Friday
The kids have all returned from a brief holiday respite at their respective homes. We have all been wagering on which contestants would return reinvigorated and ready to rock and which ones would take a while to shake off the holiday sluggishness. To our delight (and admiration), every last contestant is glad to be back and ready to go. Bob and Jillian wasted no time in kicking the living crap out of them. It’s interesting to picture the trainers during the holidays, enjoying festive meals and chatting with family and friends…all the while plotting new devices of life-changing pain and hope for their contestants.

Saturday
Challenge day and it looks like it’s Black team again! That’s three challenges in a row…not an easy accomplishment with so many determined competitors. Every production has glitches and The Biggest Loser is no exception. Due to some technical difficulties, the night challenge went long and became truly challenging for the kids. A “jump and duck”-style physical test – it was all about timing and keeping up a steady pattern despite time and cold weather. Mark and Jay (the seemingly obvious choices to take the prize – at least that’s what we thought) were undone by timing – thus the Black team’s victory.

Sunday
Bernie fell on his butt today during an intense workout. He fell HARD. Maggie is in a particularly bad mood. Dan is becoming edgy and aggressive. Everyone else is at varying states of agitation and frustration. Sometimes it just goes that way. Workout after workout after workout with only production to break the monotony and pain – sometimes the kids forget the really fun times they have here as well. We don’t blame them. There isn’t a single casting person who could keep up with the grind they are going though. They’ll get over it. They’ll persevere and find their happy strides again. They always do.

Monday
With the New Year soon approaching, the contestants are reinvigorated and pretty peppy all around. Kelly seems particularly set on completely changing her life once and for all. She and Paul have worked through their usual troubles together and come out strong. Spin bike classes, hiking at Runyon Canyon, boot camps and more – today has been a hard workout day with the trainers. Everyone is eager to turn in early in order to have the energy to do it all again tomorrow and still find some time to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Tuesday
Right on the heels of all the determination yesterday, we have noticed a sudden spike in stress and rifts between certain contestants. There’s always increased drama before a weigh-in, but it seems particularly harsh today. Perhaps part of it is due to the holiday and the realization that whoever is eliminated tomorrow will go home with the start of the New Year. It must be hard to consider packing up and going home on a day when people are vowing to change their lives and making resolutions to stay healthy. Bernie and Paul had a little verbal sparring – no real reason…just nerves. Kelly is starting to wonder whether she wants to be here anymore. She is convinced that either she or Paul will be leaving tomorrow.

Wednesday
It looks like Kelly’s prediction came true. The Black Team fell under tonight and elected to send Paul home. Paul was…not happy. The eccentricities that make him such an amazing, dynamic contestant have also served to amp up his emotions in regards to the elimination. He feels slightly cheated and hurt, but we’re pretty sure he’s sharp enough to realize that everyone feels that way to a certain extent when they are eliminated. More often than not it’s not an issue of being cheated – it’s just game play. On the ride away from campus, Paul regained his focus and decided he would actually be much better off working from home. By the end of the night, he was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend again and starting a new regiment…one where pesky casting people don’t wake him up at 6am for medical tests and weigh-ins! Here’s to success at home, Paul!

Thursday
Really the only thing to say today is: “Vegas, baby!” That’s pretty much the word on every lip. Jay’s prize for being this week’s biggest loser is a trip to Sin City for the entire Blue team. Needless to say…they are jazzed. Bur of course Mark is fretting about how the trip could derail them at the next weigh-in. Ever the competitor, that Mark.