losing is a team effort

Week Two at the ranch proves difficult for some of the contestants on Biggest Loser.

The contestants were told that they had the chance to keep everyone above the yellow line. BUT in order for that to happen, the fifteen remaining contestants needed to lose a combined total of more than 150 pounds. That is more than 10 pounds each and everyone knows that Week Two on the ranch is the hardest week. And if they didn’t achieve this goal, then two players would be going home.

Bob and Jillian did not like this 150 pound challenge because they feel it was just and impossible feat. And they know more than anyone the terrors of Week Two.

Mo went to the hospital to visit his partner, Tracey, to see how she was doing. She seemed to be doing so much better from when we last saw her and she was glad to see that Mo was her partner. Meanwhile, Shay started to get fed up with Julio for not pulling his weight and working out. She finally decided to confront him about it because she didn’t want to be sent home.

Tracey finally entered the ranch and officially joined the game! She seemed so positive about being there and she was thankful for everyone. She had a 1:1 with Bob to learn about her nutrition since she couldn’t do the same workouts that everyone else.

Then the contestants met with celebrity chef Curtis Stone to learn about healthy food options. After their lesson, Alison would quiz them and if they got 5 questions right, they would get a 15 point advantage at the weigh in. Now that’s a big deal! The contestants were having trouble remembering everything he said and the stress of their 150 pound challenge was weighing on all of them.

In the quiz, the Purple Team got the first question about portion size correct and the Orange Team followed suit by getting the cooking without oil questions right. Sadly, the Brown Team got their question right and we found out that a traditional Caesar Salad from a restaurant has 1010 calories! On a roll, the Pink Team got the pasta question right. Darn, and the Green Team got their question about soda calories wrong. The Red Team also got their question about desserts wrong. Thankfully, the Blue Team pulled through and got the protein in snacks question right so the group won the 15 point advantage!

For the challenge, the contestants needed to walk from raft to raft via balance beams. Each balance beam would get smaller as they went to the next raft and they needed each team member to get to the designated raft before they could move on to the next. The first raft awarded 5 extra pounds towards their goal, as did the second raft. The third raft would get them phone calls from home, and the last raft got them 10 more pounds. But if any single person fell into the water, then the challenge was over.

They all made it to the first raft and received an extra 5 pounds. On the second leg, Abby struggled in the middle but made her way to the raft safely. Everyone else made it, too, and they got another 5 pounds. The biggest challenge was making it to the third raft so that everyone could get phone calls from home. Everyone’s desire for this prize really brought the team together and it was quite touching. The last beam was only 6” wide and it got the contestants really nervous. Shay’s nerves almost got the better of her, but they all completed the last leg and got another 10 pounds!

Ugh, those phone calls home were so heart wrenching!! Tears all over.

Going into the Last Chance Workout, the contestants’ spirits were a little lighter knowing that they only had 115 pounds to lose instead of 150! But then Bob and Jillian burst their bubble because, to them, 115 pounds, is still a lot to lose for Week Two. They know that if they push the contestants this week, then they are going to suffer next week with low numbers and possible gains.

My fingers are crossed for the weigh-in! Here is the breakdown of the weigh-in:
· Pink Team: -10 pounds; 105 left to lose
· Purple Team: -19 pounds; 86 left to lose
· Red Team: -19 pounds; 67 left to lose
· Green Team: -21 pounds; 46 left to lose
· Brown Team: -22 pounds; 24 left to lose
· Blue Team: -22 pounds; 2 left to lose
· Black Team: -19 pounds; GOAL MET!
· Orange Team: -23 pounds; ORIGINAL GOAL OF 150 LBS. MET!!!

Here’s hoping that Week Three isn’t the new Week Two…