The Biggest Loser: A Split Decision Saves One Team from Total Extinction
Every week it was getting harder and harder for the contestant’s to send someone home. Everyone was still crying from elimination when Alison told them that the game was changing one more time. From that time forward there were no more duos. It was now an individual game and the only person to count on was themselves to keep them in the game.
Bob went in to check on his blue team and wondered why their vote was for Ryan their teammate? The only thing that Bob could think of was that Neil was playing a game and it was all about winning. Bob said there was no way he could put a teammates name down. Neil disagreed. Ryan had been his best friend on campus since day one. It was not about that.
Jillian was excited that Isabeau was still alive in the game. As they sat in their circle Jillian called Amy who was still in her red team shirt over to the group. She was the step-child of the group. Amy felt like no matter what happened team colors would always exist so they began to talk strategy. They needed to take out the biggest threats which were Kae, Neil, and Bryan. Bill also knew there was going to be a huge target on his back and Julie felt like she was the weakest link.
Later Amy wanted closure with the red team and Kim and the failure they had together. Amy wanted to give Kim her red shirt back and then thanked her for everything she did for her. Kim wouldn’t take the shirt and told her that she had made a commitment to her from day one so she told Amy to keep the shirt and to hang onto it. Then she told her that she and the red team were disappointed in Amy and later told the camera that she felt like Amy would seriously regret the decision to turn her back on her original team. The fact that Amy tried to give the shirt back felt like a slap in the face to Kim. Well, that didn’t go so well.
After Amy’s talk with Kim she officially joined the black team and Jillian was all excited that Amy had a black shirt on. Amy stuck to her guns and felt like Jillian was a better fit for her. I really don’t see Amy returning to Kim anytime soon.
Next up was a temptation challenge. Mmmmmm, piles and piles of donuts. I’m sure it smelled delicious. Bryan said he could eat a dozen no problem. They soon found out that inside one donut was a token worth $5,000. The catch was that to play you had to pay in calories. For each round they chose to participate in they had to eat one donut and then they had one minute to search. Isabeau didn’t hesitate at all and the only one who sat out round one was Kae. Neil said it was the best donut he had ever had. I love Kae for sticking to her guns. She has been rock steady through this whole process. This was a gross challenge as they just went for it digging through all the donuts like crazy. For round 2 Nicole sat out with Kae but everyone else was all in! Amy was literally laying on the donuts looking for the money. For round 3 Julie was out. She had a calorie allowance and she met it so she was stopping. There was no time limit this time so they were to go for it until someone found it and Bill found it!!! Go Bill!!! He was now 5,000 richer!!! Then they had a donut fight and pelted him with donuts. He was going to put the money into a college funds for his kids. They were all going to have to work out extra hard after that temptation. Most of them probably consumed an excess of 1,000 calories.
Next up was their first immunity challenge that took place in 24 hour fitness. Alison was there of course standing in front of a bunch of spin bikes. They were going to participate in a 24k indoor triathlon. That was going to be a major workout with over 15 miles to cover. They would be cycling, swimming, and running. The first 6 players to bike 20k would move on to running. Then those 6 had to run 3k and the first 3 to run the 3k would move on to swimming. The person who swam 1k the fastest would win a 24 hour trip home and they would receive immunity. That was a HUGE prize!!! Finally the winner would also have the power to make a very important decision which they would find out after the challenge.
Soon they were off and Kae was leading the pack with Nicole and Bill not far behind on the spin cycles. Kae finished first with Nicole, Bill, Hollie, Bryan, and Neil not far behind. That really drew a line in the sand. I beleive those six were the biggest threats of the game.
Next it was on to the treadmills to run 3k and to see who would place in the top 3. Kae and Bill were in the lead again with Bryan and Hollie fighting it out for 3rd place. Kae won the treadmill leg of the challenge with Bill next and finally Hollie beat Bryan to get the 3rd spot. She had a place in the pool and would be a viable threat because she had been a swim coach.
With Kae winning the first two legs of the triathalon this is where it really counted. Whoever won the swimming one it all. With 40 lengths of the pool to swim Kae admitted she wasn’t a strong swimmer and she knew Hollie was but Kae was going to do her best. Hollie was in the lead and that is where she stayed and easily won the whole thing. Not only did she win the 24 hour trip home and immunity but she also had the power to give someone else a trip home and immunity. Wow, that would be a tough decision to make. Did she give it to someone who wanted to go home the most or did she think strategy. Well, she always told herself that she had to think about it from the game point so she picked Julie to go home to see her family and to have immunity. Well, Julie was the weakest link in most people’s opinion and their goal was to get rid of Kae, Bryan, or Neil. I did feel bad for Amy. She wanted to go home so bad and wasn’t going to be able to. Alison did point out it was contingent immunity. If either of the girls gained weight at the weigh-in immunity was out of the question.
Hollie went home and met with one of her best friends. She was very emotional about being an inspiration to her friend and Hollie offered to work out with her the next day. Julie went home and was so glad to see her son whom she hadn’t seen in 3 months. Her husband was very glad to see her and the look in his eyes when he saw her and how proud he was of her made it all worth it. Also, while she hade been away her husband had lost 28 pounds. Wow! Go Julie’s honey!!
Julie shared that in the past they ate out 5-6 times per week and she needed to find a healthier way to eat so they went out to lunch at Subway. She was nervous leaving campus because at campus she knew what to eat. However, she felt completely safe eating at Subway. Her husband really encouraged her that this was what it would be like living in the real world so she had better get used to it.
Later Hollie met up with another of her friend’s who was crying for her because she looked so good so I cried too! Hollie felt that there must be a difference if people were reacting to the way she looked. According to her friends she was one hot tamale! I agreed. Hollie was looking fantabulous!
Back at camp Jillian met with the black team about the immunity challenge. She thought it was a smart choice to pick Julie to go. Amy couldn’t stop crying because she was so disappointed. Jillian was trying very hard to get her to refocus. In one breath Amy was like I don’t want to go home and then in the other breath she said she wanted to go home. Jillian helped her look it in the face tried to get her back on track. Amy was very nervous that she was going to get eliminated. If she wanted to be above that yellow line, Jillian told her that she needed to go to the gym.
Julie wanted to work her husband out to show him what life was really like at campus so she took him to the beach and gave him a Jillian inspired workout. Her husband had to admit she whooped his butt and she was so glad she wore him out like a little 6th grade girl. Go Julie! She was hilarious. Hollie took her friend that she had inspired to the gym to show her what she did at campus. Hollie was so sweet as she helped her friend work out. I see Hollie being a trainer!
Then it was time for them to say goodbye. For Julie it was gut wrenching for her to say goodbye to her family. But, she wasn’t saying goodbye without hope. Julie’s husband was such a great guy and so encouraging to her. For once Julie said she was going to finish what she had started.
Back at the campus Jillian was working with her black team for their last chance workout and pounded them into the ground. Bryan was the last of the red team so Kim was working him hard to save the existance of the team. Over on the blue team Bob road them harder than they ever thought he would. Neil shared that Bob always found a way to make each week harder than the last.
Now it was time for the weigh-in. Poor Bryan! He looked so lonely standing by himself as the last member of the red team. Julie and Hollie weighed in first and neither of them lost any weight but they still kept their immunity. Bill was next to weigh-in and he reached one of his goals! A 100 pound weight loss. Wow, I was so proud of him. A few months ago he could barely go up the stairs and now look at him. A dream come true for Bill so once again I was crying. Nicole lost 7 pounds and then Neil was up next and he was looking so thin! He lost another 10 pounds!! Man, he has lost a total of 110 pounds so far. That is literally a person. He is a weight loss machine!! Amy only lost 3 pounds and Isabeau lost 5 pounds. Bryan the last of the red team was up to weigh-in next. He needed to lose more than 3 pounds and he only lost 2 pounds so he was below the yellow line. Bryan was proud of his 70 pound weight loss but disappointed he didn’t stay above the yellow line. Kae was the last to weigh-in and had to lose more than 1 pound to stay above the yellow line. She did it by losing 4 pounds saving herself from elimination and bumping Amy below the yellow line. Amy and Bryan were now up for elimination.
Jillian thought for sure it was a slam dunk to keep Amy and vote out Bryan but there was a lot of dissension in the group. Frankly, I think Amy can be a brat and very immature in how much she complains. But, I want to see her succeed. I just don’t like watching her roll her eyes every week, have a melt down, and confess that she wants to go home while everyone else puts their nose to the grindstone and does their duty. She isn’t the only one there that left a family to come to the campus and just two weeks ago Hollie’s mom passed away. Isabeau confessed she wasn’t feeling comfortable voting for Bryan because Amy kept saying she wanted to go home. Kim was an emotional wreck because if Bryan goes she goes. If Bryan was eliminated he knew he worked hard and did his best. He really did deserve to stay but it was a game. Everyone was torn and divided. Amy deserved to go home over Bryan but I honestly wondered if she could make it at home alone. Isabeau was still on the fence so Neil told Bryan to go talk to her and shoot straight with her about his need to stay. So later, Bryan met with Isabeau. She certainly wanted him there but she had loyalties to Julie and Hollie. She knew that Bryan wanted the opportunity and didn’t know if Amy really did. It looked like Isabeau might end up being the swing vote.
Now it was time for elimination, the first for the group as individuals. Bryan didn’t want to be the reason that the red team became extinct. The blue team which was Nicole, Kae, and Neil voted for Amy. Kae had strong words for Amy which Amy felt was a little harsh. I agreed with Kae 100% though. She basically said that Bryan worked hard and never complained unlike Amy. The black team was next to vote. Julie, Bill, and Hollie voted for whom they thought was the biggest threat which was Bryan so it all came down to Isabeau, the girl on the fence. Isabeau was very eloquent and clear with her decision. Was she playing with integrity or loyalty? One person had her word and the other had her heart. One decision maybe she couldn’t compete with but the other she couldn’t live with so she voted for Amy.
Amy of course felt stabbed in the back (maybe that is how Kim felt when Amy left the red team for the black team). She had worked very hard and it was all for nothing. See, that was the kind of attitude that drove me nuts about Amy. It wasn’t all for nothing. For goodness sakes she got picked to be at the campus, had survived almost three months and had lost more than 50 pounds. That was not all for nothing!! Amy then had tough words for Isabeau by telling Bill, Julie, and Hollie thank you for their loyalty and that they had someone on their team they couldn’t trust who would lie to their face and turn their back on them. Hmmmm. Well, Amy had turned her back on the red team. But, Isabeau was very graceful and said firmly and kindly that she had been in tears before the vote and had changed her vote to Amy at the last minute because she just didn’t feel right in her heart about writing down Bryan’s name. She could not have lived with herself. I was proud of Isabeau for standing up for herself and not bending to Jillian’s pressure to vote for Amy. Isabeau did the right thing.
After Amy left the room Alison pointed out that they had been there three months!! Had it been that long? So, Alison gave them a little reward which of course they didn’t show us.
Since leaving the ranch Amy has lost 100 pounds! What an amazing job she has done while at home. When she first arrived home to see her husband and kid’s I was wowed by her beautiful family. Her husband noticed that she carried herself differently and Amy couldn’t believe how much her kids had grown. Her family meant everything to her. Now her husband helps her train and he said she was doing better than him! She has a darling new haircut and just seems so much happier and at peace. Happier than I had ever seen her at campus. Maybe there was more to Amy than the complaining and apparent lack of desire to be at the campus. Maybe Amy just really needed to be with her family and her time at the campus was her kick-start to a fresh new life. She really was a different person now. At campus she never seemed to change (minus the weight loss of course). What Amy needed was exactly what she got. The tools for weight loss from the campus and then she went home and found the joy in continuing her journey with her family surrounding her. A much better fit for her in the end, even if she didn’t win the $250,000.
Next time on The Biggest Loser the remaining players get pictures of how they looked when they arrived at the campus and then they get make-overs and a photo shoot! Plus they get surprise reunions with the people they wanted to see the most and for the first time ever a live weigh-in of the eliminated person! I can’t wait for next week!
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
