Welcome to Camp Victory for the season premiere of ABC family's HUGE. As I post about this show, I will be sharing moments and feelings that I relate to, and I hope you will share some of yours with me as well. We are all there or have been there...so let's help each other along the way.
As we start out meeting all of the campers, everyone is checking each other out. By this, I mean seeing who is heavier then they are, but also who is thinner. Haven't we all done that at some point? Even in the sharing circle, when Ian says they at least there was someone in his class that was bigger than him...I have to admit I did that in school. In junior high, I was mercilessly ridiculed, but I could always say that there were a couple of girls and guys that were bigger than me. It offered some comfort at the time when I was made fun of and needed something to hang on to so I wouldn't break down. I know exactly how these kids feel.
Wilhelmina, AKA Will, meets Becca, who attended this camp last year. She says she lost over 26 pounds, but put most of it back on. Once again...I have been there! I've never gone to a weight loss camp, but I have been up and down the scale. I was even thin for a stretch of a few years as an adult, but I did it the wrong way and it came back. I can truly say that I was not necessarily a healthy thin person, but I looked that way to others. Becca most likely did not learn how to keep on a healthy path at home, she just followed the rules and orders she was given at camp. So she's back again, along with several other teens that keep coming back every summer in an attempt to finally get the weight off for good. There's more to being healthy then just fo;llowing someone else's orders.
Will doesn't want to be in front of everyone in her bathing suit, but is told she must for the Before Picture. (Oh yes...everyone's favorite, the Before Picture!) Finally, she turns it into a funny striptease that has everyone laughing, except for a few who think she's crude or crazy. Afterward, Will wonders aloud why she did that. She also tells everyone that she wants to gain weight at camp. You can tell that she is trying hard to be comfortable with herself, but hasn't found the right balance yet. It drives her crazy when the overly perky counselor Poppy comes to check everyone's bags for hidden food...even sugar free gum and cough drops are forbidden. (Really??? That's carrying it a bit far! Whoever got heavy from cough drops?) They also have to hand over their phones, iPods, and video games. Somehow Will successfully hides a lot of food. The AquaNet can filled with whipped cream is genius...and I consider it a nod to Nikki Blonsky's "Hairspray" days! She winds up selling the contraband items to other campers, and someone rats her out. She thinks it was Amber, since they immediately got off on the wrong foot. Amber tapes all kinds of pictures by her bed of models from magazines, calling them her "thinsperation". Yes, I've done that too...even as an adult! Thankfully I've learned that those airbrushed pictures are not real and I'm better off just focusing on getting healthy, but I cringe when I see Amber put them up. So does Will.
Let's meet the trainers, shall we? Shay announces (actually yells) that she is their worst nightmare. Hmmm...where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, trainers who talk to adults that way on "reality" shows! I can't believe I let myself think that this was OK for such a long time. Trainers can help people without screaming at them or belittling them. That is no way to make someone of any age feel good about themselves. Shay's assistant is George, and most of the girls immediately start drooling, especially Amber. (I have to admit he's kind of cute!) She tries to get friendlier with him on the first group run, but he mishears her name and calls her Sandra. At lunch the new chef announces (well, he also yells) no seconds, and we learn that Amber has taken to chewing each bite of her food 30 times, probably in an attempt to control her food intake.
Since Will thinks Amber ratted her out about the food, she decides to get even by shrinking a pair of Amber's shorts in the dryer. Amber wears them for the obstacle course, and thinks she gained weight because her shorts are so tight. As she tries to climb the wall, George gives her a boost...and her shorts rip right then and there. She runs off humiliated as everyone laughs, and we see a smidgen of guilt come across Will's face. George runs after Amber and gives her his hoodie to tie around her waist. He decides to share an embarrassing moment of his to help her feel better, and she learns that he is deaf in one ear. He still keeps calling her Sandra...and I'm not sure yet if it's because she doesn't stand up for herself, or she figures he heard her name wrong because of the deafness and she doesn't want to make him feel bad about it.
There is also a big confrontation among the girls. It's been found out thatCaitlyn, Amber's best friend, has been throwing up...so she is sent home. Amber blames it on Will selling her food, and they all argue about what being a good friend is. (In a moment between Amber and Becca, we find out that Amber told on Caitlyn, and Becca turned Will in.) Will decides she's going to sneak out during the night and leave camp. She and Ian have bonded, and he tells her to keep the mix tape he gave her. She gets to the closest diner and orders fries and a chocolate shake. (Yep...been there too. I've felt so bad about my weight or other things that I've binged on all kinds of stuff!) The camp doctor happens to wind up there as well, and wonders why Will would rather risk her life than change it. Will says she doesn't want to change. She also won't eat in front of the doctor. Doc takes her back to camp and calls her parents, who say Will should stay with her uncle. But after she sees a log that Doc carved a message into when she attended camp as a teenager, she decides to stay. Amber and Will start to talk and get to know each other better, and of course they bond by talking about ice cream.
I love this show already...you don't know how much I wish there had been something like this when I was a teen. That was back in the 80's, but I can see we all still deal with those same universal issues. As you can see, so many things hit close to home for me, and I bet they did for you as well. I'm sure even more things will come to mind during the week as I keep thinking about the show. Please share your thoughts or issues with me, and also with the people at the HUGE page at www.abcfamily.com/huge. We are all here to help each other understand and find the balance in our lives...and to realize how wonderful we all are exclusive of size.
