The Biggest Loser: Couples: April 2008 Archives

The live finale of this season's The Biggest Loser was perhaps the best finale of any reality television show in a very long time. Of course, I'm biased when I say that because the people that I really hoped wouldn't win, didn't!

The show began with Alison bringing out Roger and Mark. We still had to find out who America voted to be the third finalist. Both of them looked great but you could tell Roger went all out when he arrived home. He looked even slimmer than when he left the campus. Drum roll please! America voted for Roger! He then ran off to go change into his weigh-in gear while Alison talked to a slightly disappointed Mark. I'm surprised he didn't break down and cry. Oops, that was mean of me wasn't it?

When all of the former contestants came out and showed off their new bodies to all of us, my jaw dropped. It was obvious that most of them really kicked some calorie-burning butt when they got back home. There were a few standouts though. Amanda looked absolutely stunning! To say that she worked hard to drop her weight would be an understatement. It was unfortunate that her husband Neill didn't seem to have worked as hard as she did. His laziness must have continued back at home. Mallory and Curtis blew me away as well. They looked like a whole other couple and it was great! Bernie and Brittany looked great as well but whoever picked that dress for Brittany didn't do her any favors. That shirring on the front of her dress made her look like she smuggled a fanny pack turned the wrong way around into the auditorium. The only one missing for the finale was Paul. Alison told us that Paul was ill and couldn't make the trip. That's kind of curious if you ask me.

The first big prize to be handed out would be $100,000 to the person among the booted contestants who dropped the most percentage of weight since the start of the show. Curtis led the charge for a long time with his 39.37% drop but when Dan stepped on the scale, he blew Curtis out of the water. Dan had lost an amazing 43.87% but there were still some big hitters that needed to weigh in. Bernie weighed in a couple of people later and amazingly took over Dan's lead with 45.94%. I was so thrilled for him! Oh please let him win it! Brittany weighed, then Jay, and then Mark and guess what? Mark came one pound shy in his weight loss which meant that Bernie won the hundred grand! I jumped up out of my chair and was so happy for him. I hope there aren't any hidden cameras around that caught me doing that.

Now it was time for the biggest prize of them all -- $250,000 to be given to either Roger, Ali, or Kelly. After Alison talked with all three of them and we watched their homecomings, it was time for them to step on the Biggest Loser scale one more time. Because Ali had dropped the highest percentage of weight up to the point of leaving the campus, she was able to select the order that they would weigh in. Roger would be first up followed by Kelly and then herself.

Roger originally weighed 363 pounds and now weighs 199 pounds. He has lost an amazing 164 pounds which turned out to be 45.18%. Kelly originally weighed 271 pounds and needs to have lost more than 122 pounds to take over Roger's lead. She only lost 109 pounds though and 40.22%. Then it was Ali's turn. She began the season weighing 234 pounds and needs to have lost more than 105 pounds to win it all. She lost 112 pounds! Ali is the first female Biggest Loser winner!!!

All three of them looked so fabulous and I wish there had been a few extra minutes left in the show to watch them all celebrate but we were only able to see the confetti drop and hugging begin taking place when Alison told us the show was over. But I was so thrilled for Ali! Even writing about this now is starting to get me all choked up again so I'll just ask you this one final question, how did you like it?

Want to see a pic of Ali in her "Got Milk?" ad? Click here! Doesn't she look great?

The Biggest Loser tends to get very sappy at the end of its seasons and this week's episode was the sappiest yet. If it didn't cause you to shed a tear or two, I'd be worried about whether you were human or not. More than once, I had to pause the show and grab a tissue to wipe my eyes. Telling myself it was just a silly reality television show couldn't stop the flow either.

With only four players left, there was a ton of reminiscing to be had. Mark misses his wife and children as well as his brother, Jay. Ali misses her mom, Bette-Sue. Kelly and Roger miss their families as well and can't believe that they're still in the running for becoming the next winner of $250,000. There were also some very touching moments when each one of them met and stood next to the cardboard cutout of their former selves. None of them could believe that they were ever that big. They were all so glad to be able to have this experience and felt that they had become healthier and gained the ability to live their lives the way they truly wanted now.

This week's challenge was also emotionally charged. Each of them had to don a fat suit that made their bodies exact replicas of what they looked like when they came on the show. Of course, those fat suits also contained the amount of weight they'd lost so far. With their fat suits on, they had to race to the end of the beach where they could then get out of the fat suit and then grab a flag. With their giant flag in hand, they had to race to the top of a mountain. The first person to reach the top and plant their flag into the stand would win freshly prepared food until the finale and a cool $10,000 in cash.

Now try to guess who won the competition. Why, you are correct! Mark handily beat the others and Roger came in second. Ali planted her flag third and there was good ol' Kelly bringing up the rear yet again. I was just glad that at least Mark didn't win some kind of perk at the weigh-in.

After being without trainers for the week and having to workout on their own, they were happy when Bob and Jillian returned the night before the weigh-in. Alison told the players it had to do with a surprise and when I found out what the surprise was I had to grab another tissue. It was time for each of them to watch a video of their journey so far on campus. Each video began with them at the beginning of the season talking about how they felt about being fat and how it was affected their life. Then then saw some of their own personal highlights and lowlights of the season. I couldn't stop crying again during these segments because they were just so amazing. Seeing how much they've changed and how much more confident they are and how good they feel now was really inspirational.

With their last last chance workout under their belts, it was time for their last weigh-in before the live finale. Roger went first and was hoping he could lose more than 14 pounds to beat Neil's record-breaking weigh loss of 143 pounds in season four. Roger did it! He lost an amazing 15 pounds and another 6.41% of weight. Mark was the next one up on the scale and he lost 12 pounds, or 6.63%, and now weighs 169 pounds.

I was worried for both of the girls now because the guys had put up such huge numbers. Ali needed to lose more than 9 pounds to secure herself a spot in the finale and lose it she did. She lost a shocking 11 pounds (7.53%) for a total of 99 pounds since the beginning of the season. Now weighing 135 pounds, Alison told her that she has lost the most amount of weight of any woman ever on the show.

Kelly needed to lose more than 12 pounds to be in the finale and I really felt she wouldn't be able to do it. She proved me wrong. She lost 13 pounds and everybody was in utter shock. The guys were speechless, the girls were hugging, and Jillian was ecstatic. Her 6.81% weight loss this week kept her above the yellow line causing her and Ali both to be in the finals together. Both of the boys were below the yellow line and Roger felt sure that he'd be going home that evening.

Alison, however, pulled one final surprise out of her hat for them. She told them that this elimination would not be their decision but that it would be America's decision. Ali and Kelly didn't look too excited at this news because they'd been planning on getting rid of Roger. Roger was happy though because he felt like he had another chance to stay in the game. It was time for the boys to now go plead their case to America in the confessional and hope that America makes the right decision for them.

Both of their confessional videos were really nice (you can see them at the Biggest Loser website). Roger took a more humorous route while Mark tried tugging on America's heartstrings. Once that was done, each of them packed up, and then said goodbye to their trainers after meeting their cutouts. They then left the campus in their limos and were thrilled to be on their way home to see their families again.

We'll find out who America chose to be the third finalist in the first five minutes of the live finale and if you haven't already gone to vote, what are you waiting for? We'll also see their emotional homecomings and then the final weigh-in of the season. I can't wait to find out what everybody looks like -- including the people from earlier in the season. I would love to see Kelly win but I think Ali will be the one to pull it out and become the first female winner of the show. Who do you want to see win the big money?

You have to know how thrilled I was at the show's ending this week. I was probably just as excited as most of you were as well. It finally happened and it's permanent! Yay!

Alison informed everybody after last week's elimination ceremony that they'd be traveling to Sydney, Australia. Then she yammered on a little bit about how The Biggest Loser is an international phenomenon and goes on in over 90 countries. Blah blah blah. Now go pack your bags!

They met Bob and Jillian once in Australia and both of the trainers found out that Dan had been eliminated. Jillian was thrilled but Bob was a little disappointed. Too bad Bob! After a traditional aboriginal ceremony led by Uncle Max where Ali got a little too emotional, it was time for them to trek over to Australia's Biggest Loser mansion. I'm not kidding. That place was huge and much nicer than our U.S. version.

After working out, everybody got gussied up for a night of dinner and dancing. Was anybody else tired of hearing Ali go on and on about her arms in that dress? I'm glad that Kelly talked some sense into her. The next day, they all traveled to a local farmers market where Bob and Jillian explained to them that just because they're on vacation doesn't mean they have to be stuck with fatty hotel food. Octopus and raw oyster anyone? The biggest highlight of the day, for me, was meeting Adro from Australia's Biggest Loser season 1. He is hot!!!

For their challenge this week, they all met Alison at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Why I'm not really sure because the challenge involved them being down at ground level. They would be jumping from a boat into the harbor and having to swim 300 meters to shore. Once there, they would be biking along a marked path before running to the Aurora Place building and running up its 44 stories of stairs to the roof. The first person to reach Alison up on the roof would win a sightseeing plane ride, brunch, and a phone call to home.

Ali led throughout the swimming part of the challenge but lost her lead to Mark in the biking portion. Roger was dead last during all of it until he got to climbing those stairs where he overtook Kellly and put her in the final spot. Mark dominated the remainder of the competition but showed a little heart when he reached the top of the building. He actually sat down and waited for Ali to join him (she'd only been a couple of flights of stairs behind him) and he asked her to carry him over the finish line. Because both of them tied for first they would both be enjoying the reward. Jay came in third and Roger came in fourth place and at that point everybody was just waiting on Kelly. They went down to help egg her on and she eventually finished in last place.

The trainers were a little worried about the weigh-in since their teams hadn't got much in in the way of workouts. Bob was rightfully anxious about it because his boys Jay and Mark both gained a pound. Everybody else lost at least one pound (Ali won the weigh-in with 3 pounds) so it put the brothers in blue below the yellow line. One of them would be going home. Yippeee!

Jay fell on the sword for Mark this week and asked everybody to vote him out. After much boo-hooing, Jay was sent packing where he's now lost a total of 100 pounds since starting the show.

One one more show left before the live finale! Who do you want to win the $250,000? How happy were you to see one of the brothers go home this week? I really hope both of the gals can stick it out one more week and make the finale. I'm crossing my fingers that Mark goes home next. And what do you think about America deciding the third and final player in the finale? The contestants were certainly shocked when they were told about it weren't they?