The Biggest WINNER!!!

Olivia Wins! Olivia Wins! Olivia Wins! Woo Hoo!


Can you tell I'm excited about that?  Tuesday night's Biggest Loser Couples Finale was  A. MAY. ZING!!  Of course, I might be a little biased since I'm a girl and the girls KICKED BUTT this season!  It was the most incredible and inspirational season of The Biggest Loser yet.  I was glued to the television every Tuesday night and never missed an episode the entire season!  Watching the contestants work so hard always inspired me in my own weight loss journey and I often worked out while watching the show.

There were many surprises this season starting off with two new trainers in addition to Bob and Jillian.  The contestants got to go on an amazing trip to New Zealand.  This was also the longest season in the history of the show. Then there was the whole thing with Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner walking off the Ranch.

My favorite moment was when Olivia, who is a professional opera singer, sang on the scale after losing 100 pounds.  She had made it her goal to sing on the show when she reached 100 pounds lost and she sang beautifully.  It brought tears to my eyes.  It was very emotional not only because her singing was so beautiful and because she'd lost 100 pounds but also because she sang an aria for a part she desperately longed to play on stage.  Olivia had always been limited to "fat parts" in operas because of her size.  She had always wanted to play the lead roles, the fiery vixens who get all the accolades.  But she was always limited in what roles she could play because of her weight.  So when she sang a song, from a lead role that she was now more likely to get,  it was an extremely touching moment.

Olivia was so inspirational to me this season.  She had so much drive and determination.  She was always so spunky and positive.  She never gave up and she never let anything get in her way.  I was so proud that she ended up winning and representing all of us women who struggle with our weight.  She was only the 4th woman to win the show out of 12 seasons.  She and her sister, Hannah, were also the very first sisters to make it together all the way to the finale.  Irene, who was the Biggest Loser on campus and the first woman this season to lose 100 pounds on the Ranch, rounded out the Top 3 finalists, making this the first year that was all female finalists!  And to top it off, the At Home winner was also a gal-- Dani!!  You go girls!!  Girl Power!  (Sorry guys-- no disrespect... it's just that it always seems to be guys that win physical challenges.  It's nice to have the ladies represent once in awhile!).

Another surprise during the finale was that there was no mention whatsoever about Rulon Gardner.  Where was he?  I knew he was disqualified from participating in the At Home challenge since he decided to leave the Ranch early, but I still figured he would make an appearance.  At the very least, I thought they would mention him but other than a brief video clip about his brother that he appeared in, it was as if he had never been on the show.  Made me wonder if there was some legal reason why he wasn't even mentioned.  An article I read online said that NBC contacted him to see if he'd like to make an appearance, but they never got a response.  Hmmm... makes you wonder how he's done with his weight loss post-show.

One of the final surprises of the finale and season in general was the announcement that professional tennis star Anna Kournikova will be replacing Jillian Michaels next fall.  There was no mention of whether the new trainers, Cara and Brett would be returning or not.  The same article I mentioned previously suggested that they would not be returning.  I think that's too bad.  I really liked them and thought they brought a really interesting dynamic to the show.  We'll have to see how it goes with Anna.

Should make for another very interesting season of The Biggest Loser.  Looking forward to it!