Last week, the Red and Black Teams got a shock when Bob and Dolvett were told that, for one week only, they would be training each other’s teams. Coming off the massive numbers from the previous week, a letdown was inevitable, and the five ladies of the Black Team, under the gun now that they don’t have the big weight-droppers on their team now that Chism’s gone home, put up horrible numbers. The Red Team elected to send home Cassandra, who was not only the biggest loser on the Black Team thus far but had also attempted to get an all-female alliance going, which irked the remaining men. Not smart.
This week’s excuse du jour: “I don’t believe in myself.” Well, from now on, the season is all about selves, because the Red and Black Teams are officially disbanded, with every competitor standing alone. Though the contestants originally came in as duos, they are now singles, accountable only to themselves. The only two-team duos that are still intact are Green (Jeremy and Conda), Purple (Kimmy and Megan) and Pink (Kim and Emily, who were actually total strangers going in and who, now, ironically, now seem to be each other’s only remaining friends in the house).
This week’s challenge was pretty cool: at a local indoor rink, the contestants we tethered together with a button several yards in front of each one of them. To win, one simply had to drag the other seven far enough to push the button. The order in which the buttons were pressed were then reversed as choosers for the equivalent of a white elephant gift exchange, with the winner getting the pick of the litter. Conda helped Jeremy to a first place win, followed by Megan, Mark, Conda, Christine, Kim, Kimmy and Emily. (Buddy was not cleared to participate.) It’s worth noting that everyone seems to have notably bonded together to exclude Kim and Emily.
Most of the prizes were fairly innocuous (Biggest Loser ballcap, autographed photo of Alison, a box of chocolates, a $1 bill, a pet goldfish, shopping spree with a celebrity, cell phone for a day), but there were two that were worth noting: a one-pound advantage (which went to Megan) and an extra vote at elimination (which went to Mark). Jeremy dutifully gave the shopping spree to his sister Conda. Sweet guy.
This week focused a lot on Emily, who remained plagued with self-doubt despite her progress. Thankfully, Gentle Bob knows just how to coax self-confidence out of even the most stubborn of foes. Bob got Emily to actually school him on the dos and don’ts of Olympic weightlifting, which was pretty cool.
Turns out the celebrity was the previously-advertised Jessica Simpson, who was apparently there to plug her new show Fashion Star, whose premiere aired immediately following this episode. Conda and fellow single mom Kim were in hog heaven trying on chic new clothes, some of which they got to keep, which was nice. And they really do look terrific in the clothes they tried on. Still don’t like them, though.
We also got to spend a little time getting to know Kimmy a little better. Turns out she grew up in a family led by a schizophrenic mother, who plied her kids with food constantly, and it affected Kimmy to the point where she couldn’t imagine a refrigerator or pantry that wasn’t always full. Having spent most of her life taking care of others, Dolvett convinced her that it was finaly time to tend to her own needs, and Kimmy started this by conquering her fear of heights, by climbing a 40-foot vertical rock wall. Way to go, Kimmy!
Here’s how the weigh-in went:
Mark - lost 9 pounds (-87 total), -4.23%, now stands at 204.
Christine - lost 7 pounds (-63 total), -3.80%, now stands at 177.
Megan - lost 6 pounds (+1) (-61 total), -3.43%, now stands at 198.
Kim - lost 6 pounds (-76 total), -3.30%, now stands at 188.
Jeremy - lost 9 pounds (-116 total), -3.19%, now stands at 273.
Conda - lost 7 pounds (-73 total), -3.07%, now stands at 221.
Buddy - lost 8 pounds (-122 total), -2.77%, now stands at 281.
Below the Yellow Line:
Emily - lost 5 pounds (-74 total), -2.56%, now stands at 190.
Kimmy - lost 4 pounds (-56 total), -2.40%, now stands at 167.
Kudos. To Mark, for dropping the week’s highest percentage despite the fact that his journey looks to be nearly complete. To Megan, for dropping below 200 and entering “One-derland”.
Elimination. If this week’s elimination had been based on merit, Kimmy would have gone home, hands down. Emily had consistently shown a drive to excel, while Kimmy has wavered on numerous occasions. Disappointingly, it was indeed Emily who was sent packing. Such a shame, she’s a real trooper.
Standings. Fortunately, one of those people is Buddy, and I have to believe that this season is his to lose at this point. He leads the pack with 30.27%, and given that he’s still got a ways to go, there’s no reason he shouldn’t pull it off. Kim (30.16%) and Mark (29.90%) are still close behind, but they are much closer to their ideal weights than Buddy is. About the only person with a snowball’s chance at catching Buddy is Jeremy (29.82%) who, even though he has dropped 116 pounds, still has a BMI of over 40, which means he has even more weight to potentially drop than Buddy does. Plus, Buddy’s injuries might be an issue in future weeks.
Update: In the weeks since leaving the Ranch, Emily has dropped another 16 pounds, to bring her total weight lost to an impressive 90 pounds. In addition to making the necessary lifestyle changes, she has decided to pursue her passion for singing, and has enlisted former contestant and operatic diva Olivia to help her do it. And holy crap, people, Emily’s got some pipes!
Next week’s highlights were not shown, so I guess it’ll all be a surprise. See you in seven!
