Season 11 of The Biggest Loser is sure to bring a great bunch of contestants, new inspiring stories, and crazy twists and changes in the game. Brand new to the ranch are 22 contestants, which consists of 11 teams of family members. We meet a former Olympian, Rulon Gardner, a 21-year-old girl who has lost over 100 pounds already and still has a lot more to go, Courtney Crozier, and the biggest contestant ever, Arthur Wornum, weighing in at over 500 pounds and standing only 5’8″.
The contestants walk into the gym to meet with Alison Sweeney and to meet the two trainers that make The Biggest Loser, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. They immediately have their first weigh in to reveal their starting weights. Soon after, Alison tells the contestants that they will immediately have their first challenge. She explains that each team must complete a 5k by way of a manual treadmill. Doesn’t sound so terrible until they learn of a twist that can and will change the entire game: In the order that each team completes the race, they will have the ability to choose to train with Bob and Jillian, or with two unknown trainers.
Obviously every contestant there wants to train with Bob and Jillian, but when Alison tells each of them that should they choose to train with the unknowns, they will automatically receive 4 weeks of immunity, which is the best prize the game has ever offered. Six teams will be placed with Bob and Jillian, and five teams will train with the unknowns.
When the challenge ends, the yellow team surprises everyone with an unbelievable win. Soon after the gray team, aqua team, green team, and others finish. The teams choose their trainers as follows: Bob and Jillian will be training Aqua, Green, Purple, Orange, Blue, and Black at the ranch, and the Unknowns will be training Yellow, Gray, Brown, Pink, and Red at The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge in Malibu, California. With the trainers in order, all of the contestants complete their first brutal workout at both campuses, and experience what life is really like as a Biggest Loser contestant. We witness crying, screaming, puking, fainting, falls, and more – everything you would expect when watching these grueling workouts.
The teams training with the unknown trainers weigh in losing incredible numbers. As a team, yellow loses the highest percentage of weight with a combined loss of 59 pounds. But single-handedly, Moses from the gray team loses an unbelievable 41 pounds in just 1 week, which is a record weight loss. Bob’s and Jillian’s teams start their weigh-in, all losing impressive numbers. The green team finishes on top, losing a combined 46 pounds, and unfortunately for the orange team they lose only 22 pounds which puts them below the yellow line. With the rest of the contestants choosing to send home either mother Ana or daughter Irene, they choose to keep Irene and send Ana home per her wishes to keep her daughter on the ranch.
What will next week bring? Make sure to tune in on Tuesday night at 8/7c on NBC!
Who Will the New Trainers Be? Our guesses are Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronova.
Recaps sponsored by The Biggest Loser Resort.
Special thanks to Amanda Arlauskas for providing this week’s recap!