This week on the Biggest Loser:
- Bob and Jillian weren't all hoo-rah about Sean and Antoine falling on the sword so Shay could stay at the ranch another week. "They have to learn how to put themselves first," Jillian said.
- Amanda said for the 500th time "America chose me to be here," causing this blogger to gag a little bit. Is anyone else tired of hearing that?
- The contestants were forbidden from the kitchen and had to order every meal from a take-out menu for the entire week! To make sure they didn't cheat and try to whip themselves up some healthy fare, there were locks on the kitchen cabinets. Trust me, I've considered doing that at home before. But I think that putting this challenge in week 4 seemed a little unfair. Seems like they should have given the contestants another couple of weeks to get better at healthy eating.
- All the contestants went out to a Mexican restaurant w/Bob and Jillian. Their dinners didn't look bad, but it wasn't what I would want to order at a Mexican restaurant. Of course, that's probably why I'm shaped like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
- Paging Dr. Jillian, who hung apparently hung out her psychotherapy shingle on the gym door. Before the end of the episode, she got into the heads of Julio ("Some people jump in a bottle, take pills. I eat cheeseburgers. That's my drug of choice. "); Rebecca ("I want to wear skinny jeans and have a family and not just be the girl with the pretty face.); and Rudy, who could have crushed her with his pinky, but didn't because Jillian and her crazy ways are what he's on the ranch for.
- Dr. H. told Tracy she was not allowed to exercise at all - not even walking or swimming - because her CPK enzyme was very elevated. For us non-medical types, this link explains CPK. Amazingly, she lost 4 pounds anyway.
- Aside from the silent plug for Extra Sugar-Free Gum, Allison plugged the new book Biggest Loser Simple Swaps, which seems to be kind of like "Eat This, Not That.
- Daniel won immunity for the Orange Team by hanging from his hands on a platform that got steeper longer than any other player. It seems in these challenges that so much of this is mental.
Daniel wanted to win so he knew he would make it past week 4 in this season (the week he got voted off last season). Even after Allen gave in, Daniel still hung on wanting to be certain that he really did win.
- At the weigh in, Danie lost 0. Shay lost 5. But they had immunity. Was 0 pounds lost a strategy or a coincidence?
- Teams Brown (Liz and Danny) and Black (Julio) ended up below the yellow line. I'm glad that the Green Team was safe. Statistically, sending 2 people home made sense -- that much closer to being the last one standing. But emotionally, it would have been easier for me to think that I was only crushing one person's dream by sending the Black team home.
- Mo and Tracy disagreed over which team to vote for. I think Mo should have gotten to make the decision. He's carried that team and he should get to exercise some authority over it. But Mo let Tracy have her way and that makes me mad.
- In the end, Julio was voted off. His goodbye message was genuine and touching. At home he's lost over 100 pounds! "My love for food is not gone. I'm just changing the way I'm doing it," he said.
The preview for next week makes me hope the week goes by fast.
What did you think of tonight's episode? Who would you have voted for? Does Amanda bug you as much as she bugs me? Do you have a favorite team yet?
