Coaching with Ben Seewald

Ben Seewald is looking forward to coaching alongside Steve Conley, former defensive end and linebacker for the University of Arkansas and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Do you remember when Ben helped run a football camp with Steve? In this video he and Jessa meet with some of the coaches to prepare for an upcoming game.

Photo/video courtesy TLC

Recap: "Duggars in Cuffs" & "Duggar Derby"

Tonight on TLC...

19 Kids and Counting "Duggars in Cuffs"

• Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary by taking Jill and her fiancé and Jessa and her boyfriend on a triple date. The Duggar patriarch and matriarch have a special evening planned for the couples. "I've always got a few tricks up my sleeve," says Jim Bob.
• After leaving the house, Jim Bob starts driving recklessly and is pulled over by a police officer, who instructs everyone to step out of the vehicle and line up on the sidewalk.
• "I knew my dad was in on it," admits Jill. "But I thought: 'Because my dad's in on it, what's he going to make us do?'"
• The cop, in cahoots with Jim Bob, handcuffs each of the couples together and leaves the keys with the Duggar dad.
• To teach their daughters and future sons-in-law the importance of teamwork and communication in marriage, Jim Bob and Michelle have a series of challenges planned. Ben and Jessa have an extra set of handcuffs between them so they don't get too close together.
• The first stop is a picnic spot at a local park, where each of the couples has to prepare peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Then they head over to the playground to go through a timed obstacle course. Jill and Derick end up winning. 
•  "That might have been a little silly, but there was a point to it," says Ben.
• Next, the group heads over to Jim Bob's friend's house to shoot a bow and arrow. By the end of the evening, Jim Bob and Michelle are feeling confident about their daughters' relationships, and the kids say they enjoyed themselves.
• "Overall, we really enjoyed the triple date," shares Derick.
• "Being handcuffed to you is rather enjoyable," Jessa tells Ben with a smile.
• In Washington D.C., Josh pulls on a pair of sport shorts and a T-shirt and prepares to run a 5K race, the equivalent of 3.1 miles. "Josh has been doing some training," says Anna. "We're not runners, surprisingly."
• Josh doesn't quite make his 30-minute goal but is satisfied with his accomplishment. Trainer Steve Conley, a former NFL linebacker, is impressed.

19 Kids and Counting "Duggar Derby"

• Michelle takes Johannah out for an afternoon of one-on-one time at a local equestrian center. At age 12, the Duggar matriarch had quite a scare when the horse she was riding took off galloping.
• "I think horseback riding was quite a pleasurable experience for Hanney," says Michelle.
• That evening, the family--including Ben, who is living in the Duggars' guest house--gathers in the boys' room for their nightly Bible Time.
• The following day, while Jim Bob and the older kids build ramps for their soap box derby cars, Jessa and Ben take the little ones to Fast Lane to eat pizza and play arcade games. Jana goes along as a chaperone, but she plans to give Jessa and Ben a taste of parenthood by letting them keep track of the little ones.
• According to Jessa, "Ben is excellent with kids" and is going to be a great dad.
• At the end of the afternoon, Johannah says Jessa and Ben are "ready for 19 kids."
• Later, the whole family meets in a parking lot to watch the soap box derby race. They hold two qualifying races to determine the fastest drivers from each of the three teams.

Qualifying Race 1:

Winner: Justin (White team)

Johannah (Red team)

Jennifer (Blue team)

Qualifying Race 2:

Winner: James (White team)

Jason (Red team)

Jackson (Blue team)

• Justin, Johannah, and Jennifer end with the best times, so they become the drivers for the final race. Grandma Duggar fires the starting pistol, and the race begins. Justin crosses the finish line first, but Johannah and Jennifer are not far behind. 

Final Race:

1st place: Justin (White team)

2nd place: Johannah (Red team)

3rd place: Jennifer (Blue team)

• The Duggars end the day with a picnic in the parking lot.  

Duggars and Healthy Eating

In the following TLC webisode, former professional football player Steve Conley takes Josh and Anna Duggar and their children, Mackynzie, Michael, and Marcus, to a local farmers market to help them choose healthier options.

"The kids really enjoyed the activity and being involved in sort of the shopping process," says Josh Duggar.

Season Finale Recap

Tonight on the season finale of 19 Kids and Counting, "Baby Gender Reveal & the Final Weigh In"...

• Mackynzie tries to bribe Mr. Jim to reveal the gender of Anna's baby early, offering to give him her monkey. Mr. Jim won't budge.
• One Sunday morning, the entire family visits Restoration Church, where Jim Bob and Josh's personal trainer attends. In cahoots with Jim, Pastor Howard reveals the gender of grand-Duggar #3 to the entire congregation. He ties the announcement into his sermon on family relationships: "I'm just so excited to let you in on our little secret, that you're having a baby boy," he tells Josh and Anna after calling them up to the front.
• Anna says she would have been happy either way but was secretly hoping for a boy. She and Josh have chosen a name but are not announcing it.
• The service is "peppier" than the Duggars' home church, by they enjoy seeing how other people worship the Lord. "We were definitely expecting it to be lively and just a different style of worship, and it was," says Jill.
• Jim Bob, Michelle, Josh, and Anna meet with their doctor for the results of the weight-loss challenge. Josh is still overweight but is no longer considered obese. Jim Bob's health has also improved, but his triglycerides are still high. For both men, this is just the beginning of a long journey.
• The day before Jim Bob and Josh's final workout, personal trainer Steve Conley gathers the family in the living Josh and divides them into two teams, with Grandma Duggar on Steve's team.

Team Jim Bob Michelle Joseph Jana Josie Jeremiah Jessa Jordyn Joy-Anna Jason Justin Johannah

Team Josh Anna John-David Jill Michael Jedidiah Jinger Mackynzie Josiah James Jackson Jennifer

• The final workout is an obstacle course. Most of the family gets away with fun tasks, like walking across balance beams, riding bikes, pushing utility vehicles, eating pickles, and changing doll diapers. Jim Bob and Josh have to race through a challenging course spanning across one acre.
• At the end, Jim Bob grabs the flag at the top of the climbing wall seconds before Josh. 
• Then comes the final weigh-in. Jim Bob gets a four-pound weight advantage for winning the obstacle course, and Josh gets a four-pound weight advantage because the doctor says he has made the biggest improvement.
• Jim Bob, who weighed 214 pounds at the beginning of the contest, ends at 194 (198 minus 4). Josh, with an initial weight of 224 pounds, ends at 198 (202 minus 4).
• "Words can't describe how proud I am of both of you to see that you did great on this weight-loss challenge," says Steve. "I have one more surprise that you need to watch out for." At that moment, John-David and Joseph sneak up from behind and pour coolers of ice-cold sports drink on Jim Bob and Josh.
• As punishment, Josh makes breakfast in bed for Jim Bob. He prepares toast, turkey bacon, eggs, and a smoothie. "I tried to make sure that I didn't load up on any butter or anything like that," says Josh. "I gave him dry toast, you know, so it wasn't that bad."
• "Josh is a good cook, and he can really surprise me because there's a lot of things I just didn't know he knew how to make," says Anna.
• Jordyn and Josie wander into the kitchen and sweet-talk Josh into making breakfast for them. The two girls and Josh carry a tray up to Jim Bob, who is fast asleep. "Josh fixed a wonderful breakfast," says the dad of 19.
• Both Jim Bob and Josh plan to continue losing weight by eating healthy and exercising regularly.
• At the end of the show, Josh and Anna gather the family to make a big announcement. After much prayer and wise counsel, they have decided to accept the job that Josh was offered and move to Washington D.C.
• "Arkansas is home for me," says Josh. "I really have no desire to move away, but sometimes when you have opportunities, you have to go out and seek them."
• "I'm happy for them," says Jessa. "But at the same time it's really sad because we're all so close."
• "Michelle and I have dedicated our children to the Lord from the time that they were small, and our goal is for each one of them to follow where the Lord leads them, and if He leads them away from our area and we just see them once in a while, then that's the way it's meant to be," says Jim Bob.

Recap: Duggars Take Flight

On tonight's new episode of 19 Kids and Counting...

• Joseph is heading to ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) Academy in Big Sandy, Texas, where he will do basic training in search and rescue, survival skills, and disaster relief for nine weeks.
• Jim Bob and Michelle throw their third oldest son an 18th birthday/going-away party. This is the first time the Duggars, who usually send their kids out in pairs, have sent one of their children away for this long. "We are so grateful for Joseph's maturity," says Jim Bob.
• Before Joseph leaves for boot camp, Michelle gives him a buzz cut. "Joseph with a buzz cut is still just as handsome," says Jill.
• Jim Bob and Josh's trainer, former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley, drops by the house for a surprise pantry check. Aside from a box of fat-free popcorn and some caramel coffee mix, Jim Bob appears to be doing well. "I think I ate all the evidence," he jokes.
• But when the Duggar dad steps on the scale, Steve is no longer smiling. Jim Bob has jumped from 203 to 207. Josh, on the other hand, has lost one pound and now weighs in at 209. It's time for intense fat burning.
• "I think Steve is punishing me during this workout because I put on some weight," says Jim Bob.
• "I'm happy about the weight-loss challenge," says Michelle. "I think this is an encouragement to be healthier."
• "Josh has been doing pretty good on his diet and exercise," says Anna. "He's really motivated."
• When it is time for Joseph to leave for ALERT, the whole family comes out to the runway to send him off. The 18-year-old is traveling in style: John-David, who has his student's pilot license, is flying his younger brother to Texas, accompanied by his instructor and Jim Bob.
• "I have been wanting to get my pilot's license for as long as I can remember," says John-David.
• "I really believe that this nine weeks is going to take Joseph from being a little boy to being a man," says Jim Bob. When they land in Texas, he gives Joseph a firm handshake, tells his son he loves him, and says goodbye.

Recap: Pushups, Planting, Coffee, and Caricatures

19 Kids and Counting "Pushups and Planting"...

• To lose weight, Jim Bob and Josh start working out with former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley, who also happens to be a friend of a friend.
• "He scares me somewhat," says Josh. "I didn't have any kind of form, no physical fitness whatsoever. It's very embarrassing. My body has no idea what I'm trying to do."
• Steve's first order of business is to outlaw tater tot casserole, fried chicken, and sweet tea. Then he tells Jim Bob and Josh to "take that silly stuff off and go put some workout clothes on."
• Back at the house, Michelle--a big believer in hands-on learning--and the kids plant a garden as part of a homeschool lesson.
• To entertain themselves on a windy day, the little ones design kites out of black garbage bags, something that Josh and John-David did when they were kids.
• "Whatever the big ones enjoy doing, the little ones will pick it up and learn how to do it," says Michelle.
• When one of their client's water breaks, Jill and Jana head out to deliver her baby. Parents Alden and Heather couldn't be happier with their birthing team, and their new baby girl!

19 Kids and Counting "Coffee and Caricatures"...

• Jessa and Jinger prepare to volunteer at Mama Carmen's Espresso Cafe. The money they raise will be used to purchase school uniforms for an orphanage in Guatemala. The girls invite all their friends and family members to come and support the cause and enlist their younger siblings to create a donations jar.
• They arrive at the coffee shop at 5:30 a.m. to learn how to use the cash register and make a variety of different drinks (coffee, espresso, lattes, smoothies, tea, cappuccino, etc).
• Being somewhere at 5:30 a.m. is no small feat for members of this super-sized family. If you are a fan of the Duggars, you know they are not morning people. "I believe if God wanted us to see the sunrise, He would have scheduled it later on in the day," says Jessa.
• Jinger, the family's biggest coffee fan, consumes two large cups of coffee and an unknown amount of espresso while working at Mama Carmen's.
• "For a while there she was drinking like 3 cups a day," says Jessa. Jinger says she needs coffee to maintain her bubbly personality but is currently trying to bring it down to two cups a day.
• Jessa is pickier when it comes to coffee. "We're working on her, though," says Jinger.
• Cousin Amy is the first customer of the day. She orders a chocolate chip tea and then returns a few hours later with Grandma Duggar. "I need my second coffee fix," says Amy.
• While behind the counter, Jessa and Jinger fill the coffee shop's largest order yet. Can you guess who it is for? That's right, Jim Bob and Michelle bring the entire family in to order drinks, a process that takes 10 minutes.
• "Of course we just don't want them interacting with too many guys," jokes Jim Bob, who is confident in his daughters' abilities.
• "Nobody ever complained, so we don't know if we messed up or not," says Jessa. "I think we got all the orders right. I'm sure we made mistakes, but they were gracious."
• How much money do the girls end up raising? $1,010.41
• "When you're giving to other people, you can't help but be blessed yourself," says Jessa.
• Meanwhile, Jackson and Johannah are raising money of their own. Inspired by the artists they saw in Japan, the two Duggars are drawing caricatures to earn money for a baby gift for Josh and Anna. Each picture costs $1, and they raise a total of $10.

Season 7 Highlights

Coming up in season 7 of 19 Kids and Counting...

Jim Reveals the Gender of Grand-Duggar #3
Find out how Jim the sound guy unveiled the gender of Josh and Anna's third child, a boy due on June 7th.

"We didn't know the results," Josh told People Magazine. "But we gave them [from the doctor] to the sound guy, Jim, and he planned out this very unique reveal. It caught us off guard in a time and place we least expected."

The Biggest Loser, Duggar Style
Jim Bob (47) and Josh (25) recently embarked on a competition to see who could lose the most weight. The competition ended on April 1st. Who do you think will be the crowned the winner?

"I got back from Asia and looked at myself on camera and realized something had to change," Josh, who then weighed 238 lbs., told People.

Jim Bob knew he needed to slim down when he could no longer keep up with Michelle-who joined Weight Watchers a few years back, lost 40 lbs, and now exercises on the elliptical almost every morning. At 220 lbs., Jim Bob admitted that he "wasn't feeling that great."

What's their secret? Healthier choices and exercise. "I have learned not to grab that bag of potato chips or all that stuff full of sugar," Josh told People.

The initial workout plan, created by Joseph (18), was followed by personal training sessions with former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley.

In addition to staying healthy, Josh hopes to be a positive example to his kids. "My daughter [Mackynzie] didn't tell me I was fat," he told People. "But now she thinks I have strong muscles. I know I need to set an example of being healthy for my children."