Seems they're really making the most out of the "second chances" theme for this season of
The Biggest Loser. In a nutshell, nobody went home.
Because finally, they all recognized that the second week of the competition is always the hardest. Could be because they've settled in, could be because of the lack of water weight, could be because of other reasons, but nobody really loses a large amount of weight on the second week--and in some cases, some actually gain some pounds. At the very beginning, Alison posed a challenge to the remaining contestants. Lose a combined 150 pounds, and everybody is safe for another week. Lose less that amount, and two will be eliminated. Ouch.
But they were given two chances to whittle that 150-pound requirement down. First up, they visited Curtis Stone for what they called "kitchen boot camp", also known as the usual lesson in nutrition. Oh, and the usual quiz questions after the lesson--one for each team, although it was more or less the ranch versus the trainers, since if the groups answer five questions correctly, 15 pounds will be deducted from the requirement. Exactly that happened, with Julio giving the last correct answer after everyone got four straight right, and two straight wrong.
The second chance (no pun intended) was in the balance beams, where contestants have to traverse narrower and narrower beams to get to four rafts. Get to the first, and shave five pounds off the requirement. Same goes for the second. Getting to the third gave everyone a chance to call home. Getting to the fourth gave them an extra ten pounds off the requirement. Someone falls off the water, and the challenge is over for everyone.
Seems the motivation was really good, though: despite Tracey's initial struggles, and Shay's later ones, everybody completed the challenge, and thus everybody had to lose only 115 pounds collectively. Never mind that Bob and Jillian were initially skeptical of Alison's offer.
There was no shortage of issues at the ranch, too. Julio, who was saved from elimination last week, is now in the hot seat, after looking like he's taking the whole thing lightly. Shay (who later found the need to let go of her painful past) is leading all those efforts to hit him, never mind that she almost quit last week. (Like, really now.) Bob ended up giving him a pep talk, if we can call it that.
And then there's Tracey, who had a heatstroke in last week's challenge and missed both weigh-ins. After an extended stint at the hospital, she returns to the ranch already wearing her purple shirt, thanks to Mo--who was fortunate enough to have lost enough weight for his team despite being forced to slug it our alone--visiting her earlier in the week. She's scared that her medical scare would mean she wouldn't be able to work out as hard as everyone else. Cue product placement opportunity. Good one, Bob.
Oh, and the phone calls, too, and Sean getting news from his wife that he's going to have a baby girl. Someone to really go home to once his stint ends.
In the end, it was Bob and Jillian who were astounded. After believing that the 115-pound goal was a bit unrealistic, they watched as everyone reached the goal, and then some. Once Daniel and Shay weighed in, the group lost a combined 155 pounds, five pounds over the original requirement! So much for the dare, Alison. Tracey lost ten pounds, a feat considering her hospital stay. Julio ended up losing 19 pounds--the most of any contestant this week--giving him a one-up over everyone else who thought he wasn't doing much. Talk about really good motivation.
Next week, it's really trainers versus ranch. But first, the scoreboard:
Abby: 221 pounds (-8)
Allen: 296 pounds (-10)
Amanda: 240 pounds (-4)
Antoine: 341 pounds (-8)
Daniel: 293 pounds (-7)
Danny: 394 pounds (-12)
Dina: 237 pounds (-8)
Julio: 375 pounds (-19)
Liz: 247 pounds (-10)
Mo: 327 pounds (-9)
Rebecca: 255 pounds (-6)
Sean: 411 pounds (-11)
Shay: 443 pounds (-16)
Tracey: 228 pounds (-10 from two weeks ago)
- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist(Image courtesy of NBC)