Work What?
In a very unique twist Biggest Loser will put the contestants to work in full time 40 hour per week job working for Feeding America. They will maintain regular work hours and observe regular gym hours. This will include a 5:30am wake up call and a 6:00am workout. For a moment I thought I was watching the Real World on MTV. This twist should prepare the contestants long term for the time when they return home to the real world.

My Aching Back!
In this weeks challenge the teams must push a 33,000 lb Semi Truck along a stretch of highway. Along the way the teams have to stop the Truck and load Puzzle pieces that are stacked along the road. Once they reach the finish line the teams unload the pieces and reassemble them. Blue Team comes through and wins free groceries for a year!

Work A Day Worries
For the next week the contestants put in their time at the LA Regional Food Bank, while squeezing in workouts and rest. Even Bob and Jillian comply with the rules, working the contestants hard before the lights in the gym shut off.

Weigh In Revenge
At this weeks weigh-in the Blue Team rolls to a victory because Sam does not have many rolls left. In the elimination room we say goodbye to the Orange Team’s Mama Cheryl who is already looking amazing! She will be awesome at the finale’

Check out the casting call tips online here!

Talk to you soon and remember,
There’s A Winner Within You!

In a continuation of the prior episode (you remember the episode before the Olympics and Jay Leno’s move back to late night) we return to the Biggest Loser to find Cheryl of The Orange Team and our favorite, Darrell of the Black Team.
Darell puts in a yeoman’s effort but the squatting position gets to him and he gives out after nearly 10 minutes.  It is a tearful goodbye as he has to leave his daughter Andrea and return back home here to lovely Michigan.

How many calories will this cost me?

In another twist the contestants participate in a temptation challenge in the form of the game of Memory, Biggest Loser style.  Under each item in the memory game is a food item.  If you find the food match your opponent has to eat it.  If you don’t find a match you have to eat a cookie.  If you find the cards that say ‘Choose Teams’ then you have the potential to give yourself immunity and separate all contestants into Black vs Blue Teams.  This power is not as important as in years past since both Bob and Jillian have been training everyone.  However it is still a great amount of power.

Michael divides up the teams in the following manner:

Black Team
Sam
Cheryl
Drea
Stephanie
Sherry
Ashley

Blue Team
Koli
Darrius
Lance
Miggy
Sunshine
Michael

Michael also selects O’Neal to receive immunity.  He will join whichever team loses this weeks weigh in. The Blue team is stacked to do very well and as a result Jillian blows a gasket and then gets down to business with Bob as they train the contestants.

Tugging at Your Heart Strings

In a modified tug of war challenge the two teams must challenge each other by pulling a bag to the top of a building.  The Blue team wins the challenge and as a reward for their efforts receive letters from home.

Don’t Mess With Jillian, Dummy

At the weigh in the skill that is Jillian Michaels comes through as her Black Team wins in a not so surprising upset.  The Blue Team must deliberate and eventually send Miggy home where she receives a surprising visit from Nicole of Season 7.  Miggy is doing an awesome job!

While our Michigan Man Darrell was voted off he is doing quite well. He has dropped another 45lbs since leaving the ranch.  You can come workout with us in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the 1 on 1 Fitness Club .  You may have to come early since he works out between 4:30am and 6:30am.  We Losers get at it!!!!

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s A Winner Within You!

This week the contestants start off with two big surprises. Alison Sweeney informs the contestants that they will be leaving campus for a trip to the Olympic Training Center in Utah. Then on top of that the teams will now complete as singles. Then in a third surprise it is announced that two contestants will be going home this week instead of just one.
The quote of the week is from Lance of the Red Team as he says “It’s crazy that being Fat got me to the Olympics.“

Shameless Advertisement
After a brief education from the USOC Nutritionist we are amazed to see Extra Sugar Free gum at the US Olympic Center. Wow, who knew?
Slip Sliding Away
In a Pre-challenge, Olympian JR Celski shows the contestants how to use the ‘slideboard’. Of course he makes it look incredibly easy. The contestants look much more human as they struggle and then learn the technique that’s needed to keep from falling and shaking the camera.

In a very tight race Sam of the Grey Team wins Gold, Melissa wins Silver and Sunshine wins Bronze. It amounts to nothing much as they penalize each other at the actual challenge.

Mere Mortals visit The Valley of the Gods

This week’s Challenge occurs in the Valley of the Gods. The contestants vie for immunity by competing in a du-athlon for big people. The contestants have to run a lap and then shoot another contestants target. When a contestant gets five shots against them they are eliminated. This gets repeated until only one contestant remains.

In the end O’Neil of the Yellow Team wins the challenge over our Michigan Man, Darrell.

Workouts Galore
Throughout the show the contestants meet some incredible Olympians and go through various workouts. One Olympian is shown Hula Hooping on one leg on a Bosu Ball – Incredible!

The Olympians themselves even take the contestants through a series of circuit training workouts that even amaze the Olympians with their duration and intensity. Check out this incredible article on Jeret Speedy Peterson and cheer him on in Vancouver.

The contestants also do a bootcamp class and a last chance workout that means more than any other. Being away from the ranch is a refreshing change of pace but is horrible when it comes to maintaining regular workouts.

Weigh In Blues
At this weeks weigh-in Melissa of the Orange Team falls below the dreaded Red Line and is immediately eliminated. Falling below the Yellow Line are Cheryl of the Orange Team and our Michigan Man Darrell!! Nooo!
As a result of falling below the Yellow line Cheryl and Darrell will have to compete to stay on the Ranch. They do this by balancing a torch stand on their head while in a squatting position.

Of course as I stated last week this is a two part show and we will have to wait until after the Olympics to see who is eliminated. I could tell you but then I would have to eliminate you!

Do something great this week in honor of the Olympics and see you in a couple weeks.

Pete Thomas

On the scale the Blue team loses nearly 10% of their body weight or an average of over 1lb per day each while at home. The Yellow team wins the right to return to the ranch by dropping nearly 2lbs per day and nearly 11.5% of their body weight in just 30 days. As a bonus they also get the one and only elimination vote.  Eliminating someone without having been on the ranch for the last 30 days will be especially difficult.

Bob and Jillian Beat Downs
Lest anyone forget how massive weight loss is achieved, Bob and Jillian remind everyone: Through incredibly intense, no-excuse workouts.  No you cannot even come close to imagining how hard it really is.

Super Bowl Super Challenge
The production of a Reality TV show like The Biggest Loser requires a tight production schedule. This episode was filmed months ago to coincide with this Sunday’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately there were no special appearances like last season where Kurt Warner showed up on the ranch on his way to the Super Bowl. Well not literally on his way to the Super Bowl but you know what I mean.

In this challenge each team must push a tackling dummy in see-saw fashion over 1,000 times. The contestants think it will be an easy challenge but soon realize that even small weights add up.

In the end the White Team wins the challenge with a less-is-more approach and is awarded immunity for the week. The last place Pink team will receive a two pound penalty at this week’s weigh in.

Snip Snip
In what I believe is a Biggest Loser first, Miggy returns to the ranch and reveals that she has lost weight, sort of.  She actually had surgery to remove a ruptured appendix as well as a cyst. Yikes!  Then like a true Biggest Loser she walks over 13 miles the day after major surgery. She is amazing! Why are there are no Medical School professors studying this show?  Oh I forgot, insurance pays for surgery not traditional weight loss.

Tearful Weigh-In
At the weigh-in Michigan’s own Darrell and Andrea remain safely above the Yellow Line.  In a sad turn John of the Brown team falls below the Yellow line and is immediately eliminated from the competition.

Next Week – Watch the first of a two part episode that surrounds the Olympics – GO USA!

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s a Winner Within You!

Pop-Challenge
The show opens and Allie announces a pop challenge. The contestants must run laps and collect magnetic cards and bring them back to home base. Then they must insert those cards into a card reader and collect points. (No this was not an advertisement for a hotel chain.) The team that collects 3 points will receive immunity and 3 powerful envelopes that can be used to assign a penalty to three of the other teams.
The Red Team wins this challenge and assigns the following to the other teams:

Brown Team – Receives the penalty of “No Access to the Gym”.

Green Team – Receives the penalty of a “Two Pound Penalty” at the weigh-in.

White Team – Receives the penalty of “No Elimination Vote” in the elimination room.

Red Team Drama

This season’s villains the Red Team, continue to claim that they did not throw the prior weeks weigh-in. I believe them over Bob and Jillian. Sure I do.

Challenge

The contestants are suspended above a crane (is this a subliminal message?) and must operate a lift to pull themselves up to the top of the crane. To get to the top the contestants pull down on a large bar which lifts them a few inches at a time. This will be a very long challenge in reality but not in TV time.

Darrell has the quote of the week as he says that the teams that were in the lead “should be checked for steroids”. Truly funny!

The team that wins this challenge will receive phone calls from home for themselves and three other teams. This is especially important for those contestants with children at home. There is nothing quite like being in complete seclusion on the Biggest Loser Ranch. No telephones, no internet, no newspapers, no magazines, no blackberries. Nothing. Not only do you miss your family and friends but you even the people that irritate you!

The Grey Team wins the Challenge and chooses the Red, Green and Brown Teams to also call home. This is an opportunity to build alliances and unwittingly create enemies. Overall the Grey Team chose well. By the way, did I say that the Grey Team are my second favorite team?

Last Chance Workout

The trainers tag-team with each other to torture the contestants outdoors.
Weigh In
On the scale on Michigan Black Team of Darrell and Andrea Hough continue to kick butt by losing a combined 15lbs. They are safe for another week.

The Green Team prophesies their poor weigh-in numbers with some of the worse body language in Biggest Loser history and predictably fall below the yellow line.

Elimination

At the elimination table the contestants send home Migdalia in a close vote. While her weight loss success continues her battle is really in her mind. If she masters her mind, she will conquer her weight.

On a side note some of us local Biggest Loser contestants will be appearing this Sunday at the University of Michigan’s Women’s Basketball game. Come out and say hello.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012110aac.html

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s a Winner Within You!

Pete Thomas