First, Yay! This episode showed more personality, and delved deeper into the relationships between the marchers. I was hoping for that last week, and was pleased to see that I got what I asked for.

Stage 2 of Fat March started with an 11.5 mile walk, and it seemed like right away, Chantal was rubbing people the wrong way. The marchers were weary from walking, and her drive to lead the pack caused some friction. Chantal doesn't mince words, and speaks what's on her mind, whatever's on her mind at that moment. Not everyone appreciated it.

Mike had me chucking with his charade following the phrase, "How hard is it to close your mouth? Then walk?"

During the course of the walk, Will got hungry and chose to eat most of his food allowance for the walk in one short period of time. Rather than pace himself and keep his sugar levels even, he ate a large portion and ended up weak and woozy back at camp.

As Will is swaying in front of Lorrie, you can hear Steve saying that he knew this would happen, which is why he specifically told Will not to eat all his food at once. His frustration was evident, because by not following direction, Will ended up in the hospital with low blood sugar and exhaustion.

Thank goodness Will was discharged from the hospital, and able to return to camp. However, under doctor's orders, he would not be able to participate in the water challenge. As with all of the challenges, being centered around nutrition, the trainers shared the importance of water for weight loss and general health. A normal person needs at least 64 oz of water per day, more if you are overweight or exercising.

The water challenge tested the men's strength and endurance, and the women's endurance and speed. Numbers were picked, leaving Loralie on the sidelines with no hope of winning a soak in a jacuzzi with a fancy dinner served by Steve and Lorrie.

The teams were

• 
  
  Matt & Jami Lyn
  
  


• 
  
  Mike & Shea
  
  


• 
  
  Sam & Chantal
  
  


• 
  
  Anthony & Wendy
  
  

As soon as the challenge started, Wendy made it obvious that she wasn't going to even try. While Jami Lyn, Chantal and Shea were running up and down these steps to fill their buckets, Wendy practically skipped around, refusing to make even the most basic effort for her team. The other three teams were soaking wet, sweaty and busting their tails to win this challenge, while she ignored the encouragement from her trainers. As a viewer, it was one of those moments where I said outloud to the tv, "Are you kidding me?" Steve, in his efforts to motivate Wendy to move her butt, wasn't able to cheer on the other teams. In his own words, he was "pissed", and rightly so.

One by one, the teams fell, first Sam/Chantal, then Mike/Shea, leaving Matt and Jami Lyn the winners of the hot tub soak and dinner served by their trainers. (author's note: what we didn't get to see on camera was Jami Lyn and Matt sharing their hot tub experience with the other marchers, so everyone had a chance to feel "human" again.)

On day 15, the cast has walked almost 140 miles, and they are faced with a food temptation. The trainers have set out their normal dinner (salmon, brown rice, salad), along with pizza, mozzarella sticks, and fried chicken tenders. Most of the marchers make the decision right away to eat the foods they know are the best choices, but some go the other way.

Chantal, having expressed her distaste for their diet, stating she would rather eat cat food, chooses to eat pizza, and is not touched by one glimmer of guilt. Will also chooses the temptation foods, and refuses to eat the salad because it has oranges and almonds in it. You can tell the trainers were not happy that two of the group decided to enable eachother to make poor choices.

During dinner, the tension between Will and Anthony intensifies, and one can tell there is no love lost between the two. Behind the scenes, each person mentions to other marchers the possibility of voting someone off. No one has been impressed with Will's collapse, then his refusal to eat the healthy foods put in front of him. Most of the marchers seem to think he needs to step up his game or go home.

Well, he stepped up his game, that's for sure! Will pushed his body as hard as he could on the end of Stage 2, as one of the first of the group to reach Steve and Lorrie at the finish line. Matt said, "We gotta keep Will pissed off. When he's pissed, he walks good." Apparently anger is a great motivator for The Champ.

As the rest of the walkers reach the end of Stage 2, they are told they have walked one hundred and fifty miles! For a group of folks who mostly walked from the couch to their refrigerator, that is an impressive number. Even more impressive were the numbers at Weigh In!

• 
  
  Anthony - Start: 433 /Current: 396 - 37 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Chantal - Start: 250/ Current: 236 - 14 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Jami Lyn - Start: 236 /Current: 218 - 18 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Loralie - Start: 241/ Current 222 - 19 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Matt - Start: 389/ Current 355 - 34 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Mike Start: 319 /Current 286 - 33 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Sam - Start: 382/ Current 351 - 31 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Shea - Start: 289/ Current 272 - 17 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Wendy - Start: 242 /Current 223 - 19 lbs lost
  
  


• 
  
  Will - Start: 472/ Current 441 - 31 lbs lost
  
  

After this amazing weigh in, the marchers were asked to get a chalk board, and one by one write who, if anyone they wanted to vote off. (author's note: Did anyone else get a good look at Steve's arms holding the chalkboards? )

A few tense moments later, and I, as a viewer breathed a sigh of relief as no one was sent packing. This team, with all its personality conflicts, is still thinking of the good of the group, and making decisions to work together as a unit. That is something that sets this show apart, instead of inflating the drama and rewarding folks for voting teammates out, they are encouraged to work through their differences and smooth over any bumps along the road.

Fat March airs on Monday nights 9/8c on ABC.

Carrie Falquist is a wife, artist, and group leader for www.realityofweighting.com, an online weight loss support group formed from those who tried out for Fat March and The Biggest Loser, then decided to band together and prove that they could lose this weigh on their own!

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