The Biggest Loser: Rebuilding Trust One Pound at a Time
Following an emotional elimination last week we have to wonder what the atmosphere in The Biggest Loser campus will be like. Will Neil be truly sorry for all the pain that he caused? Can they regain their focus and do the work that needs to be done for the week? Will Amy find her groove with her new trainer Jillian? Really only time will tell.
After the vote Neil had a hard lesson to learn from his fellow house mates. They definitely were going to let him know that he did something wrong by throwing the weigh-in. David shared that he wished that he knew that Neil had thrown the challenge before the vote because he would have voted otherwise. Julie was really struggling with Neil’s choice. Neil saw it as a game and tried to stick to those guns. He didn’t think it made him a bad person and it certainly wasn’t personal to send Jez home. What I was wondering was about all the other low numbers? What about Ryan gaining a pound and Amy losing nothing! Did they too throw the weigh-in? They were red and blue team and it was obvious they were out to get the black team.
Back in their rooms Hollie was miffed that Kae sacrificed her integrity to save Neil. Obviously emotions were running high because I only saw that Kae saved her blue teammate that she had been training with for two months, not that she had thrown her integrity out the window. They were just ticked a black team member got sent home. Isabeau had an injured knee and was going to take it easy since she knew Neil would pull big numbers the next week. For Kae everything had changed after the elimination. She didn’t know if she wanted to be there anymore. It was supposed to be about being healthier and happier not about a game. So Kae took down her pictures and was packing her stuff to leave the house. Was Kae really going to leave? She walked down the hall with her suitcase so she certainly was on the verge.
For a new little teaser Bob Harper gave 5 Biggest Loser tips throughout the show to keep you watching. Who was he kidding anyway! Of course we would keep watching even if they do drag the show out during the weigh-in’s. We wanted to see the weight loss and who went home and how they looked now after leaving the campus!! I found the tips helpful though and who doesn’t love Bob? His tips were:
#5. Don’t believe everything you read. If there are too many words on the back of a label for ingredients that you can’t pronounce then put it back!
#4. Get rid of the spare tire with crunches. The bicycle maneuver is 50% more effective than crunches so have at it!
#3. Get on the resistance band wagon. Who needs weights when you can just resist at home, at the office, or in the car!
#2. Rid your body of cellulite. Squats and lunges smooth your legs. I didn’t know that! I’m going to be doing me some squats this week!
#1. Lose weight while getting Zen. Do yoga. You can lose up to 600 calories in a one hour session of yoga.
The next day after elimination trainer Bob went to visit his blue team and didn’t expect to see Neil. They shared with Bob that they were getting the cold shoulder from everyone else and Kae confessed she almost left and went home because it almost broke her, like she lost who she was. I think that was when Neil began to see the impact of his choices. Isabeau who was Neil’s partner felt like she was shot at by her own team member.
Kim on the other hand was glad that the red team wasn’t part of the drama. They were training while everyone else was freaking out. So while Kim was happily training, Jillian had to give a major pep talk to the black team. Hollie wasn’t ready to go home and she felt she was next to go if they went to elimination. Jillian told them all to toughen up; they didn’t have choice even if they did feel all ganged up on. Then Amy pulled Jillian aside and confessed she felt pressured by Neil to throw her weigh-in. He told her that the black team would get rid of her first so she had to throw it so the red and blue teams would have an alliance to get rid of the black team. Jillian told her to put the game aside and get back to her original goals of losing weight. She had Jillian’s trust and dedication. Way to refocus her Jillian! Man, Neil was really working every angle last week and for the moment it worked. I just wish Amy would take a tiny bit of responsibility for her actions.
At the blue teams workout Bob told Neil that he was going to be riding him really hard and that Neil was going to take it all and that it wasn’t the week to ask Bob one question because Neil had been given a second chance. He needed to get his head back into his well-being. Kae was also trying to refocus but she was still struggling. Bob hoped the house would get back to normal soon.
Then it was time for Jillian to give her girls and us some helpful eating hints. She encouraged her girls to make every calorie count. Hollie wanted to cut back to lose more weight so Jillian told her milk was important because of the calcium. Jillian brought forth the simple science and truth once again. If you want to be healthy then you workout and eat right.
Next it was challenge time. It was hard to believe that they had been on the campus for two months already! They would be competing in an endurance challenge. The newly formed teams needed to hold onto a rope on a seesaw while holding their own teams weight. The team that could hold on the longest would win. The winner got something in a box but it wasn’t disclosed and it was something they would all want. As each team held on as long as they could Neil and Isabeau were first to go in the water and Alison pointed out they made a huge splash. I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it but still!! Like overweight people want to be told they made a huge splash.
Amy wanted it bad for her team but the final outcome was Nicole, Ryan, and Bryan!! Good for them. Two blue’s won!! They’ve NEVER won anything! Nicole got the box from Alison and discovered it was the power to have three individual votes at elimination instead of just one team vote. That was a pretty sweet reward. That meant they had the power to send someone home. But, it only worked if they were not below the dreaded yellow line. So, they better stay out of elimination or their win would be worth nothing. Hollie of course was freaking out because she thought for sure she was next on the chopping block.
Bob couldn’t believe it when he heard some blue team members had won. They were 0-7 for their record but if they were going to win a challenge then that was the one for them to win. He was very proud of them.
Then it was time for the shameless plug. Kim was in charge of this one to promote the new Ziploc steam bags. I was of course impressed once again with the product they were plugging. As Kim cooked salmon in the microwave it looked really good. David who was her assistant chef really liked the salmon and was very impressed with Kim’s nifty trick. I’m sure all of America felt like I did. That I would buy the Zip-In-Steam the next time I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.
It soon became evident that everybody was worried about Kae. Bob said she needed to cut herself some slack. Kae was the little bitty girl that everyone was afraid of. She really was in slump and Bob pointed out that Kae was breaking records so there was a lot of pressure on them both. So, with that said Bob took her outside in the fresh air to do some yoga and refocus. She needed to lighten up. Kae was so appreciative of her deep relationship with Bob. He was the only person she could trust. Bob had her go back to why she was here as they did their yoga and she needed to look how far she had come. She needed to remember that Kae and who she was now. I love Bob!
Then it was time for last chance workouts. All the trainers were pushing them super hard and Bob wanted Neil back on the scales good side so pushed him extra hard. Neil was a champ and didn’t complain once!
Neil had a lot to prove at the weigh-in. He wanted to show everyone he could be trusted. He lost a whopping 33 pounds which was skewed since 17 of those pounds were water weight from last week but still!! He apologized to everyone and his teammate Isabeau was happy since she lost nothing due to her “take it easy” week. Neil was now the biggest gainer and the biggest loser in one week.
Ryan, Neil, and Nicole were up next. Nicole lost 9 pounds, her most ever! Bryan lost 8 pounds and Ryan lost 13 pounds. Great job Ryan!! I think he too threw his weigh-in the week before. But, they should be very proud of their weight loss.
Amy, Julie, and Bill were next. Amy lost 11 pounds. Wow! Great job Amy!! She wasn’t too full of rejoicing though because she knew she had thrown the weigh-in last week so her numbers were also skewed. Bill lost 10 pounds and Julie lost 6 pounds. Go Julie!! She feels so strong now. She was not the same person quivering in the desert two months ago.
Hollie, Kae, and David were the last to weigh-in. Hollie lost 5 pounds, Kae “the machine” lost 6 pounds and David only lost 3 pounds. Bummer! They were the team headed to elimination. I’m sure that Hollie was flipping out. Alsion pointed out that Kae had lost over 25% of her weight. Later that comment sent Amy off as she talked to her teammates and Jillian about how they all needed to be thinking about sending Kae home and if they didn’t they should just give her the money now. Okay, when Amy gets all worked up and upset she sounds incredibly whiny and it is very, very unattractive. Her point may have been true but her delivery very immature.
As they prepared to go to elimination David knew if he had to leave now he could do it! Kae wasn’t ready to go, she still had a lot to learn and Hollie felt the same was as Kae.
In the elimination room Neil again said that he knew that what he did was wrong. There were certain unwritten rules in the house. He hoped their team vote showed that he had switched gears and had the right motives and focus now and that it wasn’t two teams against one. Neil and Isabeau voted for David and then Bill, Julie, and Amy voted for David too. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. Bryan who had an individual vote wrote down Kae’s name and then Nicole voted for David so David went home. Oh, sad! I sure did like David. Cowboy David was leaving the campus. He really would be okay going home. But of course he was emotional and so sweet. He shared he wasn’t scared to go home. He encouraged them to throw playing the game out the window and just go for it. He had won his life back and everyone in the room had played a part in it. He will make them all proud as he continues to workout at home.
We got a quick peek at David’s homecoming. A mere 24 hours later he was at home to see his family and was just in time for Jake’s 1st birthday party. Of course I had to cry. His wife was so happy to see him and his kid’s were thrilled to have him home. He certainly had a beautiful family, home, and occupation which was only made sweeter by the return of his health.
Since leaving the campus David has lost 105 pounds! Now he could be around for his kids and his wife. He reminded all of us sitting on our couches watching him that the only way to get there was by hard work. His wife and kids were 100% of his motivation. Cowboy David, you did well.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
