Why I cried:  the season 9 premiere gives us not one, not two but the three heaviest players in Biggest Loser history.  The 11 couples are also the sickest bunch to date.   At this rate, we’re bound to see a 600 lbs player on Season 10.

MEET THE TEAMS

Bob and Jillian phone each team at home to tell them they’ve made the cut for Season 9!  Team colors are selected for each pair, then the trainers throw the first curve.   The teams have to do the first weigh in before their family and friends, in public!  I am personally horrified.  It takes a lot of courage to strip down in front of EVERYONE you know.  I don’t even like getting on the scale in front of myself!

More info on Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, Gray and White Teams.

Starting weights:

• Cheryl (Mother), 247 lbs
• Daris (Son), 346 lbs
• Patti (Mother), 243 lbs
  
• Stephanie (Daughter), 264 lbs
• John (Identical Twin), 484 lbs
  
• James (Identical Twin), 485 lbs
• Sherry (Mother), 218 lbs
  
• Ashley (Daughter), 374 lbs
• Darrell (Father), 419 lbs
• Andrea “Drea” (Daughter), 238 lbs
• Cherita (Mother), 277 lbs
  
• Victoria (Daughter), 358 lbs
• Miggy (Mother), 240 lbs
  
• Migdalia (Daughter), 265 lbs
• Melissa (Wife), 233 lbs
  
• Lance (Husband), 365 lbs
• Koli (Cousin), 403 lbs
  
• Sam (Cousin), 372 lbs
• O’Neal (Father), 389 lbs
• Sunshine (Daughter), 275 lbs
• Maria (Mother – White Team), 281 lbs
  
• Michael (Son – White Team), 526 lbs

Speculation that the one of the “Half-Ton” twins was the heaviest player – completely shattered by 40 lbs!  Mamma Mia Michael!  The son of Chicago’s Italian-American duo takes the top honor.

CHALLENGE

The players arrive at the ranch to meet Alison.  (”Smoking hot!” according to Lance.  Who said it in front of his wife!  Oh Lance.  But he’s right, Alison looked fantastic!)  Hugs all around, then Alison brings the contestants up to the gym.  All the equipment is gone!  We know it’s the first of many season surprises.   Alison reveals 22 stationary bikes and announces the first challenge – 26.2 miles on the bike.  Immunity’s at stake, with another twist…the bottom two teams must leave the ranch immediately.   Without even meeting the trainers?!

No product placement yet, another surprise and probably a Biggest Loser first.   The teams hop on the bikes and the feet start flying.  Green Team mother Miggy gets out in front and never lets up.   She is fiercely determined to stay on the ranch.  The Gray Team cousins are a close second.  Neither Koli or Sam can believe how quickly Miggy is cycling.  Everyone’s covered in sweat as Miggy and Migdalia are first to 13 miles.  They rocket all the way to the finish, guaranteeing themselves immunity.   Gray Team finishes second.

The other teams roll through the finish, one by one.   Blue Team mom Cherita suffers extreme stomach pain forcing Dr. H to take her off the bike.  This leaves daughter Victoria biking alone against the other two remaining teams, Yellow and Purple.  The mother/daughter team of Patti and Stephanie squeak out ahead, assuring the Purple Team will stay on the ranch another week.

Blue and Yellow are going home.  Cherita and Victoria knew it would be an uphill battle with mom’s injury, but O’Neal and daughter Sunshine are devasted!   Good thing the limos stuck around.  The two teams load up and prepare to go home, but surprise!  Ninja Jillian and Bob leap out of the bushes.   The teams go home for 30 days.  Yellow gets Bob, Blue gets Jillian – the team losing the highest percentage returns to the ranch.

TRAINER TIP

Bob and Jillian show how easy it is to exercise as a team.  They demonstrate various strength exercises, including plank/leg lifts and toe-to-toe situps with a weighted ball.

FIRST WORKOUT WITH TRAINERS – FI-YYAAAAAAA!

Bob and Jillian pull the fire alarm to get the players out of bed and to the gym.  What a rough wake up call, especially on the first day of certain pain.  As they meet the players and Michael nearly squashes Jillian, the trainers point out the obvious.  The players get bigger and bigger each season.   Bob and Jillian are training together again this season.  Pain, puke, snot and tears commence before the trainers even get ramped up!   Cheryl quickly becomes the gym standout, pounding the mat, screaming like a bad ass with each push.   Everyone’s impressed.  As Jillian says “Somebody wound up the mama and let her spin!”

Wow, first product placement comes 55 minutes in – double Brita and WalMart whammy.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

As the first week on campus draws to a close, the contestants tell each other how they gained the weight.  While the specifics differ, the stories sound oddly similar.   Heartbreaking to discover that most of the kids in the parent/child teams have never been in love or even kissed.  Maybe we’ll get more love connections at the ranch this season!  Maria is stuck in the sandwich generation, caring for elderly relatives and raising her kids.  She has little time for herself, another common theme, especially with the mothers.  Koli and Sam saw themselves in Season 7’s Tongan cousins Filipe and Sione.  Koli cried during the makeover episode when he saw Sione’s wife meet him on stage.  He is desperate for love and acceptance.  Migdalia’s husband may be deployed to Iraq again; she’s all her kids have and she’s in terrible health.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Last Chance Workout?  Did someone say Last Chance Workout?! We got another 30 Day Challenge going on…details here.

Back on the ranch, Jillian smirks, “Welcome to the Biggest Loser gym -  family fun for all!”  The contestants get down to business.  Bob reminds them all to input all of their calories and exercise into their bodybugg every day.  Melissa says there’s a lot at stake in the Last Chance Workout.  Patti knows she’s put in the effort but worries that it won’t be enough.   Bob has the twins walking the pool to compensate for their limited mobility, especially James.  He and John are worried about the competition.  As Jillian reminds us,  every day is the Last Chance Workout at the ranch.  You don’t want to end up there, because it’s the last stop, end of the road.

FIRST WEIGH IN

Alison shows off the Biggest Loser scales and reviews the weigh in rules – team that loses the lowest percentage of weight falls below the yellow line.  The rest of the teams will choose which player goes home.

Green Team has immunity, thanks to Miggy’s cycling prowess.

• Miggy, 13 lbs
• Migdalia, 16 lbs
• Koli, 29 lbs
• Sam, 18 lbs
• Daris, 29 lbs
• Cheryl,  14 lbs
• Darrell, 30 lbs
• Drea, 14 lbs
• James, 23 lbs
• John, 23 lbs
• Melissa, 19 lbs
• Lance, 21 lbs
• Patti, 23 lbs (highest % of any female competitor 1st week on ranch)
• Stephanie, 16 lbs
• Ashley, 17 lbs
• Sherry, 21 lbs
• Maria, 13 lbs
• Michael, 34 lbs (most amount lost by any contestant 1st week on ranch)

Holy crap! Michael gets out of the 500s, yelling “are my abs showing?”  Purple Team has the highest percentage of weight loss at 8.09, carried over the top by Patti’s stunning individual loss of 9.4%.  Brown Team falls below the yellow line with a combined percentage of 4.75.  They look alike, weigh almost the same and each lost 23 lbs.  I can’t even tell them apart.  Now the rest of the teams have to send one of the twins home?!

ELIMINATION

Each of the twins argues that the other should remain at the ranch.  Ultimately for the rest of the teams, it comes down to which twin has the time and ability to do it at home.  They choose James.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

James vows to win the at home prize.   He says that John doesn’t understand what a gift this elimination was for both of them.   Then he says we’ll finally be able to tell the twins apart because he’ll be the more handsome, skinnier twin.   Boy did he make good on that promising, losing 100 lbs in 2 months!  Imagine what John will do at the ranch.

NEXT WEEK

A wild first week!  A total of 5 players sent home.  Public weigh ins before the players even got to the ranch.  Season 8’s Abby Rike blogs this week about the courage it takes to get real with yourself (apparently something that Season 3’s winner – or whiner – Erik Chopin hasn’t mastered yet).  The stakes remain high, while the yellow line stays low.

Coming up…the dreaded week 2 curse.  Which didn’t turn out so bad last season.  Just saying!

BLACK SENDS DINA HOME

Rudy is sad to learn Dina’s fate, but the rest of the Blue Team knows it was the obvious choice.   As Liz notes it wasn’t difficult.  Black knew the outcome when they left the weigh in.  Danny had immunity and strong ties have developed among Amanda, Abby and Daniel.   The real test:  if Danny wins immunity this week.  Then Liz hopes to see tears!

POP CHALLENGE

New day and a sudden realization – we’re halfway through this competition!  Alison meets the group and reminds them that Rudy is only 13 lbs from losing 100 lbs.  Will he beat the record set by Dane last season in week 8?

She also announces face off week is officially underway.   “Bring it,” says Shay remembering how Season 7’s Kristin had a picture of Filipe on her treadmill.    The winner of the Pop Challenge will choose the face-to-face matchups.   Two discs are strung overhead on opposite sides of a limbo-type pole.  Players have to touch one disc, then duck under the pole to touch the other disc.  First team to touch 500 times wins.  The rules – only one player competes at a time for each team and the players can only take one turn.

The tall players are at a clear disadvantage.  Allen and Rudy would be better off jumping the middle pole instead of weaving underneath.   Abby, in her first official pop challenge, does the first leg for Black while Tracey starts for Blue.  Abby has to swap out after only 20 touches, aggravating her injuries.  Shay goes in and gets over 100, leaving Tracey in her wake.  But as soon as Allen swaps in for Tracey, Blue starts cranking.  Black team’s best chances are Amanda and Daniel, who narrow Blue’s lead to under 5.   Ultimately, Rebecca wins it for Blue when she passes the 490 mark and never looks back.

Power!  And Rebecca is LOVING it.  The Blue Team realizes that they only need to win 3 of 5 matchups at the weigh in.  They choose carefully:

• Rebecca v. Amanda
• Tracey v. Abby
• Allen v. Danny
• Rudy v. Shay
• Liz v. Daniel

Blue plays it strategically.  Only surprising pairing:  former partners Rebecca and Amanda.  They are famous for their Pink Shirt happy dance.  How could it go so wrong?  Apparently, both are competitive…and both are jealous.   Black team takes it in stride, especially Shay who knows she’s at a disadvantage against “lumberjack” Rudy.  But she’s got courage and heart, “and that can get your further than your head and the numbers.”

It’s on, baby!  DING!

TRAINER TIP

Jillian says that swimming is a great addition to any cardio routine.  Mix up laps with intervals of treading water or pushups on the side edge of the pool.

WORKOUTS BEGIN

Bob’s taking Jillian’s advice on swimming.  He’s got the entire Blue Team in the pool, splishing and splashing.  As Rudy says, it’s sink or swim, literally.

Meanwhile, Black’s also getting wet, only they’re dripping with Jillian-induced sweat in the gym.   Amanda has a complete meltdown on the treadmill as Jillian tries to break her out of her comfort zone.  Rather than manage her stress in a safe controlled evironment, Amanda begins whining and ends up in tears, unwilling or unable to complete her routine.  An exasperated Jillian questions why these contestants are so difficult.

CHALLENGE

It’s baseball!  Black and Blue march into the field wearing baseball jerseys.  Danny is ecstatic to be wearing number 73, as it evokes championships he’s won as a former athlete.  The group is startled to confront life-size blowup pictures of themselves 7 weeks earlier.  Talk about morphing into different people!

The Jumbotron begins to flicker as Alison announces a surprise message from a mystery guest.  Both teams are happy to see NY Yankees star Derek Jeter (pains me to type that as a Red Sox fan.  And Kevin Youklis would have done it live.  Just sayin!).  He cheers them on by name and actually chides the Black Team for not winning a challenge.  Nothing like being called out by a baseball star on national television, says Abby.  The important takeaway from Jeter – you have to work as a team in order to win.

The rules:  In order to eliminate the opposing team’s players, each team collects and throws balls at the pictures of the players they want to “bench” for the game.  It takes 316 balls (Jeter’s batting average) to eliminate a player.  The team who eliminates the other team first wins.  The prize:  Curtis Stone whipping up lunch.  Awww!  PLUS, a 2 lbs advantage at the weigh in.   Nice.

Abby has to sit out due to injuries and Blue selects Tracey to even up the teams.   The strategy is clear:  take out the strongest player first!  Black gangs up on Allen, while Blue opts to strike randomly.  We discover Danny’s got tremendous aim, a human pitching machine.   And Blue begins trash talking!   Shay blocks it all out with a determined strut.    It comes down to Liz against Danny and Shay.  After more than 90 minutes, Danny sinks the 316th ball in Liz’s column to get Black Team’s first win!

Curtis prepares a backyard BBQ for the Black Team – Mediterrean Burgers featuring lean Jennie-O turkey breast.  He combines thyme, garlic, cherry tomatoes, onion and red wine vinegar with the ground turkey and replaces the bun with a portabello mushroom cap.   Throw the burgers onto the grill or sandwich press for a delicious 244 calories.

COOKING TIP

Curtis favors stocks and broth to enhance flavor, but points out that most are high in sodium.  A quick homemade version of vegetable broth:  boil onion, celery and carrots for 30 minutes, scoop out the veggies and you’ve got stock.

WORKOUTS CONTINUE

And Jillian continues to make her contestants fold like card players.   She asks Abby:  what’s it like to lose everything you love?  A heart-stopping question.   It’s no secret that Jillian’s utilizes many therapeutic techniques with her contestants, techniques that she no doubt picked up from her mother, a licensed therapist.   Jillian’s very effective at forcing players to confront their issues in a safe zone.  It’s always tough to watch, but this is the only time in BL history when I wondered if she had gone over the line.  As Abby recounts how she lost her husband and children, she tells Jillian that being at the ranch is the hardest thing she’s ever done.  But she’s strong and getting stronger.  Jillian admits that she could not have handled it herself if she’d been in that situation.  She tells Abby that she’s made a choice to survive, to continue to love and it’s working.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

The new Biggest Loser Interactive Fitness game!  If it’s half as good as the commercial…loved seeing Bob break into that couple’s house.   Is that the same one Ali Vincent plugged in earlier episodes?

PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Amanda changes the Brita filter in the kitchen and has an epiphany!  She admits to Jillian that she hated being the fat girl and now she hates feeling like a failure.  She apologizes to Jillian, who responds by telling her not to be afraid!  It’s learning from your mistakes.  It’s how you grow.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Bob presides over an amazing feat – Allen jumping 3 feet into the air at 270 lbs and landing on a box.  And he made it look EASY!  Mind over matter.  If only Dina had watched that!

Shay and Jillian have a heart-to-heart.  Shay says the stupid ladder, as painful as it is, mirrors the pain of her life.  She chose food before.  Now she’s choosing something else.   Jillian asks, have you figured out how not to die?  She takes Shay off the treadmill and puts her on the floor with a bar on her chest.   She truly breaks her down, forcing the bar into Shay’s chest.   Jillian tells her to listen:  it wasn’t your fault.  You were a child.  You couldn’t save your mom.  Be angry.  But deal with it.

Jillian succeeds in her mission to break down the Black Team’s emotional barriers.  Is it enough to supercharge their weight loss for the week?

WEIGH-IN

Black decides to give entire 2 lbs to Amanda.   Did it pay off?

• Rebecca 9 Amanda 4 (6 with advantage) 
• Tracey 5 Abby 3
• Allen 8 Danny 12
• Liz 7 Daniel 5 (nice upset for Granny!)
• Rudy 14 Shay 9

Nope.  And Jillian is dismayed by Amanda and Daniel’s numbers.  She’s not getting though to them.  Or maybe it’s too much emotion.   Either way, Liz gets her wish.  Danny has immunity and the Black Team will be crying over a tough decision.   Great individual week for Danny – double digits!   Shay had a solid week too, but up against Rudy, not enough.    In fact, Rudy sets a new Biggest Loser record losing 101 lbs in 7 weeks!  Classy that Dane came back to witness it, even though he was doing a triathlon the next day – he looked fantastic!

ELIMINATION

Devastating!  Abby makes the case – for the team to send her home!  She knows who she is.  Her journey isn’t like the others.  This perturbed me, as I think Daniel should have fallen on the sword here.   But Abby has asked them all prior to this night – if I ask you to send me home, abide by my request.

They go to meet Alison.  Abby selects Amanda, because she thought she’d be the one player not to get a vote, she doesn’t want to vote for Daniel and she can’t vote for herself.  Shay is sobbing as she tells Abby she’s the mother she never had and reveals Abby’s name on the placard.  Amanda also picks Abby.  Danny has second thoughts, he votes his conscience (another reason he’s my guy this season) and chooses Daniel.  The final vote is Daniel’s and he does as Abby asked – he sends her home.  Alison says they’ll see her at the finale and Abby hugs Shay, saying she better win!

WRAP-UP

Personally crushed by this outcome.  But Abby is okay with it.  She has proven to herself that she’s where she wants to be.  It’s working.  She started on the ranch after the lowest point in her life.  Abby doesn’t know what the next chapter is, but she’s ready to fly again.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Abby reveals that she started dreaming since the ranch.  She’s discovered her mission:  to help others who are hurting change their lives.

NEXT WEEK

The Biggest Loser show travels to the nation’s capital!  Dining in the White House kitchen and maybe a Last Chance Workout on the National Mall?  Tracey wonders whether some of her choices will come back to bite her.  I hope so – with very big teeth!