Season 6, Episode 5
Biggest Loser Recap: Shaking Things Up
I promised you a twist last week, and the show delivered — there are no more teams of two. From now on, it's my Black Team versus Bob's Blue...and although the scenario is familiar, the family alliances make for a whole different dynamic this time around. Here's what happened in Week 5 on the Ranch.
Taking Control: You know me — I hate the temptations. They're almost never worth the havoc that they wreak on the players' diet and morale. I say "almost" because even I have to admit this one had a pretty sweet prize: the power to pick the new Blue and Black Teams. Winning it wasn't pretty, though. The players met Alison in a room that had tables piled high with junk foods...cupcakes, brownies, doughnuts, peanut butter cups — you name it. Ali told the players they had 10 minutes to eat whatever they wanted, and the person who ate the most calories would decide the teams. But, of COURSE, there was a catch — they had to do it in complete darkness. Right after the lights went out, Heba piped up and asked her fellow trainees if they wanted to stay on Bob's team. If they did, she would step up and eat so that no one else would have to do major caloric damage. Though that was arguably a pretty noble move, it didn't sit well with Phil and Amy P., who thought Heba was just trying to take charge. And Amy C. objected because she wanted the teams to switch up — her current team of five girls was at a disadvantage. While Heba and Amy C. debated, Phil took matters into his own hands and went for a peanut butter cup. He might have chosen a quieter food, though...Heba heard him unwrapping it and got more than a little upset with him. In the end, Heba, Phil, and Amy C. were the only ones to eat, and Heba's 400 calories won her the prize.
New Families: After some deliberation, Heba kept the same team lineup as before, with one notable exception: She kicked her new enemy Phil off her Blue Team and replaced him with Amy C. I was pretty psyched when saw that I'd gained one of the big guys in Phil and still had Coleen, Michelle, Renee, and Shellay. I didn't know it was my birthday — thanks, Heba! Bob, understandably, was not as happy about Heba's selections. Neither were Phil and Amy P., who suddenly found themselves on opposing teams. Shellay and Amy C. were in the same predicament, but at least Amy C. got her wish in evening out the competition.
The Longest Challenge Ever: Just when you think the challenges can't get more intense, they do — this time, Alison had the players pushing themselves for 14 hours. (You read that right.) At 6 a.m., she started banging on doors to get everyone up and out of bed. By 6:30, they were all climbing that big hill on Campus — over, and over, and over. The two teams were pitted against each other, and the objective was to climb the hill as many times as possible over the course of the day. There were cameras at the top and at the bottom; every time a team reached a camera, they took a photo. One point was awarded for each person in the photo, and a bonus point was added if all five team members were in the shot. My Black Team's strategy was to stick together so they could rack up those bonus points. The Blue Team couldn't go that route because Vicky's knee problems were holding her back. They decided to split up, sending Brady ahead to run back and forth to get as many points as he could. Although he ended up running around 20 miles that day (truly amazing, especially when you consider the day's high temperature was 111 degrees!), it wasn't enough to beat my rock stars, who won the challenge and the awesome prize of a two-pound pass at the weigh in.
Never Enough: We were psyched about that two-pound pass, but as we soon learned, on The Biggest Loser, no advantage truly seals the deal. My players threw up some strong numbers — nobody lost less than five pounds, and Michelle and Phil pulled seven and eight, respectively. But even with our two-pound pass, the Blue Team blew us out of the water — none of them lost less than six pounds, and Amy C. and Heba pulled a surprisingly good nine and eight, respectively. Since we were below the yellow line, we had to send one of ours home...and it was a tough decision for my players. All the ladies had grown very close over the last five weeks, and it was with a lot of tears that they voted to send Shellay home. Her teammates thought she would do great at home, and they were right — she's down from a size 18 to a size 10! Pretty amazing.
Next Week: Find out what happens when husband and wife Phil and Amy P. are pitted against each other...if you're thinking it can't be good, you're right. Tune in to NBC next Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time to see how it plays out.