I hope that this season will be different, and while they did eliminated a team last night, I did the math. There are now seven couples remaining, and unless the season is going to end in October, they are going to make this an individual competition at some point, or add more teams. But whatever, the fact remains that the show does inspire and motivate people to lose weight, and when it’s “on” it’s one of the best reality shows on any network.

Last night’s two-hour premiere began with trainers Bob and Jillian traveling to each contestants’ city to let them know the good news–that they were chosen to compete in the new season of the show. Seeing these folks react was the best part of the show last night. And all of them were excited about the prospect of these trainers whipping their butts into shape.

The eight teams were divided between four husband/wife and four parent/child and as usual each trainer has four teams to lead:
Amy and Phil from Greenville, SC
Tom and Tom, Jr., aka “LT” from Boston
Ed and Heba from Raleigh, NC
Amy and Shellay from Detroit
Vicky and Brady from Houma, LA
Michelle and Renee from Dallas
Adam and Stacey from Washington DC
and Jerry and Colleen from Cleveland, OH

After meeting with Dr. Huizenga, Jerry was told that he could only work out 30 minutes per day because of his health conditions. Yikes. But his trainer Jillian was ready to adapt. Also, Dr. H shocked each of the participants by showing them how their fat was making their biological age way more than their actual age.

Then, for the first challenge, the teams had to walk up a huge hill, and I do mean huge. There were eight prizes, including $5,000, calling home, visiting home, immunity and more. There was also one booby prize for the last-place team, a 2-pound penalty at the first weigh-in. Colleen grabbed first prize, immunity, which she was thrilled about because her dad couldn’t compete with her, and that guaranteed at least one extra week on the show. Vicky and Brady were hit with the 2 pound penalty.

At the weigh in, the seven teams that did not have immunity would each weigh in, and the two teams with the lowest percentage of weight loss would be up for elimination, to be voted on by the rest of the teams.

Ed and Heba went first and were pleased with their 4-plus percent of weight loss. But as each team weighed in, Ed and Heba dropped further down. Finally, Vicky and Brady went, and their loss of 47 pounds combined gave them the highest percentage of weight loss, and even with the two pound penalty tacked on, finished ahead of everyone. That left Ed and Heba, and Adam and Stacey as the two teams facing elimination. And while both teams worked hard during the week, the rest of the field saw Adam and Stacey as a bigger threat and voted them off.

This is a very good reality show and one that even inspires me to hit the treadmill and want to eat carrot sticks. I just hope that they don’t confuse us all with their twists and turns. Keep it real, NBC. And see you all next week. Are you on your treadmill yet? What, you’re not? Get moving!