The Biggest Loser- The Dreaded Week 2!!!

On the sunny Biggest Loser ranch, week 2 of the competition is known to be one of the toughest weeks. Why? After week 1's monumental numbers, week 2's numbers are more. . . realistic. Dan from last season lost 30 pounds the first week, only to lose 3 pounds the second. Any contestant that watched previous seasons seemed to be quaking in their running shoes.

The show has changed the rules once again. Host Ali Sweeney tells the contestants that although they are divided into teams of two, they will all be working together to meet a team goal of 150 pounds- for 15 contestants, that would be 10 pounds apiece. If they reach the goal, no one will be voted off. If they don't reach the goal, two contestants will be eliminated. Knowing how tough it is to put up large numbers two weeks in a row, the contestants are certainly nervous .

Trainers Bob and Jillian are ready for the challenge, and team up to give the teams a solid nutrional foundation and working out. The focus of this weeks episode is Julio, who was under the yellow line last week even though he had lost 13 pounds. He is under fire from the other contestants, especially the biggest lady, Shay, for not trying hard enough. I was suprised to hear Shay do so much trash talking, especially since she quit last week and she had to be urged to continue working out by her partner, Dan.

Maybe it is just NBC being dramatic. Maybe Shay just has a big mouth. We will see as the season unfolds!

Celebrity Chef and cutie pie Curtis Stone comes on board to teach the contestants proper portion size and healthy ways to cook and make substitutions- did you know you can use juliened vegies as a substitute for pasta? Neither did I. Then the contestants had to answer a series of questions- and they all did really well! Especially since the show showed the contestants zoning out and saying things like it was so hard! How are we supposed to remember all this stuff? I mean, they are heavy, NBC. Not stupid. I actually did better on the couch answering the questions than I thought I would. And I am a fastitudious calorie counter, but still a human being. :)

Then the contestants are whisked back to the ranch for a group challenge- walking across a bunch of balance beams over a pool of water. Cruel television show! It is only the second week of training- are the contestants coordinated enough to walk across a 6 inch wide beam?

Apparently so! Not only did they earn phone calls home, they also earned valuable pounds off at the final weigh in. All the contestants worked together for a common goal- it was amazing to watch them not knock each other down literally and figuratively. I hope this unity and team work theme continues for the rest of the season.

Cue to emotional montage of the contestants calling their family members. Lots of crying. I joke that most of the weight lost on The Biggest Loser is water weight from all the crying everyone does!

At the final weigh in, everyone blew it out of the water. There wasn't even a need for the extra pounds the team earned- they lost a collective 155 pounds. Julio told Shay to suck it in a big way, losing 19 pounds- more than anyone else!

No tearful eliminations, no back stabbing or game playing. Overall, a great episode with a lot of heart.I also did my first official live web tweet fest, and it was so much fun watching The Biggest Loser with people all over America! Number one thing I saw on my tweet fest? People tweeting that they either felt guilty when watching the show or they enjoyed watching fat people cry. Being fat is polarizing.

And that is why I love my job- the chance to change this playing field! Watch out world!