Biggest Loser 5: Couples, Episode 2 – One Big Happy Family

The Purple Team’s Jenn tells us she is amazed how Neill seems to be losing so much weight while putting in the least amount of effort. Neill’s partner Amanda, who stayed the same weight, is probably beginning to process similar thoughts.

After the third team weighs in, Jillian says that even though results are usually lower in the second week, she’s still “pretty shocked” by the results she’s seeing.

When all is said and done, the Orange mother-son team of Jackie and Dan are the biggest losers of the week for the second time. Alison tells us they have a prize coming, but we never do hear what it is – boo!

The ones facing elimination are The Yellow Team (the (the divorced couple) and the married Brown Team, Curtis and Mallory. In one hour, one of them will be gone.

I played around with the numbers a bit. Had Paul lost one more pound, they’d have escaped the worry of elimination and sent up the Purple Team instead. How big are those 912 calories? They could cost them their spot in the game!

Back in the dorm rooms, Kelly is overcome with stress and cannot stop crying. She knows that for Paul, this is a life or death situation. Meanwhile, Curtis tells us they aren’t going to lobby to stay because their genuine nature is evident. However, Yellow Team’s Paul realizes they need to get it together and go work the room for votes.

And that’s what they do next. Twenty minutes before the vote, Kelly tells the gang in the kitchen that she’s ready to work harder, and the Yellow Team clearly need to be here. It is an honest speech, but not overbearing, and might have swayed an undecided voter.

Young Maggie of the Purple Team isn’t sure how to vote, because it feels like she’s playing with someone’s life. Kelly knows that when her team goes home, they go their separate ways and she’s not sure if she’s strong enough yet to keep losing weight on her own.

It’s voting time. I’ll show the voting team first, their vote second, and if it seems worthy, the stated reason.

• White: votes for Yellow Team, because they’ve bonded some with the other married team.
• Pink: votes for Brown Team.
• Grey: votes Yellow, hoping they’ve learned enough to continue the journey.
• Black: votes Yellow.
• Purple: votes Brown Team, because their numbers this week were worse.
• Orange: votes Brown Team, feeling they can succeed at home.

So, it’s all tied up with only the Blue Team to vote. Normally, sitting in the last seat is a good thing because you don’t have to reveal your vote and potentially make an enemy of someone who stays in the game. The Blue Team feel the Brown Team will do better at home, so it is they who are eliminated.

Both Brown Team members are emotional, but Curtis encourages the others, says he understands that they did what they had to and has no regrets. After several tearful hugs, they are gone.

In next-day video, Curtis says he’s “a little heartbroken” but both vow to keep working when they get home. In more current video, we learn Curtis now weighs 298 pounds and is justifiably happy to be under the 300 mark. That’s a total loss of 83 pounds so far. Mallory is doing well too, down to 184 pounds and wearing a size nine. As good as she looks, Curtis looks fantastic. Mallory says she has changed the whole family’s diet. Curtis vows to be eligible for health insurance by the finale, and Mallory wants to lose another 45 pounds by then.

Good luck to you folks, you are nice people.

My Opinion: As much as I love their spirit, I think the right decision was made. The Brown Team did well in challenges and would have the potential to post some big numbers in future weeks. I wish they’d tried to win some last minute votes though, as it might well have made the difference.

Numbers, especially on the distaff side, weren’t big this week. So far, mom and son Jackie and Dan (the Orange Team) lead the race after two weeks with a little over ten percent weight loss. The Pink ladies are next, just shy of nine percent. At the other end we find the Purple Team (best friends Maggie and Jenn) at 5.27 and the divorced Yellow Team, just over 5.9 percent.

Well, that’s it for now – next week, a hint of drama threatens to surface. And maybe we’ll find out what the Orange Team won?

Join me here for a recap of all the action sprinkled with my own reactions and opinions. And let me know what you think about it all at the eAddress below!

More at home with popcorn than push-ups, Brian can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email!

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