- The contestants will compete in a challenge and then get to make a game-changing decision in the order in which they finished. Host Alison Sweeney will offer the eleven family and friend teams of two the unprecedented opportunity to choose whether to work out with trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels at the ranch - or work out at a secret location with two unknown trainers, whose identities will initially remain a mystery. If the contestants choose the new trainers, whom they know nothing about, they'll receive four weeks of immunity. If they choose to stay at the ranch and be trained by Bob and Jillian, they're at risk of going home after just one week.—NBC Publicity
- This season's twenty-two contestants - eleven sets of couples - are brought onto the ranch, where they weigh-in for the first time. Bob and Jillian are still amazed that after ten seasons of the show that there are still so many people who have not got the message of living healthily. Two firsts among this set of contestants are one who is deemed the heaviest ever on the show in proportion to height (he who lost 140 pounds already from his heaviest weight), while another is an Olympic gold medalist. As the contestants see their starting weight, they discuss the issues which have brought them to the ranch. Instead of going for their first workout immediately following, the contestants learn that they will participate in their first challenge - a 5 kilometer run per team - the outcome which will determine which six teams will stay on the ranch to train with Bob and Jillian, and which five teams will go to an undisclosed location to train with two other unnamed trainers new to the show. There is a major incentive to train with the unknowns. As the six teams train with Bob and Jillian, who don't understand why anyone would have passed up the incentive, some of those teams in turn don't understand how any trainers can be better than Bob and Jillian. The remaining five teams also believe their workouts will yield as good if not better results than those on the ranch. Before weighing in for the first elimination weigh-in, the on-ranch contestants are given a general overview of how the off-ranch contestants performed. The elimination is an emotional one, where both team members up for elimination asks for the other to stay.—Huggo
- After a mini-preview of the season we officially open with the couples arriving at the ranch. As they arrive we are introduced to a few of their stories.
The Purple team includes opera singer named Olivia. Gray's Moses says his family has a history of obesity related death and at 47 is approaching the age when that usually happens. Black team is twin brothers Don and Dan who happen to be police officers.
The couples arrive at the ranch gym where Alison is waiting for them. We ar introduced to a few more contestants, including fomer Olympic wrestling gold medalist Rulon. Alison brings out Bob and Jillian and the gang is taken to the scale room where we will have an initial weigh-in.
Within the weigh-in we see clips of the teams, starting with the father-son Brown team. Brown starts off at 773, with 396 coming from 21-year old Austin. The Mother-daughter Aqua team is next and we see that 22-year old Courtney has already lost more than 100 pounds just to get on the show. Their total is 561, 323 of which is from Courtney.
The mother-daughter Orange team is a combined 510, with each the same 255. Husband-wife Red team comes in at a total of 738 and mother-daughter Pink is at 517. The Pink mother Deni blames herself and we learn that Sarah has had difficulty keeping pregnancies because of her weight.
Blue team takes the stage at a staggering 800 pounds. 34-year old son Arthur is responsible for 507 of those pounds and while on stage he tells us he recently was over 600 pounds. Because of his stature Bob tells us Arthur is the largest contestant in show history. The father-daughter Green team is at 678, 400 coming from father Jay.
The Purple team will start at 509 pounds. Gray is at 673 and father Moses talks about being Tongan and pledges to improve on some of performances of past Tongan men. Blue team comes in at 596 and both have sad stories about their children. Rulon comes in at 474 of the Yellow team's 839 pounds. Bob tells Alison it's not surprising this could happen to a Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist and world champion. Rulon's partner Justin is emotional talking about his family.
Afterwards Alison tells them there won't be a workout that night, but rather the teams will engage in their first challenge. Despite contestant fears the challenge turns out not to be for elimination. It turns out that the challenge will determine trainers. The twist is that some teams will be trained by Bob and Jillian, while others will work out with the show's two new trainers, shown only in silhouette.
Six teams will work Bob and Jillian while five will train with the mystery trainers. But there is another twist: The five teams that pick the new trainers get four weeks of immunity. The teams working with Bob and Jillian will be up for elimination after the first week. The challenge is each team must combine to finish a 5K on a treadmill, trading off however they see fit. The finishing order will determine trainer picks.
The Yellow and Gray teams hold the lead pretty much from the beginning, with Aqua hanging around in third. Ultimately Yellow hold off Gray for the win. The only other interesting battle is Blue edging Black for next-to-last.
Time to pick trainers. Yellow picks the new trainers/immunity, as does Gray. The Aqua team goes with Bob and Jillian, citing the challenge of the veterans. Green also picks Bob and Jillian. Brown goes with immunity. The Purple team picks Bob and Jillian. The Pink team selects the new trainers, as does the Red team. That means the final three teams (Orange, Blue and Black) will be with Bob and Jillian.
To the shock of the Aqua team Bob and Jillian seems stunned teams wouldn't automatically go with the immunity. Bob and Jillian remind them that four of them will be going home and part of their job will be to prepare them for anything. The first Bob/Jillian workout is the expected, with several folks vomiting, one person nearly person passing out and Jillian screaming despite her promise not to scream this season.
We cut to the other group, which is working out at the "Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge." Before seeing their faces we learn the male trainer has a "pre-med science background" and the female is a former boxer. The contestants look sufficiently trained and all say they feel they made the right decision. More impressive is Rulon says he never trained as hard for the Olympics as he is with the new trainers.
After the commercial we are back with the Bob/Jillian teams (still without seeing what our new trainers look like). Arthur grabs his hamstring and falls onto the ground. Neither of the trainers are impressed and Bob takes him outside for a chat. Arthur gets weepy about his situation.
Near the end of the workout Jillian has the entire gang push a pickup truck around the ranch.
After a full week on the ranch Alison greets our Bob/Jillian teams in the weigh-in room. She tells them the other groups have just weighed-in, with top team (Yellow) having lost 59 combined pounds. She tells them Moses of team Gray lost a show record 41 pounds all by himself.
Aqua is up first for this week's weigh-in. They have lost a combined 29 pounds, with Courtney dropping 15. Blue lost a combined 38, but only seven came from a very disappointed Jesse. Green needs to have lost more than 32 pounds to be safe for another week. They are in the clear having lost 46 pounds. 26 of the pounds came from Jay. Green is in first place.
Purple has to have lost 24 pounds to be safe. They are down 32, with 16 coming from each. A concerned Orange team needs to have lost 25 pounds or more to be above the last-place Blue team. They fall just short at 22, with Ana only having lost nine pounds. This means either Orange or Black will be below the yellow line and be up for elimination
Black needs to have lost more than 25 pounds to be safe. They are well clear at a very even-lost 40 pounds. The mother-daughter Orange team is now below the yellow line and is up for elimination. We don't get to see Ana and Irene's (daughter) pleas but as always the mother's wishes are honored in a 3-1 vote and Ana is sent home so her daughter can stay.
We are shown that Ana is down another 41 pounds since leaving the show.
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