Michael’s personality is starting to grate on me.  I started feeling ambivalent about him during the last two episodes, but this one put me over the edge.   Is it the humor?  I used to love his fun expressions, especially the “I can see my abs” after the first weigh in.  The in-your-face jumping around after each win?  Not so much.  Looking out for yourself is much, much different then trying to SCREW the rest of the players.  Isn’t there a happy medium somewhere?

CLIFFHANGER:  LAST WEEK’S ELIMINATION

When we last left our Dynamic Duo, Cheryl and Darrell were balancing the faux Olympic torches on their heads.  Cheryl pulled a Tara.  Supreme confidence and focus.  After more than 10 minutes, Darrell’s torch tumbled, sending him home immediately.

HOW THE ELMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Broke my heart to see Drea so sad about her dad’s departure.  But when you meet Darrell’s wife, it’s clear that he has the support team at home to continue dropping the weight.

TEMPTATION CHALLENGE

Cookies!  And lots of ‘em, in addition to other calorie-laden treats!  It’s the time we deliciously anticipate all season:  Blue vs. Black.  Before announcing the actual challenge, Alison explains the prize – the winner will choose the teams AND the person who gets immunity this week.    Alison asks who will participate.  Some players don’t want the power because they know it will cause drama in the house.  Others, put off by the sheer volume and smell of the cookies, don’t see the wisdom in potentially eating thousands of calories.  Drea and Michael are the only two who decide to play.  The game is a big old Concentration board.  They’ll pick two boxes at a time, hoping to match the items behind the cards.  No match = picking player has to eat a cookie.  Match = opponent eats whatever’s inside the box.   They’re looking for the Golden Tickets.

Drea’s on an early roll, racking up matches while Michael stacks up the calories.  But as luck would have it, Michael ends up matching the Golden Tickets after eating over 2000 calories!!!  Michael takes the power very seriously, saying it’s the first time he’s put his own well-being ahead of others.  What that really means?  He wants to stay in the game as long as possible.  And boy does he stack the deck!  The smaller women (Cheryl, Stephanie, Drea, Ashley, Sherry) and Sam end up with Jillian on the Black Team; the larger men (Lance, Koli, Daris, Michael) join Miggy and Sunshine with Bob’s Blue Team.  Michael selects O’Neal for immunity and because there’s an uneven number of players, he’ll train alone this week.  After the weigh in, he’ll join the losing team the next week.

The Black Team players are really pissed.  They don’t like the perception that they are the weaker team.  They know Michael is playing the game.  He asked them who they wanted to train with, then did the opposite in most cases.   Stephanie feels betrayed, as seen in this confrontation that didn’t make it to air.  No one’s more angry than Jillian.  She calls Michael’s actions completely unfair and unprecedented, then apologizes, saying it resurrects her inner “fat kid” pain.    But remember:  no one does underdog like Jillian.

TRAINER TIP

Time to get out that Brita!  Bob reminds us that clean water is instrumental in weight loss.  Filter with the Brita pitcher to improve water quality, then put the water in a washable, reusable container to reduce waste.

TEAM CHALLENGE

The teams have to hoist their team banners up the side of a Burbank building.  The prize – letters from home!  With the exception of Sunshine and O’Neal, the players haven’t heard from home in almost two months.  The Black Team gives it their all, working handily as teammates but they are easily outmatched by the pulling strength of the Blue Team.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Bob warns the Blue Team not to take anything for granted.  Yes, they have sheer size on their sides.  However, Bob knows that without complete mental and physical focus, anything can happen at the weigh in.   Meanwhile, Jillian is on edge.  She’s got to get the most out of her team to prevent disaster on the scale.   And a funny thing happens as her team starts working out.  They are completely in sync.  They seem to be channeling their anger at Michael into impressing Jillian with their determination.   It works.  Although she’s beating them up, she’s dishing out the praise after every workout segment.

WEIGH IN

O’Neal has immunity, so he’s the first to weigh in, followed by the Blue and Black Teams.

• O’Neal – 9 lbs
• Michael – 15 lbs
• Sunshine – 7 lbs
• Miggy – 4 lbs
• Koli – 10 lbs
• Lance – 5 lbs
• Daris – 7 lbs

Blue loses 2.7% and 48 lbs.  Black needs more than 39 lbs.   Is it possible for them to pull the upset?

• Andrea – 5 lbs
• Cheryl – 4 lbs
• Sherry – 6 lbs
• Sam – 8 lbs (the power of the black nail polish!)
• Stephanie – 8 lbs
• Ashley – 10 lbs

CELEBRATION!!!  Wow.  Congratulations to the Black Team.  Michael laments “It should have been us.”  Good realization for him, since he’s got the highest percentage of weight loss on the Blue Team, ensuring his own immunity.    When Blue Team gathers to discuss their elimination decision, the obvious choice is Lance or Miggy, simply based on the numbers.  Lance can’t vote for himself and most of the others question whether Miggy’s stress level will hurt or help the team in the long run.  Survey says, “HURT!”  Miggy gets the boot.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Miggy looks refreshed and happy!   The power of meditation.  And an at home visit from your new Biggest Loser family.

NEXT WEEK

The Black Team may have won the weigh in….but they didn’t make any friends on the Blue Team.  Goliath’s out to get them with a vengeance!

Patti, 55, is a small business owner in Layfayette, CA.   Overweight for most of her life, she still remembers the taunts of childhood playmates.   But that pain pales in comparison to losing her father unexpectedly at 55, the same age she is now.  She fears that if she doesn’t lose the excess weight, her own life will be cut short, leaving her family devasted.   Patti doesn’t want to be an overweight, unhealthy companion to her husband.  She’s ready to break the cycle and become fit, healthy and energetic.

29 year old Stephanie is a radio sales executive in West Hollywood, CA.  Like her mother, she’s been battling extra weight for most of her life.   Her job requires long hours and frequent social outings, leaving her little time to hit the gym.   Work is also her excuse for not having time to be in a relationship.  However, she admits that she is afraid a potential love interest will reject her because of her weight.   As a former athlete, the thrill of competition motivated her once.  She’s hoping that same spirit will help her kick the pounds, once and for all.

BROWN TEAM – Brothers

James, 30 is a human resources director living in Orlando, FL.   As the youngest kids in a large family, he and his identical twin are used to competition.   While they used to stand out as scholars and athletes, the twins now gain attention because of their weight.   His size makes it difficult for James to do activities he once loved, like dancing with his wife or taking long walks.   He wants to have a family and live a long healthy life.

His brother John works in Orlando as a senior marketing manager.  A number of John’s relatives have died prematurely and he can no longer deny the obvious.  He may suffer the same fate if he doesn’t get his weight under control, which would mean leaving his family without a husband and father.   John has lost almost 160 lbs in the past, but couldn’t keep it off.   He regained all 160 lbs, plus 40 more.   John hopes the competitive nature of the show will be the game-changer for himself and his twin.

BLACK TEAM – Father and Daughter

Darrell, 46 is a machine operator and mechanic from Ann Arbor, MI.   Always the largest in his family, Darrell’s love for food started early.    Oversized portions plus a lack of exercise has kept him heavy his entire adult life.    Darrell’s quality of life has diminished because of his weight.   Living a full, healthy, fit life means that he’ll need help sticking to a diet and fitness regimen.

Darrell and his daughter Andrea, 24 are very close.  As the 4th and 5th generation to carry on obsesity in their family, they are teaming up to change their family legacy.    Andrea works as an executive assistant in Ann Arbor.   Although overweight as a child, she was also athletic and didn’t start gaining weight until after high school.   Her family equates food with love and eating healthfully has always been a challenge, especially at family events.   Andrea is finally ready to break the cycle of weight gain and improve her health.  She knows this will change her life – and her dad’s future.

Outrage among The Biggest Loser Fans last week!  How.  Could.  Blue.  Keep.  TRACEY?!   Black Team could hardly believe it either as Blue Team single-filed into the house this week.  But after the initial shock wore off and Tracey stopped crying (split personality!  I swear she’s Sybill.), an odd thing happened.  We had an almost entirely Tracey-free episode.   We didn’t even see Bob’s reaction when he found it out Blue Team had booted Mo.  The spotlight shifted away from our formerly Purple shirted devil woman and illuminated someone more deserving.

Danny, YOU!  Are my shining star, don’t you go away. (Disclaimer – not me!  I’m Lori, not Laura.  But I just can’t stop smiling when I see this clip.  Same way I feel watching Danny.)  He led the Black Team in pounds lost, but more importantly, he showed us all how it’s done by returning home and involving his family in his weight loss.   Laser-sharp focus from him this week and you could see it all over his face.  Simply put, he’s inspired.  He knows who he was, who he is and who he wants to be.  And I’m rooting for him!

CHALLENGE

Bob puts the Blue Team through treadmill hell and tells them that if they can’t win the weigh-in, at least win the challenge.   No time wasted this week.  Night falls and both teams head out to meet Alison.  She won’t tell them what they’re playing for, only that it determines who will stay and who will go.  The players know it involves finding 4 keys that are buried in a sand pit.  Each team needs their 4 keys in order to unlock their treasure box.  Abby and Tracey aren’t competing due to injuries, and to even the number of players, Amanda volunteers to sit out.  Good idea, since she hates sand!

Lot of interesting digging strategy.  Hands, shovels, sideways snow angels (Liz).  Danny finds the first blue key, races to put it into the lock and then assists Daniel, who’s made significant progress locating his key.  Allen gets the first Blue key, unlocks his lock and then jumps over to Rudy.   The two manage to unearth the second Blue key while Black team is struggling on their second.

30 minutes flash by.  Lots of sand, no keys!  Finally, Blue gets the third key out of the ground and over to the treasure box.   Another 10 minutes goes by before Rebecca finally gets the last Blue key!  Blue Team unlocks the box to reveal the prize – a week at home…if they want to go.  If they don’t, they can send Black Team off campus.  Rudy’s unsure and so is the rest of Blue.   Ultimately, they decide the advantage is stay on campus and have Bob kick their butts for a week.  Black Team is going home!

AT HOME

Black Team is both nervous and excited.  Daniel, who’s already been doing this at home, worries that a week off the ranch will spell disaster.  Abby, Dina, Shay, Amanda and Danny can’t wait to see their families.  At the same time, they know they are not the same people who left home five weeks ago.  Will their families accept that?

I love watching the contestants reunite with their families.  Everyone’s in awe of what they’ve accomplished physically.   Daniel’s family is thrilled beyond belief.  Abby, whose parents were her rocks when she lost her husband and kids, are overjoyed at seeing the light return to their daughter’s eyes.  Dina’s hubby and adorable son are all dressed up for the special occasion and her husband says that Dina looks like she did when they first met.  Shay’s husband hasn’t told her stepchildren exactly where she’s been, so she explains and they all tell her how glad they are to have her home.  Amanda’s mom is astonished, noting her daughter’s newfound self-confidence and emerging beauty as Amanda tells her crowd that she’s wearing a size 16!  Danny’s missed his wife and kids and they greet him with huge hugs and happy smiles.  His wife says this is the Danny she met years ago.

After the meets and greets, the Black Team contestants prep their families.  They explain what happened at the challenge and how scary it is to have the security blanket of team and trainers pulled out from underneath them.  They know it’s going to be a crazy four or five days.   As Shay notes, forget digging in the sand.  Being at home with all of the distractions and old patterns is the true challenge!

The biggest problems:  food and working out.  If they can’t get these two things under control, weigh in will be a disaster.   Wondering if it was an editing decision on the producers part, but it seemed as if most of the Black Team players were fixated on what they couldn’t eat or do.  Danny’s approach with his family was completely different, more optimistic, I thought.  He outlined how he wanted the week to unfold and kept himself and his family focused on the positive benefits of these choices, especially the food.  Enjoyed that he explained the benefits of eating at home with the best quality food.  A big ole BBQ of teachable moments.  Very Law of Attraction!

The other contestants are struggling to manage their diets and exercise at home.  Shay gets a chance to demonstrate her newfound nutrition knowledge at Subway with her friends later, but eating out with her stepchildren and husband is an entirely different story.  Everyone except Shay gets their usual order.  Seeing the plates of fried appetizers and cheesy entrees, she realizes that her stepkids were only copying what they saw her eating.   She orders grilled fish but wonders if the kitchen really cooked it the way she ordered.  By the time she gets to the gym,  she has to keep reminding herself that she has to learn to do it at home, even if means being uncomfortable as the only big girl working out.

Meanwhile, Dina’s shocked by the amounts of unhealthy food being served up at her family’s restaurant outing.   Appetizers laden with grease pass around the table.  Dina can’t believe she ever ate like this.  She tries to change her husband’s mind, but he wolfs down an enormous burrito.   She doesn’t feel as if she’s getting a lot of support.  And working out presents more challenge – she has to bring her son with her.   Her kid’s so cute though.  He can’t believe she can run so fast on the treadmill!

Danny and Amanda get much needed pep talk calls from Jillian.  She tells them that they know more than they think and to keep focused.  Abby’s a swimming machine, but she wonders if she’s staying on track.   Abby’s mom, seeing her daughter’s efforts, calls Abby her hero!

TRAINER TIP

Bob explains that circuit training is a great way to peel off the pounds.  Do 8-10 exercises in row, mixing in a cardio component.  No resting between sets!  The body will tire quickly, so exercise multiple muscle groups for the best results.  He suggests one arm rows, lateral raises, step up for cardio for the first three exercises.   Add in additional muscle groups for the next 5-7 exercises.   Repeat entire 8-10 exercises, 3-5 times.  (Use The Biggest Loser Fitness Programor Jillian’s Hot Bod in a Boxfor easy-to-follow circuits)

BACK ON CAMPUS

Bob’s showing Blue Team that every day’s a Last Chance Workout!  (Perhaps the inspiration for this little DVD
coming out in December?)  No one does sassy, adorably smug and snarky like Bob.  After all, he’s only there to “make the Blue Team happy!”   But he and Blue both know that this is their moment.   He can’t work them out hard enough to make them want to go home, according to Liz.  Bob tells them to think of the elimination.  How badly do they want it?  He’s not putting them on the 10% incline to make it easy!  In fact, he’s quite happy to beat the crap out of them.

Product placement time!   Bob meets Liz and Tracey in the kitchen to dispense a few words of wisdom.  Liz says there’s no drama here on campus (this week anyway!), allowing her to focus on what she needs.  Just happens to be a tall glass of nutrient dense milk!  Unlike the print ad, no milk mustaches though. The ladies clink glasses – cheers to being without the Black Team.

TRAINER TIP

Jillian’s way to make sandwiches leaner?   Skip the mayo and cheese and use avocado.  Less calories, plus a good dose of heart-healthy fat.   Lori G. tip:  mash with lime juice and cayenne pepper for a nice flavor jolt.

FOOD BANK

The Blue Team was inspired by last year’s Food Bank challenge and Bob decides to take them to the L.A. Food Bank.  The team fills backpacks with enough food to take kids through a whole weekend.  Job well done, Blue!

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Black Team arrives back on campus.  They tell Blue how hard it was, but they don’t have to tell Jillian: “It’s gonna suck, guaranteed!”  A week’s worth of workouts in one measly gym day.  Black is happy to be back, despite Jillian’s beatdown.   Shay loves the way she feels when it’s all done.  Face lighting up, Danny says he’s gotten rid of his Kryptonite.  Superman’s slowly coming back!

Bob turns up the heat on Blue, telling them to speed it up.  They had the whole house this week, and he says, “It’ll be sad” if they lose the weigh in.   He looks particularly gleeful barking orders to Tracey.

Jillian can’t figure out what’s going on with Daniel.  After she yells at him for working under his potential, Daniel starts to cry.  Being at home triggered an uncomfortable realization.  He always thought his mother wasn’t proud of him as he was when she made repeated attempts to help him lose weight.  He finally understands that she wanted the best for him.  And still does.  Jillian reminds him that Mom is still alive and he can make her proud by doing his best.   Daniel manages to wrangle a huge Jillian hug.

WEIGH-IN

Black team is freaking out and so is Bob.  If Blue’s in elimination for the second week in a row, he’s going to be “pissed.”  Not that he has to worry!  Blue pulls some amazing numbers, especially our Big Boy Rudy – 14 lbs!  Blue loses 35 lbs and 2.65% percentage of body weight.  Question:  can everyone on the Black Team average 7 lbs?  Answer:  No, although Danny sheds an amazing 15 lbs!  Black Team loses 34 lbs and 1.98% of body weight.

Ack!  Jillian’s hug had no magical powers!  Daniel gained a pound at home.  The Black Team pleads their individual cases and then heads to the elimination room.  As much as I adore Daniel, I would have sent him home.  He’s had his second chance.  But the team is evenly split between Daniel and Dina.  Shay casts the final vote to oust…Dina.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Dina leaves the ranch understanding her potential.  She is determined to win the battle. Check out her two new trainers (husband is conspicuously absent), the challenge she obliterated at home, amazing makeover plus BL fan questions!

NEXT WEEK

Head to head match ups against the other team.  Abby vs. Tracey, Amanda melts down.  Looks like a pressure cooker…hot, hot, HOT!  Plus a player from the past returns to see if a record gets broken at the weigh in.