During one of the many America’s Next Top Model marathons, Oxygen ran promos for their newest summer show, ‘Dance Your A** Off’.‘ Having given up some cable channels in an effort to save a bit of money, I didn’t give the show a second thought until a visit to Buffy’s house made me change my mind. This is my newest guiltiest pleasure and I am not ashamed.
As we huddled around the television watching a DVR’d episode of Oxygen’s new show, ‘Dance Your A** Off, my brother in law said it best: “This is the house where crap television goes to die!” He’s partly right but he was out-voted five to one in favor the show and he got caught up in disco night too!
Part The Biggest Loser, part Dancing With the Stars, this show challenges 12 overweight people to lose weight while dancing. They aren’t going at it alone; there is a personal physician (Dr. H, the same doctor from The Biggest Loser), a personal trainer complete with a Crunch Fitness facility next door, as well as their dance coaches, and a registered dietitian. The contestants are taught how to eat better and they are also faced with cabinets full of eat and cheat foods (Dr. H says that in the real world the contestants will have to learn to say no and they should start now).
At first I thought this show was going to be the worst show on television! I imagined exploitative, gratuitous shots of these people dancing, me groaning and laughing at these booty shakers and a show of fat people being made fun of. No, no, no! While I will admit I cringed at the one girl’s split (Pew!), this show is inspiring as these people who have gotten fat through various challenges are forced to confront their bodies.
Another reason that I find myself compelled to watch and reserve my disparaging comments is because as they weighed in one contestant I realized that I could be on the show!
Gulp!
While I wog and attempt to eat right, I feel as if I am fighting a losing battle with the scale. Although I’ve given up my ice cream, my diet Pepsis and am only chugging two coffees each day I am still finding the scale stubbornly refusing to budge. Well, there are ten more contestants to go. I am challenging myself to drop a few pounds along with the contestants. Hell, if these diabetic inactive people can do it, then I can too!
Shaking what my momma gave me,
-r
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