Biggest Loser: Hap Gets Motivated

Hap Holmstead got quite a bit of air time on the second episode of “The Biggest Loser” last night.

It’s was a pretty emotional week for the Utah

contestant, as his wife had a baby while he’s been gone.  We all got to see the baby on Skype, but that’s not the same as holding an infant in your arms — much less helping out with diaper changes, and the care and feeding of the other kids at home. Considering that they also have two daughters, ages 3 and 2, it’s pretty clear that his wife is sacrificing to have Hap away right now.

Hap said it motivated him to work so hard that Bob called him “a machine.” We also got to see Hap puking, which is a badge of courage around the Biggest Loser campus.

All that hard work paid off when Hap was chosen to represent the blue team during the weigh-in. He lost 13 pounds and saved all the members of Bob’s blue team from elimination.

Hap has some athletic prowess, having played baseball for American Fork High School and football for Snow College. He also served in the Ohio Cincinnati Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS, or Mormon Church).

Utah has had a number of contestants on “The Biggest Loser.” Deni Hill of Bountiful won the at-home $100,000 prize in 2011, and Jackson Carter of Layton came in third place last year.  When it comes to the grand prize, maybe Hap is our hope.

I like the show’s new one-hour format. You would think there’s a lot of footage filmed each week for the producers to use, but it seemed that there was a lot of repetition. The weigh-ins seemed to go on forever. You could fast-forward through a two-hour episode in about 40 minutes.

It also seems that trainer Jillian Michaels is more supportive and less psycho this season. Maybe giving the trainers the opportunity to help choose the contestants, and to choose their own teams, has helped her feel more secure or in control. At least,  she’s not had a meltdown yet. Maybe some viewers enjoy her drama, but I didn’t like her bullying.

So far, so good.