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My Top 3 |
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Aired 12-16-08
After 13 weeks we arrived at the finale of a difficult season of the “Biggest Loser”. There was too much gameplaying for my tastes and I’ve never grown to dislike players to the extent that I disliked several from this season - including 3 out of the 4 who made it to this finale. The show began with some brief glimpses of contestants from previous seasons. We learned that Bernie has run a marathon, Jerry has biked across the country at the age of 62, we watched Marty propose again to Amy and saw Matt & Suzy with their babies. We also learned that Dan actually meant it when he said he was going to pursue a music career. He had a CD that reached number 7 on the Country charts. The Today Show site has a nice recap article giving updates on some of the most memorable participants from past seasons here:
The “live” part of the show started off a bit shaky as the host, a very pregnant Alison Sweeney, stumbled over her introduction for the husband and wife team, Ed & Heba, who were competing for the third spot in the finals. Alison made a nice recovery by saying, “The baby’s taking my brain” but she had several more stumbles as the show went on. I like Alison and think she does a good job on the show but this just went to show that not everyone can be Tom Bergeron. Anyway, this was followed by Heba emerging from behind a picture of herself and just about wiping out when her high heels hit the glassy looking stage. She did manage not to fall and handled it with a good sense of humor. She also looked amazing. She’s made a big change since leaving the ranch. When Alison asked her about Ed’s plea that people vote her into the finals, Heba replied, “I think America could see what an amazing husband I have.” When Ed emerged next he blew my mind. He was basically unrecognizable (in a good way) and acknowledged this by saying, “No one knows who I am anymore. Not even my friends.”
I had a hard time figuring out which one of these two to vote into the final three because I didn’t really want either of them. I disliked the way they played the game throughout (especially Heba) and I really hated that it looked like Ed had thrown the final weigh in by water loading. I wanted to go for the one that I thought would give my Michelle the best chance at victory. At this point they both looked like serious threats. After a commercial break, Alison announced that 84% of the votes were cast for Ed. My guess is that others saw the last weigh in as cheating too and didn’t want to reward Ed & Heba by voting the way they wanted. Heba handled the news well and said that they were both winners no matter what because they had the opportunity to be on the show. Ed, who has always been good for a laugh, simply blamed it on the economy.
Alison began the competition for the $100,000 “at home” prize by introducing the first four of the eliminated contestants. First up were husband and wife, Adam & Stacey, and father and son, Tom Sr. and L.T. The three guys looked very good but Stacey was absolutely stunning. Adam was the first to weigh in. He started the BL journey at 340 pounds. His current weight is 260 for a total loss of 23.53%. Stacey was next and she started out at 221 pounds. Her current weight is 156 for a total loss of 29.41%. L.T. began at 357 and is now at 270. That was a total loss of 24.37%. His dad, Tom Sr., started off at 314 pounds and the show pointed out that he was on 9 different medications for weight related issues. He is now off all of them and weighs 236 with a total loss of 24.84%. That put Stacey in the lead.
Alison then brought out father and daughter team, Jerry & Coleen. I have to tell you that seeing Jerry actually made me tear up a bit. He was the man we were told was the sickest contestant ever on the show. We also got a chance to see what a good man and dad he was and how much his daughter adored him. Saving him was a big part of Coleen’s motivation to do the show in the first place. He now looks fit and wonderful. For her part, Coleen is still perky and adorable. They were followed by another favorite of mine, mother and daughter Shellay and (Purple) Amy. Mom Shellay is simply a hottie now. Her physical change was dramatic plus she’s got a really cute new hairstyle. Little Purple Amy was always a cutie but now she’s a cutie who can wear a little black dress. After they were all on stage the show’s physician, Dr. Huizenga, announced that Jerry had transformed himself from a man with a biological age of 76 to one of 52 - his actual chronological age. Dr. H added, “You’re on a reality show and you won 24 years of life.”
Jerry was the first of this group to weigh in. He started off at 380 pounds. His current weight is 265 for a total loss of 30.26%. He bumped Stacey from the top spot. It was a really great moment as the studio audience began chanting his name. Coleen was up next and she began at 218 pounds. Her current weight is 154 for a total loss of 29.36%. Shellay started out at 216 and her current weight is 142 for a total loss of 34.26%. She took over the top spot from Jerry. Her daughter Amy was next and she began at 239 pounds. Her current weight is 135 for a total loss of 43.51%! Wow! Shellay immediately started crying.
Alison introduced the next group: husband and wife Phil & (Red) Amy, finalist Vicky’s husband Brady and finalist Michelle’s mom Renee. Phil got a huge reaction from the crowd and no wonder. The bare head and facial hair were the only recognizable things about him. Amy was also stunning and chose a fabulous red dress to wear. Brady looked quite handsome as well but my OMG moment was for Renee. She’s always been a beautiful woman but with her new look, and kicky little hairstyle, she was like a movie star. It was very glam. Phil started this round of weigh ins. He began weighing 331 pounds. His current weight is 180 for a total loss of 45.62%. He took the top spot from Purple Amy. Red Amy started off at 229 pounds. Her current weight is 124 for a total loss of 45.85%. She beat out her husband by one pound! Brady began at 341 pounds. His current weight is 224 for a total loss of 34.31%. Renee started BL at 267 pounds. Her current weight is 161 for a total loss of 39.70%.
Finally, Heba returned to the stage for her weigh in. She started at 294 pounds and was, as the show told us repeatedly, the biggest girl at the ranch. Her current weight is 156 for a total loss of 46.94%. Heba was the $100,000 winner. Honestly, I would have rather seen Red Amy win but there is no question that Heba worked hard for that win and did a great job of transforming herself.
We then got video packages of the final three beginning with their return home from the ranch. Ed & Heba’s favorite hometown restaurant gave a portion of their menu to Ed to fill with his favorite healthy creations. He’s a chef and found that his biggest struggle at home was all the temptation that surrounded him at work. Vicky’s video showed that she now gets up at 4AM to workout for an hour before heading off to work. After work she goes to the gym for several more hours of exercise. She knew that meant she was sacrificing a lot of her time with the kids but said that she was not a quitter and was going to follow it through to the end. I was still not getting a good feeling about Vicky’s chances for long-term success. The primary motivation still seemed to be the monetary prize. Michelle’s clip showed her saying that she’d come to associate her mom with pain, hurt and anger because of her parent’s divorce but now she has forgiven her mom and can love her right where she’s at in her life now. She also had a big product placement moment of buying her family dinner at Subway.
Alison interviewed the trainers, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. Bob said his advice to people at home is to change to a healthy style of living one step at a time. Jill said that it was important to explore your inner demons so you can wrestle with the outer ones.
Ed joined Alison on stage as she introduced Vicky. In her clip package we also saw Vicky getting frustrated at home because she’d only lost 2 pounds in 7 weeks. Well, clearly she got over that plateau because it looked like she’d lost significantly more than that since leaving the ranch. Like Heba, Vicky also had trouble with the high heels on the slippery floor. Bob came to her rescue and helped her over to Alison. She asked Vicky how she’s been able to balance work, family and exercise. Vicky replied that it was a struggle but that Phil had given her advice over a conference call. She said that she was feeling guilty about not working out when she was with her kids and guilty about not being with her kids when she was working out. Phil told her she should just live in each moment. Vicky said that lead her to reevaluate her priorities.
Michelle came out next and was just as stunning as I expected. Alison reminded us that, at one time, Michelle almost quit the show. Michelle said that was the point she realized she had to surrender to the process and just do it. She said it was tough but worth it.
Before the final weigh in, we got a preview of the next edition of “Biggest Loser” beginning on January 6th. ”Biggest Loser: Couples” will begin with 11 couples (22 people!) including the oldest pair (at 63), the heaviest woman (at 379 pounds) and the heaviest contestant (a 19 year old man weighing 454 pounds) in the show’s history. It will also feature Bob, at one point, having a Jillian-style meltdown with one of his people. The show is adding a new challenge for the viewers. They will donate a pound of food to Feeding America for each pound the viewers lose. We can sign up at:
Michelle had the highest percentage of weight loss while they were at the ranch so she got to pick the order of the weigh in. She opted to have Ed go first and herself go last. Ed started at 335 pounds. His current weight is 196 for a total loss of 41.49%. Vicky began at 246 pounds. Her current weight is 145 for a total loss of 41.06%. Michelle began at 242 pounds and is now at 132. That’s a total loss of 45.45%!
Michelle Aguilar won!!!!!!!!!!!
Karma triumphed!!!!!!!!!!
And, it should be noted, so did Jillian. I don’t think Bob has ever won over Jill. It also should be pointed out that, if Heba had been voted into the final 3, she would have won. Her 46.94% loss beat everyone else.
I’m just thrilled to pieces and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Michelle. She and Ali Vincent (pictured together above) will make a great team promoting the show.
Ok, kids. Let’s all try to be good through the holidays and get ready for the next BL season on January 6th!
As always, there are a bunch of clips available at NBC’s website here:
Tag: jillian michaels
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