After watching the finale of “The Biggest Loser” last night, and feeling all those heartwarming feelings for the winner and everyone else who lost a LOT of weight, reality set in this morning when I crunched the numbers. Let’s recap….oh but first, make sure to check out my review of The Biggest Loser Meal Plans by eDiets on my food blog, Mikey’s Kitchen.

First, host Alison Sweeney brought out the two contestants vying for the final spot to compete for the title, Ada and Elizabeth. Ada had been nicknamed “The Terminator” by her fellow contestants and as expected, she won the final spot in landslide over Elizabeth, who had been below the yellow line multiple times this season. So Elizabeth was escorted backstage where she would compete for the $100K “at-home” prize. They then introduced the trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, and told them they would have two more trainers in Season 11 that they would also be competing against. How awesome is that?

Then they brought out the first round of contestants to weigh in.
Adam lost 182 pounds, or 45.27%. Nice way to start, and dude looks really good. Allie lost 74 pounds, or 22.98%. Sorry, but I barely remember her! Tina lost 72 pounds, or 27.38%; and Elizabeth lost 71 pounds, for 29.1%. Even she looked pretty good.

Next up was Brendan, who lost 117 pounds, for 32.32%. Sophia, who could have gone far but was sent home I believe in Week 1, lost just 65 pounds for 23.90%. Lisa lost 97 pounds, down from 288 to 191, but she didn’t look like a 191-pound woman at all. She must be like 6’3″ is all I can think of. Anyway, that was good for 33.68 %, so Adam still had a big lead.

The next group came out–Anna lost 109 pounds, or 33.03%; Jesse lost 166 pounds, down from 369 to 203. Wow! But he was one pound shy of passing Adam, at 44.99%. Burgandy was next and lost 64 pounds, or 27.7%.

Then came Rick, who unexpectedly knocked Adam out of the top spot by losing 165 pounds, or 47.14%. Good for him! Jessica was next and lost 92 pounds, or 32.62%; and Aaron lost 172 pounds, good for 36.75% (he started at a whopping 468, and got down to 296).

Finally there was just one more at-home contestant to weigh in–Mark. Do the producers think we’re stupid? Why would one person weigh in by himself? Why not pair Elizabeth with him? Well, because they already knew he won. Mark lost 213 pounds, down from 421 to 208, for 50.59%! Wow, now that’s awesome. So Mark won the $100K.

Then it was time to bring Ada back out, but first some promo for the new season that begins January 4….only 3 weeks away. This show must be raking in the advertising money, becasue how else would you explain just two Tuesdays off between seasons? Anyway, Ada was joined by fellow finalists Frado and Patrick, aka “The Alliance” along with Brendan.

Frado was the biggest loser on the ranch, so he got to choose the order. He wanted to go first, followed by Ada and Patrick. Frado lost 162 pounds, down from 367 to 205. Frado, of course, is a great story because he is off all of his diabetes meds. Really great for him. He lost 44.14%, making it difficult right off the bat for Ada and Patrick. Ada lost 99 pounds, down from 258 to 159, for just 38.37%. That, incidentally, was much better than Elizabeth’s 29.1%. Good job, America. It also was nice to see that Ada has reconciled with her family.

Finally, it was Patrick’s turn. Everyone could look at him and know that he won, which he did…..Patrick went from 400 to 219, a 181 pound weight loss, or 45.25%. So not only did Patrick win the show, he also got a job as an instructor at a “weight loss” camp in South Carolina, plus he won the $250K grand prize. Now that’s a great story and a happy ending.

But wait, I just went to the video replay booth. Remember a few weeks back, when Frado could have been eliminated but Mark instead sent Lisa home? Mark claimed he wanted to compete against the best. Frado, Brendan and Patrick chuckled at that afterward, joking about how their Alliance was all-powerful and Mark played into their game-playing hands. So the next week when Mark was up for elimination against Elizabeth, Patrick blew Mark away by sending him home.

And last night, Mark won the “at-home” prize, but Mark also lost 5% more than Patrick did. Folks, do not think for a minute that gameplay doesn’t enter in. For that matter, Rick and Adam both lost more weight than Patrick did. But they were both sent home weeks ago in gameplay maneuvers. So there you have it. I’m happy as heck for Patrick, but Mark deserved to win this.

Thanks for reading everyone, and see you in three weeks. Happy holidays!

Last night on “The Biggest Loser,” there was a small bit of redemption. Well, maybe a huge bit of redemption, and a bigger bit of even more gameplay. Here is how it went down….

Host Alison Sweeney told the contestants after the last elimination that there would be a yellow line and a red line at the next weigh-in, meaning two eliminations and the Final Four selection. Then they showed The Alliance, aka Brendan, Patrick and Frado, mouthing off about how the winner of the show was sitting in that room and that it was all working “according to plan.” Bogus!

Then they had to meet up with Alison and Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin for a Subway-sponsored challenge, an obstacle course with single eliminations per round. Elizabeth was out first, followed by Mark, Ada and Frado. Then it was between Patrick and Brendan, and Brendan won, with the prize being $10K and a whole bunch of sandwiches.

During workouts, Bob singled out Brendan for not giving it his all in recent weeks, and then Bob and Jillian had a campfire chat with everyone, literally, to get a feel for where their heads were at. After that it was time for the “pounds back on” challenge, in which they had to strap on all the weight they had lost, and shed it after various rounds of stepping or running. The winner would get a one pound advantage at the weigh-in, as well as a home gym valued at $25K. Wow. So thankfully the running part helped Ada win, and not one of The Alliance.

Then it was time for the weigh-in. Ada went first and lost 6 pounds, giving her a 7-pound weight loss. Elizabeth lost 4…uh-oh. Mark lost 7, which wasn’t good enough. Patrick lost a whopping 12 and Frado lost 15, after which I started to tell Mrs. Mike that something was wrong–like those guys were taking pills or something to shed extra pounds. I mean, how can they possibly have lost that much more weight than everyone else? So Mark and Elizabeth were below the line but Ada was also in danger. It was time for Brendan to weigh in…would he lose double digits as well? Nope! He lost 5 pounds, which put him below the red line and sent him home. Good freaking riddance, as nice a guy as you might be.

Frado was trying to cheer him up instantly, saying, “Bro, you keep in touch, okay?” as Brendan was STILL ON THE SCALE. I think Frado was inwardly thrilled. So Mark and Elizabeth were below the yellow, and one would be going home. Brendan, Patrick and Ada were Final Four bound.

After Elizabeth and Mark stated their cases, it was time to vote. Elizabeth was below the line for like the ninth time, while Mark was for maybe the first time. And last week he had voted for Frado to stay so that he could compete with him. He was expecting The Alliance to do the same for him. So Ada voted for Mark, because duh, he’s the bigger threat….and so did Patrick, which means so did Frado, but we didn’t have to see Frado’s back-stabbing vote. Mark was pissed, and rightly so. Patrick said, “You would have done the same thing,” but he was wrong about that.

So holy crap, Elizabeth is in the Final Four. That shows what a gameplay-driven season this has become. I mean, seriously, Elizabeth?

Anyway, Brendan has gone from 362 pounds down to 237 so far; and Mark has dropped from 421 to 248. Good for them. And now the Final Four will go home and probably run a marathon before weighing in for the final time, after which America will vote someone off to make it a Final Three.

I so want Ada or even Elizabeth to win now. What do you think? Let me know in the space below and thanks for reading!

Last night on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” it was makeover week for the remaining seven contestants. Not that it should or does matter, but some of these folks, errr, needed it. Anyway, after the makeovers and Mrs. Mike shedding a few tears when they all met their families backstage (except for Ada, who had a friend visit), it was time to get down to business. (Side note to Ada’s family–you guys have some serious growing up to do, and should be ashamed that you’re not supporting your daughter in her endeavor to better herself here).

That business was a challenge in which the contestants had to run up and down a stairway adjacent to a train lift. They would get five points for each trip up and down, and 1 point for each time they took the train. The first one to 100 points won, and the prize was a new car. Ada jumped out to a huge lead and there was no way second-place Brendan would pass her. But then as she reached 95 points something odd happened. Ada was waiting at the top of the stairs, and then Brendan caught up and hung out with her. They were waiting for Patrick, who needed the car desperately because he was driving a 20-year old beater and had recently lost his job. Frado overreacted by calling it one of the greatest moments in “Biggest Loser” history. But it was still an incredibly generous gesture.

Then they showed the Alliance, aka Brendan, Frado and Patrick–discussing strategy in a room. Yawn. Then came the last chance workout. Double yawn. Time to weigh in.

Patrick was first and lost 10 pounds; Elizabeth 5 pounds, bringing her down to 196; Brendan 7; Ada 5; Mark 10, bringing him down to 299!; Lisa lost nothing, and to that we all said “yikes;” and Frado lost 4, putting he and Lisa below the yellow line. So you would think that Frado would be going home, right? Because surely Elizabeth, Mark and Ada would vote off the bigger threat.

Well, Brendan was first and voted for Lisa. Elizabeth surprised everyone by voting for Lisa, saying that Frado had her back from Week 1. Say what? Then Mark surprised everyone further by saying that Frado was the bigger threat, but that he liked the challenge of having to beat him. Seriously, I’m going to call Frado from here on out (and appropriately) The Godfather. But in all honesty, Lisa should have gone home because she flat-lined this week.

They showed her at home in Oklahoma and she has lost 89 pounds to date. She’s become an inspiration to her family and to those where she lives. Very cool. So have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and be sure to tune in tonight for the special “Biggest Loser” where-they-are-now episode. Thanks for reading!

Gameplay is part of every season on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” It just is. Some seasons are worse than others, however, and this one is particularly blatant. Except that Frado, Brendan and Patrick have a hard time coming out and saying it.

So last week after Jesse and Aaron were sent home, Bob Harper (who seems to become attached to every contestant he works with) was pissed. He asked Brendan point blank, “I thought you said no gameplay?” and Brendan offered a lame excuse. He was pissed at Patrick too, because he thought that not only was Patrick different, but he thought Patrick was close to Jesse, which he was. Patrick admitted he wanted to win badly for his family, but Bob responded that he should want to compete against the best and biggest threats, rather than weaker competition. Good point.

Anyway, host Alison Sweeney did the one thing that sticks a fork in gameplay fast–told them they would be going back to competing as individuals. I love this. But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t alliances. It also makes it really, really hard to follow the show when they change things up every week, but oh well.

So the contestants remaining received videos from home to start the show, only Ada didn’t have one. Bob pulled her aside and told her that her family did not respond to Harper himself reaching out several times. That’s incredibly sad, but good for Ada that she has so much fight in her despite a horrible family. But then the other seven contestants made a video of their own for Ada and acted as her “family.” That was cool, no matter whom you’re rooting for or how much gameplay is ever involved with the show.

Then Bob pulled Elizabeth aside and told her she would be finishing the “500 steps” she didn’t finish upon trying out for the show, because she had passed out and required hospital attention. She did it, albeit painfully slowly.

Then came the pool challenge, in which the contestants had to stand on a double platform about 10 feet above water, and had to balance on one foot as one half of their platform was pulled back. They had to do this for 5 seconds, and one at a time until one contestant remained. There were rounds that went from 5 seconds to 10 and on up. They got to 25 seconds eventually with just Ada, Lisa and Mark remaining. Whoever finished a round got to choose the next person to go, so Mark and Lisa went back and forth until Lisa finally fell in the pool. Then Mark got Ada to fall in and he won, and what he won was a one-pound advantage at the weigh-in. Not bad for a big dude.

Then after a Subway product placement and last chance workout, it was time to weigh in. Alison told them all that next week would be makeover week, but that would suck for the one person who was being sent home, wouldn’t it?

Mark went first and lost 8 pounds, giving him 9 pounds with his advantage. Patrick lost 10, Frado 9 (getting him to 100 pounds lost!), and Brendan 8. Well, those big boys with the alliance aren’t hurting themselves. Elizabeth lost 4, and Jessica 1 pound. Uh-oh. Lisa lost 6, and Ada a whopping 8. Ada continues to impress and lose weight at the same rate as the dudes. So below the yellow line were Elizabeth and Jessica.

You just knew they would all pick Jessica because she was a bigger threat. Let’s face it, Brendan, Frado and Patrick want the final four to be “self,” Elizabeth, Lisa and Ada; not the three of them, and Elizabeth. So Brendan voted for Jessica, Frado voted for Jessica and Lisa voted for….Jessica. That was it, because even with a tied vote, Jessica had the lowest weight loss percentage. She was okay, though bummed about not having a makeover. But when they showed her going home, she got her own makeover.

They also showed her Mom, whose name is…get this…Taffy. That’s awesome. Jessica is also awesome, having gone from 282 pounds down to 200, and meeting with the mayor of Tucson and a school official about getting involved in the community and helping make school meals healthier.

So that’s it, we’re down to the final 7—Brendan, Frado, Mark, Patrick, Elizabeth, Lisa and Ada. Something is not right about the fact that Elizabeth and Lisa are still there, but that’s gameplay for you. Thanks for reading and see you all next week!

Well if you thought this season of “The Biggest Loser” was a love-fest, think again. Game play reared its ugly head again last night, and I don’t know about you, but I hate when it comes to this. Frado, Patrick, and Brendan are simply out for the $250K and nothing else. Weight loss means much less to them. Those guys are starting to resemble former Biggest Loser villains like Vickie or Melissa. Maybe it’s for ratings, maybe it’s to make us all hate that trio, but they are doing a good job of it. And I was starting to like all the changes, but the changes continue to play into the game play, and that’s what sucks.

With that, here we go. The show began with Bob Harper at the home of one of the eliminated contestants, but we had to of course wait two hours to find out who that would be, and there was an added twist of there being two eliminations. Then host Alison Sweeney offered the news that there would no longer be blue vs. black, and that they would be going to pairs. However, one person would get to pick the teams. Uh-oh. So the initial challenge that would determine the teams was this–the contestants had to sit around a table and choose menu items for dinner, and the person who ate the most calories would get to choose the teams. Of course, some of them just stuck with low-cal fare, while others, like Brendan, pigged out to the tuen of like 3500 calories. Lisa ate salad and such but then pigged out at dessert, something that infuriated Bob later on. That came after Lisa said she was 60/40 in favor of wanting to stay on campus. Say what? That also infuriated Bob.

Brendan got to choose the teams, and he said he would try to honor everyone’s wishes, but of course he would wind up pissing off someone. Of course he put himself with Patrick and put Frado with Mark. He put Elizabeth with Lisa because they wanted to be together, and that left teams of Jesse adn Aaron, and Jessica and Ada. Everyone was okay with the teams except Ada.

Then the main challenge was a sugar cube game where they had to take sugar cubes and make them into a “house” that reached a yellow line. Ada and Jessica wound up winning, and their prize was a week-long stay at the Biggest Loser Fitness Ranch in Colorado or California.

Then the weigh-in. The two teams below the yellow line would be up for elimination–both members of each team. And the other teams would vote on who to eliminate. Can you say game play in the making?

So first up was Frado and Mark, and they lost 18 and 12 pounds, respectively, for a percentage of 4.82%. Of course, remember that Frado gained weight on purpose last week so that this would happen. Jackass! Aaron and Jesse were next, and they lost 4 and 16, respectively. Not great at this point. Lisa and Elizabeth lost 8 pounds each, good for 3.52%. Next was Brendan and Patrick, but not before Aaron started picking a fight with Frado for being a gameplayer. That was awesome…I wish Aaron would have flattened Frado right there on national TV. Brendan and Patrick lost 18 and 19 pounds, respectively, for 5.89%. Then Jessica and Ada went and lost 12 and 6, for 4.05%. So the two teams up for elimination were Aaron/Jesse, and Elizabeth/Lisa. And come on, we knew how this was gonna go.

Mark and Frado voted for Jesse and Aaron; Jessica and Ada voted for Lisa and Elizabeth (and well they should have!); and then Patrick started pretending to cry, because he and Jesse had become close, and because Patrick told Jesse at one point that friendship was more important than gameplay. So as he’s choking it out, Jesse says, “Let me make it easy for you, Patrick….Patrick and Brendan vote for Aaron and Jesse.” And of course with the collusion of the two men’s teams with a vote, that was who they voted for. They wanted the biggest threats gone. Man, I’m so annoyed with those guys–not Mark so much but the trio of douchebags. Aaron and Jesse simply did not deserve to go home, but hey, this is a game and we all have to remember that.

So Bob was at the home of Aaron and they showed him with his family. The guy looks awesome, and so does Jesse, who was on hand as well. I hope one of them wins the $100K at home prize, and I hope even more that one of the douchebags goes home soon, like with a red line or something.

Am I off-base? What do you all think about this? Let’s discuss!