The Biggest Loser: Na Na Na Na…Hey Hey Hey…Goodbye…Sniff
I continue to be inspired on a weekly basis at the progress, results, commitment, and dedication of the contestants on The Biggest Loser. So far they have lost a total of 1,031 pounds!! That is an amazing feat in just 3 months. They always make me want to get up and go. I usually watch the show while I’m running on the treadmill. If they can do it, so can I!
This week Nicole was feeling a lot of pressure because last week she fell below the yellow line. She had to work hard to keep herself safe this week. Neil threw it down at the elimination that that he is the biggest threat. I sure do like Neil. He is just a big teddy bear and yes he made everyone mad by obnoxiously throwing the weigh-in a few weeks back but who doesn’t like this guy? His jovial spirit, quick to speak attitude and impressive weight loss make him one of my Biggest Loser favorites.
When the contestants showed up to the gym they found Alison waiting for them. She informed them that the fate of everyone in the room would rest in the hands of America. Wow, what did that mean? Would someone be voted off by America? No, America had the power to vote for their favorite challenge from season’s past for them to compete in. The challenges were to either climb 74 stories, jump in a never ending jump rope, hang onto poles over the water, or walk on an escalator which was basically a never ending Stairmaster. They had a couple of days to get ready and then they would find out what America picked for them.
So, as the teams trained we saw once again that Bryan was the red team’s last hope. Kim worked him hard to get him ready for the challenge.
Bob worked with Nicole and Bob shared that he wasn’t sleeping anymore with the burden of just two people left. It would be another tough week so Bob had them do some yoga to refocus. Rest was a weapon. They needed to meditate, relax and let go.
Jillian on the other hand pushed Bill, Isabeau, and Julie to their limits again. They were getting more fit now so with that came more creative beatings from Jillian.
As Kim worked with Bryan she was puzzled at his weight loss. With the workouts they were doing everything else he should be showing bigger numbers. Bryan admitted that nutrition was his weakest point. Kim knew he was doing something wrong but what was it? Kim knew he was very challenging with food so she jogged his memory of everything he was using in his meals. Finally she found out what was going on. Bryan had been marinating his meat in soy sauce!! Soy sauce is super duper high in sodium makes you retain water so you don’t lose weight. Ah ha! That was why his numbers weren’t as high!
Later all the contestants showed up for the challenge America picked and they chose poles over the water. Well, I missed the memo somewhere and didn’t know I could vote!! I wouldn’t have picked that one. I would have picked the 74 stories of stairs. Now that was a challenge! The contestants seemed pretty happy with America’s choice though. Whoever could hang on the longest would win. Andre Agassi gave them a video message about how proud he was of them. The winner of the competition got a trip to Tamarac resort in McCall, Idaho. That would be a fantastic trip! I love Idaho…so amazingly beautiful there.
Bill was feeling strong with his upper body strength and Nicole felt strong with her mind because of Bob’s yoga techniques. I think that hanging over the pool with all of your body weight would be a very hard challenge. You would need to have upper body strength so a guy will probably win this (although last time a girl did)! As they started Isabeau seemed like she was really struggling right away and then she fell in with Neil right behind her. Nicole fell quickly after then Bryan fell and then Hollie. It seemed like they only held on for a few minutes but we’ll never know…they didn’t say. Bill and Julie were the final two and they were hanging tough.
Poor Bill, the girls were trash talking him. No encouragement for Bill!! They didn’t like that he was winning everything. But, no matter…Bill won! Bill was so happy because this was the vacation he promised his kids. After they both were in the pool Julie dunked Bill even though she knew that he won fair and square. I love Julie. Hollie was annoyed and said Bill wins everything. Whatever! Julie won an SUV too!!! Hollie was just jealous and mad she didn’t win! Hollie admitted she was being a bad sport so she sat on the sidelines as everyone else dove into the pool for some fun swimming. As she sat there she watched Nicole dive into the NO DIVING end of the pool and Nicole practically knocked her two front teeth out! Dang, she could have BROKE HER NECK. They all looked for her tooth and were hoping it would get fixed soon because they could kick a field goal through the space she now had.
The next day Bob of course had to see what was up with the challenge and Neil told Bob that Nicole chipped her two front teeth. So, Nicole was at the dentist and Bob was stressed she was missing some workouts but they had a good laugh at her “new” appearance. Bob thought she looked like some of his relatives in Tennessee. Bryan on the other hand was in the kitchen with Kim improving on his nutrition. Nicole shared about her new temporary teeth and then they all met with the doctors about their three month health results.
As each contestant found out their very impressive results I kept thinking that in three months these people had literally turned their lives around and added years and years onto their lives. Neil found out he had lost 3.5 jug units (water cooler water bottles in the office). Tape them around Neil and that was his weight loss. Wow! Julie had lost the most inches out of all of them off her waist. She lost 12 inches…45% of her waist line was gone. Isabeau was pre-diabetic and now she had the best insulin of the entire group of contestants. Bill had gone off of his blood pressure medicine. When Bill first arrived at campus he had uncontrolled bad hypertension and now he had excellent blood pressure. Bryan dropped his cholesterol from 279 to 176. Just with diet and exercise he got down into the normal range in three short months. Nicole lost 74 pounds of hydrated fat. Okay, that was impressive. That was like 25 cans of Crisco she lost!! She gained 11 pounds of muscle and for every pound of muscle you gain you burn an extra 50 calories a day. She had lost the most amount of fat out of all of them. Hollie had a severe thyroid problem and it hasn’t been a crutch for her at all. She had lost over 40% of the volume of her hips. That was a lot of hip loss lady!!!
Then it was time for last chance work outs. Nicole was below the yellow line last week so Bob really pushed her, especially with her chipped tooth fiasco cutting into her workouts. Bob lost Kae last week; he didn’t want to lose Nicole this week. Neil was pushed hard too. Bob pushed him over the limit to the state of what seemed to me perpetual dizziness. Bob was a little aggravated because Neil just kept going and going and Bob couldn’t break him. Neil thought Bob was determined to break him and he wasn’t going to let Bob do that. Neil NEVER broke. Bob thought he was going to make Neil cry but in the end Neil survived but sat on a stool and practically hyperventilated. That was the hardest I have ever seen Bob push anyone!
Kim really worked with Bryan too and he gave it his all not only in workouts but also nutrition. Kim then played basketball with him for some fun and cardio. She was BAD at it but so fun. She really has made a difference in Bryan’s life. Then it was on to Jillian who loved pushing Bill because he was nuts and so was she and he would do whatever she told him to do. They were quite a pair. She of course pushed everyone but Hollie because Hollie was in agony over her foot. Then Hollie was mad Jillian didn’t push her. Oh the frustration for Jillian!! Then the black team got emotional that maybe they would lose someone this week. Isabeau pointed out that over 150,000 people wanted to do what they were doing…they have made it so far and Jillian would be sad to lose them but she wouldn’t be worried about them.
Finally it was time for the weigh-in. All of them lost weight and it was very close. With only seven people left every workout and every calorie really, really counted. There was no one to fall back on; it was all up to them individually. Julie was the biggest loser with 5 pounds lost. With Bryan losing 4 and Hollie losing 3 they fell below the yellow line and were up for elimination. Neil lost 5 pounds squeaking by Bryan with just 1 pound! I’m sure that would be a warning to them for next week to make everything count. I was so proud of Neil as he broke the 300 mark and weighed in at 298 pounds!!
In elimination it was obvious that Bryan would probably be gone. With Hollie being backed by the black team, Bryan went home eliminating the red team from competition, a first in Biggest Loser history. No more red team and no more Kim. I am so sad!! I loved Bryan!! On the bright side, currently Bryan has lost 118 pounds at home and looks absolutely great! He is pursuing a singing career and I’m sure in just a couple weeks we’ll see he’s lost even more weight at the finale!!
With only two more weeks at the campus I’m sure every player will be giving it there all. But no matter how hard each one pushes, two will still fall below the yellow line each week and each week one person will go home until we have our final four. Who will it be? Will it be a total team black out or will Neil and Nicole keep the blue team alive for a shot at $250,000 and the title of The Biggest Loser? Jillian could make Biggest Loser history by dominating the finale with her four remaining players. Or, if the women band together they could make Biggest Loser history by finally crowning a female winner. Will it be Hollie, Isabeau, Julie, and Nicole as the final four? Julie said she had a strategy and personal feelings were out of the way. Is her strategy to see a woman win it or is it to see the black team go ALL THE WAY? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out. Until then I’ll keep running on the treadmill and chewing Wrigley’s Extra gum…
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
