totally unexpected and redeeming : biggest loser finale

if you are like me, you have been watching what i would say was the best season of biggest loser to date.



the contestants had a little something special about them this time around that is hard to avoid. they have a realness about them. they weren't there to play games, but they all played to win. and they were amazing to watch.

the purple team was one of my favorites from the beginning. hannah is hilarious and spitfires every funny thought that comes to her, and olivia was obviously cut from the same cloth. they both continued to lose weight each week, in odds that were not always in their favor. {then of course they had each other to help ensure the votes were always in their favor.}

olivia was fun to watch because of her story. her husband lost over 113 pounds at home while she lost almost the same. they both looked amazing and it is obvious that they are so much happier to be healthy and feel so great. even better that they have done it together.

highlights:

deni - what?! she killed it!  biggest at-home winner and she deserved every penny. she was so so skinny and obviously did what she needed to at home. i loved that the moment she won, the other contestants swarmed in to hug and congratulate her. see what i mean? the love!

justin - looked ridiculously incredible. he was only 3 lbs away from winning the at-home, and though i am glad it was deni to take it, i was so proud of that guy. he really grew on me and he will do great things.

sarah - seriously? she doesn't even look like the same person!! she was so hot!  so proud of them to get so far on their own.

the mustache twins - holy cow!  maybe its just cause they were on the ranch a short time {comparatively} but they looked like they just walked out of fat suits. tini tini. so proud of these guys- again, they said that they could do better at home- and they sure did.

and jen. need i say more?

at the end of the day, only one of the bite-sized purple sisters could win.
i didn't even care which one!

congrats, olivia. 

bring it on, season 12. i'm ready.

and totally inspired.

anyone else crazy inspired by the color purple?

i am. 

you go girls, i hope one of you takes it all.

{finale is next week.... in case you forgot...}

and then there were four - {BL/90-challenge update}

biggest loser is getting hardcore in the last 2 episodes.
i have to admit, as much as i love jay, i wished we could have seen chia pet {2} to the end. 

there is something about those young four that has been so fun to watch. i am especially happy for the girls to be in the final 4.
i {freakin} love the purple girls, and irene has been at the top since the beginning, so if she didn’t get there – i was going to go full out into my ugly cry. 
and you don’t want to see that.

and, for those who watch, i am happy to see olivia stand up to the “show” of it. she won $10,000 earlier in the week and then was given the chance to trade it for a 1-lb advantage.
she was getting crap for taking the money she earned and still lost 5 lbs!!  eat that.


finale party at my house next week!

{and of course, we watch the voice shortly thereafter…
have to stay up on the battle rounds. man, i love that show.}


90-day challenge update:

we are on day 15 of 90 day challenge today and we are starting to get into the swing of it.

p90x is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you,
but i am not sore anymore and feeling stronger every day.

the workouts are tough, but you can start small. the first workout is just pushups and pullups, but you can use bands and do less reps than they do.  you just set goals and outdo yourself…etc.  we are not following the p90x diet completely but we are definitely eating close to it and eating way healthier.
{i didn't want to jump straight into crazy diet mode anyway for breastfeeding purposes}

results after week one:

chris: 1.5lbs

meg: 0

after week two:
chris:0

meg: 2.5lbs!

what we are eating:

breakfast:
oatmeal/7-grain with agave

mid-morning:
1/2 protein bar- i like zone or clif bars, myself. some of them are barftastic though.

lunch:
either a salad/leftovers or a lean cuisine panini - so good and only 300ish cals

mid-afternoon:
1/2 protein bar

dinner:
some lean meat with steamed veggies.
{we went all out on saturday night and made artichoke. woops.}

{and i don't plan to be too crazy - cause last night we had a honey baked ham.... well, it had to go sometime, right?}

we have only had night so far that we didn’t make it to the work out.
we realized that to have 100% with a newborn is probably a bit unrealistic,
so we decided that we will have up to no more than 5 off days in the whole program.
that way we don’t feel awful on nights like that night when B was ticked at life.
i hope we don't use them all...

so far so good.

biggest loser fairytale - curtesy of tim gunn

makeover week.

if you are a true BL fan, you know it is the best episode of reality tv.
save maybe the finale of the bachelor.

there is nothing like watching a huge transformation of these biggest losers. they start out fat, unhealthy, unhappy, and after hours and hours of work in the gym and learning to eat like skinny people, they finally get to look and feel like them.

the skinny on the skinny:

blonde. maybe not a good idea for hannah {or maybe it is just the style and/or bangs that are too much}, and the dress was only good waist-down, but she looked incredible none-the-less. i love these sisters. they crack me up and they are looking so amazing! its hard to believe they can even lose more weight! it was so fun to watch hannah's reunion with her dad. the father-daughter moment was priceless. she obviously felt like a million bucks. which, in my opinion, is even more important than the makeover.

olivia was spot on and definitely our favorite of the night- great hair, great dress, and a reunion with her newly tightened up husband? yes please. i wanted that moment in liquid form- it was blissful. i love this gown on her, and i loved her hair even more later when she re-did it herself. so cute.



irene was a great transformation.
her j-lo hair and great dress upped her girlyness that she needed to go with her new body.

we loved the dress too- the wrap waist was really pretty perf on her.

and i am so excited that irene won a car, but i will admit i was a little sad she decided to give it to her mom. this girl has flown under the radar the entire season. in fact, we joke every time she is on, "who is that? what is her name again?" she has just been steadily losing weight and been on top every week, she deserved a break! but ok ok, i get the giving...

austin good have gone with a little less hair for me, and jay looked pretty great. its amazing what a shave and some hair color can do for a guy... both of these were fun reunions with family too. i have to admit, this is the best part for me. i can imagine finally seeing family after something like this. big stuff.


and what was tim gunn's big surprise at the end of the show: no one went home!!
thanks, rulon. {well, they had to stay on schedule, right?}

biggest loser dropout...

really, rulon?

i knew it would be him.

they were making a hype about someone walking out, drama drama...

i hope it was because he realized the pressure that this season was created for him

and loosely based on his success.

now, producers made a bold move to bring back tara 

{from a former season} to challenge rulon.

that never should have happened, i agree.

 

 

tara won the challenge and rulon was rightly ticked about it,

in fact, i am positive the producers thought he would win 

and it would help their michievious plan...

 

but the bottom line:

when you get on the biggest loser, you stay on the biggest loser.

i never understand the people that want to go home. i don't.

i get that you might be homesick, or you might take a hit to let someone you love stay there,

but those that think they can handle the mess at home and choose to,

without taking the full advantage of life on the ranch...

that just doesn't seem all to practical for those in the business of losing weight.

even if he is just ticked...

now, obviously we don't know the circumstances for rulon's dramatic exit.

he says it is some kind of "personal reason" and that's just fine.

but i hope it is a reason worth losing a spot on that show

and even better would be if he loses a ton more weight and sticks it to everyone...

kaylee is gone too, which, i am pretty relieved about.

as much as i like her, i hate seeing other players go home because she was rocky.

not cool.

plus, she looks great and has a much brighter look on life now that she is home and has a cute little show-mance goin on...

anyway,

now that the voice turned out to be even radder than advertised,

and this next episode of biggest loser is the best of the season 

{makeover week!}

may 3rd, plan to party at my house.

well, at least party at yours...

are you watching closely?

who is ready for the voice?

can we talk briefly about how much i have craved a show just like this.
the reason viewers are getting in to american idol more this year is because -
a) the judges are way cooler. b) there was some pretty good talent

having great judges that give real criticism to the singers is what makes it a real journey for them. they have room to improve and become something, rather than just knock a brittish guy's socks off or die. and it is just more positive. who wasn't getting sick of the feigned interest of the judges of idol past. and what was worse? they weren't singers!!

the past view weeks of idol have proved why it is such a frustrating show to watch.
america votes and send the best home, every time. (tears for pia and steffano- our favorites.)


the voice, takes the great judges idea, turns them into coaches, and suddenly the competition is like american idol meets celebrity apprentice. 

you can be fat, old, bearded, or just crazy wierd, but if you have a voice. you're in.
i love that idea more than anything.

an then, some of the best artists will take the singers
and help turn them into sangers.

nbc's the voice is tonight 9/8c

set your tivo or be sad you didn't.

man, tuesdays are going to be big around here now- 

the voice AND biggest loser?!

better watch that too, chia pet #2 is about to get the makeover of his life. 

oh what would we do without the good reality tv shows?

we would be forever stuck watching all those other ones... or housewives...

dear, biggest loser, i want to go to there...

so, i don't know when we decided to take BL to different countries and drop them off towers...

but i want in. i wouldn't sky dive, but i think i would be down for this...

and even more down for this...

i am craving healthy me over here, and BL, you aren't helping!

and dear moses, you were one of my favorites. 

i am sad to see you go. 

we all knew moses would have to eventually fall on the sword for the girls, 

and when it came down to a girl who wants to have kids or moses, 

it was obvious what he was going to do.

but i think it was a fighter and so fun to watch.  

it is nice to have real people with real heart on this show and this season is full of them.  

it will probably be disappointing for many of the weeks to come i fear. 

and what a tease, 

they will be bringing back brett {the trainer} next week.  

of course, cause they couldn't possibly say goodbye to bob or jillian...

problem solved. sheesh. 

too bad he missed this week of fun in new zealand though.

better watch next week- its going to be fierce i can tell.

yep, just used the word fierce.

biggest loser: i am in mourning

here is something that we never thought would happen...

now, i think this is another one of those times when the "game" got the best of the show...

courtney was never meant to leave the show this early, and especially not like this.
there were many players that needed to go home in front of her and had a bad weigh-in.  courtney worked harder than all of them combined, and was just unlucky. because she was the only one on her team, if she didn't beat their weight, she had to leave. 
it's not fair, she still has so far to go...

i have watched the past 5 or so seasons religiously and i have never seen a good-bye this heartbreaking and it was even more so for the rest of the cast.
the trainers were ticked, and rightfully so.

the extra stab: brett was sent home too {since his team is now gone}. rude.
and what makes it even worse {besides the fact that he might be my favorite trainer}
is that starting next week, the cast is on their way to new zealand!!  rude.

but courtney, no one has ever had this much fight from day one.
no one has been this focused mentally that the trainers had nothing to "break down."

she always had the right answers to the hard questions cause
she is on a mission and there is nothing that will stop her now!

i wish i had the same strength.
cc and i are getting ready to start p90x in may {after all our family comes and goes}
and we are going to make sure we dont miss a single day. again, i will need to harness my inner courtney to kick this baby weight in the pants.

courtney has lost over 200 lbs  

and she will be a force to reckon with at the finale. 

good luck girl! 

i, for one, am rooting for you all the way!

biggest loser producers: ridin the gravy train

lets be honest:
the producers of BL this season are laughin all the way to the bank.  
this is just good television. the fact that there has been over 10 different team combinations since the start of the show has proved incredibly drama-inducing as the various team members form alliances and then are forced to break them.

it has been fun to watch as the certain contestants came to lose and lose big. namely, the tongans. we sure do love our tongans and we love the spirit that they have shown on this show thus far. moses and kaylee rock the house. and yes, kaylee tried to leave last week, and failed. and learned a valuable lesson.

yes we lost a great leader on the ranch because of her blunder, but hey- the good news is, that the "team spirit" at the ranch wasn't damaged much, and it made for yet again, a disney movie-ending to another heart-wrenching ep.  

you know what is just mean, btw? lets invite a 12th team to the ranch, and give them no help or guidance for a few months while the rest of the contestants shed loads of pounds, and then have them come weigh-in just to prove how much harder it is to lose weight on your own.... and then don't let them on the ranch. rude. just rude.

lets talk courtney.
this last week she and jen were sent off campus with a budget and a "menu" of things to purchase. they chose to go without a trainer and proved that, well, that was stupid.
jen ended up in the last place, and went home. side note: she looks amazing. 

but courtney. she is the fire that could take it all the way - and she would be a great spokes-person for BL if they let her. she did half of this at home already!

the producers of this show thought that rulon the "gold medalist" would be the coattails to ride them through this season, but it so far is the brillant move toward team comradery and lots of heart. in fact, rulon is proving to be a bit of a baby at times... and lost his "leadery" attitude recently...

i don't know bout you, but this show is making me want to harness my inner courtney or moses and get off my butt. just what this show should be doing!!

now that i have some baby weight to lose, it could get interesting around here...

best. episode. ever.

is anyone else completely psyched about this season of BL?

this episode was the best!

i absolutely love that they finally put the whole lot of em on one team

and let them really get into it.

maybe i cried a lot....

if you are not watching, get on it.

biggest losers - who's your fave?

well, i do love the moms on the black team...

 and though this was amazing...

i love deni and her daughter sarah...

{deni looks amazeballs by the way}

 these guys were the champs for me last night:

kaylee and moses 

{who graduated from BYU...}

he knew this week would be hard with a red line, 

and he too wanted to save his daughter...

but instead of falling on the sword 

 and gaining weight like the parents on the other side- 

he taught her to fight even harder

he woke her up early every morning and they upped the workouts...

they both put of great numbers and were safe.

that's how its done!

my other favorite from the beginning:

courtney

she lost over 100 pounds before she even got here and hasn't wavered even for a second her her determination to crush this thing. 

she is looking great, she is positive, 

and i can only imagine how much is is helping the others there...

so, who are your favs?

dear future/BL update...

maybe i just took this little {very stupid} quiz on the BL site
to see who my trainer should be.

i do agree.

i keep thinking about how in just a few weeks,
i am going to be all up in baby fat and wanting to do something about it.

i wish i could train with the "unknowns" and lose freaking 15-16 pounds a week like nearly all of them did this week.

crazytown.

but, until them i keep dreaming about this:

seriously.

i realize that i hate working out unless i have a trainer with me to push me way farther than i will on my own, and if not that- 

i should be dancing.

like a latin.

if i still lived close to a gym, i would just go to a zumba class, because they rock.

or to calli's manic monday and let her kick my trash...

dear future,

my birthday is two months after B gets here... 

about the time that i will go crazy without a new workout regime of some kind.

please provide.

{future, if it helps, just before we moved, 

we bought cc all those P90x dvds that are still shrink-wrapped... i promise i will put mine to good use.}

pps. i would also accept a kinect with "just dance"

biggest loser 1.18.11 - PUNKED ***spoiler alert***

i titled this episode, "punked," but before i esplain,

first things first,

can we talk about how rad i think the new trainers are?

i want to learn to box and fight as my form of training... i think they are getting the far better end of the deal too cause they are learning to be "fighters" mentally and that is keeping them more focused during work-outs...

plus- how can you cheat out of a fight- if you stop fighting, you die. 

haven't you seen rocky?

{i actually haven't... don't judge.}

secondly, 

i would like to discuss how much i love the cast this season.

they are all team players {so far} and no one is crazy concerned about playing the game.

{we can talk about our favorites next week...}

the first challenge was proof of that, when the "unknowns"

just decided who would win the "balance-your-egg-on-the-back-of-a-skillet" challenge.

after it began, they counted to 3 and tossed their eggs over the wall where the "ranch" players were. leaving one player to win a 2 pound advantage.

it was awesome.

then the "ranchers" did the same with their challenge, 

 obviously meant to get some back-biting started, 

and they just decided who should have the only vote at the weigh-in and gave it to her....

also awesome.

so far, the producers have been punked

cause these players are here to lose weight and want to do it together...

they call each other out, they force each other to meet goals,

they are all rock stars...

until we hear one of the mustache twins tell us he would rather be home with his daughter...

then things get hairy...

at the weigh in- 

BOTH of the twins GAIN 9 POUNDS!!!!!

unheard of.

ridiculous.

naturally, everyone is disappointed and upset cause you really have to work at it 

to gain on the ranch.

the daughter-hungry twin went home 

and seems to be more motivated there anyway,

so i am happy for him.

but sheesh, really? 9 pounds...

 the show was punked.

now, he gets to be home where he wants, and still battle it out for the $100,000.

well played, i guess.

season 11.... bring it on...

this will be the biggest...

couples editions = the best BLs 

but seriously producers...

give us 2 new trainers for the first time in 10 seasons, and not let us know who they are?!

all we know is the big peeps stuck with them are thrashing the numbers on the ranch...

doesn't that make you curious to watch?

and those 5 couples with the "secret skinny trainers"

have 4 weeks of immunity!

i didn't think they could outdo themselves in crazy- but here we go!

biggest loser finale!! {spoiler alert}

{i know that these updates are more for my need to vent 

than your enjoyment, but nevertheless...}

first things first,

ada vs. elizabeth

{america voted}

the two girls come out and ada looks smokin hot!

elizabeth, surprisingly looks fantastic too...

an no duh, the "overwhelming winner" is ada.

{good cause elizabeth had no business in the final 4}

and everyone keeps talking about her fantastic 

family reconciliation...

and i can't help but think of how crappy they must feel to be there in the audience 

and listen to this...

the first four of the at home challengers show up, 

but the only one worth looking at is adam.

and boy is he!  

{he is the one who lost his mother to obesity}

elizabeth actually lost 70 lbs.

adam {was 400 lbs} weighs in at 220! 

{45% of himself!} 

can't wait to see mark next to this guy...

the next few at-homers come out...

lisa, who looks a-freakin-mazing,

prince, i mean sophia. ew.

what a nasty dress/hair, hon.

and brendan. who thinks he rocks!!

 "and adam, 

you look unbelievable man!"

-brendan

lisa is the only one worth watching weigh-in...

but she doesn't beat adam...

"the hair cut, 

and dying the hair did wonders for her!"

-cc

then the next few come out:

anna, who no one remembers...

{could be the awful pink fabric strapped on her body...}

jesse, looking fabulous in a vest,

and apparently that one chick from hocus pocus,

or burgandy. 

seriously, who knows what happened there...

jesse is the clear fav of this bunch,

seeing as the two chicks here didn't lose all that much...

lie. 

anna lost 109!  next to her old picture, she killed it...

"i told ya i was gonna look sexy!"

-anna

jesse needed to lose more than 166 

and you guessed it he lost 166!

then we meet:

rick, the hobbit in a tux

{hasn't worn one since his wedding day 32 yrs a go...}

aaron, the biggest man in the house, one of our favs,

he looks like he could have done it!

and jessica. 

she is as hot as we thought she would be...

rick had to lose 158 and he lost 165 lbs!!  

47% of his body weight!!

{new at-home winner...for now}

jessica dropped 92 lbs...

and aaron dropped 172...

and then they bring out the one...

mark... 

i hope he did it!!

 he is such a good-looking guy

he had to lose 198 lbs...

and he loses 213!!  

over 50% of himself!!!

yay for mark for winning the at-home and $100,000!!!

then the final three:

frado and patrick look pretty good

and we find out that patrick got himself a job!

and standing next to ada it looks like this is anyone's game...

frado lost 44%... 

which means mark would have housed him...

dag.

ada the terminater 

needed to lose 113 and she lost 99.

dang it!!

patrick is the last one... 

this is the guy to win it if one of the boys has to...

i just love his story... and though he played the game, 

he had every good reason to...

he had to lose 170 something and dropped 181!!

patrick, 

the unemployed dad of two kids, 

now in debt to everyone in his family,

just won the freakin biggest loser! 

i have to say, i am pretty proud of the guy.

good news is:

biggest loser 11 {another family edition!}

starts jan 4th, and features 2 new trainers 

{in addition to bob and jillian!}

looks like one of the best seasons yet... 

can't wait to get watching...

they're baaaaack....

as if we needed more tv to watch right now,

these two both showed up on our dvr list in the monday night line-up!

we love leverage and closer.

leverage is like watching a heist film {ocean's 11 or italian job} over and over...

which is exactly what i did with those movies... 

so much fun.

closer is kyra sedgwick all the way.

can't miss it.

and there is only 2 more episodes of the speedy show

sing off!  

set your dvr so you can watch it after you shop... 

the next 2 are going to be amazing.

and of course tonight is the 

biggest loser finale!!!

{where hopefully ada takes all!}

if you don't watch it, you can bet i will recap it for you... 

but i will give away the goods..

so watch it!

the real thing baby...

if you missed the first episode of the sing off, shame on you.

here. you can watch the whole thing...

i was a bit surprised at one of the two that were sent home, but our favorite is committed
they are like straight no chaser meets take six... tasty.  6 southern boys committed to God and music. can that be bad? no, it isn't.

i also love backbeats {i know, most of these groups have lame names...} the girl percussionist was in my major at byu and was on last season... go courtney! (short haired one)

and on the rocks that performed "bad romance" by sista gaga... it was hilarious...

you better get on the tivo right now cause the next episode is tomorrow night!  it is mondays/wednesdays and will not be on the air for long... get on that.

{the other fun part of this one is the judges: ben folds and shawn stockman (from boyz to men)- real musicians with real critiques of the music!  of course, there is a no name chick that makes the cute fluffy comments, but otherwise, the judges are the real deal!!!}

and while you are there, ya know, setting your tivo... if you forget to watch tonight's biggest loser you will not like life.  we are down to the last 4 peeps, and we all hope ada wins the thing and mark takes the at home... cause they are my favs...

and for those who have been following, are you or are you not excited that game player face brendon was red lined last week?  uh yeah- high fivin a million angels!

next tuesday is the big finale!!

{side note: cc and i realized last night as we were watchin our shows and loving our relaxin time, that this phase of life is coming to an end... i guess the good news is that there isn't usually good shows on in march... thank heaven for tivo!}