Last night on the finale of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” host Alison Sweeney mentioned that this is the longest season in Biggest Loser history. Since it began shortly after New Year’s Day, I can see the math adding up. There were also 22 contestants this season.

The live finale of the show is always a big event, probably why “American Idol” decided to move its performance show to Tuesday this week–to compete head-to-head. Of course, I blog about both here, so that was annoying to me. Anyway, the first order of business was to bring out Jay and Irene, and find out who America voted to compete for the $250K grand prize along with sisters Hannah and Olivia. The winner was…Irene! So there would be three women competing for the grand prize, and Jay was relegated to compete for the $100K “at-home” prize.

The first group they brought out was Ana, Courtney and Marci. The all look great. Ana, who went home in Week 1 only to see her daughter Irene sail all the way through to the finals, lost 109 pounds at home, or 42.75%. Wow. Courtney lost 110, and she had already lost 100 pounds or so at home before even going on the show, so she is down to 213. Good for her. Her mom Marci lost 86 pounds and looks like a pencil, but it wasn’t enough of a percentage to overtake Ana.

Next up, the twins, Dan and Don; along with Q and Laramie. You might remember that Dan and Don threw their weigh-ins to force themselves out, but they shocked everyone last night by how great they looked. Dan lost 124 pounds, and he took the lead over Ana with a 43.21% weight loss. Don lost 130 pounds, but he was heavier to start out so he was still behind Dan. Q, who still looks mighty large, lost 93 pounds; and Laramie lost 84.

Then came Moses, Kaylee, Ken and Austin. Moses, who was 400-pounds to start, lost 153 pounds, but that still wasn’t enough to win the at-home prize. Kaylee lost 54 pounds, but looks great as she didn’t have as much to lose. Ken lost 158 pounds (wow!), and Austin lost a whopping 174, putting him in the lead now with a 43.94% weight loss.

Next up, Sarah and Deni; and Arthur and Jesse. Sarah, as Mrs. Mike pointed out, looks like a model. Deni, meanwhile, is a thinner pencil than Marci. Sarah lost 106 pounds, and Deni 125 pounds, giving her 48.83% weight loss and the lead over Austin. Arthur looked great too, but he clearly still has a ways to go. He lost 163 pounds, down to 344 pounds from a 507 starting point. And Jesse, who was woo-hooing for ten minutes, lost 83 pounds.

Then came Jay, Jen and Justin. Justin lost 173 pounds, which was great but not enough to win. Jay lost 181 pounds, and being that he was 400 pounds to start, that was pretty amazing. His daughter Jen looked awesome, and she has lost 114 pounds. But none of them lost enough to overtake Deni, who won the $100K at-home prize. But wait. Where was Rulon? Mrs. Mike pointed out that he left the show, so he wasn’t competing for the $100K. But why would they not even mention him?

Okay, here we go…but first, since Jillian Michaels is leaving the show to pursue other endeavors, they needed a new trainer next season to go along with Bob, Brett and Cara. That person is…wait for it….Anna Kournikova. The tennis star, who has been more recognized for her hotness than her tennis skills, will likely tower over most of her pupils, but it will be interesting to see what she brings to the table.

So here we really go. Alison asked Irene to choose the order in which they would weigh in. She picked Hannah to go first, followed by herself and then Olivia. Mrs. Mike pointed out that Olivia won, because they always set it up ahead of time so that the person who weighs in last wins. She is right, but I tried not to believe it.

So Hannah went first and she has lost 120 pounds, or a whopping 48.39%. Irene lost 116, or 45.49%. So it was down to Olivia. She lost 129 pounds, down from 261, giving her the win with a 49.42% weight loss. Good for her!

So there you have it, America. Whereas last time there was a 2-week break from Season 10 to Season 11, this time we have to wait until September for the show to pick up again. Whew, it really has been a long season. Anyway, thanks for reading!

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!

Every week, NBC subjects us to two full hours of “The Biggest Loser,” when it can easily be squeezed into one. What’s more, the last two weeks, they moved it back an hour. Even on central time, that sucks, but for the rest of you, yikes. Thankfully there are DVRs today, that’s all I have to say.

Anyway, last night began with host Alison Sweeney wishing the Final Four well as they headed home with a DVD in hand. After showing them all greeting their families, they showed each of them watching the DVD of their journey. It was particularly painful to watch Ada’s while her mom burst into tears, not realizing how much pain they have caused Ada for most of her life. Ada’s dad even told her he loves her….yikes, now I have to take back those “douche” comments I made in an earlier post. But hey, I’m just glad her parents have a less-evil side.

Frado, as the person who had the highest percentage of weight loss on the ranch, won a home visit from celebrity chef Curtis Stone. But Frado turned it into a charity event with five different charities…I’m not sure how that all worked logistically, but let’s just say Frado duped Curtis into cooking for about 100 people.

Then as each contestant was training for the impending marathon (which, by the way, is something they do EVERY season now at this point), they received visits from trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. The best one was when Jillian showed up at Elizabeth’s place shortly after Elizabeth moved in with her boyfriend–and in the fridge there were giant frozen burritos next to the “Biggest Loser” mealplan meals. Ha! Oh, and Elizabeth is currently out of shape–big surprise there.

Now it was marathon time, and the winner took home $10K for a charity of their choice. How would Frado choose among the five charities? Oh nevermind, he’s not going to win the race! Ada wanted to break the best time on the show, previously held by Tara from a few seasons ago. However, Ada was stalled by stomach cramps and had to use a porta-potty. She was in there a whopping SIX minutes. Seriously? Still, Ada finished in 4:38, about 15 minutes better than Tara’s time. Good for her. Patrick finished second, followed by Frado and then Elizabeth.

Now it was time to weigh in. The top two would automatically advance to the Final Three and have a true shot at the $250K prize. the bottom two would fall below the yellow line, and America would vote for who makes the Final Three and who instead has a chance at the “at-home” prize of $100K.

Elizabeth went first and lost 15 pounds, or 7.81%. Frado was next and lost 27 pounds, or 10.89%. Dude looks great. Ada lost only 12 pounds, or 6.70%, and admitted that she didn’t do so well at home the past 30 days. Really? A quarter of a mill doesn’t motivate you? Patrick was next and he lost 35 pounds, or 12.54%. So Patrick and Frado were in, with no gameplay necessary.

And now, America has to decide on whether Ada or Elizabeth is worthy of the third spot in the finale. Look, I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, but I will tell you who I would vote for–Ada. I don’t care that she slacked at home, and it appears Elizabeth did to some degree as well. But Elizabeth should have been voted off about eight times, and consistently wasn’t because she “wasn’t a threat.” So she BACKED INTO THE FINAL FOUR. Ada, meanwhile, was a weight loss machine all season. That’s all I’ll say. It’s your call, America.

Next week is the finale, and I just hope that next season they change things up just a little to keep us from boredom. They started to do that this season with the mid-week weigh-ins, but then slipped into relative sameness again. Anyway, see you at the confetti party next week!

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!