Biggest Loser: Whooooo for the underdogs, woe to Miggy!

The underdogs win! Woo hoo!! There’s nothing like having the extreme underdogs pull out a victory against the selfish smug to put a smile on your TV-watching face!

Who could have predicted that when Michael (The Biggest Contestant Ever) won the right to divide the teams into Blue and Black and stacked his Blue Team in a way that made Jillian use the F-word (bleep) and call it the “most unfair, impossible scenario ever” that the scheme would backfire? And that the result would be the end of the road for Miggy, whom Michael called “my best friend” when he chose her for his team? Miggy, remember, is the mother of Migdalia, our Sanford homemaker.


Michael won the right to choose the teams in one of the most interesting “Biggest Loser” challenges ever. He and Drea volunteered to participate in the challenge without knowing what it was. They played a memory game in which they took turns opening two squares on a board, trying to get the same item in each square. Each time there was no match, the contestant had to eat a 100-calorie cookie. When there was a match (two doughnuts, two blueberry muffins, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, etc.), the other contestant had to eat what was behind the squares. Because only two people volunteered for the challenge, Drea and Michael ended up having to eat A LOT of cookies and crap.

Michael, after consuming 2,300 calories of basically sugar, ended up matching the golden tickets that gave him the team-making power. When making his decision, he said that “I don’t want to be malicious” but that for the first time ever he was going to put himself first because he “usually puts others first.” My eyes are still a little achy from all the rolling. When Jillian confronted him, he said testily, “I didn’t make the game, Jillian. … I have to look out for myself. Isn’t that what you said, Bob?”

Yes, I believe Bob did say that. Jillian finally conceded Michael was right. But that doesn’t mean we have to like him.

Michael split cousins Sam and Koli, making Sam the lone man on the Black Team and loading his team with big men Koli, Daris and Lance. When the teams had to pull a heavy banner to the top of a tall hotel to win the right to read letters from home, it seemed pretty clear that the strength and probably the whole game would go to Blue Black when the Blue Black banner flew to the top.

The Black Blue Team kept trying to psyche itself up for the weigh-in, all of them saying we might not be the strongest, but we have the most heart! The Blue Black Team members kept saying they needed not to take victory for granted, we need to work hard, wink wink, nudge nudge (we have this locked up!).

Michael set a new Biggest Loser record when he reached a total of 107 pounds lost in seven weeks, beating Rudy’s record of 101 pounds from last season. Annoyingly, having the biggest percentage of weight loss for the Blue Team gave him immunity from elimination for the week.

After the Blue Team weighed in, we found that each member of the Black Team needed to have lost more than 6 pounds each to win. Drea weighed first and lost 5. Cheryl weighed second and lost 4. Uh-oh. Sherry was up next and lost her 6. The last three to weigh in would need to have lost more than 8 pounds each. Would big Sam take the weight off the team’s shoulders and pull his usual double digits? Um, no, but he got his 8. How could Stephanie at 221 pounds now possibly pull 8? But she did it! Ashley stepped onto the scale needing to have lost more than 8 pounds. Could the team with heart get this close and fail?? “Biggest Loser” has set us up for big letdowns before. But not tonight! Ashley dropped 10 pounds, and the crowd (at my house) went wild!

So the Blue Team had to send one of its own home. Lance, with a 5-pound loss, had the smallest percentage for his team. Miggy had the second lowest, and the team seemed to agree the fairest thing was to send Lance the loser home. But in the end, Koli decided it was best for the team to keep the stronger of the two to help the team with the challenges, and his vote sent Miggy home.

Miggy started the show at 265 pounds and weighed 179 when the show checked in with her after her departure.

Ridiculous ad placement of the evening: So, Jillian goes to buck up her team of five women and one man now vying against four large men and two women. The demoralization is heavy in the air. Good grief, how can they possibly beat the much stronger Blue Black Team? Jillian has the answer! Have a Larabar!