Biggest Loser gave us a double bang last night, when a re-run aired at 8, followed by a new episode from 9-11.  The first episode of this season saw 2 teams go home for a 4 week period, to come back and and have a weigh-off for a spot back at the ranch.  The yellow team (Oneal and Sunshine) won the weigh off, losing a combined total of 75 pounds in 4 weeks.  They also earned the right to be the only ones to vote off a fellow contestant from the team that would later fall below the yellow line.

The main challenge was a football theme,  in honor of the upcoming Super Bowl.  Each team picked one member to represent.  A large horizontal bar with pads on either end would find the contestant pushing one pad, which would send the other side back to them, to then push that pad.  This teeter-totter like motion would  continue until the first person reached 1000 pushes and win immunity.  The last team to complete the challenge would get slammed with a 2 pound disadvantage at the weigh in.  Though the red team and the gray team put up a great fight, in the end it was Michael who beat them out.  I was really happy it WASN'T red team's, Lance.  ENOUGH WITH THEM! And I really want to see Michael make it to makeover week.  He could really use a good haircut.

There was quite an interesting situation this week, when Miggy was taken to the hospital in pain.  She was quickly taken in for surgery, where her appendix, a cyst and/or a mass were removed.  She was released the next day and told she could ONLY walk.  She said if walking was all she could do, she would walk and walk and walk, all the way to Puerto Rico.  The first day post-op she walked 13 miles and so the week continued.  Losing 5 pounds she managed to stay above the yellow line.  More about this later, but for now there is a positive lesson for all of us at home--walking and watching your food is a great way to lose weight!  EXERCISE IS GREAT AND VERY IMPORTANT,  BUT WHAT YOU EAT (or don't) IS REALLY THE KEY TO WEIGHT LOSS!!!

Lance and Melissa had a bad week of weight loss and it did look like one of them was going home.  Melissa, not surprisingly,  was happy with her 5 pound weight loss but disappointed in Lance.  He has kicked butt every week, yet she was disappointed.  There is no question that if they fall below, she will throw him right under the bus and plead to be kept on the ranch.  But with one team left to weigh in, John, the solo brown player, fell below and was sent home to once again workout with his twin brother.  He is doing very nicely at home, but still has a long way to go.  It's gotta to be really tough when you start the weight loss journey weighing well over 400 pounds.  The good news was for Oneal and Sunshine who were not forced to make a decision their very first week on the ranch.

This morning I am wondering what part of this show keeps me so drawn in.  It's definitely not the part that applauds and celebrates the person who loses the most weight in the shortest amount of time.  For instance, if Michael can lose just 17 pounds next week, he will be the first person to lose 100 pounds in 6 weeks, beating out Rudy from last season, who did that in 7 weeks.  Will I still be watching when they are encouraging that kind of loss in 5 weeks, 4 weeks...what happened to HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS?  Or is it the part of the show where the doctor encourages and the trainers applaud the strength of a woman who walks 13 miles the day after abdominal surgery? My obstetrician wouldn't let me, a seasoned exerciser, do much of anything for 6 weeks after my c-sections!  The body, I thought, needs time to heal...but like I always say, the more I know, the less I know.

I guess, though I don't agree with all of the methodology, in the end, it's the transformations that blow me away.  It's just another reminder that what ever doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger.  Like a scary movie, there are parts I don't want to see, but I'll still tune in every time!