# The Biggest Loser Season 15 Discussion Thread *SPOILERS*



## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

Any thoughts? Looks like it could be a pretty good season.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I wish Tivo could ignore a person, Jillian would be on ignore. I liked how she said she would not be using the save and then uses it the first episode. Way to stick to your guns!


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

The save just seems like a somewhat impossible decision. Not using it on somebody is a surefire way to say they're not worthy enough to keep fighting for and hinder any progress they may have at home, at least this early in the game. I think she was right to use it and get that stressor off her plate. 

So far this batch of contestants seems pretty good. It will be interesting to see how it goes after a few weeks to see if any stand out as people I want to root for or against.


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## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

Im really surprised she used her save after last season. She was down to just Danni for about half the season and yes, Danni won but still.. you'd think it would be something you'd want in your back pocket for later on down the road.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

I also think she realized she's got a big guy who didn't lose much on the first week so she'll try to make sure he has a big week 2 when everybody else starts to level off and they win.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I'm loving the 1 hour episodes, they've removed most of the BS and product placement!!


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

I hate the entire concept of a "save" on reality shows- if someone is eliminated within the rules of the show they should stay eliminated. To save one can be viewed as insulting to those that were safe because of how well they did. Plus as time goes on the "will they/won't they" aspect can even begin to overwhelm the real competition we are there to watch.

That said, if the show runners insist on incorporating a save into the rules of the show then I would use the damn thing at the very first opportunity just to get it over and done with. In that respect well done Jillian.



DancnDude said:


> The save just seems like a somewhat impossible decision. *Not using it on somebody is a surefire way to say they're not worthy enough to keep fighting for and hinder any progress they may have at home*, at least this early in the game. I think she was right to use it and get that stressor off her plate.


I am so much in agreement with you here- in a show like this where self esteem is such a big part of many of the contestants issues, not being saved could be devastating. TV drama be damned- these are people putting themselves out there to be judged by the world- something I could _never_ do. To think that their feelings would be pushed aside for drama makes me feel ill.
And I know that goes for all reality shows, but IMO some of these people are in a _very_ vulnerable place here and I do not want needless feelings of unworthiness cast upon them.

Shame on the producers for not thinking this through and coming to my conclusion


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

JFriday said:


> I'm loving the 1 hour episodes, they've removed most of the BS and product placement!!


If you watch the early seasons (they're on Netflix and the like), they were originally an hour long. I like the one-hour format.

Greg


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

gchance said:


> If you watch the early seasons (they're on Netflix and the like), they were originally an hour long. I like the one-hour format.
> 
> Greg


Yes I did, I hated when they went to 2 hours.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Cearbhaill said:


> That said, if the show runners insist on incorporating a save into the rules of the show then I would use the damn thing at the very first opportunity just to get it over and done with. In that respect well done Jillian.


I don't think that's why she used it. If so she should have said it upfront instead of telling her team she would not use the save. The only thing she tried to save was face because her team lost again. No respect for that from me.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

JFriday said:


> Yes I did, I hated when they went to 2 hours.


You know, when they first went to 2 hours it was ok, they had more workout footage. But then they built up fake drama & extended the weigh-ins, which made it EXTREMELY tedious. One hour is a good move.

Greg


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

My Tivo cuts off right after they are eliminated, are they not showing updates on them right after anymore?


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

MLR930 said:


> My Tivo cuts off right after they are eliminated, are they not showing updates on them right after anymore?


They simply said we'd see her next week.


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## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

Cearbhaill said:


> They simply said we'd see her next week.


Yep.. like in the first 5 minutes.

I say this every season but I really wish this version was similar to the AU version although the AU version cut back to 30 minutes and episode last season and it was much shorter. Normally there are 70+ episodes and I think last season it was only 40something. The trainers are better, the challenges are better, its just a cooler show. Even the host is better.. they have Hayley Mills who I guess is some big deal swimmer in Australia.

Glad the show is back tho.. hate NBC is gone from Dish.. I have to watch in on Hulu the next day. So far Im enjoying this season and they seem to have a good bunch of contestants.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

So Jillian has to resort to cheating. Nice!! Try to justify it all you want but you broke the rules.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

That was really surprising. And really sucks to be on the White team because they probably had no idea what was going on and just did what Jillian asked them to do because they'd get yelled at if they didn't. And then they get penalized for it. 

It makes me wonder though if they all drink a lot of coffee or something that Jillian tried to get them off of it for calorie reasons and just to take the caffeine pills instead. 

I was really wondering why at the start of the episode we didn't get to see how Ruban looked. I guess this answered it since he's returning. Talk about a season of second chances...


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

A cup of black coffee is 2 calories. I would think if you drank tons of coffee you'd spend a lot of time peeing. Isn't caffeine an appetite suppressant, I think that's why she was giving the pills.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

I think the whole kerfluffle was cooked up purely to get Reuben back.


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## nyc13 (May 31, 2013)

Cearbhaill said:


> I think the whole kerfluffle was cooked up purely to get Reuben back.


She pretty much confirms that.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I tend not to believe people that just got caught cheating. She thinks she's a doctor but she's not. The bottom line is she should have had them cleared by the doctors.


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## nyc13 (May 31, 2013)

I'm struggling to understand the "cheating" angle, though. If it's true that they're allowed coffee (or tea) whenever they want, then what possible unfair advantage is there to allowing other forms of caffeine?


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

nyc13 said:


> I'm struggling to understand the "cheating" angle, though. If it's true that they're allowed coffee (or tea) whenever they want, then what possible unfair advantage is there to allowing other forms of caffeine?


Caffeine can suppress your appetite and boost your metabolism, it also warns to consult your doctor if you have vulnerabilities which I imagine obese people under doctors care fall into that category.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-truth-about-caffeine.htm


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## nyc13 (May 31, 2013)

JFriday said:


> Caffeine can suppress your appetite and boost your metabolism, it also warns to consult your doctor if you have vulnerabilities which I imagine obese people under doctors care fall into that category.
> 
> http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-truth-about-caffeine.htm


That's an argument against caffeine without doctor approval, not about a specific delivery method of caffeine. And they've all had extensive physical evaluation already.

It can also help in endurance (both by lowering perceived exertion and by sparing glycogen) -- two very good positive reasons I suspect for its use on the show. I'm an endurance runner and use it routinely (in the form of coffee) before key workouts and races.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Cearbhaill said:


> I think the whole kerfluffle was cooked up purely to get Reuben back.





nyc13 said:


> She pretty much confirms that.


That was my thought on it, too, though I thought it was kind of raw to make a villain out of Jillian to do it.

When Ruben left last week, I thought "Well, there goes their ratings booster". As the controversy played out, I couldn't help but think it was just an orchestration to get him back on the show.

And if I'm not mistaken, the White team would have lost the weigh in without all of that taken into account anyway.

Made for some pretty impressive losses, though, jumping back to the previous week for their base weight!


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## tcristy (Feb 11, 2005)

Correct, White would have lost anyway. Since the contestants are actually weighed earlier in the day by the medical staff and not at the "weigh-in" we see, the producers knew going in they could "penalize" the white team without actually changing the results of the weigh-in.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

nyc13 said:


> That's an argument against caffeine without doctor approval, not about a specific delivery method of caffeine. And they've all had extensive physical evaluation already.


But you can get a lot more caffeine in you faster and more conveniently by taking pills rather than having a cup of coffee with a meal. You can't have a trainer deciding what to put in there bodies and how. She broke the rule, therefore they had a rule on what they could give them?

Does anyone think Ruben is really a big draw? He's been pretty low profile since idol.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

I wonder if they knew ahead of time something was going on.

There was a LOT of time between weigh ins... Bob mentioned when he was talking about the weigh in that it had been 2 weeks. Why such a long break?


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

JFriday said:


> Does anyone think Ruben is really a big draw? He's been pretty low profile since idol.


Don't know about 'big draw', but I'd be willing to bet there are more eyes on the show because he's on it than there would be if that spot was filled by just another non-descript contestant.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

laria said:


> I wonder if they knew ahead of time something was going on.
> 
> There was a LOT of time between weigh ins... Bob mentioned when he was talking about the weigh in that it had been 2 weeks. Why such a long break?


They invalidated the previus week so their starting weight was whatever they were at two weeks ago.

I too imediately thought it was a ploy to get the famous contestant back.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> They invalidated the previus week so their starting weight was whatever they were at two weeks ago.


Ohhhh... I guess that part of invalidating the weigh in wasn't clear to me. I thought Bob meant it was literally 2 weeks since Ruben left.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

Well, from what I've heard from former contestants they play fast and loose with the concept of "a week" every episode and have all along.
Or do we really believe that someone could lose 25 pounds in one week?


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## refried (Dec 22, 2005)

I'm really liking the red line and lack of voting drama this season.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Couldn't any of those other ladies help poor Holley apply her makeup? This week was not quite as bad as last week but yikes!

I like the lack of the vote as well.


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

I have a question for those who pay more attention to these kinds of things. Did Bob always have a gold tooth? I just noticed it for the first time tonight. 

I think I was paying more attention to him because of his new mustache for this season. It keeps catching my eye since I'm not used to it.

Oh, and now Bob's out of the closet. Good for him! I guess the producers decided that it would be okay to have a gay trainer on TV.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I don't think he's always had the gold tooth, he's alsp added more tattoos since the show started. 

A always thought Bob was out of the closet?


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

JFriday said:


> I don't think he's always had the gold tooth, he's alsp added more tattoos since the show started.
> 
> A always thought Bob was out of the closet?


I believe he always was out just never addressed it on the show.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Yeah, he's never mentioned it on the show before.

I haven't noticed the gold tooth, but I also am usually only half watching/all listening and playing Candy Crush, so I haven't really been looking at him a ton. 

Also what is up with Jillian this season? It's like they replaced her with some super mellow person.


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## bobcarn (Nov 18, 2001)

I didn't notice the gold tooth, so I binged him and looked at some photos. It must be a new addition because most photos show just full pearly whites.

I always feel bad when someone gets eliminated even though I know that no matter how well everyone does, someone WILL be eliminated. Over and over again. But I feel more bad about it with this show than other ones. All of these people are trying to get healthy, not just trying to win a prize. Do they just send them home?


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

He needs to lose that pornstache, too.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

bobcarn said:


> I always feel bad when someone gets eliminated even though I know that no matter how well everyone does, someone WILL be eliminated. Over and over again. But I feel more bad about it with this show than other ones. All of these people are trying to get healthy, not just trying to win a prize. Do they just send them home?


I feel bad, too especially if it is someone that I really like. 
And I liked Holley quite a bit- some people just make me want them to have a nice long and happy life and she is one of those.

I just keep telling myself that everyone but one is eliminated and the only question is in what order it happens.
I hope she has kept losing- can't wait to see her next week as well as on the finale.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

When Bob used the save on Matt(?) - just after having said there were certain people that he would like to use it on if needed - you just knew that Holly was one of those he had in mind (and Matt wasn't). And when she fell below the red line, you could also see the regret on Bob's face that he'd used it on that guy.


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## stalemate (Aug 21, 2005)

I started noticing the gold tooth on Bob's instagram account back in the late summer. Not sure if I just didn't notice it before or if it is new.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

I don't remember him ever having a gold tooth before, and I notice stuff like that usually. Or I did before I started playing Candy Crush when I watch tv that I'm just not that invested in watching every minute.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

JLucPicard said:


> When Bob used the save on Matt(?) - just after having said there were certain people that he would like to use it on if needed - you just knew that Holly was one of those he had in mind (and Matt wasn't). And when she fell below the red line, you could also see the regret on Bob's face that he'd used it on that guy.


That's exactly what I thought. 
So much so that I was surprised that they didn't cut to that guys face during Holley's farewell (or if they did I missed it).


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## stalemate (Aug 21, 2005)

laria said:


> I don't remember him ever having a gold tooth before, and I notice stuff like that usually. Or I did before I started playing Candy Crush when I watch tv that I'm just not that invested in watching every minute.


Ha! What's funny is Bob got me in to candy crush via Instagram. A month or two after the CrossFit games he posted a photo of himself, at "Bob's Box" on the biggest loser ranch. He was sitting on the "rogue worm" and holding his phone. The caption was something along the lines that he was at work and Candy Crush was ruining his life. I downloaded it immediately.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

How is it possible that Ruben loses only 2 pounds? He's still really big and has been losing much less than anybody else. Has he even had one really good week? I think a different trainer would probably have been better for him. It will be interesting to see how he did at the finale.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

I half expected them to show video of a few Rulan Gardner moments (unauthorized late night snacking, etc.). I just hope we don't have any more manufactured 'errors' that allow him back into the house yet again.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Seems clear to me that Rueben was not truly vested in the process. He was paid to be on the show to boost ratings... pure a simple. They brought him back once with the flimsiest of excuses but I doubt they can do that again.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Well it looks like another attempt of getting Ruben back on the show is coming.


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

JFriday said:


> Well it looks like another attempt of getting Ruben back on the show is coming.


yup, saw that coming and I bet they will make sure he wins that spot.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

They just won't stop trying to make him happen.
Personally, I don't see the passion (or effort) from him, but maybe that's just me.

I know he's lost xxx amount of pounds so he's doing something right, but in comparison to many of the other people it looks to me as if he's just going through the motions.

Still missing Holley here.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Weird timing on this season. They usually have the finale before the holidays then the premiere for the next season is right after New Year's. Three weeks until the next episode, and then the finale isn't until 2/4/14. They must not be doing a spring season this year.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Cearbhaill said:


> They just won't stop trying to make him happen.
> Personally, I don't see the passion (or effort) from him, but maybe that's just me.


He'll be back after the break, just in time for his new album to drop. *eyeroll*

Greg


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

This really doesn't surprise me much though with a season subtitled "Second Chances"


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

To be fair, the idea of bringing back a contestant from those who were sent home has been done before, so it's not like it's new for this season and it's not being done just to bring Ruben back.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

We'll know if the winner of the Biggest Loser singing contest is brought back.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Thank god the stinking black hat has left the building!!


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

I liked the cowboy as a person, but yes... wearing the hat during workouts and weigh-ins was just strange. 

I'm sad he was eliminated as I'd have liked to see what he looked like after the makeover. 

Rachel is my favorite. That race up the bobsled course was tough! I ran hills today myself... 500ft climb over 6 miles. She did 400ft over 1 mile at 7,000 ft. altitude. That's bad-ass!!!

She's cute too. 

I'm surprised Apollo Ono didn't whip out Subway sandwiches when he first met them 

By the way, of all the product placement on this show (which is getting worse and worse now that BL has its own resorts and weight loss products), the only one I actually LOVE is LaraBar. Those things are awesome... and made from very simple, natural ingredients!

I like me some Jennie-O lean turkey too... 

Tumi (is that her name?) looked amazing at home! Good for her :up:


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

Can't wait to see bearded widower get rid of that beard- it drags him down and ages him terribly. I'll bet he looks 20 years younger after it is gone!


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

refried said:


> I'm really liking the red line and lack of voting drama this season.


So much for that... 


Cearbhaill said:


> Can't wait to see bearded widower get rid of that beard- it drags him down and ages him terribly. I'll bet he looks 20 years younger after it is gone!


His new wife (who I really like based of what they've shown) is going to freak out! In a good way I hope


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

jradosh said:


> I liked the cowboy as a person, but yes... wearing the hat during workouts and weigh-ins was just strange.


I liked him too except for having to wear the hat all the time.

I wasn't surprised that the 2 leaders in percentage were the only 2 that really competed to win the challenge. After talking a big talk most of the others almost started walking immediately. I wished they would have shown their times.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Man David looked 10 years younger.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

Yeah. I cried.
I realize that I was emotionally manipulated, but dang it worked.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

TBL *really* doesn't like facial hair, they always shave the contestants in the makeover rather than trim.

Greg


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## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

I enjoyed makeover week. Everyone looked great.

For anyone interested, TBL:Australia is back as well. Really interesting concept this year. Two of the trainers went to the fattest town in Australia and weighed the whole town in. Then they interviewed people to come back to their ranch and go through the process. Not sure how eliminations are going to work this time around and there is a trainer missing but there is always some kind of twist to that version. People that get eliminated probably go train with the missing trainer.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Too bad the shaving didn't extend to Bob and his mustache.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Cearbhaill said:


> Yeah. I cried.
> I realize that I was emotionally manipulated, but dang it worked.


The emotions by David's daughters were real and that alone was enough to get my wife and mother-in-law weeping. That felt genuine to me... not manipulative. Some of the other 'reveals' were less genuine feeling.



gchance said:


> TBL *really* doesn't like facial hair, they always shave the contestants in the makeover rather than trim.


I think 'cause generally overweight people grow facial hair to camouflage their weight. Shaving the beard is like saying "I don't need camouflage anymore.

Plus he looked good without it.



laria said:


> Too bad the shaving didn't extend to Bob and his mustache.


I swear I saw that caterpillar move during the weigh-in.


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

jradosh said:


> I swear I saw that caterpillar move during the weigh-in.


I couldn't tell. I was distracted by the gold sparkle coming from his mouth when he spoke.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

jradosh said:


> I think 'cause generally overweight people grow facial hair to camouflage their weight. Shaving the beard is like saying "I don't need camouflage anymore.


Well, that plus he kept talking about how he started growing it when he got diagnosed with diabetes and wasn't going to shave it until he'd lost 100 lbs on the ranch, so... he was planning to shave it all along.


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## debtoine (May 17, 2001)

Rachel winning the triathlon wasn't a huge surprise, I think. Although I thought she'd had a bigger lead after the swimming. 

I really like her, and want her to win, but given that she's at 150lbs already! I can't see her beat the other two guys. 

T


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Between last week's show and this week's show, was it just one week real time? Or had they been training for the sprint triathlon for longer than a week?

The losses the women put up seemed like just a week, but were the guy's losses just fantastic for one week's loss at this point in the process, or was it longer than a week and the women just didn't do so hot? Though I guess Rachel's loss was not bad at all given where she's at.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

That had to be a longer "week" given the guys' losses.


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

debtoine said:


> I really like her, and want her to win, but given that she's at 150lbs already! I can't see her beat the other two guys.


Because she wasn't vulnerable to the red line you'll remember she only posted a one pound loss this week.

She could have loaded up on water to "hide" any loss this week and then it will magically be revealed and added onto her losses next week.

I think they do a lot of water loading/dehydrating around weigh ins to try and manipulate results.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

My first thought was that she water loaded, too, but she doesn't really have anything to gain by doing it in the last week.


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

I still watch this show every week but I have had a hard time finding someone to really root for. I haven't been a big supporter of anyone since Abby Rike.


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## debtoine (May 17, 2001)

Cearbhaill said:


> Because she wasn't vulnerable to the red line you'll remember she only posted a one pound loss this week.
> 
> She could have loaded up on water to "hide" any loss this week and then it will magically be revealed and added onto her losses next week.
> 
> I think they do a lot of water loading/dehydrating around weigh ins to try and manipulate results.


Since the finale is against starting weight, this strategy doesn't really make sense, though.

T


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

laria said:


> My first thought was that she water loaded, too, but she doesn't really have anything to gain by doing it in the last week.





debtoine said:


> Since the finale is against starting weight, this strategy doesn't really make sense, though.


It could lull the others into a false sense of security- they might think she's slowing down.


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

Do we know how many (real) weeks there are between last night's recorded episode and next week's live episode?


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## debtoine (May 17, 2001)

Cearbhaill said:


> It could lull the others into a false sense of security- they might think she's slowing down.


Since there are two big guys left, I don't think either one of them will take it easy, just because they feel Rachel is slowing down. But, I hear what you're saying. Also, who knows how long she has to make decisions like this, and she might not have thought it through all the way.

Toine


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

debtoine said:


> Since there are two big guys left, I don't think either one of them will take it easy, just because they feel Rachel is slowing down. But, I hear what you're saying. Also, who knows how long she has to make decisions like this, and she might not have thought it through all the way.


I think Bobby would go easy if he thought he could get away with it.
I just don't get a sense of conviction from him.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Cearbhaill said:


> I think Bobby would go easy if he thought he could get away with it.
> I just don't get a sense of conviction from him.


I see Bobby as the person to gain the weight back.


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

holy crap give the new Biggest Loser a sandwich! no wonder she almost fell, she's probably dizzy! Jillian's face said it all!


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Yeah, Bob and Jillian looked shocked, and not in a good way. She went way too low. Her face was kind of scary with the stretched skin!

Not surprised that Ruben had a lackluster final weigh in... not really unexpected given his progress on the show, and hey, good for him for losing > 100, but both he and Hap should have done better.

And holy crap, Tumi?! Who saw that coming?!

Kind of annoyed that we are having yet another storm tomorrow. Why are there always winter storms on Wednesdays? The show gets all squashed up from the stupid cancellation graphic at the bottom and makes all the people look fatter than they really are. It says something that Rachel did not even look fat all squashed up like that to me!

Noticed Courtney from a few seasons ago in the audience, the one that was on the show with her mother and lost a bunch of weight before it started on her own. She looked really big again.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

The E! posting about it quoted the Weight Watcher's healthy weight for a woman of her height (5'4") as 117-146... she's 105. Self magazine's calculator lowers it to 108. Still pretty low.

Greg


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Rachel's weight loss really scared me, too. I hope that was an "I'm THIS close to winning a quarter of a million dollars, I'm going for it" thing and she adds back some of that to a healthy level now.

And Tumi DID look amazing. Think her and Jillian are good friends???


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## cl8855 (Jan 2, 2009)

That was horrible to watch!

All the other women were clearly strong and muscled, and she was emaciated and shrunken. I hope that was purely for money and she'll gain 15-30 back right away and be more healthy. She looked better at the triathalon than this.

The two guys, and Craig and Tumi were all amazing!

After this, my wife and I were thinking they need to set a "goal weight" as the target, and any finalist who hits it shares in the prize.


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## MLR930 (Dec 26, 2002)

Someone on Twitter had the right idea, let there be a red line and if anyone is severely underweight you get disqualified. I know how the show is unrealistic but this girl never should have been allowed on tv like that. If cameras really put on weight she's worse than we saw on tv.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

They must have had a lot of time at home. Wasn't she in the 150-160 area at the triathlon? That's a lot to drop at the end.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

JLucPicard said:


> Rachel's weight loss really scared me, too. I hope that was an "I'm THIS close to winning a quarter of a million dollars, I'm going for it" thing and she adds back some of that to a healthy level now.
> 
> And Tumi DID look amazing. Think her and Jillian are good friends???


I thought the same thing, she's so competitive she did whatever it took to win. She went too far.

Hap actually gained weight from when they had the weigh in where Bobby came back. They showed a clip of that and Hap was at 21% at that point.

Marie looked real good.


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## sburnside1 (Jan 28, 2009)

The at-homes almost all did great. I was amazed.

David looked fine. Bobby looked a little too thin, and commented that he wish he were in the 160s. Rachel went from an athlete look to emaciated. She lost not only the remainder of her fat, but also a lot of muscle.

I noticed they showed the clip of Dr. H telling her she was 5 lbs from professional athlete range with body fat like 3 times. She is a very likeable person and I hope the excess loss was just for the finale and that she gains about 15 lbs back and maintains a healthly life.

I noticed they didn't really show Ali Vincent this time. I saw her in the stands with her Mom. She has done an awesome job maintaining since her finale. I think she will always be my favorite since she won after all the years of people saying it wasn't possible for a woman to win.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

sburnside1 said:


> I noticed they didn't really show Ali Vincent this time. I saw her in the stands with her Mom.


I think they finally realize that while she was the Biggest Loser poster child for a long time, there are OTHER contestants they could be featuring, too. Also, she has her own weight loss show on a small network, so they may not want to be promoting her as much for free.

Greg


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

sburnside1 said:


> I noticed they didn't really show Ali Vincent this time. I saw her in the stands with her Mom. *She has done an awesome job maintaining since her finale.*


Not exactly...

She has gained over 50 lbs back since she won and her new weight loss show is about her own attempts at weight loss again.


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## Tracy (Mar 12, 2000)

This competition is kind of unfair to women who start out in the 200's like Rachel did. If you have a big guy who starts at 450 pounds, losing 50+% of his body weight is very doable. Smaller women can't do that without dropping crazy low like Rachel. It hurt to look at her. I bet she adjusts back to where she should be.


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## cl8855 (Jan 2, 2009)

Tracy said:


> This competition is kind of unfair to women who start out in the 200's like Rachel did. If you have a big guy who starts at 450 pounds, losing 50+% of his body weight is very doable. Smaller women can't do that without dropping crazy low like Rachel. It hurt to look at her. I bet she adjusts back to where she should be.


I agree and disagree a bit -- most winners in the past have been around 50% or a bit over, so for her to match that she would have ended about 130ish lbs, not that insane 105. For women to win, they usually have to start a little bigger (see Tumi -- most years she would have won with what she did!)I'd argue the same for guys like Jay who start at around 300 instead of the larger guys. No way he gets to 150 (or 120 to match Rachel!!!!), he is a healthy 180.

After this, i'd definitely like to see more focus on "goal/healthy weight" than "most lost".


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I've never seen the show but the "controversy" just popped up on my FB newsfeed.

Talk about "damned if you do, damned if you don't."


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

laria said:


> Not exactly...
> 
> She has gained over 50 lbs back since she won and her new weight loss show is about her own attempts at weight loss again.


Are you sure about that? This link says nothing about it, and I haven't seen pictures of her heavy post-Loser.

EDIT: This says she gained 30. I was wrong.

Greg


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

gchance said:


> Are you sure about that? This link says nothing about it, and I haven't seen pictures of her heavy post-Loser.
> 
> EDIT: This says she gained 30. I was wrong.
> 
> Greg


I don't know how old that one is, but there is a synopsis of the episode where she gets on the scale for the first time and she weighs 167.6 and that it's "over 45 lbs" since she won the show. Then she weighs again later (it doesn't seem to specify how long between the weigh ins) and she weighed 175.

http://livewellnetwork.com/Live-Big...-on-Scale-and-Reveals-Her-Weight-Gain/9405085

I hate undated articles like these!


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

laria said:


> I don't know how old that one is, but there is a synopsis of the episode where she gets on the scale for the first time and she weighs 167.6 and that it's "over 45 lbs" since she won the show. Then she weighs again later (it doesn't seem to specify how long between the weigh ins) and she weighed 175.
> 
> http://livewellnetwork.com/Live-Big...-on-Scale-and-Reveals-Her-Weight-Gain/9405085


I'm living that reality right now. Maintenance is damned hard. 

Greg


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

I should add that she's clearly not "fat", but has gained a good deal of weight since the end. 

I don't know that she has the body type to maintain as low as she was when she won... most of them are clearly really dehydrated and are going to put at least some weight back on after the finale if just in water weight. She is built pretty stockily, though, and I think that the weight she was at in the immediate year or two after she won was probably more her "ideal" weight.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

This from Jillian:



> So here it is.
> 
> Bob and I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the BL contestants on their hard work. We're not comfortable commenting on Rachel's journey because weren't her trainers and weren't given an opportunity to work with her at any point. Any questions about the contestants on the Biggest Loser should be directed to the show's producers.


She and Bob have probably been deluged with comments due to their reaction at the finale. I wonder if Dolvett will coment?

Greg


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

gchance said:


> This from Jillian:
> 
> She and Bob have probably been deluged with comments due to their reaction at the finale. I wonder if Dolvett will coment?
> 
> Greg


How did her Biggest Loser trainers react upon seeing her new frame? "Dolvett [Quince] said, 'You're a fighter and I saw it from you on day 1 and I brought it out, but you did it. You accomplished it. You fought, you fought and here's your life back. You fought for it.'"

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity...ee-the-shocking-pictures-201452#ixzz2sUT2uZcE


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

MLR930 said:


> Someone on Twitter had the right idea, let there be a red line and if anyone is severely underweight you get disqualified.


The problem with this is, it might turn into "lose as much weight as possible, then do a crash weight gain (water works quite well for this, I am told) just before the weigh-in so you can come as close to the 'magic number' as you can" competition. This combines the problems of excessive weight loss with those of bulemia.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

gchance said:


> This from Jillian:
> 
> She and Bob have probably been deluged with comments due to their reaction at the finale. I wonder if Dolvett will coment?
> 
> Greg


Both Bob and Jillian posted this on FB.



> "So here it is.
> 
> Bob and I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the BL contestants on their hard work. We're not comfortable commenting on Rachel's journey because weren't her trainers and weren't given an opportunity to work with her at any point. Any questions about the contestants on the Biggest Loser should be directed to the show's producers."


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

I thought all 3 finalist looked bad because they went too far trying to win. David looked much better at the last weigh in, his face also looked gaunt. Bobby lost 61 pounds after the final weigh in, he couldn't have done it a healthy way either. Maybe they should keep them on the ranch 2 weeks more and have them supervised before the finals.


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## mrdazzo7 (Jan 8, 2006)

I don't like to jump on bandwagons but I agree with the comments on Rachel's weight loss - it's too much. I liked her all season, and I think she exemplified the 'second chance' thing well because she was a champion swimmer/fit person before, and she kind of lost herself for a while, and then got it back. But she swung too far in the other direction. 

Sometimes with contestants, we're so used to seeing them big all season that when they do the finale it's such a shock that it seems "too far" and unhealthy in the other direction. But really they're at the weight they should be at. This is what I thought with Bobby- that he looked way too skinny. But 170 is probably close to normal for his height. But Rachel immediately struck me as sickly - he arms are rail thin, her face was sunken. It's glaringly obvious. I actually thought the same thing about Tumi but it wasn't as jarring. 

I've seen a lot of comments (elsewhere) on how "the show" is so unhealthy and "the show" is responsible for stuff like this, but I don't see it like that... these are adults making decisions. She wanted to win $250,000 and decided that she would do it no matter what it took. She could have stopped when she got to 125 and said "I lost half my body weight, I win no matter what" but she kept going and ended up looking like she hasn't eaten in a month. Of course you want to win, but if you get wrapped up in just that aspect, it will make you insane. I think it's awesome that she lost as much weight as she did, and seemed to be much happier, and I hope that a lot of the extra loss was just for the show because it could be indicative of a bigger problem.

I don't know, all this stuff is weird... I'm 5'7 192# and aside from my stomach, there's nothing in my appearance that would suggest I'm an overweight person. Yet according to BMI, I am at the low end of *obese*. I would have to lose *37 pounds* in order to be at the HIGH END of "normal weight"... I would look like a walking corpse if I lost 37 pounds. So the numbers are all wacky... but based on appearance alone, she didn't look healthy at all.


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## mrdazzo7 (Jan 8, 2006)

Also, I actually liked the changes they made this season - the hour time-slot for most of it, ditching the god awful elimination aspect in favor of a red line, the way the teams were picked and organized... definitely good moves. No yellow line means no painful BS elimination segments, and less forced drama all around... I hate reality shows but like this one because I'm a sucker for personal growth stories, but god do I hate the drama. 

Even with the hour run time I still had to FF like crazy through all the talking heads, which got increasingly grating as the season went on. But that's part of the genre. I liked most of the contestants, and there was no made-up alliances/rivalries/etc which was good. I was impressed with everyone's weight loss, especially Craig and Fernanda (who I didn't recognize until they showed the tape) because they did most of it on their own. 

For all the flack the show gets for it's practices, there are a lot of previous contestants who continue to come to the finales, do press, support the brand, and have kept the weight off. They don't *have* to do that stuff so it makes me wonder if the show is that evil behind the scenes. That's one thing I'd love to see one day - a story on how the show is made, from start to finish. They all sign non disclosure agreements so no one can talk about it. I wanna know, damn it...


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

debtoine said:


> Rachel winning the triathlon wasn't a huge surprise, I think. Although I thought she'd had a bigger lead after the swimming.
> 
> *I really like her, and want her to win, but given that she's at 150lbs already! I can't see her beat the other two guys. *
> 
> T


Yeah, I thought the same thing. That was shocking. She may have "cut" weight and dehydrated herself before the weigh-in as well. That stretchy face thing happens to MMA fighters at weigh-ins. It's caused by severe dehydration. She REALLY wanted to win. I have every faith that she'll gain some back now. If not, then she has very likely developed an eating disorder that will have to be dealt with separately.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Dolvett posted:



> Last night's Biggest Loser Finale has sparked a huge reaction and I do not want the day to end without addressing it. Biggest Loser is a journey which has its ups and downs. Please try not to look at one slice of Rachel's journey and come to broad conclusions. Rachel's health is and always has been my main concern and her journey to good health has not yet ended!!


Interestingly enough, here's what Ali Vincent had to say:



> CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> WAY TO GO, YOU DID IT!
> 
> ...


I agree with her.

Greg


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

gchance said:


> Dolvett posted:
> 
> Interestingly enough, here's what Ali Vincent had to say:
> 
> ...


Me too. If they really don't want this too happen they just keep them on the ranch for another month or don't have such a long break from the final weigh in and the previous weigh in. The finalists lost 45, 50+ & 60+ pounds so the break was was substantial. A shorter break will not get these eye popping results.


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## Squeak (May 12, 2000)

mrdazzo7 said:


> I don't know, all this stuff is weird... I'm 5'7 192# and aside from my stomach, there's nothing in my appearance that would suggest I'm an overweight person. Yet according to BMI, I am at the low end of *obese*. I would have to lose *37 pounds* in order to be at the HIGH END of "normal weight"... I would look like a walking corpse if I lost 37 pounds. So the numbers are all wacky... but based on appearance alone, she didn't look healthy at all.


I don't know, I think you might be overestimating how much impact losing 37 lbs would have on you. 5'7" and 155lbs is not that out of whack. By no means would you look like a "walking corpse"

I am 5'10" and was 160 at my smallest and still had a good 10lbs of fat to lose.

Heck, look at the Olympians you see on tv and some of them are in the 160 and 170's and 4 or more inches taller.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Rachel has gained 20 pounds and looks great.

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/ra...nner-gains-20-pounds-130000705-us-weekly.html


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## Cearbhaill (Aug 1, 2004)

JFriday said:


> Rachel has gained 20 pounds and looks great.
> 
> https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/ra...nner-gains-20-pounds-130000705-us-weekly.html


Yeah, I always figured she only went overboard to guarantee the win and I can't fault her for that.


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