This episode of The Biggest Loser must have been created just for Earth Day because it was made of all recycled materials. New Zealand? Check. Jumping off of tall structures? Check. Brett? Check. Kaylee speeches about believing in herself? Check. Hannah living in fear. . .again? Check.
I love The Biggest Loser, but this episode was really boring. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but what happened to working out and overcoming fear via mind bullets? How come we have to overcome our fears by being in a harness? And why does the show think we want to hear more about Kaylee when she should have been sent home weeks ago?
My questions may never be answered. Sigh.
The contestants are now playing as singles, which means that make over week is right around the corner- that's good! I did love that Olivia won the challenge and immunity, and I loved the breathtaking scenery of New Zealand. That place is awesome looking! What I would like is a little more balance between the trainers story and the contestants story. Last time I checked the show isn't called "Top Trainer". Someone tell Cara and Brett!
Plus, what about the Rulon drama? I hear the contestants saying they don't want him to win- but why and what is going on behind the scenes!? That sounds like a more exciting story arc than whether or not Cara can be just as good a trainer as Bob and Jillian.
I know, I know. I am rambling. Recycle my own quote: "My questions may never be answered. Sigh."
After a tag team, four trainer Last Chance Workout, it is time for the weigh in.
Olivia: From 172 lbs to 168 lbs- 4 lbs lost, 2.33% BW (immunity)
Rulon: From 311 lbs to 301 lbs- 10 lbs lost, 3.22% BW
Kaylee: From 168 lbs to 163 lbs- 5 lbs lost, 2.98% BW
Irene: From 161 lbs to 157 lbs- 4 lbs lost, 2.48% BW
Austin: From 255 lbs to 250 lbs- 5 lbs lost, 1.96% BW
Jay: From 270 lbs to 265 lbs- 5 lbs lost, 1.85% BW
YELLOW LINE
Hannah: From 164 lbs to 161 lbs- 3 lbs lost, 1.83% BW
Ken: From 247 lbs to 243 lbs- 4 lbs lost, 1.62% BW
Hannah's worrying came true, putting her below the yellow line with Ken, but her strong bonds with the remaining players keeps her in the game. Be thankful Hannah! Chin up, stiff upper lip, all that jazz.
Ken heads home, revealing more weight loss at 238 pounds. He takes his two younger children on a paragliding adventure. Apparently the contestants can't get enough xtreme sporting. Looking forward to The Biggest Loser: Snowboarding and Balloon Race Adventure Inside a Live Volcano next season.
Next episode: ONE HOUR LOSER! See where some fave past contestants are now, and see one contestant walk off the show. My guess? Cara. Okay. Kaylee.
Want to know what Mark has to say? Here's his take, courtesy of DietsinReview.com!
No Winter Olympics, no Hop tie ins, no Subway sandwich commercials on The Biggest Loser this week. We are taking a trip down under. . .to New Zealand! Land of the Hobbits and Flight of the Conchords.
I always love Loser on the Go, and this week's episode proved not to be a disappointment. After a quick recap of Courtney and Brett saying bye-bye and Cara realizing her ass may be on the line, Ali surprises the remaining 9 players with the news of a 2 week trip to this most exotic of locales. Austin's ears perk up: You have to know he is a Tolkien fan. Has to be!
"I've heard of it!" says Kaylee, as the teams check in at the airport. A very polished and well spoken flight attendant offers a quick pop quiz for the teams to see if one person can upgrade to premium economy seating. The winner must guess the correct height of the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. Austin guesses closest to the actual retail price (the Sky Tower is 1,076 feet tall) and gets to relax in comfort while everyone else flies in coach. For a hot second I thought he might have offered the seat to his dad. . .but heck. I probably wouldn't have either.
The players arrive in Auckland, and Ali promises them they are "in for an adventure of a lifetime". They head to the Sky Tower, where Cara greets them at the base of the structure, welcoming them to "Awkland". The players must then run up 1,027 stairs to the top of the Sky Tower where Bob is waiting for them. He offers the players two ways to leave the tower: The hard way or the easy way. The hard way is turning around and walking back down all the stairs that they just climbed up. The easy way? Bob directs them to look out the window where a terrified Jillian hangs suspended midair. The Sky Tower has a guided bungee jump that lands you safely on the ground. The trick is you have to climb onto a ledge and jump off.
Hell, no. I wouldn't ever do it. Never. I hate heights. I don't like glass elevators, cliffs, high diving boards, cliff jumps. I would never jump out of a plane or bungee jump. EVER.
All of the contestants (minus Moses, Rulon and Jay, who are still past the weight requirements) energetically volunteer to jump except for Ken, who feels very much the same way I do about heights. Somehow Bob convinces him to try it even though Bob is also extremely afraid of heights ("The only thing Bob fears more than aging is heights, Jillian shares), and we get to see Bob freaking out as he prepares for jump and his actual descent. Hilarious.
Everyone is excited that they broke past their fears, expressing how the jump felt like a metaphor for jumping into their new lives as healthy people. Moses' journey is slightly different: His father had been sent to Auckland by his grandparents to get a proper education, which led his Tongan family to end up in America. It is an emotional trip and he wishes he could share it with his father. Bob breaks the rules, giving Moses his cell phone so he can call his father, who sounds an awful lot like the Cookie Monster.
Then it is time for the workout, Kiwi style. The Losers get to sail on a racing boat, controlling the wenches to race against another boat. It looks like hard work! I also can't help but notice all the penny whistle music in the back ground. Just because we are on a boat doesn't mean that we have to play Titanic music the entire time, NBC. I mean, really. The Losers win the race, and reflect on their journey outside the ranch and into the future with the rest of their lives ahead of them.
Knowing that weigh ins on traveling episodes are historically catastrophic, Bob, Jillian, and Cara get together to work the teams out. But something is going on with the green team this week, mostly with Ken. Cara takes him to the side to talk and he totally calls her out on not being as qualified as Bob and Jillian. OUCHIE. I know in the twittersphere many don't believe that Cara has the goods, but she has kept her team safe and she is still here and Brett is not. After a pretty terse exchange, Cara promises she'll be up in Ken's grill as much as possible. "This is my chance to prove I'm just as good as Bob and Jillian," she says.
Enough of the drama! Ali meets the Losers out in the sweeping New Zealand countryside for a 5k "New Zealand style". The teams must run together and finish together to win. This is not an ordinary 5k: This 5k is over rolling hills, across beaches, and up steep sand dunes that look nearly impossible to climb. The Blue team of Moses, Olivia, and Irene win the race, but the girls step back and give their half of the prize to Kaylee so that the father/daughter team can ride in a helicopter and drink wine in the land where their family came from.
The Last Chance Workout began with old school calisthenics lead by Jillian, rounded out by a tough Yoga Bob workout, finished for Ken with Cara yelling in his face while they jogged awkwardly in place. I wondered if Ken regretted his decision to bring up that yelling thing to Cara.
Then it is time for the weigh in, New Zealand style. "All eyes are on me!" Cara falsely thinks.
Kaylee: From 168 lbs to 172 lbs- 4 lbs gained
Austin: From 263 lbs to 255 lbs- 8 lbs lost
Ken: From 253 lbs to 247 lbs- 6 lbs lost Total: 10 lbs lost, 1.46% BW
Jay: From 270 lbs to 272 lbs- 2 lbs gained
Rulon: From 318 lbs to 311 lbs- 7 lbs lost
Hannah: From 168 lbs to 164 lbs- 4 lbs lost Total: 9 lbs lost, 1.19% BW
Olivia: From 174 lbs to 172 lbs- 2 lbs lost
Irene: From 164 lbs to 161 lbs- 3 lbs lost
Moses: From 286 lbs to 286 lbs- 0 lbs lost Total: 5 lbs lost, .80% BW
"We did it! I DID IT!" says Cara, taking responsibility for her team's win.
The Blue team realizes someone is going home, and with Irene being safe from elimination, the decision lies between Olivia and Moses. The choice is hard between two crowd faves, but after Olivia pleads to stay so she can be healthy to have children, Moses asks to be sent home.
Moses has lost a total of 167 pounds when we see him next, and he travels back to New Zealand with his father to visit his roots and he gets to bungee jump off the Auckland Bridge. What's wrong with these crazy people?
Next episode: Time to compete as singles and Brett returns on a parachute all the way from America!
Want to know what Mark has to say? Here's his two cents, courtesy of DietsinReview.com!
I avoided the tweets, the Facebook posts, the INTERNET so that I would not have the end of this week's Biggest Loser spoiled for me. I would never, EVER have imagined that it ended like it did. EVER!!!
Sigh. What a disappointment.
Don't know how it ended or want to recreate it for yourself? Read on, friends.
We know that the H is O for Courtney, whose last remaining teammate, Jen, was sent home last week after a failed attempt at not using their trainer Brett. Everyone is concerned for her well being and for Brett's- if they lose this week, there will be no more Red Team. Courtney digs her feet in, asks for the help from her "girls", and tries to break through the plateau that has been plaguing her for weeks.
With the story line in place, Ali meets the Losers for a challenge. Each team must carry a flag, walk down a path, and try to figure out without any rulers or GPS what a mile is. When they reach what they feel is a mile, they will mark it with their team colored flag. The winners will receive a Hollywood night out on the town and the losers will have to clean the entire ranch from head to toe. Sounds like a good reason to win!
Everyone chooses different methods: Counting their paces, estimating how long it feels when they normally walk a mile, dividing their steps multiplying the sun rays by the shadows in the blades of grass by the angle of their knees. . .and then Ali calls time after 15 minutes. Who was the closest? The Black team of Rulon, Hannah, and Ken have won a night out in Hollywood!
What does that mean?
The lucky threesome gets new clothes, a limo ride, and their very own montage in front of the Mann's Chinese Theatre. Hannah feels like a woman, and even gets her own Jude Law look-a-like to hit on her at local eatery Geisha House. Question: Was he a real dude or a plant? Hannah deserves the real deal. Not someone who asks, "So, how much weight have you lost?"
The best part was seeing them glow from the inside out because of the strides they had made as a team and as individuals. No amount of new clothing could hide that.
The rest of the teams scrubbed the kitchen, which looked really dirty. I mean, gross.
The Blue Team gets roped into a Wholly Guacamole plug, and then it is already time for the Last Chance Workout. WHAT? That was quick.
Fireman drills, scorpion flips, sweat, sweat, and more sweat. Who will be safe? Who will go home? Is it already obvious? I thought so. . .but I have been known to be wrong.
WEIGH IN. Lay it on me.
Olivia: From 176 lbs to 174 lbs- 2 lbs lost
Moses: From 293 lbs to 286 lbs- 7 lbs lost
Irene: From 170 lbs to 164 lbs- 6 lbs lost TOTAL: 15 lbs, 2.35% BW
Hannah: From 172 lbs to 168 lbs- 4 lbs lost
Jay: From 276 lbs to 270 lbs- 6 lbs lost
Rulon: From 325 lbs to 318 lbs- 7 lbs lost TOTAL: 17 lbs, 2.20% BW
Ken: From 257 lbs to 253 lbs- 4 lbs lost
Kaylee: From 169 lbs to 168 lbs- 1 lb lost
Austin: From 265 lbs to 263 lbs- 2 lbs lost TOTAL: 7 lbs, 1.01% BW
All Courtney needs to lose is over 2 pounds. I thought, "This is great! Courtney will be safe, Green will be up for elimination, and Kaylee will obviously be sent home."
Courtney: From 232 lbs to 231 lbs- 1 lb lost
Wee woo.
Courtney tells everyone to be strong, and Brett says his goodbyes. Everyone seems so surprised, spluttering how this isn't supposed to be the way that it happens. But every week someone has to leave, and unfortunately, it is Courtney. I really thought she was going to take the whole damn thing! Brett has no one left to train and hopefully will get to come back next season, unlike Kim Lyons. Remember her? No?
"I was hot! And incredibly unpopular."
Courtney returns home to her welcoming party at the DQ (not appropriate), and reveals she has lost even more weight since returning home. She speaks to the DQ regional manager about getting healthier menu items (like frozen yogurt? Like 1989?).
I hope she wins the at home prize because her quote is my favorite and the one I believe the most in: "You do NOT have to be on The Biggest Loser to lose weight!" Truth.
Next week: New Zealand! The Biggest Loser gets all Lord of the Rings.
Want to know what Mark has to say? Here's his two cents, courtesy of DietsinReview.com!
This episode of The Biggest Loser is a cautionary tale. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.
Kaylee kicks it off by apologizing for her weak attempt at throwing the weigh in and sending Justin home by mistake. Oops! "I learned a really good lesson," she says. Moses than proceeds to scold the group for game playing.
Call Alanis Morisette. I found some irony.
The next day, the Losers meet up at the gym to see Ali with a scale. There was a top secret team number twelve, mother and son combo Leann and Vance. They ALMOST made it onto campus, had to do the weight loss journey on their own, and now they are on the ranch to try to win ANOTHER spot. This time will be different! They have to lose more than 25.35% of their body weight to make it: Vance must lose over 95 pounds and Leann has to lose over 79 pounds.
Vance: From 379 lbs to 349 lbs- 30 lbs lost
Leann: From 315 lbs to 270 lbs- 45 lbs lost
They traveled all that way just to weigh in on national television and not be offered a place on the ranch. WEE WOO! How sad! How about just weigh them in at home? Or at least give them a work out with the trainers on campus! Some sort of consolation prize other than a white sleeveless tank top.
After team 12 is carted away, Ali announces a pop challenge: Don't drop the ball. They must balance balls on a board and bounce them into baskets. Boss. The winner gets a one minute advantage at the challenge and the loser gets sent off campus for a week. Kaylee and Austin win for the green team and Courtney and Jen lose for the red team.
Jen takes charge of their team, pretty much making all the decisions for Courtney when Ali presents them with a menu for their week away from campus. The girls must make all decisions from food to training in 15 minutes. What did the girls choose to spend their $1,000 on? A basic gym membership, groceries, talking to their family and friends, massages and dinner on the town. Not included: Training with Brett. Jen is super confident that they will succeed on their own because they have been doing it for 13 whole weeks now. Even a caveman could be a weight loss champ by then.
Brett, of course, disagrees. "I think that's a bad decision," he says, and tries to give the girls all the pointers he can before they are shipped off. "We'll make you proud! Don't worry!" they say, and head off to the beautiful California bungalow where they will be getting pampered all week.
Cut to the other teams sweating, straining, huffing, and puffing, while Jen and Courtney enjoy pedicures and swordfish salads. Any idea how this is all going to end up?
The rest of the show is sponsored by Hop, the Easter Bunny movie. There is an Easter Egg hunt, they get to meet James Marsden (fellow Oklahoman!), and they get to watch a screening of Hop AND the green team won tickets to the red carpet of Hop. So they get to see the movie two times! What a prize.
Cut to the weigh in:
Ken: From 263 lbs to 257 lbs- 6 lbs lost
Austin: From 272 lbs to 265 lbs- 7 lbs lost
Kaylee: From 174 lbs to 169 lbs- 5 lbs lost TOTAL: 18 lbs lost, 2.54% BW
Olivia: From 180 lbs to 176 lbs- 4 lbs lost
Irene: From 173 lbs to 170 lbs- 3 lbs lost
Moses: From 300 lbs to 293 lbs- 7 lbs lost TOTAL: 14 lbs lost, 2.14% BW
Jay: From 282 lbs to 276 lbs- 6 lbs lost
Rulon: From 330 lbs to 325 lbs- 5 lbs lost
Hannah: From 172 lbs to 172 lbs- 0 lost TOTAL: 11 lbs lost, 1.4% BW
Courtney: From 234 lbs to 232 lbs- 2 lbs lost
Jen: From 187 lbs to 187 lbs- 0 lost TOTAL: 2 lbs lost, .48% BW
Jen is immediately eliminated from the show.
MORAL: You need a personal trainer. Everyone does!
Jen now can work out with her brother and go shopping with her girlfriends for regular sized clothes.
Next episode: What is the deal with Rulon and off campus chips?
I had always been interested in working out and being fit, but never could stick with it. I rode bikes and did martial arts and dance as a kid, but always opted for the more creative choices when I got older, instead of the active choices. NO organized sports for this kid!
I was the newspaper editor and drama queen in high school, and my love of the arts took me to college as a Musical Theatre Major, and that led me to living in New York City. All the while, I was the chubby one, the funny best friend and side kick. I wanted to lose weight, but never really knew what to do about it.
After September 11, I moved back to my home state of Oklahoma to help take care of my older sister who was suffering from kidney failure. The defeat I felt in moving home only added to my weight problems. My sister had me weigh myself at her doctor appointment one day, and I weighed over 200 pounds. I refused to believe it, and blamed the fact that I was wearing clothes for the extra 50 pounds.
Then everything changed: my sister passed away in September of 2002. I was lost and confused, and was medicating myself with food and drinks. One morning in November of 2002, I woke up and was tired of feeling bad. I needed to change. I started my fitness journey that morning by putting on an old pair of sneakers and I never looked back.
I have lost over 60 pounds on my own through diet and exercise. No fancy tricks, but lots of sweat and hard work. I am amazed when people can change their lives by doing the same thing. I'm an ACE certified personal trainer, personal trainer at Equinox Sports Club West LA, licensed Zumba instructor, and intenSati leader (with more to come!!!), and am happy for the chance to touch people with my enthusiasm for fitness everyday.
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