Biggest Loser Families: October 28th episode

Beyond teams holding their weight while suspended in mid-air, Week 7's The Biggest Loser Families was light on sweaty fitness and heavy in Blue Team reality TV strategy. At the open, Black 'n Blue played the calorie challenge This 'n That, appropriately led by a slim 'n trim co-author of Eat This, Not That! Blue was the best at guessing which dish had more calories -- here was one of the harder questions:

If you guessed This, you're right. At 1,360 calories, the fajitas have 240 more calories than the 1,120-calorie chicken nuggets. Think of it this way: It would be a lot easier to split 24 chicken nuggets between two people and depart the table consuming only 560 calories each. Wolfing down too many plates of fajitas will land you a spot on The Biggest Loser.

Other This or That wisdom:

Choose the ham/egg/cheese English muffin over the multi-grain bagel with light cream cheese, and 18 light beers have only 60 more calories than a grilled chicken burrito with the works. The real takeaway -- stay away from Mexican.

Be a hero to your kids -- Phil's fridge is on permanent blackout after this episode, but he left the show skinnier and excited to model his new habits to his kids. He is adamant a life of healthy eating and exercise will steer his kids clear of morbid obesity. From this Where Are They Now? clip, Phil has lost 106 pounds and one of his sons shed 10 pounds too. This is why I love the show.

Don't Miss Trainer Gems

• Bob says don't snack away your budgeted calories. He suggested chompin' on gum, like a stick of Extra. Which brings us to another point: Should the trainers be peddling product placements?
  
• Weight machines are not ideal -- to improve your balance and coordination, Jillian says work out with your own body weight. While weight machines artificially isolate your muscles, naturally moving your own body via squats, lunges, push-ups and crunches forces your upper/lower body to work in synergy.
• Stressed out? Bob says walnuts and asparagus dipped in fat-free yogurt are stress reducers. If ya gotta have chocolate, choose the antioxidant-happy dark stuff.
  
  

See you after the next Biggest Loser episode, where Blue 'n Black will be disbanded and eliminated contestants return to the ranch. Oh, and don't miss Weight Loss Secrets of the Biggest Losers today on The Oprah Winfrey Show.