pink. Janet has never revealed her weight to anybody. While Kirsten is disgusted that Janet is 106.6, Kirsten is 98.1. their combined total is 204.7kg.
Janet is absolute terrified about losing Kirsten at a young age due to a range of medical conditions that run in the family. Kristen’s mindset is that Janet is a hypocrite (her exact words) because she’s saying all of this but she’s not doing it as well.
Next up is team green. Todd is scared while Gerald hides his weight away and doesn’t think about it. Todd is 112.2kg while Gerald 159.1kg. Combined, they are 271.3kg. Gerald blames himself 100% as Todd is his shadow. It is revealed that it was Gerald’s daughter Sophie that gave him the idea to join TBL. Everyone’s crying after the story. Michelle reminds him he is a good dad but he’s just missing the tools to be healthy. They are here so Todd can get his life back.
Black team are next to face the scales. Mark wants the ground to swallow him up while Chris is questioning why he hasn’t tried to do anything before this. Chris 152.3kg while Mark is 162.9kg, totalling 315.2kg.
Chris doesn’t see his life any different from when he was 19 and 90kg. Michelle tells him to be honest. He say he is. Michelle’s not buying this and mentions what happens when he’s on his own. He responds that it really only affect him occasionally and the Commando thinks Mark is totally kidding himself. This ends the weigh in.
After the break, the contestants check out the new house
That afternoon the contestants are called outside to their first training session. Because they are too slow walking out, all contestants get into the push up position. This year there are no teams, so the trainers will pick who to work with each day. The Commando takes the orange, green and black teams, while Michelle takes blue and red which leaves Shannon with pink and grey.
The Commando takes them to the sand pit. Katie is excited while Robyn doesn’t like being dirty, but she will be happy if Katie is. Everyone’s a little scared but they are told to use that fear. The sandpit is full of sand bags and benches with their task being to clean it.
Michelle takes her team to the gym where they are all scared and excited. Michele tells us that her sessions are about empowering people to be all they’re worth and grow confidence. Michelle pulls out a spew bucket just in case.
Shannon tells us that respect and integrity are paramount in his gym which is a boxing gym. Shannon puts Brett on a boxing bag while the rest are doing star jumps. Back in the sand pit, it’s all clear and the contestants are walking around the sand pit and are exhausted. Mark realises he was not ready at all. In the gym, Michelle has her contestants doing jumping jacks and push ups. Richard can’t get up and this is just the warm up.
The contestants are now running on the treadmills and Jess couldn’t breathe due to smoking and gets the bucket. She struggles, but manages to get up on the treadmill and continue. Back at the fight club all contestants bar Brett are working fantastically so it’s time to give Brett some one on one time on the spin bikes. His leg are shot and he’s wrecked.
Back at the sand pit, the contestants are running and touching. Mark is a little slow so the commando brings up what was said at the weigh in. Mark admits he was kidding himself and his weight does affect him. The Commando wants him to push himself.
Back at the fight club, Brett is having one-on-one boxing training with Shannon but he’s not putting in any effort so Shannon takes him outside. He doesn’t want to do anything that is out of his comfort zone and after a pump up from Shannon he goes back inside to finish the session.
We return to the house and the trainers meet the contestants in the lounge with Dr Norman Swan. Before the show began, all participants took medical tests and through computer technology we are treated to what the children will look like at their parent’s age.
First up is the red team. The graphics are what you’d expect from that ‘Honey, We’re Killing The Kids’ special TEN aired back in 2007. They’re shocking. But you have to see them to believe them. Jess is told her life expectancy is 66. Sam’s is 69. Jess’ life expectancy is shorter than her father’s, and her last 25 years will be plagued with disabilities.
Next are Robyn and Katie from the orange team. Katie’s face goes through the transformation. No difference in shockingness. Katie’s life expectancy will be 70, ten years less than Robyn.
Next is the green team with Gerald and Todd. Todd cannot view the transformation due to his young age. With Gerald already facing the first stages of a disability-filled obesity-driven life, Todd is facing a worse future. By Gerald’s age, Todd may not even be able to climb stairs.
Time for the Black team. Same shocking images. Same story- a shorter lifetime than his father’s. Janet & Kirsten follow. Team after team, it is the exact same story. Brett’s future probably looks the most bleak. As the competition’s heaviest contestant, this isn’t a big shock to me, personally. A big shock to me is Amber’s life prospects- she has a whopping thirty years of disability ahead of her. Not only that, she faces the possibility of death before her own father
This was a joint recap published with the assistance of Courtney