Filipe was still upset over the fact that Jillian’s team didn’t vote to send Joelle home last week, but Jillian’s team thought it would benefit them more if they sent Damien home instead of Joelle.

Later, Bob entered the gym and was just as surprised to see Joelle; he, too, thought Jillian’s team would have sent Joelle home. Joelle understood Bob’s feelings and let him know she was ready to give it her all.

Healthier tailgating

The “Biggest Loser” contestants joined Alison outside for a tailgate party. Before the festivities began, Alison told Blaine that they had arranged for him to go home and be with his wife as she gave birth to their fourth child. Before he left, she let him know that he’d be back in time for the weigh-in, and his weight would count. He understood and left to be with his wife.

After Blaine left, Alison introduced chef Curtis Stone, who would help them prepare healthy food for their tailgate party. However, before they got to the good stuff, Alison told them they were going to play a game.

Each of the “Biggest Loser” contestants had to guess how many calories were in the Super Bowl snacks. The three contestants who guessed correctly or came the closest to the number of calories without going over advanced to the next round.

In the next round, Curtis taught each of the top three contestants how to make a healthier version of the first Super Bowl snack. After the top three learned how to make a healthier version of the first Super Bowl snack, Alison had them guess how many calories were in the healthy snack, and the winner of that test earned a fantastic prize: Curtis visited their partner at home to show him or her how to cook healthier meals.

Finally, the winning contestant also acquired a two-pound pass for their partner to use when they return to the “Biggest Loser” ranch.

The first snack was barbecue chicken wings. Each contestant wrote down their calorie guess for the chicken wings, which contained 991 calories. Since Dan guessed 800 calories, he moved on to the next round.

Next, Alison revealed a bread bowl with chili and sour cream, which Curtis said consisted of 1,165 calories. Kristin’s guess of 834 calories earned her the second spot for the next round.

The final Super Bowl snack was a seven layer dip, which had a total of 1,755 calories. Helen came closest without going over and won the final spot in the top three contestants to move on and play for the prize.

Curtis showed Dan, Kristin and Helen a recipe for a healthy alternative to chicken wings. After the three contestants sampled the healthy delicacy, they wrote down how many calories they thought it was. Dan came closest, so Chef Curtis headed to Dave’s house in North Carolina and gave him a lesson on cooking healthy.

A new gym toy and a new baby

Back in the gym, Bob introduced his team to Plyo Boxes. Kristin was the first to try out the Plyo Box. She wasn’t sure she could do it, but she surprised herself when she jumped up onto the box with no problems at all. Once Kristin proved the Plyo Box wasn’t as hard as everyone thought it would be, her competitors, as well as Bob, joined in.

Blaine arrived in his hometown to surprise his wife, Jenny, at the hospital. He greeted Jenny with a hug and kiss, and then changed into scrubs to get ready for the blessing that awaited them. A few minutes later Blaine introduced us to a baby boy whom they named Bracken.

A super challenge

Later, the “Biggest Loser” contestants met Alison on the football field for their “Super Bowl week challenge.” Before starting the challenge, Alison introduced them to Kurt Warner, a quarterback for the NFL.

After an uplifting speech from Kurt, Alison explained the challenge to them. She told them they’d have to run to the 20-yard line and then back to the starting line. From that point, they continued on to the 40-yard line. Once at the 40-yard line, they grabbed a football and placed it in one of their competitors’ bins. As soon as a “Biggest Loser” contestant had five footballs in his or her bin, they were eliminated. The last contestant standing won immunity at the weigh-in.

The contestants decided to take out the strongest players first, so they took out Filipe and Tara. With Filipe and Tara out of the game, their next target was Dane. In the end it came down to Helen and Joelle, and both had four footballs in their bin. Helen ran as hard and fast as she could until she placed the final ball into Joelle’s bin. Moments after Helen won immunity, she called Shanon to let her know she’d be coming back to the ranch.

The weigh-in and elimination

Bob and Jillian knew this week’s weigh-in was the one that would determine who got to bring their partner back, so the trainers worked the contestants hard during their last-chance workout. Joelle knew she had to bring Carla back, so she really buckled down for this workout. In fact, that was the hardest I had ever seen Joelle work out since she arrived at the “Biggest Loser” ranch.

While Joelle showed Bob she had the motivation to work hard and lose weight, Dan tested Jillian’s patience as he made excuses as to why he couldn’t complete his five-minute workout on the treadmill. When Dan fell off the treadmill, Jillian encouraged him to get back on it. With his competitors and Jillian cheering him on, Dan eventually completed the workout.

At the weigh-in, Alison reminded the contestants that this weigh-in determined who got to bring their partners back. Before the weigh-in, Alison surprised them with the news that their partners were there to see how well their weigh-in would go. After a moment of tears and hugs, Helen started the weigh-in.

• Helen lost 6 pounds.
• Together, Mike and Ron lost 16 pounds (2.21%). Alone, Mike lost 9 pounds and Ron lost 7 pounds.
• Together, Blaine and Dane lost 26 pounds (3.81%). Alone, Blaine lost 11 pounds and Dane lost 15 pounds.
• Filipe lost 13 pounds (4.01%).
• Tara lost 12 pounds (4.55%).
• Kristin lost 12 pounds (3.7%).
• Mandy lost 10 pounds (4.22%).
• Dan lost 12 pounds (2.96%).
• Joelle lost 10 pounds (3.47%).

Unfortunately, Dan and David fell below the yellow line. Would Dan, the heaviest male to ever step foot on “The Biggest Loser” ranch, be able to make it through elimination or did his competitors send him this time?

At elimination, the majority of the “Biggest Loser” contestants decided to send Dan and Dave home. The big question now is whether Dave’s statement before elimination caused the majority of the competitors to vote them out.

My guess is it did, because a couple of the contestants let Dave know that even though he knew he could work just as hard at home without being on the ranch, he’d been given a great opportunity to be on the show. Of course, Dave realized that but told them he felt trapped at the ranch, and he went on to say that although his commitment was there on the ranch, his heart was not.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Dave’s statement played a role in the contestants’ decision? Sound off in the comments area below.

Update: Since Dan and Dave’s competitors voted them off the ranch, Dan has lost 101 pounds and Dave has lost 46 pounds. Dan still plans to break another “Biggest Loser” record by losing the most weight. I guess we’ll have to wait for “The Biggest Loser” finale to see if Dan sets a new weight loss record for future “Biggest Loser” contestants.

(By Misti Sandefur for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 31st, 2009 and is filed under Biggest Loser, Diet TV this week. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.