Biggest Loser this week saw a twist in the game and a challenge of a different kind. If they lose a combined 50 pounds as a group then no one gets eliminated.

With 9 people left standing that’s 5.5lbs each which sounds reasonable enough given you have the top players losing nearly ten pounds a week but you have those dragging their feet who are only losing a few and of course the inexplicable Jessie, who just can’t seem to get his numbers up.

However, should they not reach their goal the yellow line is back into play which means that at least we see a cliffhanger ending of an actual elimination versus the immediate expulsion from the red line.

I love that they found a way to bring the elimination back….because it was really lacking from an excitement point of view. It also a good way to gauge who is actually playing the game to win versus someone who is simply at “fat camp” to lose weight.

The actual challenge this week is a sand challenge. They have to carry bags of sand from one place to another, build a sand hill, climb to the top of it and jump up and hit at a 14 ft high sign post marked with different weights. If they can jump and hit each marker off it takes off how much weight the group will need to lose this week to stay safe all the way down to 40 pounds as a group which would be an average of just over 4 lbs each.

So we have Red, White and Blue teams working together……oh so a American and they come together well, with their athletic backgrounds showing that they are comfortable working in a team environment. 

Proving that someone has an engineering background they build a sand bag foundation, a hill and then have all the players lay around the hill to keep it stable. Have to admit I would never have thought of that. It also had me gripping the edges of my chair as Scott leaped into the air and had only one way to go - down on top of his fellow contestants, nearly knocking his fellow contestants out.

However, Scott proved that White men can jump and knocked every peg off, bringing their combined weight loss to 40 pounds to all be able to stay another week.

This week they also train as a team and quite a few of the contestants are literally transforming before our very eyes.

Scott looks like any other guy his age and you can see that All American apple pie guy coming back.

Rob, however is distracted so Dolvett goes to talk to him and Rob admits that his his self hate was his fuel…..and since he stopped hating himself he was  struggling to find the fire to keep going. In reality he was really feeling that normal exhaustion of someone realizing that despite losing a huge chunk of weight, he still has 120 pounds to go. I’ve been there done fat. You lose 70 pounds but still have that much and more to go. You’re tired and hungry and you just struggle to see the finish line. And that is when you have to dig deep and take a day at a time. 

Dolvett suggests he stops making pain his friend (or fuel) and invites him to a life of respecting and nurturing himself.

This week also marks the the anniversary of Woody’s wife’s death and he is struggling to deal with it outside of an environment where he would bury the pain in food.

No joke, I was howling as he shared how he lost his life long best friend, the love of his life, the one and only true love…he didn’t know how to live without her and with the help of the trainers decides to celebrate her life and live his for his children and for him, which is exactly what she would have wanted.……

The trainers take them on a hike and at the top of the mountain they are each asked to release butterflies and to stat their new intentions as they transform their lives. 

It was such a beautiful moment and such a lovely way to honor the memory of Woody’s wife and to give him a new memory of a painful day.

So weigh in comes and they have just under 4 pounds each to lose to stay safe.

But first we head to Comeback Canyon and it is Rondalee versus Damien. Rondalee could be back for a third week if she can beat him but she loses 4 pounds to Damien, who looks incredible now and loses an impressive 11 pounds!!!!! Rondalee heads home and Damien is back for another chance at heading back to the ranch to win the big prize.

Meanwhile back at the ranch (haha, always wanted to say that):

Sonya is trying to get into “onderland” (in the one hundreds). She is 200 pounds now and needs 5 for the average to keep them safe. She loses 3  but it’s a bittersweet victory for her, reaching her personal goal but letting the team down.

Jordan  loses 4 and now someone needs to lose an extra 4 pounds already to keep them all safe.

JJ  loses -3 

Woody -2

Lori -2

Rob -1

.....and the surprise of the night is Toma actually gains a pound and Scott looks pissed.

He says he still has a lot to work out but I’ll be honest, from someone who has been a part of this game/competition, there are people actually playing to win and this is what I think.

I think they all really lost more weight than what showed. I think they all “water loaded” just a little and when I say that, I don’t mean like in the old days where they could get away with it, but they probably had a few more carbs and salt the day before which means you will naturally retain a little more water weight. Because just in case other people got the big numbers then they’d be safe and they can double their weight loss for the next week. That’s how I would play the game and I’ve won a weight loss game show before. After I hosted Biggest Loser I went on to win a show called Excess Baggage and I used all the tricks and game tactics I had learnt on Loser to play and win that game.

I could be wrong but watch some people pull some big numbers next week.

And the reality is, if you want to convince people to keep you, of course you are going to pull on their heart strings, you’re going for the votes and the reality is that we are not even seeing the secret conversations that are going into who is voting who off and why. The reality is, if you are playing to win you would get together and all water load just a little so no one is safe, then you would all agree to vote the biggest threat off - which is easily Scott. That’s how I would play it and that’s how you play to win. 

Poor Scott now needs 26 pounds to keep them all safe which we all know is impossible. Scott loses nothing and I am now convinced they all held on to their weight for the next week. We will see.

And so Rob is safe and it is Scott and Toma up for elimination and of course they choose Scott.

So Scott will join Damien at Comeback Canyon and finally we will see two awesome athletes equally capable of winning the entire show, give their best shot of getting back into the game.