What's the worst thing that could happen to a group of obese folks competing to lose the most weight? Is it a gourmet temptation challenge, an injury, a mental breakdown?

Nope.

It's a trip home. Going back to where they gained all those pounds for a week, the cast of Biggest Loser: Couples were given the task to stay on track of their workouts and lose weight on a visit with their friends and families. Armed with the knowledge they had learned in almost 2 months of living on the ranch, the 6 remaining contestants went home, many fearful of what they might face, and with good reason to be. Talk about a serious test of your commitment to the program.

APPLY TO THE BIGGEST LOSER 6 HERE

Everyone was welcomed home, friends gathered, children cried, an abundance of food filled the tables. Now, maybe it's just me, but I am wondering, were the families told to put some of that junk on the tables, or were they seriously that clueless when it came to exactly what their loved ones were trying to accomplish? Let's face it, no one who is trying to drop pounds, much less those who are COMPETING FOR $250,000 is going to want to sit and stare at a tray of donuts, pizza, chips and brownies. Seriously. I've been there, going to someone's house for dinner, someone who is well aware that I've been losing weight and am carefully watching what I eat, only to have them put out deep-fried appetizers, cheesy sauces and a decadent dessert. Um, thanks. I'll just apply those directly to my butt, because that's where those calories are going.

Just my observation on how those closest to the contestants, while proud of their accomplishments thus far, also obviously had some discomfort with the "new" them. People, as a whole are resistant to change.

Most everyone who went home stuck to plan, even with temptation in their face. Bernie, for example, went head to head with a Boston Cream cupcake, and came out none the fatter, because he didn't so much as lick it. Roger made some fabulous choices at a homestyle Southern restaurant, and Mark took over the cooking while he was there to ensure he stayed on plan.

Kelly struggled admittedly, and was quite nervous at home, though she worked hard to stay on track. Paul, bless his heart.... Paul didn't fare so well at home. Out to dinner with his family, he ate chicken wings (100+ cals and 9 grams of fat each), he drank cola, and he refused to take Jillian's calls. I don't think he was ready to be surrounded with people who thought it was cute to order a giant dessert and say "This is for Paul". What part of that can you even begin to pretend is in the best interest of someone who suffers from obesity and a host of weight related medical concerns?

Once back at the ranch, some of the contestants were proud of what they had done at home, others knew the scale would not be their friend. They shared what they had indulged in with their trainers, then off to the gym to sweat off any dietary indiscretions and prepare for the reward challenge. Right before the challenge, Allison let Paul know that as the biggest loser of last week, he was rewarded with a lifetime membership to 24 hour fitness.

For the reward challenge, The Biggest Loser brought back my favorite giant jumprope/hurdle machine thing, yay! This contraption started spinning, and each member had to jump over the bar or duck under. The last one to break the bar won a game play prize. Over 30 minutes into it, Jay and Brittany were head to head, until Jay mis-stepped and broke his bar. The reward? Brittany and her team got to choose two members of the blue team to weigh in 24 hours before the others. This could have been a huge advantage for the black team.

APPLY TO THE BIGGEST LOSER 6 HERE

Little did they know, however, that Dan and Roger were going to pull a 27 pound loss just between the two of them! I will say this caused me to scratch my head a bit because the numbers were nuts. Of course, with the contestants home for a week, then back on the ranch for a week, the numbers on the scale reflected a two week period rather than one.

Weigh in day comes, and the blue team drops some crazy numbers! Between the 4 guys, a total of 59 pounds was lost. Incredible. To beat them, the black team would need to average over 12 pounds apiece. That didn’t happen. While each of them lost a respectable amount, 4's and 5's, there just wasn't enough there to come close to a victory. Kelly lost the most weight, at 7 lbs, enough to give her immunity at the vote off.

It didn't take a call to the Psychic Friends Hotline to know who was going home. Maggie, Bernie and Brittany had formed a tight bond, and had the numbers to vote off who they wanted. They wanted Paul. Poor Paul, who chose to wear his yellow shirt to the elimination, driving an even deeper wedge between him and his fellow black team members. So, he was sent packing, and has thus far managed to keep off the weight he lost on the show, even after a nast bout of double pneumonia that landed him in the hospital.

I'm hoping next week the black team can forge together and bond. Kelly needs to bring her A game for sure, because if she gives them any reason, she's going to be on the next flight to Florida, right behind her ex-husband.

Carrie Falquist is a mother, artist, and online weight loss coach for www.realityofweighting.com, a community formed from Biggest Loser rejects who are losing weight on our own!

Find additional Biggest Loser links on sirlinksalot.net