"The Biggest Loser" Week 8: Tempers Flare

NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is a program depicting a weight loss challenge. Contestants compete for the ultimate cash prize of $250,000. Foremost, they are trying to change/save their own lives by escaping obesity. "The Biggest Loser" often comes under fire for its radical techniques as contestants are supervised by trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. Many previous participants, however, praise the program, crediting it for turning their lives around for the better. I must admit that I enjoy witnessing their amazing transformations. It's kind of like being a sideline cheerleader.

Men and women on "The Biggest Loser" are taught to make healthier food choices, and they reportedly exercise for 5 to 6 hours a day-not something most of us could or would do in the real world. Weight loss is certainly an emotional journey-and many of them come to the show with sad stories indeed-but I would like to see more food option preparations and weight loss advice...and less of the drama and emotion. "The Biggest Loser" episode on November 9^th was certainly not short on drama.

The blue and black teams were abolished and the ten contestants were instead put into pairs. They would be weighed and then possibly eliminated as a pair.

Upon winning a food temptation contest, Brendan (original weight 362), a Boston special education teacher, had the honor of pairing up team members. He was willing to scarf down 3500 calories in one sitting to ensure that he would end up with Patrick (starting weight 400) as his partner. He felt that would give him an edge.

Brendan paired the remaining "Biggest Loser" cast members as follows:

Aaron and Jesse: Aaron started out as the largest contestant of the season at 468 pounds. Jesse began at 369 pounds, 90 of which he'd packed on in the past two years. These two just seem like a couple of nice guys.

Frado and Mark: Frado is a 43-year old from Staten Island who began the show weighing 367 pounds. He admits that he doesn't have great temper control. Mark started the program at 421 pounds.

Lisa and Elizabeth: I'm not sure I get Lisa. She seems to constantly seek attention by announcing that she wants to go home. She should have thought that through before starting. Then again, maybe it's how she camouflages the worry that she'll fail again. She started at 288 pounds. Elizabeth is a nurse practitioner who began the program at 244 pounds. She frustrates Jillian quite a bit.

Jessica and Ada: Ada always gives it her all and it rubbed off on Jessica this week. Ada started at 258 pounds and Jessica at 282 pounds. Ada wanted to be paired with one of the guys, but she quickly got over it and bonded with Jessica. They were void of drama...they just want to get in shape.

At the previous Biggest Loser weigh-in, three contestants had gained weight, so the push was on with extra exercise to ensure that didn't happen again. The so-called "last chance workout" gets a bit graphic for my taste. I wish they'd leave the sound off when contestants get sick.

The two teams with the least percentage of weight loss fell below the yellow line, meaning they were up for elimination. That's when Biggest Loser drama went into full swing. Bob and Jillian were screaming at Lisa because of her attitude. They were also screaming at Elizabeth because she doesn't stand on her own two feet: she let Lisa cook for her this week. Frado jumped in on the verbal banter. This upset Aaron, who is generally very quiet, and he started arguing with Frado. I thought it might get physical. It was crazy...too crazy for me. Apparently, there's a lot of pressure on that ranch.

Biggest Loser Weight Results:

Fredo, 294-28=276; Mark, 329-12=317; 4.82% loss
Jesse, 296-16=280; Aaron, 384-4=380; 2.94% loss
Lisa, 242-8=234; Elizabeth, 213-8=205; 3.52% loss
Patrick, 330-19=311; Brendan, 298-18=280; 5.89% loss
Jessica, 240-12=228; Ada, 204-6=198; 4.05% loss

After the weigh-in, the bottom teams were Lisa/Elizabeth and Aaron/Jesse. The other Biggest Loser cast members decided which of the two teams would go home. Not surprisingly, they kept Lisa and Elizabeth and sent Jesse and Aaron...the bigger 'threats' packing. At the end of the program, they flashed ahead to the two castoffs and how they look today....they both look great and seem to have their eating and exercising routine down pat, for the most part.

The booted contestants continue to work on weight loss at home. They are all brought back for a Biggest Loser grand finale, where they compete for a prize of $100,000, given to the person with the greatest percentage of weight loss.