Biggest Loser: Nov. 10, 2009

I missed last week due to new-homeowner issues (and some user error with my new TV) but I’m back and ready to go now!

Everyone is shocked it’s week nine already, and no one wants to go home.  They’re all focused on staying on the ranch and being a finalist.  Ali greets everyone at the ranch with some news – double elimination this week.

Oh hells yeah!  And the person with the lowest percentage of weight loss this week gets sent home automatically!  WOW!  The contestants are freaked out, big time, and anxious to do the pop challenge so they have a chance to win a 1-pound advantage.

Pop Challenge:

Each person faces a board with 50 tennis balls attached.  They have to jump up and get their balls, drop them in a bucket and the first person done wins.  Amanda and Liz have to sit out due to injuries.  Allen (Green) takes an early lead with Rudy close behind.  Rebecca and Daniel are close behind.  It comes down to the wire but Allen wins it, with Rebecca right behind him.

Rebecca and Amanda take a walk and talk about how they want Liz to go home.  Seems the youngins (Rebecca, Amanda, Shay and Daniel) are quietly teaming up against the older folks.  The strategy for both sides is the same – keep your folks above the red line so you’ve got the majority of people to vote off whomever falls below the yellow line.

Bob and Jillian meet with the contestants and talk about how crazy it is that Tracey is gone.  The players fill them in on the double elimination and the trainers flip.  They’re stunned to hear about the red line and take their people to the gym.  Jillian and Bob have a private conversation and Jillian thinks Shay needs to stay on the ranch.  Bob’s not happy to have to try to sort out who stays.  The conversation centers on Shay – Jillian really doesn’t think that Shay is going to do well if she gets sent home.  They agree to do everything they can for all of their contestants but to consider the fact that Shay really won’t do well off the ranch yet.

(I’m not a big fan of Shay, so maybe I’m biased, but I don’t see what makes her so special to Jillian and Bob.  They keep saying she’s not ready to leave the ranch, but the truth of the matter is she’s going to have to leave eventually and so far I haven’t seen her working to deal with her emotional issues on the ranch.  She cries a lot but that’s not really the same thing, is it?)

Things at the ranch are intense, and I sense a Bob freakout coming.  Jillian beats the hell out of her team and Danny starts complaining about hip pain.  Bob puts his people on the Spin bike and tears them up.  Everyone gives 100% and they’re a mess.  Danny practically collapses and Jillian tells him to stop training because he’s done enough for the day.  She focuses on Shay and tells her to stop crying, pull it together and get MOVING already.  To Shay’s credit she shuts up and does what she’s told, but I don’t know if she’ll be able to stick to Jillian’s mandate of “no crying the rest of the week.”

Danny, Rudy, Liz and Allen talk about game play.  They need to try to stay above the lines.  That’s it.  Liz isn’t going down without a fight.

Rebecca and Jillian are training on the treadmill and Jillian says that she’s tired of Rebecca being so black and white.  Things are all or nothing.  She can either do it or she can’t.  Jillian wants her to find a way to cope when she’s overwhelmed and they argue.  And then Rebecca walks away from Jillian.  Oooh, not wise, Rebecca.

Rebecca and Amanda talk privately and Rebecca admits that sometimes she just wants to quit, because that’s what she’s used to doing.  Amanda tells Rebecca that she’s there to support her and that seems to help Rebecca get her head in the game.

Bob and Danny talk about his motivation to workout and change his life, and he’s really genuine about how the experience of being on the ranch has changed him.  Jillian, Shay and Rebecca talk about how the stress of the red line can be bad for their weight loss.  There’s some product placement for 24-Hour Fitness and they talk about how to use the methods they’ve learned at the ranch once they get home.  Go to the gym, take a friend, get a trainer, etc.

Challenge!

The contestants walk into a circus – wtf?! – and Ali tells them they have to jump through a lot of hoops to stay on the ranch.  Each person has to use a trampoline to jump through an opponent’s hoop, which gives him or her one point.  You’re out of the game when you’ve got 100 points against you and the last person standing gets immunity.  The game starts and it’s insane.  Alliances form quickly as people try to figure out how to get the immunity.  Liz is the first to get knocked out, followed by Amanda.  Daniel is next, then Allen.  Things get really ugly between Rudy and Shay and they have a screaming match as Rudy knocks Shay out.  It comes down to Rudy and Danny and Rudy has the clear lead.  Rudy wins it easily and gets immunity.

Back on the ranch Rebecca, Daniel, Amanda and Shay have smuggled two Spin bikes into Shay’s room so they can workout at night when everyone else thinks they’re sleeping.  That’s either super dedicated or crazy.  I hope they don’t over train…

Bob talks to his people and finds out about Rudy’s immunity.  Things are still tense between the contestants and Bob decides that he’s going to take them to do a trapeze last chance workout.  Then there’s some product placement for Lara bars (which are very tasty).  The trapeze workout does look like fun, and it’s a serious workout – but I’m not sure how it compares to a Jillian-screaming-in-your-face last chance workout.

OH! Just when the contestants think they’re done they go back to the ranch and Jillian is going to make them workout again! I’m clairvoyant!  Sweat comes off the players in buckets and Jillian just keeps on yelling.  I love it!

Weigh Ins!

Rudy -8

Shay -17 (she broke the record for quickest 100-pound loss for a woman)

Amanda -5

Rebecca -10

Danny -17

Allen -10 (plus a one-pound advantage from winning the pop challenge)

Liz -12

Daniel -5

Daniel has the lowest percentage so he’s going directly home.  He’s nice about it and glad he had the experience of coming back to the ranch again.  Shay and Amanda are below the yellow line, which means one of them is going home.  Jillian wants Shay to stay and so does Bob, but Bob and Amanda have always been incredibly close.  This is a tough one.

If you got with pure game play Shay should go home.  She’s got the most to lose and could end up being a big threat.  Also she’s constantly below the line and whoever falls under with her always gets sent home.  No more sacrificing players to save Shay.  I’ve had it.

Shay gets votes from Rebecca, Allen, and Rudy

Amanda gets votes from Amanda and Liz

Shay’s going home.  She cries (are you kidding? Of course she cries.  She cries all the damn time) and says she’s walking out with a record and her integrity.  Shay, I hope you hit all of the goals you set for yourself, I mean that.  But it was your time to go, and I’m glad Amanda gets to stay.

Going Home:

Shay goes home and is excited to see her family again.  Her husband and friends are there to greet her and they’re proud of her weight loss.  And Daniel? He looks terrific!  His mom and dad are so proud of him and they cry.

After the show?  Daniel has lost more than 200 pounds and looks great.  He sits down with David, his teammate from last season who hasn’t lost much weight at all.  He said that weight loss isn’t a priority in his life right now, and Daniel tries to be supportive and understanding but doesn’t push David to do anything he’s not ready for.

And Shay? They totally didn’t show Shay.  At all.  What’s up with that?!

Next week? MAKEOVERS!