By Carrie Falquist - www.carriefalquist.com 

Tonight marked the premiere of America's favorite weight loss show, The Biggest Loser.  Following in the footsteps of last season, the show featured teams of two, but this time focused on family members only.

Jillian personally surprised her teams of parents/children by showing up with their colored t-shirts, and Bob did the same with his four husband/wife teams.   As Allison Sweeney says early in the program, this season is a bit of a social experiment.  Who can handle this challenge the best?

I will admit that as a viewer, I was not sure I would enjoy teams again, but for some reason, these groups grabbed my interest right away.  Each couple had an interesting story, and an obvious dynamic.   The “Toms” from Boston who both drive cab, the loving couple from Houma, Louisiana, the mother and daughter from Detroit.  

After introductions, the teams toured the gym, and weighed in.  Typical for Biggest Loser, the women mainly weighed in the mid 200 pound mark, and the men were low to mid 300's for the most part. The exceptions were Heba, who hit nearly 300 pounds, and Jerry at 380.  Along with the weight, this season featured our beloved Dr. H, who shared with the teams how old and sick their bodies really were.  Many folks were hit with a wake up call when they were told that although they might be only 20 something, their bodies were in such bad shape that it was like they were actually in their mid forties!

First challenge this season followed in the tried and true method of a physical challenge involving a hike across the Southern California hills.  This time, the teams would race to a variety of banners that held rewards like immunity and a 24 hour visit home.   The last team to finish would be penalized with 2 extra pounds at weigh in.

The brown team (Vicky and Brady) struggled during the challenge, bickering and setting themselves up to look like the weakest link. 

However, the brown team, despite their two pound penalty, stepped it up at weigh in with an astonishing 47 pound loss, more than 7 percent!  The green and orange teams fell below the line, with under a 5% loss.  During the first week, when water loss can be so great, it's hard to see a team that lost over 20 pounds fall into last place.   This is the weigh in that is the hardest to watch, because just as the contestants are settling in to the routine of the ranch, and realizing their dreams of health and fitness could come true, they are sent packing.

Which is how the Green team must have felt.  Their transformation after the show was outstanding, however, and they will no doubt be complete hotties by the finale.  They are an amazing couple, and it was nice to watch how considerate and supportive they are of eachother.

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