The Biggest Loser 4, November 27: “Who Thought This One Up?”

Last week was the traditional episode where much of we learn on The Biggest Loser is cast aside. Instead of eating right and losing weight to live longer, it was all about “awesome makeovers” and preening in front of a mirror. The mirrors turned out to be tricks, and everyone was very happy over the sudden appearance of a friend or family member.

All along, Kae was the star of the episode. First, she won a cover shot on Prevention Magazine, and then a shopping spree (for clothing). However, at the weigh-in she fell below the yellow line and was eliminated. Finally, Kae participated in a live weigh-in where it was confirmed that she is still working hard at home and is in the running for a $100,000 “consolation prize” that may be more hotly contested than the real title!

But that’s enough of the recap and my dated commentary. The competitors walk into the gym and are surprised to see series host Alison Sweeney waiting for them. Julie knows that’s never good news.

Alison tells them that viewers voted between four previous challenges to perform this week. Really? I’m on the website all the time and I never noticed that! At any rate, the first is a 74-story climb, the second is a continuous mechanical jump rope, the third involves holding on to fat poles while suspended over water, and the last had contestants continuously climbing up a down escalator. Bill tells us that he thinks he can compete in any of the challenges, but thinks the escalator one suits him best. No one seems anxious to take on the stairs, though. It seems the actual challenge will be identified later, so all adjourn to the gym to try and prepare for all four possibilities.

I gotta say, the first and last one are team challenges, so how could they be run without adapting them for the individual part of the game? Why didn’t all possible challenges come from the individual phase of the game?

Trainer Kim tells us Bryan is her last hope and coaches him in some of the challenges. Trainer Bob tells us he’s not sleeping at night, worried about the safety of his two charges. He then leads his squad through a yoga meditation where he teaches them to shut out the pain and retain focus. Meanwhile, Jillian tells us she’s out of tricks and needs to come up with “more intensive beatings.”

“B” is at the fridge, confessing that nutrition is the weakest part of his program. In a cameo, Kim tells us Bryan has very specific food tastes and that he gags over vegetables. Kim joins “B” in the kitchen and tells him that she knows his journal must not be reflecting all he eats. It turns out he often marinates his dinner with low-sodium soy sauce, which still has a ton of sodium in it. In an aside, she impatiently tells us she’s been through with this with him before, and after she reads the label to him that points out he’s taking on thousands of milligrams of sodium when he uses it, she chucks it into the trash with great finality.

See, there’s the difference… Jillian would have left it in the cupboard for the other teams to use!

Alison is back to announce the result of America’s vote. They are poolside, so the suspense for we viewers is pretty minimal. Sure enough, she confirms that the challenge will indeed be “Poles Over Water.”

Neil tells us he’s 0-11 in challenges and thinks maybe this one is for him. Is he kidding? We know this type of task favors a smaller person who can stand up straight and comfortably reach their hands around the pole, but no further. Smaller feet are probably the best asset, though. Kae would have killed on this, but Neil and Isabeau… they have no chance!

As a surprise, a tape with Andre Agassi is played to encourage them before it starts – nice! He tells them that the winner gets an all-inclusive vacation with their family at a resort in Idaho. At this point it devolves into a commercial, so enough of that.

The challenge begins, and players fall quickly. Sure enough, Isabeau and then Neil are the first two into the pool. Nicole follows them in as “B” tries to improve his position by squatting. This improves his grip substantially, but his center of gravity is not tight to the pole any longer. Hollie is having trouble too, and I see her ankle is bandaged.

“B” and then Hollie soon fall into the pool as well, so Julie and Bill are again the final two. Julie has superior posture, and all the kibitzers are rooting for her. However, Julie finally goes in and to almost no applause from his fellow competitors, Bill wins the week’s vacation.

I’m not sure what happened to Julie, who appeared to have a superior position… and smaller feet. It may be a gender thing – this task demands grip and forearm strength that is often more prevalent in a male. She made comments indicating she may have been psyched out to be competing against Bill, who has been her dominant teammate at every stage of the game. I will say that Bill shows dogged determination every time out.

Cameos with Julie, Isabeau, and especially Hollie indicate that they are tired of Bill winning all the time. Hmm, poor sport much? It’s okay when he wins you a car, isn’t it, Julie?

After the challenge, everyone except for a (self-admitted) pouting Hollie decide to jump into the pool and have a swim. Nicole dives in the shallow end of the pool… and knocks out a tooth! The hunt for wayward ivory is fruitless, as none can be found. Poor thing – after having lost over sixty pounds of ballast, I think she got deeper into the shallow water than she ever expected to!

The next day the trainers to arrive to find out what happened in the challenge. Bob strides up and Nicole is not there – she had to go to the dentist. It turns out both front teeth are involves – ick! Bob first asks Neil if Nicole is okay, but in a cameo his concern has shifted to wondering how this will affect her training schedule. Neil shows Bob a picture he took of Nicole, and Bob says she now looks like some of his relatives back in Tennessee. Yup, Bob’s the sensitive one!

The scene shifts again, and Kim is back in the kitchen with “B,” watching him make his breakfast. Kim feels “B” is trying his best to improve his nutrition and approves of this particular meal.

The next scene is Nicole jogging back up to the Campus. She tells us that she spent four and a half hours at the dentist and now has some temporary teeth! We later learn that she had a root canal as part of that joy.

The next scene is a great one with the show’s medical staff. Doctors Huizenga and Kerns are present to share some medical results with our contestants. We’ve seen Dr. Kerns on camera before, but he introduces her like it’s the first time. Each contestant got to hear something nice:

• In the three months, Neil has lost an amount of fat equal to three and a half water jugs.
• Julie has lost 45% of her waistline, the most of anyone here.
• Isabeau was pre-diabetic when she started but now has the best insulin levels of the group.
• Bill no longer takes blood pressure medications and instead of reading 164/102 and having hypertension, he is now getting normal readings of 128/80.
• “B’s” cholesterol has dropped over 100 points and is also in the normal range.
• Nicole has lost 74 pounds of hydrated fat while gaining 11 pounds of muscle. Based on that, she has proportionally lost more fat than any of the others.
• Hollie had a severe thyroid problem. However, she has lost over 40% of the volume of her hips, more than anyone else.

Everyone is elated to hear that they have reclaimed their lives so effectively. Julie tells us, “That’s worth more than $250,000, that’s your life.”