DietTribe Season 2- episode 4- "Greatest Fears"

What are you afraid of? What is holding you back? I'm scared that I will end up gaining all the weight that I lost. I'm scared that people won't love me if I don't look a certain way. I'm scared of leaving my closet door open when I go to sleep at night.

Everyone is afraid of something, and this episode of DietTribe entitled "Greatest Fears" focused on the five women's fears and what hurdles they need to jump over to accomplish their ultimate goal: competing in the triathlon and losing 50 pounds. Or 35 pounds if you are Rita.

Day 62: Jessie meets the ladies at the beach, but instead of playing beach volleyball like last episode, they are all suited up in their swim gear to tackle an open water swim in preparation for the real deal. Tiffany is afraid that the ocean is stronger than she is. Rita doesn't like to swim in the ocean. But the ladies have only 6 weeks until they compete, and they need to know what they are really up against.

Swim Coach Diana Nyad meets them on the beach to guide them through this scary experience. We met her in episode 3 at the LA Expo when the women first were learning proper swimming technique. Jessie thought it would make the ladies a little more confident if they had her there to help. Diana asks them who is afraid and Rita and Tiffany immediately raise their hands. Rita is afraid to be out of control and Tiffany is totally out of her comfort zone. Even Jessie is nervous for the ladies!

The women will be swimming half the length they will be swimming at the triathlon- 200 meters. They run out into the choppy Pacific, and Tiffany is immediately slapped with a wave, knocking off her goggles. Rita and Laneesa easily take the lead, followed by Mary who starts to struggle with her breathing. Diana swims in to assist her, as Stephanie helps Tiffany who is really struggling. Mary is having a full blown panic attack, but Diana calmly talks to her and gets her to continue.

Surprisingly, Rita finishes first even though she was so apprehensive to start. She says the fear was her motivator- she just wanted to get out of the ocean as quickly as possible. Laneesa comes in second with ease. Stephanie and Tiffany tie for third. While Stephanie looks exhilarated and happy to have finished, Tiffany breaks down in tears. Mary came in last with Diana's assistance. She literally breaks down when Jessie goes to greet her. "It was a rough road," Mary said. But they made it.

Diana tells them she is inspired and heart warmed to see them overcoming their fears. And they did it as a team! Jessie couldn't be more happy that the ladies have been able to conquer every obstacle that has been put in their paths.

Day 63: Stephanie and Tiffany take their families to Knotts Berry Farm to spend some quality time. They tell their daughters how they used to be so large they couldn't fit on the rides. Now the ladies can strap in with ease- and Stephanie realizes that she has a new fear of roller coasters. She has so much fun on the first ride, however, that she decides to ride every ride in the park with her girls. Weight was no longer the issue. They could focus on fun and their families instead.

Then it is off to Laneesa's sister's house, where she is doing a little babysitting for her two nieces. We discover that Laneesa is a pretty fair singer, and likes to sing in front of her family. But she won't sing in public. She is afraid of being judged or being the center of attention. Something tells me that this will probably come up later. Maybe at. . .

Day 65: . . .therapy time with Stacy Kaiser. Stacy wants to focus on their fears and how they choose to overcome them. Stephanie says you just do it and it's part of the journey, like the ocean swim. Tiffany says she gets through the tough times because someone who loves her was there and they did it together. She says it helps to have someone to lean on.

I really believe this to be true. I know that with my friends I have met on Twitter and my blog help raise my level of accountability and diminish the fear factor. The 30 Day Challenges on my friend Paula's website make getting healthy fun because there is a team working together for a common goal.

Mary said that her fear turned into frustration, because the swimming didn't come easily to her. The frustration and fear turn into anxiety which triggered her panic attack. We know from last episode that Mary is a bit of a control freak. She felt exposed and unprepared. Rita, on the other hand, was panicked when she saw how far she as going to have to swim. She conquered her fear by just jumping in and doing it.

The swimming was so easy for Laneesa, but singing in public is not. Stacy challenges her by signing her up to sing "America the Beautiful" at a local baseball game. Stacy tells the ladies that experiencing fear and getting through it is how change comes about.

Day 66: The ladies decide to kick up their heels and take a salsa class. Dancing can burn up to 500 calories an hour, and is a fun alternative to working out on a treadmill. Everyone was laughing, having fun, and breaking a sweat.

Day 67: The tribe and Jessie are at Bally Total Fitness, where Jessie is helping them make the transition into becoming real athletes. Up to this point, they have been focusing on mostly cardio activities. Jessie wants to up the ante and get them into resistance training. Resistance training slows down the aging process, builds bone density, mass, and strength. (Try Jari Love's DVDs for amazing strength training!) He also shows the ladies how to add a stability ball to their weight lifting practice to further engage their core. Rita says she can do it while she is watching television- an excellent idea!

Day 69: Mary and Tiffany are planning Stephanie's 40th birthday bash. They head to Fantasea Yachts to check out the accommodations and to try a tasting menu. Tiffany is worried because she hasn't not eaten cleanly in such a long time- she doesn't want to sabotage all of her efforts. The food starts to roll out: crab cakes, bruschetta, fillet Mignon bites, coconut shrimp, glazed chicken, and for the finale? Cheesecake. Bum bum bum.

Tiffany starts to freak out a little. She can't eat the cheesecake because she doesn't trust herself not to eat the entire thing. Mary coaxes her to take a bite. This is how they can learn to eat in moderation! They are using willpower not to eat the entire thing, and know that they will be working it out in the gym.

Day 71: The tribe heads out to watch the Orange County Flyers baseball team and Laneesa singing during the seventh inning stretch. She is incredibly nervous. She finds the strength to go on with Stacy, the girls, and her boyfriend Matt (they have patched things up) to head out onto the field alone and sing. She sounds great! And she manages to conquer one of her biggest fears.

Day 72: It is time for their 10 week weigh in! Jessie is worried that the ladies are going to start to plateau and he doesn't want them to feel discouraged. The weigh in has highs and lows: Laneesa breaks the 300 pound mark, while Rita and Tiffany feel discouraged by lower weight loss totals.

Tiffany: starting weight- 221 current weight- 192 weekly loss- 4 pounds loss to date- 29 pounds
Rita: starting weight- 177 current weight- 160 weekly loss- 3 pounds loss to date- 17 pounds
Stephanie: starting weight-244 current weight-210 weekly loss-5 pounds loss to date-34 pounds
Mary: starting weight- 210 current weight- 176 weekly loss- 7 pounds loss to date- 34 pounds
Laneesa: starting weight-336 current weight- 297 weekly loss- 6 pounds loss to date- 38 pounds

Jessie promises he will work one on one with the ladies who have lost less weight to get them back on track. The team weight loss was only 25 pounds, so they don't reach the goal of 30 pounds that was set for them. No fabulous prize this week.

Jessie sets the new goal at 25 pounds, and hopes the ladies don't get discouraged. The ultimate prize is their health and competing in the triathlon.