August 13th was the last leg of the nationwide auditions for Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition and as promised, I'll be sharing my very own experience. I was cut after the first round of eliminations but I'll tell my tale anyway :-)
Let's face it. It's really really difficult to lose weight. Aside from the fact that I have a big appetite, it's actually expensive to do a real diet. Why? Because first, you have to carefully choose the food that you eat. You can't eat just what is available or served at the table because they could be fatty or full of calories or whatsoever. Even staying away from softdrinks is really costy because most fast food outlets charge extra for a juice or iced tea upgrade. You see, in one way or another, you need extra moolah to shed some pounds. And having a lot of financial responsibilities equates to not having an "allot for dieting" item in my monthly budget.
That being said, I was instantly smitten by the idea of joining the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition. Even if it'll mean showing the whole archipelago your sweaty moments and all the drama that comes with losing weight, you win in the end. You gain self-confidence, you get a slimmer body, you adapt a healthy lifestyle. After thinking about it from Monday to Thursday of that week, I've decided: I'M GOING TO THE AUDITIONS.
July 9 was the big day. I woke up at around 4:30AM because I wanted to be there early. I didn't tell anyone at home that I am going to the auditions because I don't want them to know just yet. They bought my "We have to attend a conference call with the US-based client" excuse for leaving the house early. I got to the venue, the PBB Activity Area, at exactly 6AM and much to my surprise, there were only a few people in line. If I remember it right, I was only #61 on the registration sheet. Could be because overweight people in the country are still hesitant to admit it, I thought.
I went there all by myself but I was lucky that the two girls next to me were friendly enough to introduce themselves. Ana and Tin are college students and actually thought that I still am, too! Well yeah, I'm flattered. ^_^ We enjoyed talking about a lot of things so we didn't quite notice that we've been standing for more than three hours already. At a little past 9AM, with the number of auditioners tripled, the gates were opened. And as I took a deep breath, I told myself "This is it, Em."
That being said, I was instantly smitten by the idea of joining the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition. Even if it'll mean showing the whole archipelago your sweaty moments and all the drama that comes with losing weight, you win in the end. You gain self-confidence, you get a slimmer body, you adapt a healthy lifestyle. After thinking about it from Monday to Thursday of that week, I've decided: I'M GOING TO THE AUDITIONS.
July 9 was the big day. I woke up at around 4:30AM because I wanted to be there early. I didn't tell anyone at home that I am going to the auditions because I don't want them to know just yet. They bought my "We have to attend a conference call with the US-based client" excuse for leaving the house early. I got to the venue, the PBB Activity Area, at exactly 6AM and much to my surprise, there were only a few people in line. If I remember it right, I was only #61 on the registration sheet. Could be because overweight people in the country are still hesitant to admit it, I thought.
I went there all by myself but I was lucky that the two girls next to me were friendly enough to introduce themselves. Ana and Tin are college students and actually thought that I still am, too! Well yeah, I'm flattered. ^_^ We enjoyed talking about a lot of things so we didn't quite notice that we've been standing for more than three hours already. At a little past 9AM, with the number of auditioners tripled, the gates were opened. And as I took a deep breath, I told myself "This is it, Em."
Me, Ana, Tin. I like Ana, she's such a sweet girl. I wish I could reconnect with her
via Facebook but my gosh, there are a lot of ANA SYs in the world! Haha.
The first step is, of course, the weigh in. One of the qualifications is that males should be at least 250 lbs and females 200 lbs. The last time I stepped on a scale, it read 210 so I was a bit worried and thinking if I've been eating enough to maintain it. LOL. And when it's finally my turn, the digits have spoken: 207.5 lbs! Geez, I almost didn't make it to the requirement! Most of the girls weigh 250 pounds on average and there are really big guys weighing 300-400 lbs. For the first time in my entire life I felt slim and sexy! Hahaha.
Upon stepping off the scale, we were given the application form and waiver along with our official number, and I am 0092. We sat inside the activity area while filling out the 5-page form. It took me quite some time to accomplish it because it included a questionnaire with items like (1) What's your secret dream? (2) What are the things that are hard to do when you're fat? (3) What are the first 5 things you will do after you lose weight? I really spent a lot of time answering the first one, and my answer? Secret nga eh :P
Inside this door the 1st screening transpired.
Us while waiting for our turn.
Sets of 10 were led to another building for the first elimination while the rest waited. Some were asked to dance, some to shoot VTRs to be used as teasers and me? I just stayed in my seat praying that I don't get to be chosen to do those, too. A little shy of 12NN, my batch was asked to proceed to the 1st screening area which is just a few steps away. When we got inside, that's when I started to feel the chills. Inside the closed door is a panel of judges making the first cut. In a few minutes we were asked to enter the room. One of the panelists greeted the 10 of us and said,
"Introduce yourselves. State your name, your age, your weight, what you do at the moment and why you think you became that big."
And because I am kinda nervous and in interviews I'm not used to saying more than what was asked, I gave a plain and simple response, but I made sure I answered all the questions:
"I am Maude Maxine Rolle, 22, 207.5 pounds, I do Software Quality Assurance for an IT company based in Makati. I think I am this big because I really eat a lot. And malakas talaga ako sa rice."
Then I was surprised because the succeeding ones gave very lengthy answers, one of them even cried. I was like, oh well, drama makes for a perfect audition piece. I thought I just narrowed my chances of getting in because of being a plain Jane. After the last one, the panelist said
"Okay, thank you very much for your time. And please wait outside for the results."
What the... That was it??? As we exited that small room I felt certain that I won't make it to the next round. Maybe it was part of the challenge but I just didn't expect that we'll be given one question and it's over. Needless to say, I was sent home. Ana was among the qualifiers and I was genuinely happy for her because she's a nice girl. And the girl who shed tears? Of course she's in too! I told you, it was part of her plan. LOL.
I bid the girls goodbye and went on my way home. At the FX, I was still in deep thoughts. Of course a part of me felt sad that I didn't give it my all but a bigger part of me was proud because I took my chance. Even if I didn't make it, at least I've given it a try. That's still better than not going and wondering what could have been for the rest of my life. And if there's one lesson that I have learned from my Biggest Loser Experience, that is to always always do things as if you only have one shot to wow the world :-)
"Introduce yourselves. State your name, your age, your weight, what you do at the moment and why you think you became that big."
And because I am kinda nervous and in interviews I'm not used to saying more than what was asked, I gave a plain and simple response, but I made sure I answered all the questions:
"I am Maude Maxine Rolle, 22, 207.5 pounds, I do Software Quality Assurance for an IT company based in Makati. I think I am this big because I really eat a lot. And malakas talaga ako sa rice."
Then I was surprised because the succeeding ones gave very lengthy answers, one of them even cried. I was like, oh well, drama makes for a perfect audition piece. I thought I just narrowed my chances of getting in because of being a plain Jane. After the last one, the panelist said
"Okay, thank you very much for your time. And please wait outside for the results."
What the... That was it??? As we exited that small room I felt certain that I won't make it to the next round. Maybe it was part of the challenge but I just didn't expect that we'll be given one question and it's over. Needless to say, I was sent home. Ana was among the qualifiers and I was genuinely happy for her because she's a nice girl. And the girl who shed tears? Of course she's in too! I told you, it was part of her plan. LOL.
I bid the girls goodbye and went on my way home. At the FX, I was still in deep thoughts. Of course a part of me felt sad that I didn't give it my all but a bigger part of me was proud because I took my chance. Even if I didn't make it, at least I've given it a try. That's still better than not going and wondering what could have been for the rest of my life. And if there's one lesson that I have learned from my Biggest Loser Experience, that is to always always do things as if you only have one shot to wow the world :-)
How's that for a souvenir shot? :)
kudos to you dear! : )
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot! ^_^
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