About a month ago, Arthur – who endeared himself to America but rankled a few of his teammates and other competitors – decided that strategic game-playing was the best way to stay in the game by sending Jay and Jennifer over to the other team. Last week, a treadmill challenge saw Arthur come up short, and as a result, karma back-lashed on him, and he ended up on the Red Team himself. And since the Red Team cared more about each other than Arthur’s need to be there, he was sent home. Thirteen remain.
It’s interesting that entering this week, the game has engineered itself in such a way that now it’s practically men vs. women; that is, until the show goes back from Red vs. Black to couples/individual players. The Black Team is now all female, but I wonder how many more weigh-ins they can possibly win now that every member besides Courtney is now under 200 pounds. Courtney’s mom Marci is now at 167 pounds, is currently the percentage leader at 29.8% and is now, I have to believe, within 20 pounds of her ideal weight. On the other side, the Red Team is all men except for Kaylee. However, all of the men are still over 260 pounds, and Kaylee is under 180 pounds herself.
In what has become this season’s stock-in-trade, we begin the episode with the Black Team being called into the Elimination Room in the wake of Arthur’s dismissal. Allison informs both teams that they will each need to elect a team captain, who will be asked to make critical decisions this week that will affect the entire team. After a few minutes’ deliberation, the Red Team chooses Justin (the “obvious choice”, according to Rulon) and the Black Team makes the equally obvious choice and elects Marci, who has become the maternal figure for the entire team. She’s committed to that role, and says that she would go home for any of them – not just Courtney – in a heartbeat. Gotta love her.
We then learn that the first decision that the captains must make is which team member will take over cooking duties for the whole team, for only that person will be allowed in the kitchen. The second decision is to decide which two players from the team will be allowed to work with the trainers, while the others will have to fend for themselves (fortunately, this is only for one day and not the entire week). Marci assigns Olivia the chef duties, and gives Hannah and Sarah the honor of working with Bob and Jillian. She reasons that Hannah can help Sarah the most, given that she just recently overcame the anxiety she used to feel about working out, a process Sarah is still struggling with. Hannah understands, but seems dubious, complaining that she and Sarah are very different people, and is not sure how much help she can be. This doesn’t make Bob and Jillian very happy (and the fact that they only get to train two people makes them even less so), but drama is the last thing they need right now. Bob actually relishes the chance to get to know Sarah better.
The bonding starts almost immediately; Bob didn’t even know that Sarah had been in a car accident three years prior, and that as a result, Sarah became so sedentary that her musculature atrophied and her metabolism slowed down to an alarmingly unhealthy rate. Having a severely fractured pelvis, it was doubtful that she’d ever even walk again, but through willpower managed to make it happen, but by that time, the weight was on and her motivation to lose it was nil. Dr. Bob explains that internal struggle is part of life, and that fighting her inner quitter is something that will never stop. Sarah realizes that without pain there truly is no gain. And then she pukes, while Bob and Jillian grin at a job well done.
Brett and Cara are equally frustrated about this week’s twist, as they had planned a hike for the Red Team that would involve carrying backpacks holding weights of an equal amount to what each contestant had lost. But they then learn that they will only be working with Kaylee and Ken that day, because Justin believes that they more than the others still had emotional issues to deal with. So Ken loads up with 91 pounds in his backpack and Kaylee 54 pounds, and they proceed to do the same workout they did on Day One.
Ken confesses that rather than alleviate his stress and his discomfort that he had in his everyday life with his family, he chose to internalize it, and his weight gain was the result. Cara convinces Ken that opening up to his wife is not just necessary, it’s essential. “For better or worse” means just that, no matter what burden you think you’re better off carrying alone.
While the gym-less majority of the Black Team jogs around the Ranch’s perimeter, Hannah is getting her butt kicked inside by Jillian. Doubts have started to creep into Hannah’s mind about her abilities; she thinks that Marci assigned her to the gym because she is perceived as week. Um, I doubt that’s what Marci meant, but whatever. Jillian, of course, hammers the confidence spike into her head, bombarding her with positive reinforcement as she completes her workout. That’s our Jill!
We get a taste of what life is like for Olivia this week: being the sole provider of sustenance for her team is a bigger chore than one might think: since each member has different needs as far as proteins and caloric intakes, every lunch must be meticulously crafted to each person’s needs, not to mention herself. Additionally, she has to fetch everything her teammates ask for, which is about the only workout she’s had time for. So she comes up with an ingenious solution: she asks her team to bring a spin bike into the house so that she can work out while preparing the meals. That’s… pretty good thinking, actually.
Earlier, we had Ken’s breakthrough moment, so now it’s time for Kaylee’s. Kaylee is upset at her one-pound loss last week, but Brett cautions her that she can’t stress out about it, because that is a gateway to giving up and going back to her old ways. She’s always had self-esteem issues as well, to which I can relate from when I was in my 20’s. After Brett works her out, she sheds her 54-pound backpack, and in itself gives her a sense of immense relief. She admits that while she hasn’t “fixed what’s broken” yet, she’s taken steps in the right direction.
Speaking of Ken, it turns out that he was also Justin’s choice to be the chef, and like Olivia, is finding it hard to find time to work out outside of that job. So while Justin is in the gym motivating his team (and he’s damn good at it, so much so that I think he could become a professional trainer someday if he wanted to), Ken is in the kitchen pre-preparing all of his team’s meals for the day. He says that doing this is great practice for when he goes home, where he must find a way to balance being his household’s cook with finding time to exercise.
Having broken through with Kaylee, Brett decides to have a chat with both her and her father in their room. Both Brett and Kaylee are worried that Moses (who only lost five pounds at home because he chose to spend most of his time there with his family rather than working out) is so wrapped up in taking care of his loved ones that he’s been unable to take care of himself. At some point, it has to be about him, and I think Moses is finally starting to realize that.
Time for a challenge. A down-and-dirty one. The teams must navigate an obstacle course where the ground is 100% mud, and they must do it without touching the ground, using only the obstacles themselves and several flexible bouncy-pads to stand on. The winning team gets $6,000 to split among them. Having an extra member, the Black Team must sit someone out, and Marci decides to not play favorites and sit Courtney out… which rather miffs Courtney, being the fierce, fearless competitor that she is. Black Team takes an early lead, but those bouncy-pads take a lot of strength to pry from the mud, and Sarah slows Black enough for Red to catch up. Unfortunately, Ken’s foot makes contact with the ground and they have to go back twenty yards. This proves a big enough setback so that the Black Team cruises to victory. Girl power!
After a particularly brutal last-chance workout, it’s finally time for the weigh-in. Here’s how it went for the Red Team:
Ken - lost 9 pounds, -3.15%, now stands at 277 (-100 overall).
Justin - lost 8 pounds, -3.05%, now stands at 254 (-111 overall).
Kaylee - lost 5 pounds, -2.79%, now stands at 174 (-59 overall).
Moses - lost 8 pounds, -2.52%, now stands at 309 (-131 overall).
Rulon - lost 8 pounds, -2.29%, now stands at 342 (-132 overall).
Austin - lost 6 pounds, -2.08%, now stands at 283 (-113 overall).
Team Total: 44 pounds, -2.61%
Pretty darn good, from top to bottom. The Black Team needed to lose 36 pounds or more to top that, and here’s how it went for them:
Marci - lost 5 pounds, -2.99%, now stands at 167 (-71 overall).
Irene - lost 5 pounds, -2.70%, now stands at 180 (-75 overall).
Sarah - lost 4 pounds, -2.06%, now stands at 190 (-71 overall).
Courtney lost 5 pounds, -2.03%, now stands at 241 (-82 overall).
Olivia - lost 2 pounds, -1.05%, now stands at 188 (-73 overall).
Hannah - lost 2 pounds, -1.10%, now stands at 180 (-68 overall).
Jennifer - lost 1 pound, -0.51%, now stands at 196 (-82 overall).
Team Total: 24 pounds, -1.76%
Well, after last week’s monstrous numbers for the Black Team, I’m not at all surprised at this development. I honestly have to wonder just how much more weight these ladies are going to be able to manage over the next few weeks. I predict that the Red Team will go on a winning streak unless the game reverts back to individual players soon.
Kudos. To Ken, for having a breakthrough week emotionally and becoming joining the other four guys on his team in the 100-pounds-lost club, losing nine pounds despite drawing chef duty. To Marci, for losing the most weight on her team, and the highest percentage, despite being the lightest person on the Ranch. And more than that: A person’s BMI (Body Mass Index) is considered “normal” when the number is between 18.5 and 24.9. With her five pounds today, Marci’s BMI has dropped to 24.6, making her the first contestant this year to drop out of the “overweight” category. (Hannah’s BMI is the next-lowest at 27.4) That’s just awesome.
Elimination. The Red Team has had the luxury of eliminating members of its own team that weren’t original members of their team (Jay and Arthur) in their last two losses. The Black Team, not surprisingly, sent home the one person that didn’t start out on the Ranch, voting Sarah out by a 4-1 margin. (Marci kind of snookered herself by having the highest percentage on her team, because it prevented her from volunteering to go home.) And now it is set in stone that the winner will not be from the Pink Team, like the two previous female winners were.
Standings. Marci leads the way with 31.9% lost. Justin takes over 2nd place with 30.4% lost. Right behind them are Moses (29.8%), Jennifer (29.5%) and Irene (29.4%). Kaylee remains in last place with 25.3%.
Update. Since returning home, Sarah has lost an additional 21 pounds, and now stands at a trim 169 pounds. A full 92 pounds less than when she started, she and her husband Jason hope against hope that her weight-induced miscarriages are a thing of the past. I’m sure everybody who’s seen her wishes the same thing.
Next week: The remaining twelve players are given a challenge: lose 64 pounds, and no one goes home. That’ll motivate ya.
