The Biggest Loser 4, September 11 – The Selection and Rejection

Kae says it’s the first time ever in her life that she’s been picked first! Unfortunately, this leaves six very unhappy people standing in the desert. They are:

• Bill Germanakos, 40, Long Island, New York
• Jim Germanakos, 40, Long Island, New York
• Julie Hadden, 34, Jacksonville, Florida
• Jez Luckett, 24, Garden City, Kansas
• Isabeau Miller, 21, Franklin, Tennessee
• Hollie Self, 28, Phoenix, Arizona

Blue Team member Kae waves sadly at her new friend Julie, who was not chosen. As a bus takes the lucky dozen and their trainers away, the others forlornly wave goodbye. A dejected Isabeau jokes weakly, “I feel like the fat kid at camp!” On the bus, Neil feels badly for those left behind.

All of the six are disappointed to the point of tears as they try unsuccessfully to console each other. Hostess Alison bids the six goodbye after telling them, “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. But you have to know, you can still change your life, even without Bob and Kim. So I don’t want any of you giving up.” Then she walks off. Man this is a rough game – first they kick sand in your face, then they won’t even get you a taxi home!

But wait – there is still hope! Passing the bus on a motorcycle is a rider all in black. From the previews, we know this is former season trainer Jillian Michaels, and she’s on her way to form these six sad desert rats into the Black Team. And to their intense relief, that’s exactly how it plays out.

Remembering the moment later on, Julie says in a cameo, “It was like all hope was gone, and then it was back with a vengeance!” In a clip, Jillian says, “I’m the perfect trainer for the Black Team. I will accept nothing but their best, and I will show them no mercy!” In a separate clip, she tells us they will re-enter the game in two weeks. That’s a nice consolation for being snubbed in the Pick’em - two weeks’ immunity.

The bus arrives at the new facility that I told you all about a few weeks back to find Alison waiting for them. She tells them this campus is no million-dollar ranch, because they’re here to focus on the task at hand. Then she tells them to suit up and be officially weighed in.

No one loves this idea, especially the ladies in those dorky sports bras. Several former contestants have said this was one of the worst parts of the whole experience, and we can add Nicole to that list. I’m going to keep the numbers a secret for now, but all will be revealed in the charts you’ll find near the end of this article.

Almost everyone is shocked, disappointed, and/or embarrassed at the large numbers popping up on the scale. This is the first time trainer Bob has ever attended a weigh-in, and he says, “It’s a very humbling experience, and I commend them.” He promises us those weight numbers will be going down.

The scene shifts to the Black Team, flipping gigantic tires up and down the beach under Jillian’s watchful glare. At the bottom of the screen is a clock counting down the time until the Black Team reunites with those who cast them adrift. Right now, it’s at more than thirteen days. It even goes down to the second, how wild is that? At any rate, it seems that of the seven of them, only Jillian knows the point when the contestants all come together.

Jillian promises us lots of pain for her Black charges. Bill confirms this saying, “Before we started our workouts, Jillian told us there is no, ‘I’m sorry,’ there is no ‘I can’t,’ there is no ‘I’m weak.’ Whatever she says we need to do, is what we need to do, without any excuses.” At one point Jillian verbally corrects the way Isabeau is carrying a sandbag, and Isabeau accidentally responds with the verboten phrase, “I’m sorry,” so Jillian rewards the whole team with a punishment of twenty jumping jacks while holding the sandbags overhead!

Bill and Hollie both confirm that they have never worked out this hard in their lives. At this point Jillian senses Isabeau is falling apart and offers to buy her a plane ticket home, but to her credit, Isabeau is having none of it. At the end of the workout, Julie is so tired she can barely sit up, but she’s proud she made it through and never cried.

Meanwhile, back at the campus (that doesn’t have the same ring as “meanwhile, back at the ranch,” does it?), Kim and Bob have their charges in the gym working out. It’s a good hard workout that leaves them all done in, but I think the Black Team worked harder. That happens when Satan is your coach!

At one point Amber (who was last in the “find the trainers” race), becomes frustrated and cries, “I want to go home.” Kim settles her down, but she realizes Amber will take special attention and that “she’s the oddball on the team.”

After the workout, Bob introduces his team to their new diet. He tells them that the diet is as important as the gym. He says it’s all about metabolism and puts them on a strict eating schedule. An on-screen popup tells us that dehydration brings your metabolism to a standstill, so be sure to drink your water as you work out. He also tells them that every time they eat they should be looking for protein. One of the guys says he’s not sure what protein is and Bob says, “If it had a mother, it’s protein.”

Kim has a similar meeting with the Red Team. She says every meal is about “carbs, protein, fat,” as a graphic tells us that only 38% of Americans eat breakfast. People, eat your cereal, but not the sugar-frosted ones.

Bob comes into the kitchen with a handful of blindfolds. Everyone has to blindfold himself or herself and take the shoulder of the one in front of them. Contestants are guessing it’s a trust exercise. When the blindfolds come off, the teams are faced with tables of junk food representing their intake in a week. It’s pretty gross. I must say that if the source of many of my calories (a beer keg) were tossed up there, it would be significantly more palatable!

Some pop-ups inform us that in the past, at a single sitting Jerry has eaten six hot dogs, Neil has downed fifty wings, and Patty has ingested a gallon of ice cream… wow! As the trainers spoil the disgusting food by pouring things on it, running their hands through it, or dumping it on he floor, another popup tells us that every 34 seconds, someone in the U.S. dies from heart disease.

The scene shifts to the beach, where it’s now ten days until they arrive on campus. Jillian will have burned off all their easy fat by then! She has them running at each other like in a football lineman’s drill, and then they pull a trailing team member up a hill. Julie confesses that she asks herself every day, “What have I gotten myself into?” She knows enough not to say it aloud in front of Jillian, though!

Jillian thinks some of her charges are ready to move into the house now, but Hollie still has some self-doubts. However, Jillian is working on her and promises that in a week and a half, they will be ready to look the others square in the eye, and it will be sweet revenge.

It’s time for a challenge! Series hostess Alison Sweeney welcomes the teams on the tarmac of a small airport. There are baggage carts loaded with bags filled to match the stated weight-loss goals of each competitor. Each has to carry their marked bags across a finish line. But there’s more. Two planes, each weighing 21 tons sit nearby. Guess who’s going to be pulling planes?

The exact task is to carry the luggage to the planes, load in on board, then using attached ropes, tow the planes across a line. What fun! The winners get letters from home. Already? It’s only been a few days; they might have saved these until a few weeks had passed, I think. But let’s get this challenge started!