In order to get change, the students talk about putting together a petition to encourage better meal options during lunch. Tyler states this was the sort of thing he would do when he was young.

To get a feeling for what it is like to be a cafeteria employee, Tyler Florence showed up at 6 a.m. to watch as the women prepared the 11 a.m. lunch. A day in their shoes made Tyler realize how tough their job is. But it also showed him how the lunch is nothing more than fast food.

Soon thereafter, Tyler invited the team of kids to a test kitchen at a university to allow them to taste possible meals they and their classmates would see. The kids not only had to taste the food, but they were responsible for helping prepare the food. The kids were soon joined by Shaq, who took part in the taste-test portion of the event. They all seemed to enjoy what they made, although Shaq wanted nothing to do with the couscous, which he claimed was rich (white) people food.

Afterwards, Shaw asked Mr. Tyler to try and let the kids have a little bit of fun in their workouts, a concept Mr. Tyler has been foreign to for some time. He ended up having a “Fun Friday”, which allowed the kids to play a little soccer. Unfortunately, James had to do laps the whole time because in Mr. Tyler’s eyes, James didn’t work hard enough to play soccer. The lack of weight loss is one sign James hasn’t put enough effort into his workout. As the day goes on, James’ frustration with Mr. Tyler is quite clear and considers quitting. Kevin is asked by Mr. Tyler to help motivate James into working harder and losing weight.

Tyler Florence shows up at the school at 6 a.m. once again and prepares to get his first school lunch ready for the kids. He is able to get the cafeteria workers to help, but a scheduled lunch break leaves Tyler all on his own for a short time. Tragically, the meal ends up a disaster. A large number of the students didn’t eat all of their meal and a lot of them ended up being late for class, thanks to Tyler’s slow service in the lunch line. Perfection has a cost.

Next, it was time for the weigh-in. The kids get to go to a Miami Heat game if they all lose twenty pounds each. Everyone but James is successful in hitting the twenty pound mark. James was five pounds short of meeting the goal, and the kids let him have it for his lack of effort.

Nutritionist Joy Bauer drops by James’ house to help him with his diet habits. She wants him to be able to go to the Miami Heat basketball game with the other kids. One of the problems with James is his love of sub sandwiches, which tend to have a lot of bread in them. He’s clearly eating too many sandwiches, so they try to compromise.

Frustrated by James, the other kids single him out and make him feel bad. Soon thereafter, Shaq and Mr. Tyler bring in a few chickens and have the kids chase them around the field. Shaq claims he got the idea from watching the movie, Rocky. Everyone got a good laugh out of the whole event. Afterwards, Shaw pulls James aside and talks to him about his frustrations and thoughts of quitting. Since James doesn’t have a father at home, Shaq seems to be the primary adult male with any influence with him.

In order to get James involved a little more, Mr. Tyler decides to let James wrestle him a bit. James loves that sort of thing, and it improves James’ mood quite a bit, and declares he’ll be sticking with the program.

With just one day until the next Miami Heat game, it was time for James to weigh in. Because he was able to lose the twenty pounds, James got to attend the game with the other kids. They all seemed to really enjoy themselves. They not only got to meet a few players, but they were visited by the Miami Heat cheerleaders.

After seeing James struggle with his weight loss, I was very happy to see him lose the remainder of the weight so he could attend the game. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Tyler agree to the wrestling match with James. He’s adapting his approach a little bit and allowing James do something which he finds enjoyable but also burn calories.

Shaq’s Big Challenge – Episode 104
Original Air Date: July 17, 2007

Rating: 7.3

In an attempt to get Kit to re-join the team, Shaq and Doc dropped by Kit’s house to see her and her parents. The father was very upset when Shaq entered the house with the camera crew and ordered everyone but Shaq out. He didn’t want to talk to Doc because he didn’t know him. The only person the father was willing to talk to was Shaq. Doc and the film crew had to wait outside while Shaq tried to smooth things over with Kit’s father. Eventually, the father allowed Doc to come in and talk with him.

It seems the chat with the father changed things for the better, as the very next day, Kit re-joined the team. When the other kids saw her enter the gym, they immediately stopped what they were doing and walked over to her and welcomed her back. It was wonderful to see everyone so happy for once.

Last week, Shaq, Doc, and Dale Brown asked a local school to make physical education a mandatory class. The principal quickly rebuffed that idea because it would cost too much money to add an additional class to the schedule. After consulting with the teachers, the three men have come up with a plan which wouldn’t cost any additional money for the school district. The plan asks for teachers and students to use twenty minutes of “home room” to exercise. Dale and Doc present the idea to the faculty and they like the idea and are willing to pilot the program for a period of time and see how it goes.

Although Shaq was unable to make the faculty meeting pitch, he was able to attend the first day of exercising at the school. Not surprisingly, some kids didn’t like the idea. Some of them were either lazy or simply not interested. The good news is most of the kids did enjoy the exercise. There’s no doubt the early morning exercise will get kids awake and ready to learn.

Since the show was shot several months ago, it was of no surprise when Halloween arrived. Naturally, the free candy will be a big temptation for some kids, and James was the one kid they showed who pigged out. His father then talked about how he has had his own weight problems, but it would be nice to see him be a father and limit James’ candy consumption a little better.

Two weeks away from the half-way point, Shaq received the latest weigh-ins for the kids. The news was mixed. Half of the kids are doing a good job, but some are slacking off. The problem is clearly with the diet.

As if things weren’t bad enough, Shaq received even more bad news. His recent knee injury will require surgery, which will keep him out of the starting lineup. Also, he and the camera crew have been kicked out of the school district. It seems a new superintendent was hired and he’s worried about how the school will be portrayed.

James’ level of effort has been a constant battle with the trainer, Mr. Tyler. The friction between the two only seems to make James less motivated. A talk with Shaq didn’t help, so he and Mr. Tyler pay James and his mother a visit. The meeting seems to go well and James claims he has a better understanding of things now.

Two weeks after being kicked out of the school, Shaq receives word that the program is back on. You can see how happy Shaq is when he hears this. He’s made dozens or phone calls and sent several emails to see if the program can be revived. By the looks of things, Shaq never did hear from the new superintendent, which is very unprofessional if you ask me.

Half-way done with the program, it was time to take the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge again. Although the kids didn’t improve much on situps and pushups, they did all do a good job on their mile runs. Chris didn’t participate because he was on a cruise.

I was delighted to see the kids have improved their run times, but I’m not surprised by their lack of improvement on things like pushups. Although the kids are doing cardio exercises to lose weight, we don’t see them doing any weight training at all. If they incorporate weight training, they should see some improvement.

Shaq’s Big Challenge – Episode 103
Original Air Date: July 10, 2007

Rating: 7.3

After a month of time in the program, the kids had another check-up at the doctor’s office. The doctor weighed everyone but Kit, who didn’t show up. Most of the kids lost one to six pounds; however one kid gained three pounds.

In the continued effort to get mandatory PE in schools, Shaq, Doc, and Coach Dale Brown stop by a Miami middle school and encourage the principal to add the class. Not surprisingly, she tells the men she cannot add another 45-minute class to the day’s schedule because it would cause them to increase the teacher’s salaries and would cost the school an extra $650,000 a year. They’re forced to leave and come up with a plan.

In order to help Chris out with his nutrition, nutritionist Joy Bauer drops by Chris’ house and prepares his family a healthier version of one of their favorite Cuban dishes. The result is a dinner which both parents admit has no difference in taste, but has far fewer grams of fat and calories.

The show isn’t particularly entertaining as far as comedy is concerned, but it’s still enjoyable to see Shaq and his team try and help the kids get in shape. I’m not surprised by the way the meeting with the principal went. Schools across the nation are facing budgetary constraints and nearly every time PE is the class which gets dumped. Combine the lack of exercise with the way so many of us eat these days, and it’s no wonder why so many of our kids look and feel the way they do.

Shaq’s Big Challenge – Episode 102
Original Air Date: July 03, 2007

Rating: 7.5