DietTribe Season 2- episode 4- "Intervention"

Just like one of my other favorite reality shows with the same title, DietTribe has been intervening in these 5 ladies lives for almost 2 months now. But as we find out, it isn't only their lives that have been affected by poor choices and excuses. These ladies also have families that need to be fixed as well.

Day 46: Trainer Jessie meets the ladies on the beach to show them some fun ways to burn calories. He insists that if working out feels more like play, they can burn calories and have a good time. They play paddle ball, volley ball, and Stephanie shows us how surprisingly flexible she is by landing in a full splits position. Whoa. Beach volleyball torches a surprising amount of calories- about 500 calories an hour.

Day 47: Mary and Stephanie take their children and go to the grocery store. They start strong, insisting on shopping on the periphery of the store in the healthy areas. Then their children begin to nag at them. Slowly, they begin to drift towards the naughtier areas of the store: sodas, candy, cookies, chips. Mary gets so frustrated she gives in, and we see some no items ending up in the cart. These busy moms think that just a few bad snack choices are okay, as long as they are making healthy eating choices most of the time.

Day 49: All five ladies meet at Laneesa's house for a Stacy Kaiser intervention. But not for themselves: this intervention focuses on their children. Stacy has brought hidden camera footage to show their negative eating habits. When the parents aren't paying attention, their children are rifling through the cabinets, looking for chips, cookies, donuts, ice cream. Mary's daughter, Cheyenne, ate four snacks after dinner.

Stacy breaks it down, using a rule that my own parents used: the kids should have to ask permission to get any food from the kitchen. Then there is a parental choice being made. She shines the light on the women, making them say out loud the real reasons why they are keeping these terrible foods in the house, which include keeping the kids quiet, trying to make them happy, and thinking that there isn't any real harm in keeping these food around.

Stacy points out that giving in to their children is teaching the kids that they can manipulate their parents, and they are rewarding their bad habits with food. Basically, the women are instilling the bad habits in their children that they themselves are trying to break free from.

They all agree that things need to change, and Stacy announces the ladies will be meeting with celebrity chef Cat Cora to learn some healthy kids recipes.

Day 50: We return to the softball field where the show all began, and watch Team Misfits kicking some serious tail on the field. The ladies are so excited to see all the benefits of their hard work. They can run, they can catch, they can hit the ball and actually do it with ease. And they actually win their game! They win in other ways, too, by resisting the challenge of going to their friendly neighborhood bar and not ordering beer and cheesy fries.

Day 51: It is now Mary's time for some one on one with Stacy. Stacy was concerned over a statement that Mary made in a previous group therapy session: sometimes, she sits in the car outside of her home and doesn't want to come inside. She knows it will be constant chatter and it really stresses her out. We discover that Mary is a TOTAL control freak. If it isn't done the way that she wants it, she would rather do it herself. Stacy shows her that this behavior is the reason why she is feeling so stressed out. She must learn to delegate the housework to the rest of her family so she can become a happier, healthier, and less stressed mom.

Day 54: The tribe heads out to meet Cat Cora for a healthful snack and recipe session. Cat is a mother herself, and with a busy foodie empire, she knows first hand what the ladies must do to make some healthy alternatives that kids will love. She shows them how to make baked chicken fingers, trail mix popcorn, and frozen yogurt banana pops. I can't wait to try the popcorn (my fave!). All the recipes can be found on www.mylifetime.com.

Day 56: At Mary's house, Mary is teaching little Cheyenne how to make Cat's chicken fingers. It is a fun mommy/daughter activity, and Mary seems to relax a bit about the whole anal retentive business. She then sits down with her daughters and husband to delegate chores. Her eldest daughter actually volunteers to take on duties (crazy!) and little Cheyenne looks on in horror as she discovers she has to empty all the trashcans around the house and must ask for permission before she can get her own snacks. Looks like Mary is going to start being a happier mom.

Day 57: Jessie surprises the ladies at Bally Total Fitness by announcing that they were going to have a mini triathlon. They must swim four laps in the pool, ride six miles on the stationary bike, and run twelve laps around the indoor track. Jessie will be timing the race to make sure that the ladies are on track for the actual triathlon.

During the swim, Laneesa takes the early lead while Mary starts having breathing problems. Laneesa, Stephanie, and Tiffany finish first, with Rita and Mary following behind. Jessie tells the ladies he wants them to focus on the transitions between each event, and the two sisters race to hit the bikes first. Although Laneesa was first out of the pool, she is the third to reach the bikes. Her hip pain starts to kick in, and really slows her down.

At the thirty minute mark, Tiffany and Stephanie get to the track, followed by Mary, then Rita, and Laneesa falls into fifth place. Even though Rita finished fourth on the bikes, she is a whiz on the track, quickly taking the lead over the sisters. Tiffany is having a lot of trouble with the running but her sister offers encouragement to keep her going strong.

Rita finishes in first place at 49:15! Stephanie and Tiffany share second place at 50:17, Mary comes in at 51:43, and Laneesa is in last place with 54:30. Jessie is visibly proud of how hard the women are working and says they are right on top of their goal for the race.

Day 60: Time for the weigh in! The ladies are actually excited to see what the scale will say.

Tiffany: starting weight-221 current weight-196 weekly loss-6 pounds loss to date-25 pounds
Laneesa: starting weight-335 current weight-303 weekly loss-8 pounds loss to date-32 pounds
Rita: starting weight-177 current weight-163 weekly loss-4 pounds loss to date-14 pounds
Mary: starting weight-210 current weight-183 weekly loss-4 pounds loss to date-27 pounds
Stephanie: starting weight-244 current weight-215 weekly loss-8 pounds loss to date-29 pounds

The ladies reach their team goal of 30 pounds, winning their prize! This week's prize is a Nintendo Wii and WiiFit for themselves and their families to get more healthy and have more fun.

Their goal for next weigh in will be thirty pounds- at this stage of the game that is a lot of weight to lose, but I think this tribe is up for the challenge.