The Biggest Loser 2, Episode 1: Boys Against Girls

Returning this fall is one of last season’s breakout hits, The Biggest Loser 2, with a big 90-minute premiere episode. The series focuses on two teams of overweight contestants and their competitive struggles to lose weight and, in the process, regain control of their lives. Challenges and temptations bar their way to a nice prize. We are reminded that “When it’s all over, the Bigger Loser will be the biggest winner.”

The show introduction tells us there were 150,000 applicants for this year’s show. Wow!

We open with some obligatory sad music and some quick clips of some of this year’s contestants and challenges. It’s, frankly, a little disjointed. In my preview article , I summarized much of this information for you, so if you missed it, you might want to go and read it now.

I like the new spiffy intro music as the contestants’ names are revealed.

The show opens for real with the contestants walking through the front gates… barely. It’s a new ranch from last year, not the same one like I said in my preview article. Oops! We get further clips as they struggle to make it up the slope to the main house. In one of them, pretty Ryan says she wants her husband to see her “gorgeous, like I’ve always dreamed of being… and healthy.” Those priorities are backwards!

Series host Carolyn Rhea (who just might be a couple of pounds lighter herself) welcomes the whole group of fourteen into the ranch mansion. It’s a very impressive estate!

Carolyn reminds them they’ve left family behind… and there’s another comforting friend they’ll have to say goodbye to … food. She brings them into a buffet with so much food, I’m ill just looking at it, but they think they’ve died and gone to heaven. Even boring things like hot dogs elicit squeals of delight. Carolyn gives them one last half-hour with the food, and all chow down like it’s their last supper ever. Well, for this kind of food… it kinda is! Everyone feels disgusted after pigging out, both physically ill and full of regret. As they sheepishly file out, all swear this is the last time they’ll be eating like that. We’ll see!

We see the gym next. Impressive, though a little crowded. They then meet the most unforgiving presence in the house… The Biggest Loser Scale. This is one big, huge scale, probably normally built for commercial freight uses.

In typical reality show fashion, Carolyn fakes them out to trickily reveal that the teams will not be formed by picking, but are men versus women. Shy Suzy is shocked. Mark is happy; he thinks men lose weight faster. Ryan thinks the women are in trouble, too, because some of the men are really large. Carolyn tells them that the first weigh-in is tomorrow.

And poof, it’s tomorrow and time for the initial weigh-ins. Here’s where they start:

THE WOMEN (Blue Team, coach Bob):

• Andrea, the soccer mom – 220
• Jen, the med student – 267
• Kathryn, the attorney – 217
• Ryan, the preacher’s daughter – 225
• Shannon, the diva – 257
• Suzanne, the bride to be – 229
• Suzy, the single girl – 227

THE MEN (Red Team, coach Jillian):

• Jeff, the doctor – 370
• Mark, the cop – 358
• Matt, the ex-athlete – 339
• Nick, the comedian – 346
• Pete, the devoted husband – 401
• Reuben, the single guy – 278
• Seth, the new dad – 291

The next steps is to measure key body dimensions and body fat percentages – by dunking the contestants in a tank. Most of them find this process discouraging and even humiliating. I know I would.

The total weight of the Blue Team is 1,642 pounds and the Red Team is at 2,383 pounds. I don’t have the numbers from last year handy, but I have to think this group is collectively heavier.

Hostess Carolyn tells them that weekly eliminations will be based on percentage of weight loss, and not gross tonnage. This makes several of the women feel better. When Carolyn mentions the prize of $250,000, they are further encouraged. Even after taxes, that’s a nice piece of change. Someone should have told Richard Hatch that last part. However, Matt sagely notes, “The money is nice, but it’s not going to change your life as much as being here is.”

Next, we meet the trainers – screaming into a megaphone from the top of a bell tower. Only when most of the players are clearly within view does it dawn on them that their entire team is composed of folks from the other gender. Jillian says, “I was in shock!” “Oh wow – help!” says Bob.

We see short clips on trainers Jillian and Bob. Jillian pushes her people to work hard and uses an aggressive, demanding, in-yer-face approach. Bob is more “holistic” and trains “from the inside out.” We know from last season that both methods work well. Both admit they’ve never run a group with seven of the opposite gender before, and expect it will be quite the challenge. I’m guessing those are understatements.

Shannon notes that she and Jen are always last. From the numbers above, you can see these two are about 35-50 pounds heavier than the others. Jillian has the guys giving her piggyback rides up the hill. Jillian is so tiny that she looks like a child on their backs. Seth informs us that highly-driven Matt pukes three times – maybe he needs to slow down, just a little, he’s not in Olympic shape just yet.

In the early evening, we hear more stories from Seth, Dr. Jeff, and Matt. Matt becomes so upset with how he’s lost control of his body, he starts to cry, and Jillian needs to reassure him. “This is where the change starts, guys,” says Jillian.

The kitchen is our next stop. It’s very modern. Bob brings in the Blue Team and they are impressed. Bob stresses the importance of the Food Journal and counting calories.

Jillian tells the Red Team, “At the end of the day, it’s calories in / calories out, guys. Fat is nothing other than stored energy. We need to burn that energy. We do that by decreasing the energy you take in and increasing your energy output.” She tells us that the “Biggest Loser Diet” is really a platform. It has to become part of your lifestyle you can take to the real world.

Jillian tells us the Biggest Loser Diet includes:

• No processed food (like chips, sugary cereals for hot dogs)
• No processed grains (like white bread, pretzels or pastries)
• Don’t cut carbs