The Biggest Loser - Week 2 Curse is Lifted

by Bev Sklar (Subscribe to Bev Sklar's posts)
Sep 23rd 2009 3:00PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation

Photo: Chris Haston, NBC

Over at "The Biggest Loser, " Episode 2 was a drug-free Woodstock love festival, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Beaver Cleaver week free from Jillian's f-bombs. No major fights in the house -- both trainers were a well-oiled exercise and nutrition machine, and the ranch glowed an undercurrent of happy. But the truly big news? The Week 2 curse of pathetic weight loss, and even weight gain, was lifted. Maybe the Chicago Cubs should hold 2010 spring training at the ranch.

Perhaps producers are mopping up after Tracey's awful helicopter rescue on the beach in the season premiere. Or maybe Week 2 was already scripted for love. Whatever the case, aligning the eight remaining teams to work together on the following curious goal was an effective way to motivate, sustain and keep contestant claws in check and those cat-ranch-fights to a minimum. Although it's doubtful any Season 8-er can fight like Season 6's Vicky.

150-Pound Hurdles. In a new twist, if contestants lost a combined total of 150 pounds, everyone stayed at the ranch. If not, two fridge lights would be shattered. No sweaty competition this week, everyone's destiny was on the line. Yet the Week 2 curse hovered like a bad dream -- that's typically the worst week of weight loss at the ranch. Bob and Jillian were skeptical, but Coach Mo said anything is possible. Keep reading.

Why Tracey Collapsed. No one revealed this week why Tracey dropped like a swatted fly at the beach. She returned to the show under doctor's orders for less-strenuous workouts, yet zero details were provided on her diagnosis. However, a quick Google search revealed she had heatstroke. Her beach temperature was 103.9, she was confused, and in this bonus scene, Dr. Huizenga explained the extra layers of fat she carries act like a coat. Tracey's lack of fitness and high body fat percentage make it that much harder to get rid of heat. Heatstroke is scary. Let's hope the show sticks to an air-conditioned gym for first-day challenges.

Feed Others As Your Scale Drops. In Season 7's Pound for Pound Challenge, Bob reported over 3.5 million pounds-to-lose were pledged by viewers. But the best part was every pound pledged meant one pound of groceries for a food bank. Americans everywhere are running marathons, walking three-day races, trying their first 5Ks to help beat a myriad of diseases. Turn your weight loss into a philanthropic goal -- Weight Watchers' Lose for Good campaign and Biggest Loser's Pound for Pound Challenge are great ways to start.

Chef Curtis Stone's Kitchen Boot Camp. Who needs to eat if you can listen to that hot Aussie accent? In a food trivia contest to shed 15 pounds off the 150-pound group goal, contestants listened to Chef Curtis rattle off a bunch of healthy food tips, then they had to nail five out of eight trivia questions. Main takeaways include: Shoot for 3 to 4 ounces of lean protein (buy a scale), choose healthy cooking methods such as baking, poaching, grilling on a non-stick grill and broiling; that fast food Caesar salad might have over 1,000 calories, and replacing 50 percent of your 2-cup pasta serving with a cup of shredded zucchini can save you 248 calories. Finally, adding protein to your snacks refuels muscles, ups performance and keeps your blood sugar steady.

Psst, Wanna Know How Much Jillian Weighs? Bob dropped the number while Jillian was being tossed around at the other end of a tug-o-war rope by 400-plus Rudy. Check out the Trainer Gems below for the teeny-eeny answer.

Don't Miss Trainer Gems

Keeping a food journal can double your weight loss, says 115-pound Jillian. Of course, she says this while touting a copy of "The Biggest Loser Complete Calorie Counter" book for all the caloric details. Remember, there are a load of calorie-counting tools out there, Calorie King is terrific. Just faithfully keep writing and the weight will flee.
Bob pushed Shay to the emotional brink and had her say, "I deserve to be happy." And so do you. Tell yourself that, then do the work necessary to lose the weight and change your habits. Forever.
For a perfect dessert, Chef Curtis Stone suggests grilled or broiled pineapple chunks with low-fat, natural yogurt. And don't forget that cup of raspberries with a half-ounce of melted dark chocolate, yum.

That Daniel. The look of joy on his face was unforgettable after he dropped seven more pounds to reach the 200s for the first time since high school. Every team turned the Week 2 curse upside down, except Pink's dismal combined loss of only 10 pounds. Pink is unnerved, but our bodies are complicated, and past episodes have proven weight loss will kickstart if you keep trying. Like Abby said, "Watching your diet, counting your calories, moving. It works."

After surprisingly winning the balance challenge and cooking trivia contest, the group's 150-pound weight-loss hurdle was lowered to 115 pounds. In the end, the group lost a total 155 pounds, a jaw-dropping 5 pounds over the original goal. Everyone stays for Week 3. But will the curse return? Happy tears this week, but not so happy next week -- Bob and Jillian are kicked out of the gym, and one player scores enough power to control the game at weigh-in. See you next week, but read this article first on why the fitness pros are criticizing Biggest Loser.

Comments (23)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Tony 9-24-2009 @ 10:44AM

Coach Mo was a huge help to the 150 challenge. I hope he stays he is going to be a tremendous help to the group. The fact that there are no Team Bob and Team Jillian is a great help to the camaraderie of the contestants. It's an interesting twist that is growing on me.

Sabran 9-25-2009 @ 6:08AM

I like Bob and Julian training together. It makes it more about the contestants and less about them....which is probably killing Bob...

beverly michelson 9-25-2009 @ 6:29AM

I love the show, except for the clothes the contestants are made to wear. Give these people some dignity! I don't see why the men, many of whom have big saggy "man boobs," are required to take off their shirts when they weigh in. That shirt maybe weighs 5 oz.
And the women, put them in a "onezee" rather than in two pieces that expose their large bellies. I just think it is disrespectable for the contestants to be made to expose too much on TV.

Doobie 9-25-2009 @ 9:07AM

A onesie? Are you serious?! That would be even worse!! I say let them all keep their tees on for the weigh in.

Shari 9-25-2009 @ 12:59PM

totally agree we can see how big they are even with shirts on men and women! Give them some dignity please.

Shannon 9-25-2009 @ 4:01PM

A onsie would be ridiculous. The reason they expose so much skin is it helps to see the drastic reduction in weight as the weeks go by. If the people were wearing tshirts from the beginning to the end there would not be such obvious signs they have lost so much weight. If you are a follower of the show you will see towards the end they do keep their shirts on because there is not as big a difference in their body sizes.

April 9-25-2009 @ 6:16PM

If you've never been really overweight (as I once was), you wouldn't understand that ANYTHING you can do to "lose weight" on a scale applies. Sure, the shirts are only about 5 oz., but the prevailing logic is "that's almost half a pound"! I worked in a doctor's office years ago, and women who were trying to lose weight would willingly strip almost NAKED, remove jewelry, etc., if it would reflect "lost weight" on the scale! But I do have to agree with your opinion on the BL guys keeping their shirts on (at least until they're under 250 lbs.!) The "man boobs" are disgusting--along with the rolls and rolls of fat!

Uncle richie 9-25-2009 @ 7:45AM

I think this show is a disaster waiting to happen. Someone's going to drop dead and then the blame game will start. Producers will blame contestants, contestants will blame trainers, trainers will blame sponsors and everyone will be sued. And the talking heads will blame everyone. It's bound to happen.

Beth 9-25-2009 @ 8:25AM

Please stop criticizing this show. They have done so much good for so many people! How can that be a bad thing? You can nitpick about outfits, exercise regimens, and F-bombs, but you cannot escape the message they are conveying: being severely overweight will hasten your death. I wish they would now move on to help the overweight children that we often see in the background of stories about contestants.

A 9-25-2009 @ 8:35AM

I'm really disappointed the show is allowing people to believe the sole cause of Tracey's collapse was weight related. I understand the weight may have played an issue, but the bottom line is, her sedentary lifestyle played a larger role than her weight. Anyone, regardless of their size, who is not used to strenuous activity could have collapsed from heatstroke after having pushed themselves the way she did. Heat stroke is not a weight-related health issue. Biggest Loser has a responsibility to ensure the viewers are not pushing themselves beyond their health limits. They have the bonus footage shows the Dr talking about "fat layers" and Tracey told Mo how important, now more than ever, it is for her to lose weight, leading the audience to believe her collapse was weight related. Sometimes your health can be bad even if you're not overweight.

Trums2 9-25-2009 @ 9:50AM

You say this like you have personal knowledge of Tracey's health issues. It is possible that her weight played a large part of her heatstroke. And yes it is correct that some people who are not over weight can also have heatstroke, some have it even when they are seemingly inshape - for example highschool football players. We all need to be careful about what we say has caused and issue with someone unless we have studied them medically.

A 9-25-2009 @ 12:48PM

I in no way diagnosed Tracey nor did I claim to know the full reason for her collapse. The show did not provide details on it and left it up to the viewer's interpretation. In seasons past, this is usually done when the cause of the problem is not specifically weight-related. That is irresponsible of the show.Having watched the show since it began, I know there are many times the show leads people to believe all of the contestants' medical issues are weight-related, when if fact some of them are not. The show sometimes comes across as if they are trying a little to hard to make you understand that being overweight is bad.

Carolyn 9-25-2009 @ 9:13AM

They don't want to hide the fat with clothing. They want America to see how over weight people look.

Smooshiest 9-25-2009 @ 10:10AM

I think America needs to see how overweight people look, but we need to remember that the weigh-in is just a tool for dramatic effect. The contestants have been weighed on a genuine scale before, but not told the results until the TV weigh-in. That is not a real scale, so the ones who are uncomforatble with being exposed should have the options of keeping their clothing on.

Greg 9-25-2009 @ 11:00AM

They need to put Curtis Stone take home chef back on the telly. Great show.

Gail Davis 9-25-2009 @ 11:01AM

I love the show and find it inspiring, but am probably going to discontinue watching because of the vulgar speech from the trainers, especially Jillian. This just shows a lack of intelligence when you can't come up with more motivating words, rather than cursing.

kwiehekaylor 9-25-2009 @ 4:10PM

I agree whole-heartedly with the comments about the language used on the show. I actually had to turn the premiere off. I fail to see how using profanity helps motivate people to keep on exercising. I was especially embarrassed for the man this season who is a youth pastor.

Maria 9-25-2009 @ 11:30AM

I really like this show. I just wish that Bob and especially Jillian would not swear so much. It takes away from the show. It is okay to tell them to keep going but don't use the f word and other words on the show. It takes away from the show.
Thank you

J 9-25-2009 @ 1:16PM

I like that they are training together this season; it's a nice change. However, I don't like that Tracey got to participate in the "150lb challenge". I know she had medical issues, but it was unfair that they had an elimination without all of the contestants, and then Tracey got to come back & basically get a "free pass". Other than that, the show is getting off to a great start.

Chris 9-25-2009 @ 1:50PM

I realize the premise of the show, and I watch every season. The only thing I would love to see happen is it being less about the CONTEST and more about saving lives. I know it builds tension in the wondering "who's going home this week..." I would love to see every contest stay the whole time, and then judge at the end who the Biggest Loser is based on total percentage of weight loss. It's really not that it upsets me to see anyone leave the show. I just honestly feel like for most of these people, this is LIFE OR DEATH, and sending them home without the tools they need is a death sentence for them. From that perspective, it's a sad thing for me.

As far as having the two trainers training together, I think that's great. It's a small step towards getting away from the competition aspect, and more towards saving lives.

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