AFTER THE ELIMINATION

Michael is the first to return to the house after the players send Maria home.  The rest of the players roll in and waste little time in reminding Michael how lucky he is to be there, since he wasted a good portion of the previous week.

POP CHALLENGE

The next day, Alison meets the group and announces the next Pop Challenge.  Immunity is up for grabs, along with three decisions that will affect the entire game.  The players have to run the Presidential Mile, grab a key card from the 100 on the board, and run back to Alison to try the key in the machine.  If it’s a green check, the team gets one point.  If it’s a red x, they have to try again.  First team to get three checks wins.

Stephanie’s working hard to win the challenge, lapping players in her quest to to get the three checks.  But the first player to get a green check is Melissa.  Orange and Pink Teams are nipping at the Red Team’s heels.   The momentum sticks and Red Team is the first to get the three green checks.   In addition to immunity, Melissa and Lance have three envelopes with penalties to distribute to the players of their choice.   They must decide:  game play or try and curry favor?

They opt for game play for two of the three decisions.   John receives the “no gym for a week” envelope.   Works in his favor as his knee injury keeps him in the pool for most of the time.   Red Team gives “no vote at elimination” to Michael, since the players were pretty harsh with him after the previous week’s elimination.   The 2 lbs penalty at the weigh in goes to Green Team.   Miggy and Migdalia are pissed.

CONFRONTATION WITH RED TEAM

Heads are about to explode!  The trainers are not happy when they learn about the results of the day’s Pop Challenge.  Bob notes how crazy it’s been in the house.   Jillian knows Miggy’s at the breaking point.   Time to confront Red Team, and again the trainers opt for the “tag team” approach.

Bob takes Melissa and Lance aside.  He doesn’t make any headway with them.  Melissa is upset that Bob called her a liar on national television.   Lance says he lost a lot of respect for Bob during the last weigh ins.  They insist Melissa is telling the truth.   Bob hesitates, then decides to let Jillian call the Red Team’s bluff.

Jillian asks Lance to come clean about the game play.   Lance refuses and says he’s not going to work with Jillian.  “Okay,” she says.  “Such is life.”    She trots over to tell Bob what happened – in front of everyone.   The teams split off, one of each pair goes to box with Jillian.  First up, Melissa.  She looks Jillian straight in the face and repeats that she’s not involved in game play.   Ridiculous!  Jillian’s only been doing this for 18 years and 8 seasons on the show.   No fooling the one who knows the science.   Jilllian looks straight at the camera and says, “She’s lying!”

Later, Melissa asks Lance to continue to work with Jillian.  He agrees.  She smiles, noting that she gets what she wants.  I hope it’s a good kick in the rear.

CHALLENGE

Hardhats on deck!  Each team has to hoist themselves one hundred feet in the air to the top of a crane.  And the prize is good – phone calls home for the winning team and the three other teams the winners choose.   Koli and Sam are channeling some kind of super human strength.  We hear a few catty remarks about steroids.   Jealous, Red Team?  It’s a photo finish, but the boys hold off Melissa and Lance for the win.  Koli and Sam’s hearts match their size.  They share the phone calls from home with Melissa and Lance (second place), Migdalia and Miggy (family birthday) and John (because he’s without family on campus).

TRAINER TIP

Jillian has a lo-cal treat to curb your sweet tooth.  Microwave an apple in a small bowl of water for 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

REWARD PHONE CALLS HOME

Gray Team is delighted to talk with family!  It’s the first time that Sam’s Dad has ever said how proud he is of his son.  Koli’s mom tells him she loves him and his aunt promises that she’ll never make fun of either guy for eating organic.

John’s wife tells him that their son is talking!  She puts baby Nicholas on to say hi to Dad.

Lance and Melissa are both excited and sad to speak with their kids.  They really miss them!

Both members of the Green feel like they want to go home.  Miggy speaks to her fiance who’s lost 20 lbs!  Migdalia’s daughter says, “Where are you Mommy?”  Her husband tells her to hang in there.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

It’s plug time!  Fill the Brita and head over to Subway.   Bob coaches the players on how to fill up with lean protein and healthy carbs.   Good thing they replenished their energy reserves.    Last Chance Workout moves out of the gym into the great outdoors!

Bob has hill duty.  The teams hike up the mountain, alternating walking with running intervals.   That hill is steep!  It’s John’s first official Last Chance Workout and he’s glad to be with the group.   Daris is running like a machine!  Just when the players reach the top and think they’re done for the day, Jillian’s waiting for them.  With kettlebells.  Wheelbarrows.  And rocks!   Jillian’s gleeful as she pounds the calories out of the players.  She taunts Koli and Sam as they try to push themselves up the hill in the wheelbarrow.   “It can’t be done,” she says.   The Gray Team proves her wrong.

WEIGH IN

Ali reviews the Red Team’s escapades for the week:  John couldn’t go to the gym, Michael can’t vote at elmination and the Green Team has a 2 lbs disadvantage.  Melissa and Lance stand by their decisions as Green Team fumes over the game play strategy.   With immunity, Red Team kicks off the weigh in.  Jillian is absolutely sure that “peer pressure” will cure Melissa’s amazing struggle to lose weight on campus.   And what have we learned thus far?  Don’t.  Doubt.  Miss Jill!

• Melissa – 11 lbs
• Lance – 6 lbs
• Michael – 15  lbs
• Andrea – 5 lbs
• Darrell – 10
• Cheryl – 6 lbs
• Daris – 6 lbs
• Ashley – 7 lbs
• Sherry – 4 lbs
• John – 10 lbs
• Sam – 14 lbs
• Koli – 12 lbs
• Stephanie – 6 lbs
• Migdalia – 5 lbs
• Miggy – 1 lbs
  

The high points:  Michael, Sam, Koli and John lose double digits; Cheryl and Daris hit milestones, dropping below 200 and 300 respectively.

The low point:  Melissa’s smirking response to Green’s less than impressive weight loss.   She actually says out loud, “Ali, just so we’re clear, 2 lbs wouldn’t have made a difference here.”

Migdalia starts to cry and Miggy instantly admonishes her, telling her to stop.  Jillian points out the inherent sadness in this command.  The Green Team is constantly swallowing their emotions, refusing to show stress to anyone.

The pre-elimination conference rapidly goes downhill.  Migdalia flat out says she’ll make it easy for the group.  Someone has to go home.  Pick her.  Melissa, not content to let it play out without drama, cautions the group to remember that the majority of attitude has come from Miggy.

ELIMINATION

The group is clearly conflicted.   I can’t remember another elimination like this one.  The two up for elimination are ARGUING and talking trash before the voting is complete.   Last season, Rebecca and Rudy went at it but that was after she had been eliminated.    The players refuse to honor Green’s request to go lockstep for Migdalia, with Red, Gray and Brown voting for Miggy.   Ultimately, the majority of votes go to Migdalia.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Startling to hear Migdalia say she’s opened up and learned to deal with her emotions during the final interview at the ranch!  After a brief period of uncertainty at home, Migdalia gets back on track.

NEXT WEEK

They’re baaaaaaack!  After battling it out at home for 30 days, who will get to return to the ranch – the Blue or Yellow team?

Now imagine how my world was turned upside down this week as I was forced to watch the show on the DVR.  By myself.  On a Friday!  Avoiding Twitter for three days so I wouldn’t see any spoilers.  Never again.

What I learned during my solo viewing:  Emotions get in the way.  Where to start with Migdalia?  Whether it was dealing with the student/teacher pairings or responding to Jillian’s attempt to “knock the chip off her shoulder,” she’s clearly unwilling or unable to express her feelings.  It’s easier for her to squelch them with self-sabotaging behavior.  Feel sorry for her, but also extremely frustrated with her attitude.  Why did she come on the show if she doesn’t want to do ALL of the work – physical and emotional?

Fantastic round ups from Paula and Ali this week.  Quick thoughts:

• Jillian and Bob are in the “good cop/bad cop” groove.  I like the joint training approach.
• Worried that Jillian’s going to push one of these contestants so hard emotionally they will lash out at her physically.  Not a character or personality flaw in the contestants, just the reality of releasing that anger/energy on the nearest thing they can.  Jill’s right up in their faces and they are big in comparison.  Sheer physics.
• Michael’s lucky his mother cares more about him than he does, or he would have gone home.  Unattractive slacker attitude.  Good for Gray Team for calling him on the mat.
• Melissa.  You’re not fooling anyone, least of all Bob and Jillian.  And Lance either knows the score, or he doesn’t know his wife at all.

After the White Team loses the weigh in, Maria makes an impassioned plea for the group to send her home.  Most of them honor the request, except for John and Stephanie who vote for Michael.  What a joy to see Maria at home, changing the way she cooks for her family and getting into that swimming pool!

This family lives in Minneapolis, MN.  O’Neal, 51 works as a USPS station manager.   He loves sports, especially football, having been both a player and a coach.   His brother’s recent death at 57 shocked O’Neal.  It also forced him to realize that his extra pounds could get in the way of living a long, healthy life.

O’Neal’s daughter Sunshine is 24 and is a restaurant server.  Like her dad, Sunshine is a former athlete, having competed in synchronized swimming.   She’s always been on the heavier side and has never made weight loss a priority.  Surrounded by unhealthy food at work and at home, Sunshine is unable to resist the temptations and has continued to gain weight.   She hopes that by teaming up with her dad, they’ll be able to tap into the competitive spirit that brought them success as athletes – and dump the unwanted pounds for good.

GREEN TEAM – Mother and Daughter

Mother Miggy is 48 and a chef from Pemberton, NJ.  She moved from NYC to Puerto Rico in her teens and was married, then divorced by 17.   She tries hard not to feel sorry for herself or her kids.  Her weight has fluctuated as many times as her careers.   Heaviness is prominent in her culture, but Miggy wants to prove to the Hispanic community that it’s possible to be lean and healthy.

Her daughter Migdalia is 28 and a homemaker living in Sanford, NC.  She says what’s on her mind, even when it causes disagreements with her mother.  Her family lacked the basic essentials when she was growing up and continued to struggle when they moved back to the U.S.  from Puerto Rico.   She attributes most of her weight gain to overeating as result of stress and the birth of her second child.  Her husband, a soldier, returned from Iraq and may be redeployed shortly.  Migdalia worries that her medical problems will continue to worsen if she doesn’t lose the extra pounds.

BLUE TEAM – Mother and Daughter

Cherita is 50 and is a homemaker in Houston, TX.  She feels great on the inside, but her body doesn’t show it.   Focused on her marriage, children and career for many years, she now realizes that it’s time to take care of herself.  She’s beaten cancer and wants to improve her health by losing weight.  Her goal:  to spend the next 50 years fulfilling the dreams she set aside in her first 50 years.

Daughter Victoria “Vicky” is a 22 year old student in Houston.   Always encouraged to dream big and achieve, the goal of a thinner body eludes her.  Vicky wants her outside to finally match her inside, so that she can impress the world with her beauty and brains.   In addition to cancer, her family has a history of diabetes, obsesity, stroke and heart disease.   Vicky and Cherita want to change their family’s medical legacy by embracing a life of fitness.