Tuesday on The Biggest Loser, it was a trimmed-down episode that set up the climax of these last few weeks: the combination of the Unknown teams and Bob and Jillian’s crew. No more weeks of immunity, no more separate ranches, it’s all the teams for themselves.
But first, Ali throws in a twist: each of the teams plus Irene and Don (who get paired for the sake of the challenge) have to compete in a temptation. There’s a giant box right off the gym loaded with the high-calorie, fatty foods that are each contestant’s weakness, as well as everyone else’s weakness food. Literally filled. Shelves of the stuff, taller than any contestant.
The prize: the team that eats the most calories will choose one team to send to the Unknowns. There’s no clear consequence for it, but Ali makes it sound bad, so everyone takes her very seriously. However, if no one eats, that team will be randomly selected.
Marci and Courtney are first and they’re adamant about not eating anything. Jay and Jennifer and Don and Irene also have no problem standing in the massive box o’ calories and not eating anything. Olivia and Hannah make it through with a little wavering, but Arthur can’t stop looking at that fried chicken. Seconds before he’s supposed to come out, he eats 150 calories worth of Kentucky fried goodness because he wants control.
Normally, the claws don’t come out this early (see exception: last season), but Arthur pinpoints the Green Team as the strongest competition, so he sends them off to the Unknowns.
During the workout time on the ranch, Jillian confronts Don about last week’s weigh in, where he gained nine pounds. Most of the people watching this show aren’t in the medical field, but it’s pretty apparent that something was up that he’s exercising with Jillian and gaining nine pounds.
Don, however, won’t take it, and attacks Jillian right back. Of course, that’s all she wanted: some show of passion. Next, our favorite trainer targets Courtney, getting her to work on her relationship with her mother.
A pissed Green Team meets everyone on the Unknown side before getting whisked away for yet another challenge, this time a reward. Thinking back to the temptation challenge, each group had to guess how many calories were in all the food in the entire box.
Once they thought they had a number (Jay/Jennifer on one side, the rest of Bob/Jillian’s teams on the other), they had to put it on a giant board, then hoist it in the air 150 feet, where they would be told if it was right, or if they had to go higher or lower. Once a team got all 4 numbers right, they would win letters from home (either the 8 ranch people or Jay/Jennifer and all the Unknown teams).
It was a close race the entire time, but in the end, the Bob/Jillian crew squeaked out a victory, ending in their letters raining down from the top of the platform. Jay and Jennifer, instead, had to return back to the Biggest Loser Resort and tell everyone that they lost their letters from home.
The Biggest Loser airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC.
(Photo courtesy of NBC)
Nearly five years ago NBC introduced some of the biggest losers television has ever seen- and audiences couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about embracing them and cheering them on. “The Biggest Loser” will begin its eighth season in the fall of 2009 and has grown to become one of the most popular programs on TV. Not only has Biggest Loser touched millions of Americans- but now reaches more than 50 countries, with places like Australia and Guam hosting their own series.
Each season the show introduces teams of people battling serious weight problems. During the fifth season, the show had ten teams of two couples competing to win; in season 5 they introduced a teams-of-two couples format; in season 6 they hosted a families format, season 7 returned to couples and season 8 will go back singles.
In the beginning, the teams are competing to win a cash prize of $250,000 and the title of Biggest Loser; but after a few weeks, they start to discover themselves and become more interested in getting healthy. The player who loses the highest percentage of body fat during the program wins. But ultimately, they all go home big losers who’ve won even more.
As the popularity of the show increases, so does the audiences’ interest in trying it for themselves. The Biggest Loser Club now makes all of the expertise and tools used by the contestants available to you at home. Trainer Bob Harper, a renowned personal trainer, says that those following the home-version likely will not realize the same results as those on the show, simply due to circumstance. The contestants are in a highly focused environment for 12 weeks, without influence of typical daily stressors like children, work and chores.
Trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper have each published books with additional fitness and diet insight. Since season 5 Biggest Loser has offered the Biggest Loser Meal Plan, a meal delivery service via eDiets.
In addition, The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge, located in Utah and Malibu, offers a structured weight loss program for those who want to lose weight The Biggest Loser way but without all of the cameras and popularity. The resort accommodates adults and teenagers and emulates the same successful features of the NBC hit reality show with its calorie-controlled and chef-prepared meals, energetic workouts, motivating personal trainers and helpful dietitians.
Brett Hoebel has just landed the greatest trainer job in the world, as one of two new faces on NBC’s “Biggest Loser.” The New Jersey native, who insists he was the “fat kid” growing up, says he mixes Eastern and Western disciplines in his workouts including mixed martial arts, Afro-Brazilian capoeira and kickboxing.
According to Bodybuilding.com, Victoria’s Secret model Karolina Kurkova is a client, but his biggest challenge will now be molding “Biggest Losers’” morbidly obese contestants into healthy form.
Brett Hoebel, who has helped train Victoria’s Secret supermodels, brings to the show his martial arts experience, especially in the Afro-Brazilian capoeira and Muay Thai kickboxing.
The New York-based lifestyle expert is known for creating the popular RevAbs fitness program.
Like Jillian, Brett has his own story of being overweight in his youth. Between the ages of 11 and 15, he was up to 50 lbs. overweight. He lost the weight between freshman and sophomore years of high school after playing football, wrestling and lacrosse.
“These struggles have shaped who I am and are why I ended up in this career,” Brett said in a release. “They also have helped me better relate to the contestants, and build their trust and respect because they know I went through it and came out on top on the other side.”
