The Biggest Loser - Episode 6 - “Climb Every Mountain”

As we open, we see panoramic, snow-capped mountains. Music swells and we hear angelic voices begin to sing, “Climb every mountain...”

.... Wait a minute! Wrong tape! I want The Biggest Loser, not The Sound of Music! Excuse me for just a moment.

*Hurriedly removes “Sound of Music” from VCR and replaces it with Biggest Loser*

Aaahh! Much better! Lets start again.

We begin with a recap of last week. (I realize this is unexpected, but work with me now) It’s strangely de ja vu - the ladies win the challenge and the men win the weigh-in. (by the narrowest margin yet) The ladies sent Suzanne home. Combined, the teams have lost a total of 576 pounds so far.

We get a little update from Gary, of season one. He’s gone from 227 at the start to a current weight of 170. He tells us he’s added muscle. He’s looking good.

The women are sitting on some rock steps in a hillside when Bob joins them. He asks them how they’re feeling. Andrea says she feels pressured to prove she is an asset to the team. (Since the editing crew never foreshadows anything, do you think Andrea will get her chance?) Bob tells us that they have to be completely on their game every hour of the day.

We find the men working out. Mark is hitting it hard and has already worked out for 5 hours before Jillian joins them. Mark is very proud of this and brags to Jillian about it off to the side. She’s glad for him but really wishes he would lighten up a bit. She reminds him that if he’s working out more he has to eat more. His eating must match his workouts or his metabolism will go into survival mode and it will slow down.

Our Losers face their temptation for this week. They enter the room to see a table with 3 large boxes on it. Next to it is a smaller table with a scrumptious looking chocolate cake on it and a plate with a huge slice of that cake. A sign reads:

"Ignore your diet just for today
You have a one in three chance to play
There’s a $2,300 prize for you at stake
All you have to do is eat this slice of cake"

The all contemplate the cake and try to figure out how many calories it has. But no one eats it. Then a note is slipped under the door. It reads:

"Because none of you have given in
We’re going to give you one more chance to win
Removing the middle box is all you have to do
To increase your chances to one in two"

They remove the middle box. Under it is a glass of milk and a sign that says:

"You didn’t win
But you’re still on your way to being thin
The piece of cake you ate
had only 4 1/2 grams of fat"

We go to a commercial with Mark sticking his pinky in the frosting, leading us to believe he will eat the cake. When we get back we discover it was only the editors having a little fun with us.

No one eats the cake, although Mark informs us that the guys were just acting like they wanted to eat it so that the girls would choose to eat it. Seth tells us that low fat things are usually full of sugar and that’s where the calories come from.

They leave the room to find Bob and Jillian with the prize they could have won. It is an exercise bike hooked up to a computer and a screen. As you ride it’s like you’re playing a video game, riding in a bike race. Kewl!

We come to Mark and Jen working out and talking. Mark says, “I’ve lacked motivation, this is only my 3rd hour.” Jen comes back with, “What are you doing, taking a day off?” They talk about how Jen “isn’t allowed” to associate with the red team. They both think it’s stupid.

Next we see Jillian helping Jeff work out. She says he’s obsessed with an old ankle injury. She says it’s been years since his reconstruction surgery and that it’s fine. He says he has no strength in his ankle.

Bob informs the ladies that their challenge will be a physical, uphill, strenuous challenge. He informs them they’ll need their nasty shoes for their workout. Shannon says they’re going to win this week. Their workout is running up a nasty hill. Suzy is determined; she wants to do everything she can to prove the guys wrong.

Jillian also informs her team about the nature of the upcoming challenge. She picked an even nastier hill than Bob did for the ladies. Jeff tells Jillian, “Just get me down with most of my skin still intact.”

They head straight up. Seth tells us that when you go straight up there is no trail. Just brush and sticks that jump out and scratch your legs. (I can just see those sticks sitting there watching as the men approach - “Okay, on three jump out and scratch them! Ready - one, two, three!)

The whole way up Jillian is behind Jeff literally pushing him up the hill and encouraging him. They reach the base of a huge rock at the top of the hill where the rest of the guys are waiting. He says he can’t do it, there’s no strength in his ankle. Everyone helps him and he makes it. Jillian is proud of him. She says his ankle problem is phsycalogical and this helped him with it. He is proud of himself for making it up the mountain. He calls out, “This is Big Jeff Hill!”

Matt tells us that once they go home it will be a constant uphill battle to continue to lose weight and be healthy. There will always be a mountain to climb in life.

~Okay, I must interrupt at this point. Is this a hill or a mountain? At what point does a hill become a mountain? I must have missed that in school! And is this a metaphorical mountain or a real one? While I wonder about these things I must admit that they don’t keep me awake at night.

It is dark. We have dramatic lighting at Universal Studios Hollywood. We’re in the best part of the park - you know, where the huge escalators are. Our teams glide dramatically down the escalators, ready for their challenge. Suzy is nervous - there are lots of stairs and escalators.

Caroline informs them that this challenge will be a little different. One person from each team will compete. They will go down the stairs and back up ten times. The stairwell has 2,280 steps. (For the number geeks, that will be 22,800 stairs total) The winner will receive $5000 to share with their team and their team will choose which member of the red team will sit out for the weigh-in.

The teams will choose who will compete for the opposite team. Matt is upset about this. He really wants to do it and is sure the ladies won’t pick him. He is right. They pick Mark. The men pick Andrea. She tells us that the men don’t think she can do it. (Duh! Why else would they pick her?) She wants to win and gain respect from the men’s team.

They begin. On the first trip down they stay together. At the bottom Andrea breaks a cardinal rule of stair etiquette and starts back up on the left side instead of the right, pushing Mark out of the way. (I did notice that she stayed to the right for the rest of the challenge, though) From that point on Andrea led and won the challenge while Mark still had 2 turns left.

The next day Bob joins the ladies, saying, “Please say we have good news.” They happily inform him they won and give him the details. He is so proud. “As a trainer when I get to see one of my girls push themselves that hard and be able to succeed, I couldn’t ask for any more.”

In celebration, Bob teaches them how to make a low-cal dessert - chocolate pudding in a cloud. First you coat a glass with a layer of whipped topping then fill the glass with chocolate pudding. (Made with fat free, flavor free milk) Chill it for one hour and - ta da! - you have a 100-calorie per glass treat. Much better to grab as a snack than a 300 calorie candy bar.

As they’re enjoying their treat Jen remarks through a mouthful of pudding, “Who needs a man when you got jell-o puddin’.” Cue Bob’s courtesy laugh.

Our next kitchen snacking comes at 1:12 a.m. when a sleepy Matt makes an appearance. He cooks himself a plate of food and eats it.

~I am curious - do you think the cameras have motion sensors or is there a guy down there waiting for someone to wake up in the middle of the night and cheat on their diet? What a sucky night shift to work! Do you get paid overtime if someone gets up?

The next day the guys are working out with Jillian. Mark is confident in himself. He says he wants to lose 12 pounds and knows he’ll be the biggest loser. Matt doubts they’ll win again after two big weeks in a row.

The girls are also working out. Jen says she sees little changes in all the gals but nothing to show who is the biggest loser. “I hope it’s me because I need the immunity if we go to elimination.” (The editing guys must have loved finding this quote!)

Suzy says, “We have to win the weigh-in this week. We have no choice. That’s where we get our confidence - that there’s not an option. That’s all I’m thinking about now.” Bob says every single ounce counts. (Remember, they had an extremely close weigh-in last week)

As everyone is walking to the weigh-in Shannon tells us that she feels like they‘re going to win tonight. Mark tells us that he thinks they’ll pick him to sit out since he’s been working so hard. He says that if they pick him the men will lose. He thinks he’s going to have big numbers tonight. (These people made the editors’ job easy and fun tonight)

The women go first: (the numbers are, in order: beginning weight, last week's weight, new weight, pounds lost this week and total weight loss)

Shannon - 257, 221, 218, 3, 39,
Suzy - 227, 191, 186, 5, 41,
Andrea - 220, 193, 191, 2, 29,
Jen - 267, 224, 221, 3, 46,

Their team total loss this week is 13 pounds, which is 1.57%

The men are next. They must lose more than 19 pounds to win. Seth goes first. His weight doesn’t count towards their total

Seth - 291, 243, 233, 10, 58,
Mark - 358, 291, 287, 4, 71,

Mark is shocked at his low weight loss. “That’s it?!?” He can’t understand why he lost so little when he had doubled his workouts. (Looks like Jillian was right) He thinks he must have built muscle or something.

Matt - 339, 279, 279, 0, 60,

Matt is visibly upset at his zero weight loss. He calmly leaves the platform, puts on his shirt and walks out of the building. Everyone is silent, feeling bad for him. After a few minutes he returns but when Caroline asks him if he is okay he ducks behind Mark, obviously trying not to cry. Mark motions Pete and Jeff over to shield him. He manages to regain control and the weigh-in continues.

Jeff - 370, 316, 305, 11, 65,

Jeff is very excited with his weight loss, but is happier for Matt than himself. Matt has perked up considerably.

Pete - 401, 338, 325, 13, 76,

The men cheer and hug. They have lost a total of 28 pounds, which is 2.29%, even without Seth’s 10 pounds. Matt says, “I went from tears of pain and fear to overwhelming joy. It was like, now I'm gonna cry again cause they just saved me."

The women must eliminate someone. Suzy lost the most weight on her team so she has immunity. But she is very teary and Caroline asks why. She tearfully replies, “We just tried so hard!”

Suzy tells us, “Do these guys even have a glimpse of what we’re going through right now? Cheering and yelling - and pretty much we have to go to a funeral 3 weeks in a row. Like, simmer down a little bit.”

The girls tell Bob they lost again. He is really bummed about their loss. He feels as though he failed them. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this bad.” Andrea is crying, saying she gave it her all this week.

Jillian talks to Matt about his zero weight loss. He admits to her that he had woken up several times in the middle of the night hungry and had fixed himself breakfast. He feels horrible about it and is determined to do better. He says this week he will only do what Jillian tells him to do.

The ladies are trying to decide whom to vote off. Andrea is campaigning for herself. She says that Jen is not focused.

Jen is tearfully talking with Mark. He says, “If they eliminate you, they’ll lose.”

It’s voting time. The ladies are quiet and sad. Shannon says she is jealous of the red team. “We work as hard as they do but we keep falling short.”

Andrea votes for Jen.
Jen votes for Andrea
Suzy votes for Jen.
Shannon votes for Jen.

Jen says she’s fine with being eliminated. She could tell it was coming. That’s why she spent her afternoon with some people who most appreciate her time - they guys. She tells the girls that the guys aren’t out to get them.

After Jen leaves, Caroline says, “I don’t want to see you here next week.” Suzy replies, “If it’s womanly possible we’re gonna do it.” (Womanly possibly?) They are determined to not be back next week.

Jen tells us she’s different now than when she first came to the ranch. She’s proud of what she’s done. She’s healthier, stronger and better looking than ever.

Since leaving the ranch she’s lost another 26 pounds, bringing her total loss to 72 pounds. Good for her!

Next week the teams are disbanded and they will pair up for the challenge. (Looks like some form of beach volleyball) Also, an unexpected tragedy pulls them together. (They talk of someone being too young to die)

The episode will be 90 minutes long, so plan accordingly if you watch The Amazing Race.

siggie by ARnutz