With ten weeks left to go on their weight loss journey, the women have just crossed the half-way point of their 120-day challenge to lose 50 pounds each and compete in a triathalon. Despite Mary’s near panic attack in the water, all of them made it to shore safely and with a newly found confidence in themselves.

Episode five’s theme was all about overcoming fears. From LaNessa living her dream and singing in front of a crowd (think a baseball stadium full of people) and to swimming in the Pacific Ocean, the tribe made momentous strides during these past two weeks and their weigh-in reflected their continued progress.

Here is a look at that progress in numbers:

Tiffany: Starting weight: 221 pounds. Current weight: 192 pounds. Total pounds lost: 29 pounds

Rita: Starting weight: Current weight: 160 pounds. Total pounds lost: 17 pounds

Stephanie: Starting weight: 244 pounds. Current weight: 210 pounds Total pounds lost: 34 pounds

Mary: Starting weight: 210 pounds. Current weight: 176 pounds. Total pounds lost: 34 pounds

LaNessa: Starting weight: 335 pounds. Current weight: 297 pounds. Total pounds lost: 38 pounds

Tune in for episode six when the girls celebrate Stephanie’s 40th birthday.

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DietTribe Season Two Episode Five Recap

Back are fitness and health expert Jessie Pavelka and psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser as they guide this season’s tribe to making healthy changes in their lives and overcome many of the personal obstacles that have prevented them from losing weight.

Season 2 follows five friends for 120 days as they work together to motivate each other to endure some of the toughest workouts of their lives and adhere to the clean-eating plan they must follow in order to lose the 35-50 pounds that Jessie has challenged them with. In addition, the women must also compete in a triathlon at the end of their four-month journey.

Here’s a sneak peak at the colorful cast of characters that make up DietTribe’s Season 2 tribe:

Sisters Stephanie Taulealea and Tiffany Young have done pretty much everything together including sharing poor eating habits and enduring gastric bypass surgery. Having gained all of the weight back following the procedure, the sisters are committed to taking control of their weight and their lives, once and for all. Learn more about Stephanie and Tiffany from DietsInReview’s personal interview with them.

LaNessa Watson is the only non-mom of the tribe, but it was her rallying that inspired her four other friends to consider joining DietTribe. LaNessa is determined to lose 50 pounds and her low self-esteem, both of which have been weighing her down her whole life.

Mary Lasnier is finally putting herself first. This stay-at-home mom joins her friends in order to take control of her physical and emotional health after having just endured a painful divorce.

Rita Porter is a former athlete who desperately misses her once-fit self. Juggling motherhood and kids, Rita is also placing herself first in order to reclaim her athletic self and keep up with her husband and young children.

Season 2 premieres this Friday, October 2 at 9:00 p.m ET/PT.

DietsInReview.com will be watching all of the episodes and providing you with weekly updates of the tribe’s progress.

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DietTribe Season 2 Premieres October 2

Stephanie and Tiffany are two of the five women that make up Lifetime’s DietTribe in season 2, which premieres this Friday, October 2.

Just like the first season, the weight loss reality show will follow the lives of five women for 120 days under the motivating fitness training instruction of Jessie Pavelka and the mental health support of psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser.

DietsInReview had a chance to talk to Tiffany (Stephanie got caught in traffic and was only able to catch the tail-end of the interview) just a few days before the premiere of their hit series. Here’s a recap of our conversation:

Reality Weight Loss shows are tough. Why did you decide to be on DietTribe?

(Tiffany) My whole life, I have always been a part of a tribe and I’ve always had a weight issue. A lot of people would like to be a part of a weight loss reality show and for me, DietTribe is so positive, and considering the direction my life was in, I was ready. I wanted to lose weight but I did not want to lose weight without my sister Stephanie losing weight also. We were supposed to do this journey together and we did.

What did you learn about yourself over the 120 days of the series?

I learned to take time out for myself as a mother, as a wife and as a working woman. I learned to do away with any guilt around this because making time to focus on myself and my health makes me better at everything I do. I also learned what it is like to take a challenge, accomplish a goal and feel your body burn, really burn, during a workout. Before I may have stopped once I felt that burn, but I learned that you can keep going and  get passed it.

This season’s series has a new twist: You have to compete in a triathlon in addition to losing 50 pounds. What was that like?

My first thought about competing in a triathlon was that I’m not getting into a bathing suit! No way! But that changed once I started to really physically prepare and train. What was challenging was that we were also trying to lose weight. Most people when they are training for an event like this can eat carbohydrates. Since we were trying to shed pounds, we had to limit our carbs. But we learned so much about nutrition from doing both.

You and your sister had gastric bypass surgery and gained some or most of the weight back. How does the experience of being on DietTribe differ from weight loss surgery?

Gastric bypass surgery is a great tool for someone who is out of control and needs help. DietTribe taught us that healthy living is a lifestyle, not a diet. I know now how to eat clean and what it feels like to eat clean. I no longer want to eat until I’m stuffed. My skin feels more vibrant, my body looks completely different than from what it looked like after I had lost weight after surgery. And that is because of the lifestyle factors of eating right and exercising.

Tune in to DietTribe on Lifetime, this Friday, at 9 pm ET/PT to meet the entire tribe. DietsInReview will also recap each episode once it airs in case you miss one.

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Interview with DietTribe Season 2’s Tiffany Young

Don’t miss our interview with co-host Allison Fishman.

Are you wondering if there is a healthier and less caloric way to whip up your favorite dishes like pasta carbonara and fudge brownies? Cook Yourself Thin is Lifetime’s newest cooking show, helping you give your favorite meals a healthier and lower-calorie makeover. The series, which starts airing on May 4 at 5 p.m. EST, features three cooking experts, Harry Eastwood, Allison Fishman, and Candace Kumai, who incorporate their ingenious and savvy cooking techniques to make indulgent dishes tasting as indulgent as they were meant to be but with significantly less calories and fat. (Now showing at 8 a.m. EST weekdays.)

Based upon the super popular cookbook and British series of the same name, during each half-hour episode of Cook Yourself Thin, you’ll learn how to swap calorie-heavy ingredients for leaner and healthier additions. For instance, the three cooking experts will show you how to turn a traditional 1,300 calorie steak and potato dinner into a less than 400 calorie meal, or you’ll learn how to skim 400 calories off of a muffin.

Each episode chronicles one cooking novice who wants to lose weight, but still savor sumptuous meals.  With step-by-step cooking instructions, their favorite meals get a skinny makeover and you get to learn secret and clever ways to slim down meals and your waist. Then after six weeks of Cook Yourself Thin, each participant is revisited at their home to see how their new culinary skills are keeping their tummies satisfied and flat.

Similar to newer cookbooks like Hungry Girl’s 200 Under 200 and Naturally Thin, more and more people are desperate to find creative ways to eat the foods they love and lose weight or maintain their healthy weight. Cook Yourself Thin is just another example that lets you have your cupcake and eat it too -  gooey frosting and all!

Try Cook Yourself Thin’s Frosted Vanilla Cupcake or Pumpkin Spice Cookie recipes.

Get your copy of Cook Yourself Thin, or pre-order the upcoming book Cook Yourself Thin Faster (releases 12/29/09).

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Lifetime’s Cook Yourself Thin is a New Healthy Cooking Show