What really stood out for me in this episode was the positive attitude of both trainers. I know I was critical of Jillian a few weeks back, but she was different in this episode. She was still tough, and she still used strong language, but the language came from a perspective of empowerment, not abuse.
So many people are where they are when they have weight problems, because they either have low self-esteem, or because self-esteem plummeted as weight inched up. It simply isn't productive to inflict shaming language on someone who already feels poorly about himself/herself. It's not going to motivate them!
But if you use empowering language, inspiring language, words that help someone believe that they can, rather than why and how they're going to be punished when they don't…well, if you have a chance to watch the episode and watch how the players respond, you will see what I mean.
This whole thing we do as humans, shaming and blaming and hurting when things don't exactly go our way…it doesn't work in the world of weight loss, it doesn't work on the job, it doesn't work in any social situation I can think of.
I would love it if this show, as popular as it is, prescribed to that theory and used its two prominent members as examples of how to positively portray all emotions positively. Life will never be without frustration, anger, or hurt. But we can all, myself included, do a better job of expressing those feelings so they don't have to become another person's burden.