By Carrie Falquist of realityofweighting.com

That's right, BL fans, for the first time in the show's history, a woman has won the big prize, proving to the world that you don't have to be on testosterone overload to drop the numbers necessary to win this game. Tonight's finale started with a ho-hum feeling, but every moment was worth seeing the confetti drop on Ali's head.

Having attended the finale for Biggest Loser season 4, I watched with a memory of the excitement I felt from the stands at that studio there in Hollywood. Torrential rains poured down, rare for the area, but adding a surreal feeling to the festivities. As I sat, dry, in the comfort of my own living room tonight, I felt a little bit of a pang, because I remember the energy, the excitement, the behind the scenes festivites that come with this amazing production. And for a moment, I wished I were there. Maybe next season!

Ok, on to the recap. We found out right away that America voted for Roger to be a finalist, which I thought was odd. If we were hoping a woman would finally win this thing, wouldn't it be smarter to vote for Mark, who was smaller? Doesn't matter in any case, but sometimes, seriously people, I don't understand the reasoning behind the votes.

With a considerable number of commercial breaks, we got down to the nitty gritty weigh ins of the eliminated contestants. Some players didn't seem to have worked as hard as contestants in the past, and though they dropped 50, 60 pounds, the results were not what we fans of Biggest Loser were used to. Curtis and Mallory looked amazing as a couple. Amanda showed off her tight little figure in an adorable dress, and both Jackie and Brittany wowed the audience on the women's side. The guys had some serious competition, where Bernie and Mark went head to head for the last time for $100,000. Bernie won, by a mere pound, a common theme on this season of The Biggest Loser Couples. Yay Bernie!

Alright, let's bring out those finalists. Roger, Kelly and Ali all worked harder than most of us can even begin to comprehend in the fight for a quarter of a million dollars. Each faced their own struggles, Roger a plateau that left him dumbfounded, Kelly a herniated disk in her back, and Ali battled her own self sabotage. Of the three I sympathized with the self sabotage, as I think many people who are on a weight loss journey have done. Throw a wrench in your own progress so you don't have to work so hard to possibly fail at the end. Sound familiar? It does to me.

Roger weighed in first, and lost an astounding 164 pounds! The man was over 350 when he started, and 199 on that stage. Hoo-rah, go Bama! Weighing in second came Kelly, who looked absolutely stunning. Talk about an incredible transformation. She took 106 pounds and what looked like 15 years off. It wasn't enough to win the money, but Kelly was a winner to me for sure.

Then came the pins and needles. I don't normally talk to my television, because um, let's face it... the thing cannot hear me. But tonight, I did. "Come on Ali, come on Ali, come on Ali....... YAY!" Then, picture a happy dance in my living room in my yoga pants and slippers. Oh yes, it was a sight. But so was the event I was witnessing on screen.

Ali, of Team Pink, who was not the biggest girl to ever show up on The Biggest Loser campus, had lost 112 pounds, or roughly 48% of her weight loss to become the first female Biggest Loser EVER. It was a moment to cherish, and it was a cry to all women who are hanging on the excuse that it's harder to lose weight being female, that we have to work harder for less results, that there is a reason why WE can't do what that person just did.

It was an easy excuse to hold on to when the person standing there under a shower of glittering confetti was a man, but Ali has changed something. She just made it possible for us to do it, too.

Thank you, Ali, thank you

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