The Biggest Loser - Red Line Circus

Week 9 at "The Biggest Loser" nearly exploded with stress thanks to head-to-head alliances and a major producer curve ball -- double elimination. Yes, two contestants headed home to slim the count to a near-finale six contestants. Read on about the dreaded red line, a circus spat for immunity and plenty of stressed out weight loss.

Red Line Pitch. Producers flipped everyone out this week with a nutty red line. The contestant with the worst weight loss fell below the red line and was sent home immediately, no vote required. The next two lowest weigh-ins fell below the usual yellow line and duked it out at an elimination vote. What's your take on the red line -- producer curve ball or spit ball? Let us know in the poll. Don't forget, the show's decision makers appeared to listen when fans complained about the early season cursing. On-air trainer potty mouths are a rarity these days.

Does Anyone Deserve It More? Jillian and Bob seemed worried when they heard about the new red line. Jillian said it out loud -- Shay needs the ranch more than others, and her larger size makes it tougher to compete on the scale. Bob and Jillian need to keep their trainer heads on and calm down with a little yoga. Child's pose works wonders. I think they're just angry two are leaving their gym flock this week -- finale heat is on -- no one necessarily deserves it more.

Transformation is Now. "Life happens right now, Rebecca. Transformation happens right now, not yesterday, and not tomorrow," said Jillian. She's right, of course. Take a close look at what you plan to eat today, write it all down, then take a long walk after dinner. Start your transformation each day. If you're really serious, check out Season 5 winner Ali Vincent's powerful advice in Believe It, Be It. She's still strapping on her bodybugg.Motivation Photos. Danny carries around three pictures of his former hard body-self to keep his eye on weight loss. Don't look away, pull out those old photos from your slimmer days and take a long look. Then stick one on the fridge as a reminder to eat less, hydrate and keep moving every day.

Circus Hoops for Immunity. No clowning around, contestants jumped through each other's hoops at the circus this week. If your hoop sustained 100 jump-throughs, you're out. Rudy made a quiet deal with Shay to avoid her hoop, then he chose to eliminate Shay before Danny. Old versus young alliance holds strong here, but Shay felt betrayed. This slick deal won Rudy critical Week 9 immunity, but not a haircut. Is it makeover week, yet?

Gym Robbers. The alliance of youngsters decided to swipe a couple bikes from the gym and work out an extra couple hours each night. But officer, it was the red line that made them do it. All's fair in love and weight loss, let's see if it worked.

Treadmill Safety. Rudy's gentle face plant into a treadmill was not as nasty-looking as last week's preview. But it is a reminder to keep plenty of free space behind your treadmill in case you do slip into or off a moving belt. Check out all these treadmill safety tips.

Don't-Miss Trainer Gems

• "Many people forget to monitor their caloric intake of beverages," reminds Bob. He suggests you avoid them entirely or at least get a handle on beverage nutritional labels. Just one 20-ounce fruit juice contains two-and-a-half servings and 30-40 grams of sugar per serving. That's worse than soda.
• We've got a new product placement -- Bob seemed genuinely happy to peddle the 100 percent whole food Larabars made with almonds, dates and unsweetened cherries. No Extra gum this week.

Contestants are getting noticeably thinner, and back-to-back last chance workouts didn't hurt the cause. Amazing amounts of weight was dropped, even with the double elimination stress, alliance game play and red line frenzy. Good thing Rudy won immunity, he only shed eight pounds this week for a 2.41 percent weight loss. Shay lost a shocking 17 pounds to reach 376 and shatter Season 7 Kristin's 100-pound loss record by a full three weeks. But Daniel lost only five pounds to fall below the red line. Yet he's truly won, now weighing 239 pounds at home with a new girlfriend. Remember, he started Season 7 at 454 pounds.

Yellow liners included Amanda and, surprisingly, Shay. She lost 4.33 percent of her weight, but it wasn't good enough in the red line circus. Competitors lost even more, including Liz's 5.5 percent loss with a bum knee. Go figure. In a narrow vote, Shay was sent home. No physical transformation statistics on Shay yet, but her emotional growth runs deep. "I learned here to believe in myself ... I have a future now, I have a life ahead of me ... You can get back your life, and you can live instead of die." Biggest Loser awoke Shay's transformation, now she continues the journey at home. Finale awaits.

See you next week when Biggest Loser airs a half hour later at 8:30/7:30 CST. That's 30 more minutes of treadmill time before a memorable makeover week. If Rudy loses the beard, he might lose a pound.

Amanda still has Bob, but do you have a trainer, yet? Here's how to find that perfect match.