The Biggest Loser 13, Episode 13: Thousand-Dollar Pounds

Previously on The Biggest Loser, the losers went to Hawaii, because when I think weight loss, I think Hawaii. Kim was feeling pressure because everyone was against her, shown when during the challenge everyone worked together to eliminate her. Conda reminded me why I can't stand her when she whined that Kim was being a crybaby about being alone and ostracized, just because Conda led the charge to ostracize her. At the Weigh-In, invisible Megan and Kimmy both fell bellow the yellow line and Kimmy was finally eliminated. On with the show.

Tonight's excuse is "Exercise Is Boring." Well it’s not any more exciting watching it than it is doing it.

We open on the ranch as everyone returns from Hawaii, and I can't believe what I'm about to type. Megan is talking. She says that coming back to the ranch is hard because she misses Hawaii. Buddy says part of him wishes he were back in Hawaii but part of him missed the routine of the ranch. We see them walk up to six piles of boxes, each box holding bottles of salad dressing from a sponsor. Due to my loathing of advertisement, I'm not mentioning which sponsor other then the brand has the name of a deceased movie star.

Alison greets them while standing in front of six empty trucks. She says one in six Americans struggle with hunger and over 16 million children do not have enough access to food. Thankfully The Biggest Loser and sponsor brand have teamed up to do something about it. Alison says sponsor company is already known for salad dressing and pasta sauce, but what they didn't know is this company gives all their profits to charity. Megan says she didn't know and assumed this salad dressing was just yummy. Alison says that since 1982, sponsor company has given over $300,000,000 to charity. Today, they're helping that cause.

The challenge is that they each have to load their own truck and they have 150 boxes. Half the boxes weigh 15 pounds and half the boxes weigh 20 pounds. They have to take one box at a time, first person to finish wins – as does their hometown. To the winner, sponsor company will donate 30,749 pounds of food to their local Feeding America food bank. That's a pound of food for every pound lost on The Biggest Loser.

Chris says her county is one of the most economically depressed in the country, so this means a lot to her. Alison says the best way to help yourself is to help others. Oh, and the winner also gets a one pound advantage. Megan thinks that this can really help her since she's so small. Alison tells Buddy he still isn't medically cleared, which annoys him. He's not getting to burn off calories like the others are. The six remaining losers take their positions. Mark says he loves to volunteer and help people, this can really help his food bank back home.

And they're off! Kim is first to the truck, followed closely by Megan. Mark decides to carry the heavier boxes first. Kim and Megan are one and two, while Conda and Jeremy are in last. Mark says Kim and Megan are about 10 boxes ahead of him, which is discouraging but he's just going to keep doing what he's doing. Kim now has 50 boxes and Megan is in second. Mark hits forty now.

More running. Kim hits 60 boxes and has yet to slow down. Kim says she's going after the smaller boxes first, trying to not lose her momentum. Kim runs out of light boxes and now only has heavier boxes. Mark says his strategy was the opposite, to put up the larger boxes first. Kim hits 100, and shortly there after Mark hits 100. Mark passes Megan, and at 120 he's only one box behind Kim. Mark says his strategy is working.

At 122, Mark takes the lead. Kim is ticked off, unable to believe that Mark managed to overtake her 10 box lead. Kim refuses to give up, but it doesn't matter. Mark wins. He says this is more then a challenge to him, he's excited that he'll get to give this huge gift to his home.

Alison tells Mark he's won a one pound advantage and a food delivery to Magnolia, Texas. She says that if each team finishes, salad dressing company will donate a truck of groceries to each person's community. Mark asks if he can help and Alison agrees. Chris says working together shows how close they've grown in the house. Conda says all this food will help people more then one pound will. Megan says her community getting a truck of food is the greatest. Alison says that since they worked so hard to finish this pop challenge, salad company is going to donate $150,000 worth of food to fight American hunger.

While challenges are hard to talk about (since there is little for me to do other than narrate) I really enjoyed this one. Even if the challenge involved a lot of advertisement, it's always nice to see people in need being helped. Believe me, with this season I need all the positive moments I can get.

We cut to the inside of the ranch where Bob is talking to Megan about how her mom went home. He asks how Megan feels without her protection and Megan says she feels more focused. She no longer has to worry about her mom. Bob says that's crap, pointing out that Megan is the youngest contestant and has put forth the worst numbers of the season. He says that when Megan is around, he sees her push. The problem is when she isn't around.

Bob says he needs to know where Megan's commitment is when she isn't around. Megan admits she struggles with this and doesn't know how to motivate herself. Megan says she was about 12 or 13 when she began to gain her weight and she knew she was becoming "increasingly unhealthier," (her exact words). She thinks that she gained her weight due to a lack of self-confidence and self-worth.

Megan whines that she's always been at the bottom and is embarrassed. It's hard to admit that she's lived a life of mediocrity. Bob says he knows Megan has a video diary and he wants to see it. If Bob doesn't see the commitment from Megan then what more can he do? Bob tells us he's going to motivate Megan by action, by getting her to push through the workouts, and by super hard homework. Those things will give Megan a sense of accomplishment. Bob tells Megan she needs to fight for her life and she says she will. Megan says this is an awakening, which wont be fixed in a week, but she's willing to change her life.

Bob tells his group the excuse for the week and says he has a fun workout for them. They're getting changed and getting off the ranch. We cut away from the ranch and see the Red team going to meet Dolvett. Jeremy says he's used this week’s excuse in the past. Doing the same thing over and over again bores Kim. Buddy is excited about doing something different this week.

I have a policy of not mentioning sponsors due to my hatred of commercials so strong that seeing one sends me into a white-hot rage. Sadly, I have to violate my own policy and mention the sponsor here. There is no way for me to talk about this without mentioning the company.

Zumba workout, that's the big surprise. Dolvett admits he's never done this before, but if the others can do it, he will too. We follow them inside where we see people dancing. Mark says he instantly realizes they will be part of a class, which is intimidating. Kim wants to run out the door and Jeremy hopes he doesn't suck. Mark says he's not certain this group should be expressing themselves through dance. Buddy says they have three guys and an ex-wrestler is their girl.