I suppose I can understand your point about Tara now that you put it that way although I still disagree. The difference between Ron and the other players is that his son is 17 years old. The other kids were all too young to understand the situation as well as Max does. As far as the contestants with parents and siblings it wasn't their responsibility but as we saw with Aubrey they're doing what they can. The difference to me is that the other contestant's families were ok with it but Max is having a really hard time. Yes, Ron signed up and should be able to do what he signed up for but here's my problem... We've seen Max twice now and he's clearly having issues. He's very happy for his brother and father but he's struggling with being the largest and the youngest in the family now. I think Ron should have looked at that and realized that helping Max was more important. It may only be a few weeks to use but that can be a really long time for this poor boy. Ron could easily go home, help Max, let Mike finish this journey himself, and still win the at home prize. My point is that Ron has learned enough from his time at the Biggest Loser Ranch that he could go home and help his son because his other child needs him and Mike has made it clear that he can do this on his own.

I agree, no hard feelings. It's nice to be able to debate and share opinions without it turning into war.

I see next week there will be a little confrontation between Mikey and Ron. This may open up some home issues no one knows about yet. Being in the same state of being that Ron was in before getting to the ranch, I can 1000% understand why he would fight to stay as long as possible. It's easy to say he knows what to do and can go home right now and do it on his own, but I don't know. I'd like to think Ron's going to continue at home and do really well, but he said clearly this is the lightest weight he's been since he's 13 years old. Think about the habits in his every day life that will still be there the minute he walks back in that door. 3 months on the ranch will only help that so much.

In my mind, Max will get his help from Mikey and he would have a better connection with Mikey when doing it. I'm not a parent, but I know all to well how easy it is to do something that is harmful to yourself just to spite your parents even though you know what they are saying is probably the right. It's a teenage thing, and a teenage boy is not going to want to be in pain and Work Out the way Mikey has been pushed to. Really I think if just Ron had been on, Mikey and Max would probably stay the same size after Ron got home and chances are Ron would go back to the same old ways. Mikey's going to be the glue for it all.

One last point, Max has seen Mikey and Ron when they were close to having Lost 100 pounds, then he sees them again 3 / 4 weeks later. He obviouslly didn't do anything to help himself in those few weeks after seeing them the first time. That in itself says something about Max's mind frame. The mom's not a big lady, so she must not eat as badly as the boys and she must move around more. If Max was going to listen to a parent, you would think he'd be more like her and less like them. Right now, the emotions we see in Max are shame and jealousy, I totally get it. But even those feelings are not always enough for some people to change.

Clearly we don't have the whole picture when it comes to Ron & his family, perhaps we'll get more insight in the upcoming episode...

I really feel for Max~~~Ron & Mike needed the Biggest Loser to help them change their lives as they couldn't do it alone yet Max has been left out to do it alone???

Perhaps all three of them applied for the show but only two were accepted. I also don't know how Max felt prior to the Ron/Mike getting on the show and losing weight. I would think that like most people who are overweight, they all had tried at one point or another to lose weight but were unsuccessful. Ron definitely has had his attempts but it didn't last. I am guessing perhaps Ron was looking at this as a last chance for himself and an opportunity to turn around the futures of his sons.

For me, Tara's thought to stay was dangerous. She was running the risk of further damage to the hip and maybe her ability to walk. She needed the rest from the type of exercise to heal that hip. Ron has the limitations now that Tara was running the risk of having. Look at how much Ron is unable to do yet with the limitations he has he has Lost weight. Tara had to heal first then have a chance to continue with the full exercise program. It came down to a matter of health and their future.

Tara knows Laura's situation better than the others. Laura's support system seems a bit shaky. When family arrived after the makeover, Laura's best friend is who showed up, not a mother, brother, sister, or father.

Tara is my favorite woman on the show, but I am hoping for a Mikey or Tara win.

I don't remember hearing about her family? perhaps they choose not to be on TV or it could be she has very little, maybe only one parent.

I read on another forum that the reason Max wasn't on the show is that he isn't old enough yet. I guess you have to be at least 18 and I think they said he is 17. So, he wasn't eligible. That's what I read, anyway.

Which is why I say rather than calling Tara selfish, perhaps she knows that Laura didn't have a good support system, and THAT is why she thought she should stay at the ranch even in a diminished capacity. For goodness sakes, both Ron and Kristin have had to take it easy with their work outs due to injury.

On the other hand, what we didn't see is whether or not the doctors said Laura was okay to continue or not. It is an unknown, but one should consider that if the doctors didn't think she was safe to continue, they would have taken her out of The Game.

I can see what you're saying, but to me Max is on the outside looking in... I guess I need to remember that this is a reality/game show and we are shown what they want us to see, so things may not be as they appear...

Tara rallied for Laura to stay because she knew that Laura wouldn't have the emotional support she needed at home. I didn't see any game play in that just a friend supporting another friend...

Kudos to Laura for going home and maintaining her weight loss inspite of her injury!