“The Biggest Loser Couples” season 9 started with the couples weighing in, but instead of weighing in on the ranch, in front of their competitors, contestants revealed their weights in front of family, friends and neighbors.
- Daris: 346 pounds
- Cheryl: 227 pounds
- Patti: 243 pounds
- Stephanie: 264 pounds
- John: 484 pounds
- James: 485 pounds
- Ashley: 374 pounds
- Sherry: 218 pounds
- Andrea: 298 pounds
- Darrell: 413 pounds
- Victoria: 358 pounds
- Cherita: 277 pounds
- Miggy: 240 pounds
- Migdalia: 265 pounds
- Melissa: 233 pounds
- Lance: 365 pounds
- Koli: 403 pounds
- Sam: 372 pounds
- Sunshine: 275 pounds
- O’Neal: 389 pounds
- Maria: 281 pounds
- Michael (Mike): 526 pounds
After couples weighed in, they headed to the ranch where Alison greeted them. Everyone was raring to go, so Alison led them to the gym.
Earning the right to compete
Once inside, they were surprised to discover an empty gym. Then the curtains opened to reveal 22 bicycles! Alison told each contestant they had to ride 22.6 miles for their first challenge. It was no surprise that the first challenge would be tough for the couples, but the thing that hit them the hardest was when Alison announced that only nine couples would earn a spot in the house.
Naturally, their mouths dropped open, but when Alison told them the winning couple would receive immunity, it brought a small smile back to some of their faces.
Knowing they had to do their best to guarantee a place on the ranch, they began pedaling as fast as their legs would allow. Halfway through, the couples started feeling the pain but pedaled through it. The green team finished first, followed by the gray team, and then the black and orange team fulfilled their 22.6 miles.
Stopping before her time
“I’ve had two children and I’ve never felt excruciating pain like that,” Cherita said, slowing down. “I don’t care what I have to do. I’m fighting for my life. I cannot give up,” she continued when Dr. H approached her.
Even though Cherita was determined to finish the challenge, her stomach cramps worsened. Her daughter, Victoria, told her to stop and ensured her mom she could finish the challenge on her own. Cherita refused to give up, so Dr. H ordered her to stop.
“No, I can’t stop. I cannot stop,” Cherita cried out in pain.
Against Cherita’s will, Dr. H and another gentleman from the “Biggest Loser” medical team lifted her off the bike.
The pink team finished in fifth place, followed by the red team, and then the brown and white teams. Only one more team would move on, and it was between the purple, blue and yellow teams. Unfortunately, the blue and yellow team finished in the bottom two, which resulted in them being asked to leave the ranch immediately. Their hopes of becoming “The Biggest Loser” were crushed!
An at-home challenge
As the yellow and blue teams got into the limos, they hugged one another and cried. Each of them wondered if they’d be able to lose the weight at home, without Bob and Jillian’s help. But soon their limos skidded to a stop, and the contestants’ tears turned to cries of joy when Bob and Jillian opened their doors.
Bob and Jillian wasted no time in letting O’Neal, Sunshine, Victoria and Cherita in on a secret: their journey wasn’t over yet! The trainers explained to both teams that they would go home for 30 days. Then they’d return to “The Biggest Loser” ranch where the two teams would face off, and the team with the highest percentage of weight loss would be able to rejoin the competition. In addition, Bob and Jillian would be there to help them.
A dubious record
Back at the ranch, the “Biggest Loser” couples were sleeping, but the sound of the fire alarm — which Bob and Jillian pulled — woke them. Instead of rushing out of their rooms to safety, the couples knew it had to be something other than a fire, so they slowly made their way outside where Bob and Jillian were waiting. As soon as Bob saw the contestants he’d be working with this season he said, “We have got to have the biggest group I’ve ever seen.”
“The cast just gets bigger and bigger every year, and it’s not a good thing,” Jillian added.
Fired up and ready to go, the “Biggest Loser” couples headed to the gym for their first workout of the season, but seconds after the workout began, pretty much all of the contestants were throwing up. Some hung out the windows while others made their way outside the gym doors.
“We hadn’t even done anything yet,” Jillian commented through laughter.
It was back to the exercise equipment to try again, but before they started, Jillian stressed how important it was to keep hydrated by drinking water during their workouts.
With water bottles in hand, the workouts began. Jillian joined Cheryl at the treadmill. She told Cheryl she knew she was the one who puts everyone else’s needs before her own. Cheryl informed Jillian that she was right, and Jillian asked Cheryl if she was ready to change. When Cheryl didn’t respond, Jillian screamed,” Are you ready or not!”
“I’m ready!” Cheryl screamed back.
“Say it like you mean it!” Jillian demanded.
“I’m ready,” Cheryl replied with more force.
“Yeah?”
“Yes!”
“That’s better. I believe you. Now get off the treadmill,” Jillian smiled as she placed Cheryl in boxing gloves, and Cheryl put her whole heart into punching the crap out of the punching bag that lay on the floor.
“Cheryl’s a bad a**,” Jillian commented.
“D***!” Bob commented as he watched Cheryl.
When Cheryl screamed through her pain, Bob screamed too.
“Somebody wound up that mama and let her just spin like a top up in this gym,” Bob said, looking like an excited kid who got just what he wanted for Christmas.
Sharing stories and workouts
After what appeared to be a successful workout, the “Biggest Loser” couples gathered in the living room to introduce themselves and share their heartbreaking stories of being picked last, not experiencing the love they so desperately want or fearing their weights were going to send them to their graves too soon.
Later, it was back to the gym for a last chance workout. Bob had some of the couples working out in the gym, and Jillian had the others outside. A sudden leg cramp slowed Darrell down, but he fought the pain and completed what he’d started.
The biggest weigh-in
At the “Biggest Loser” couples’ first weigh-in on the ranch, Alison told Mike he’s the first contestant to weigh in at over 500 pounds. When Alison asked Bob what it was like to work with a contestant who weighed over 500 pounds, Bob said it’s daunting, because he and Jillian have some of the biggest contestants they’ve ever had.
Then Alison told James and John that together they’re only 31 pounds away from being half a ton; therefore, they’re the biggest team to ever be on “The Biggest Loser” ranch.
After Alison brought the couples back to the reality of the situation, she began the weigh-in with the team that won immunity.
- Migdalia lost 16 pounds, and Miggy lost 13 pounds. The green team lost a combined total of 29 pounds (5.74 percent).
- Sam lost 18 pounds, and Koli lost 29 pounds. The gray team lost a combined total of 47 pounds (6.06 percent).
- Cheryl lost 14 pounds, and Doris lost 29 pounds. The orange team lost a combined total of 43 pounds (7.5 percent).
- Andrea lost 14 pounds, and Darrell lost 30 pounds. The black team lost a combined total of 44 pounds (6.19 percent).
- Twin brothers James and John both lost 23 pounds, which gave the brown team a combined total of 46 pounds (4.75 percent).
- Melissa lost 19 pounds, and Lance lost 21 pounds. The red team lost a combined total of 40 pounds (6.69 percent).
- Patti became the female with the biggest loss in week one, with her 23-pound weight loss. Stephanie lost 18 pounds. The purple team lost a combined total of 41 pounds (8.09 percent).
- Ashley lost 21 pounds, and Sherry lost 17 pounds. The pink team lost a combined total of 38 pounds (6.42 percent).
- Maria lost 13 pounds, and Mike set a new record for losing more weight in a week than any “Biggest Loser” contestant with his 34-pound weight loss. The white team lost a combined total of 47 pounds (5.82 percent).
Unfortunately, John and James fell below the yellow line. John and James’s fellow competitors knew it would be hard to break up the twins, but they had to, and in the end, they chose to send James home.
Update: James reported that he’d lost 100 pounds in two months by working out at a local gym and no longer eating out.
(By Misti Sandefur for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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Catching up on the new season of “The Biggest Loser” (Couples Season 9 Premiere)