Previously on The Biggest Loser… New Zealand stuff!

Tonight on The Biggest Loser… more New Zealand stuff!
Tiffany, Meaghan and Julie face their fears. Tiffany’s going up in an airplane and Meaghan and Julie are looking at a helicopter. It looks like Meaghan might be swinging from underneath it?

Shannan says coming to New Zealand and facing your fears sounds good in theory, until you have to actually do it. You still have to be brave enough to deal with your fears. Thanks, Shannan!

Tiffany’s with Michelle at an aerodrome, watching a light plane take off. Michelle says Tiffany’s going up there… and how are you going to get down from there? Skydiving!
“Awwww! Oh shit!” – Tiff
Tiffany says she’s never been on a light plane before, only been on large planes a couple of times even.

Michelle wants Tiffany to step out and be the woman she wants to be. She’s not just a mother and wife, she’s also a strong, independent female. Tiffany’s going to leave behind the old habits after jumping out of the plane.
Tiffany used to snack on chocolate and chips while working.

Michelle goads Tiffany along when she’s looking pretty scared. She says Tiffany said she was a strong woman in training and she yelled it at Echo Point.
Tiffany says she felt the nerves and did feel afraid, but that’s part of being brave. Being brave is having those feelings and doing it anyway!

Michelle’s going up on the plane for support, cheer from the sidelines and whatnot, but Tiffany will ultimately be doing it on her own.
Michelle asks Tiffany if two months ago she’d’ve been able to jump out of a plane. Tiffany says she’d thought about it because her husband has done it heaps and said it’s awesome.
Ben, her husband, was in 3RAR, a paratrooper regiment, so he’s jumped out of planes just a few times!

Michelle says Tiffany has evolved, she’s stronger and has more self-belief and self-worth. And she’s about to jump out of a plane! Which is apparently making her a great role model for her daughter.
Not sure I’d want my daughter jumping out of planes! Scary! Stay on the ground, parachutes failing on the ground don’t matter!

Anyway, they all hop on board and head off into the sky. Tiffany’s freaking out during the takeoff. She says her heart came up into her throat!
As they open the jump door a huge rush of freezing cold air comes in and Tiffany is shocked. “I’m going to diiiiie!”

Tiffany’s strapped to an instructor, seeing as its her first dive that’s to be expected. But it also means she’s technically first out of the plane. Eeek!
But once she looks down at the ground from the side of the plane, something within her changes, she says. And she gives a happy yell and they jump out!

After she jumps out she can look down at the ground coming up to her and she’s finding it to be awesome!
Then she gets to pull the parachute which pulls her back into the air.
Ground rushing up at her, parachutes pulling her into the air. I don’t think Tiffany really understands physics!

She makes it down okay, of course! They actually manage to land right on the Biggest Loser banner. Well done!
She loved the experience. She says when she hit the ground all she could think was she wanted to do it again! She’s really excited and thinks life will never be the same again!

“Now I am freeeeee!”

Ooh, another catchup with the “Second Chance” couples.
Donna-Louise is first, with her brother Jamie. Double bunger FIRST name? Jebus.

On Donna’s Mum’s side of the family there’s a lot of health issues. Jamie’s wife has heart issues so he needs to make sure he’ll be there for the kids.
125.9kg is what Donna started at and she’s down to 113.1kg. 12.8kg total loss so far. Not bad for an outsider!

Jamie started at 182kg (wow!) and he’s lost 25.1kg so far. Also not bad!
They both still really look their weights but it looks like they’re getting it done. Good for them!

Kate and Ben are friends. Kate’s from Adelaide and Ben’s from Canberra. Kate’s married to some dude. Not Ben.
Ben started at 159.9kg and he’s lost 27.2kg!
Kate started at 118kg and she’s lost 20.3kg so far. Very impressive!
Ben’s hoping to lose 40-50kg in total. He knows it’s attainable now and it’ll be healthy and good for him and help him get girls! Kate cracks up at that.

Meaghan’s turn to face her fears!
Shannan’s organised this for her so it’s bound to be tailored to scare her quite well!
They’re back at Mount Tarawera. Meaghan’s worried. Julie’s with her to provide some support, says Julie.

Shannan chose the experience especially for Meaghan after hearing how much it would mean to her to set herself free.
Meaghan says her weight almost ruined her life. She became paranoid about people judging her in negative ways she shut herself away from the world. Literally shut her bedroom door and wouldn’t come out.
Meaghan tells us she’s lived with it for as long as she can remember so she doesn’t know how to let go.

Shannan then announces that what Meaghan will be doing has never been done before, they weren’t even sure they could get permission to do it but they were eventually allowed to.
Meaghan’s not sure how Shannan wants her to let go of the past. They’re at the top of the mountain and god only knows what he’ll want her to do.
And then Meaghan stops talking and looks a bit off camera. Presumably while imagining the things she’d like Shannan to ask her to do.

Apparently there’s an ancient maori legend about Mount Tarawera, an evil being who used to prey on travellers was imprisoned in the volcano but was eventually pushed up out of the ground and set free, from out of the crater.
So now Meaghan’s going to be asked to do something amazing and set herself free.

“You ready?” “Yeah?”
Shannan pulls out a radio and says, “Okay boys, bring it around.”

It’s a helicopter. With a teeeeny tiny person dangling underneath it.
That’s what Meaghan’s Face Your Fear will be. Dangle under the choppa!

Meaghan says it looks terrifying.

It’s a 30 metre rope dangling under the helicopter. She has to step off the mountain while attached and would then swing underneath while the helicopter floated around the canyon.
“How do you feel?” “Nervous as hell!”

Julie starts crying because it’s another hardship Meaghan has had to go through. Apparently she’s had a rotten past in the last couple of years so she’s put up a lot of barriers in that time. We’ve not really heard anything about what Meaghan’s issues were.

Meaghan’s getting a safety brief while she gets strapped into her safety harness. Julie says she’ll understand if Meaghan doesn’t go through with it because it looks so scary. But she’s trying to be brave for Meaghan because she doesn’t want to scare Meaghan!
Meaghan has a camera strapped to her helmet. She looks like a snork!

She finally gets lifted off of the ground and into the air and screams as instructed, “I’M FREE!”
Meaghan says it was probably the scariest moment of her life, but now she knows if she wants to take a leap she can do so. It was liberating and she could enjoy the time floating around.

Julie’s had a burden lifted off her mind, Shannan says. She could see her daughter being completely free for the first time in years.
Meaghan’s getting more comfortable too. Waving like a doofus while floating overhead and sticking her arms and legs out like a star!

“Nothing can stop me now.”

Julie says she’s proud of what Meaghan’s done. And Shannan asks if Julie’s proud of what she’s done so far too? And she is.
Shannan says that’s good because we didn’t just come here for Meaghan… Julie doesn’t move for a second and then it sinks in and she says “Oh gawdddd.” And Meaghan says, “Ohhhhhhh you’re doing it too!”
Sneaky bastard, Shannan!

Julie’s first thought was she can’t do this, she’s a grandmother!
Shannan tells her she can do this. Has he ever given her anything she can’t do? Has he ever put her in anything he didn’t think she was prepared for? No and no!

Julie came on the show for her family, her husband and her marriage.
While Julie talks about how she cheated her husband of so many years we get another shot of Julie back when she was a hot-hot bride!
Her Dad once said he’d never change a thing about his life. But Julie’s husband probably wouldn’t say that. He’d probably change a few things and Julie would be one of them. :(

Julie’s petrified, Meaghan says. Her Mum wouldn’t even go on merry go rounds before. She’d never do anything like this!
Julie tells Shannan she doesn’t want to say no.
Shannan and Meaghan are encouraging her. Shannan asks her if she ever thought she’d be in the final 6 of the show? No!

“God, give me some strength.” “No, Julie, give yourself strength. Look inside you.” Is Shannan an atheist? Or have a god complex? Hmm.

Julie wants to start feeling good and feeling proud, how hard could it be?
Meaghan says this can be their mountain from now on, their own thing!

“Alright, let’s do it.” Yay Julie!

Julie’s getting pretty nervous. She says the little voice in her head was saying people would understand if she didn’t do it, she’s a grandmother and she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to do!
“Don’t cook your own head.” Shannan’s words of wisdom!

Shannan and Meaghan are on either side of her before the liftoff.

Then she’s all hooked up and the helicopter lifts off… and Julie squeezes her eyes shut as she goes up into the sky!
She manages to open them a few times during the flight. She can see Meaghan and Shannan at one point but she can’t let go to wave her hands because she’s so scared.
But she said it’s amazing, looking down at the ground and knowing that she was actually doing it. She was scared, but she was doing it.

Julie finally comes back down and she’s in shock still. Then she gets up and wanders over to Shannan and Meaghan and Julie tells us Meaghan said she was proud of her, which Julie really needed to hear and she hopes the rest of her family feels proud too.

Night time on Gilligan’s Island. And The Commando is on the prowl through the jungle. Night training session. “As far as I’m concerned they can sleep when they’re dead!
And it seems like he really did bust in on them unawares since the cabin isn’t lit and they’re both in their underpants.

In seperate beds.

Steve says there’s no sweet dreams tonight, it’s time to get it on! Tonight’s session is about going above and beyond. Doing that little bit more that someone else isn’t willing to do.

Lots of interval training and commando crawls across the lawn.
Steve wants them fitter physically and mentally because this is about changing their lives.
It’s coming to the end and they’ve got to put in if they want to stay in the game.

He has them counting their pushups out loud. Nathan’s saying it quite loudly, Bob’s struggling a bit but getting through it too. Nathan calls across to Bob when they’re done and lying on the lawn, “I can guarantee you that they’re not doing this back at Camp Biggest Loser!”
Bob and Nathan stagger back to the bungalow with Nathan throwing an arm around Bob and asking if he’d like a run!

Meanwhile back in New Zealand, they’re talking about their fear challenges. Cam’s saying he’ll be going abseiling again. Good for him!
Julie then asks if that means she needs to buy a helicopter.

Michelle and Shannan arrive then to say goodbye before they head back to Australia. Shannan says they wanted to let them know how much the contestants had inspired them with their actions over the last week.
Shannan says to them that for the last couple of months they’ve been bombarding the contestants with philosophies and how they can live their lives in the future.
Michelle wants them to apply what they’ve learnt to their real lives now.

And for the gifts Shannan and Michelle have received they’ve now got some Maori gifts for the contestants that they’ve picked up from around New Zealand.

Sammy’s first. Her gift is a fish hook. A decorative one, not a functional one! It represents strength, courage, determination… safe travel over water! They’re all things that will help her with her new life.
We finally get a good look at the fish hook as Michelle dangles it around her neck and it’s a really pretty fish hook!
Sammy says that failing’s not so bad, you learn lessons from failing. She’s learnt that lesson!

Sean’s medallion thing is an adze (?) which represents strength, focus, determination but most of all for him, control. He’s got to keep things under control.
Lots of these things seem to represent strength. I guess you don’t bother fashioning jewellery that represents weakness.

Tiffany’s turn next. Her gift is a.. double.. something. It’s two folding ferns coming together in perfect balance. They represent opposite but complimentary traits – like her and Ben!
It looks really nice too, silvery like Sam’s fish hook.

Julie’s gift is a two-tone coor-roo thing like Tiffany’s thing. It’s some sort of white shell like material framing some orange-y looking rock (?) in the center. It symbolises tranquility and peace!
“Have you ever seen a fern stressing out? Have you ever seen a fern leaf worry where it’s going, that it might have to do something mad that day? No! It’s peaceful. It doesn’t stress, it just grows. That’s all it’s got to do. Same as you!” Shannan’s a doofus!
Julie tells us she’ll treasure it. If she’s ever struggling again she’ll remember the moment he gave that to her and the words of encouragement he gave her.
Shannan says to Julie that he had no idea the poor old grandma who shuffled onto the beach on Fitzroy Island would be swung four or five hundred feet off the bottom of a canyon by a helicopter, “you crazy thing!”

Julie says the new Julie came back from that experience. She’s strong, looking forward to the future, not afraid anymore. Proud and happy!

Cameron’s turn. “Oh Cameron, where do I start? We’ve had such a great time together. Good, bad, ugly, all mixed into one.”
Michelle’s picked “Living Strength”? It represents confidence, pride and self belief. He’s become a true man now.
Cam’s learnt that the comfort zone is a flat line and people with a flat line are dead. And that was him when he came to the show. Shannan’s very impressed by Cam’s realisation, “that’s super, dude!”
Cam says he used to go to work, come home, lay down and do nothing, get up and go to work again. So why wouldn’t his wife want to leave him, bit boring living with a dead man.
The journey’s given him a life and with the life comes his wife and that’s what he wants!

Michelle says over the last week he’s earnt her respect.
Cam says that when something clicked inside his head and he started wanting to do the training, the trainers started saying they had respect for him and it’s great to hear that from them.

Meaghan’s last of all. She’s got the most recognisable symbol from New Zealand – a green stone tiki!
It symbolises, most importantly for her to start with, loyalty. Loyalty to herself, loyalty to her family, loyalty to her friends. It’s also a good luck charm.
And Shannan tells us in an aside that, later on down the track, it also symbolises fertility!
Ewww, breeders!

Michelle and Shannan then say the next time they’ll see them will be back in Australia. But the contestants aren’t quite finished with New Zealand yet, so be prepared!

Tomorrow night… SUPER CHALLENGE! WOO!
One person’s journey will come to a shocking end, apparently.
Six of them arrived in New Zealand, but only five will be returning to Camp Biggest Loser.
It all looks very exciting. Especially the bit where Cam stacks it on his bike!