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The Biggest Loser Second Chances: Departures, Denial and the Return of Daniel
by Alison Cox
 It’s
the start of Season 8 of the Biggest Loser, the
popular NBC reality weight loss competition that
not only transforms the lives of contestants but
also, in some cases, saves players from a life
of unhealthy lifestyle choices. In a season dubbed
"Second Chances," Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper
were back as The Biggest Loser trainers to put
16 new contestants through the gruelling Biggest
Loser regimes while host Alison Sweeney returned
to The Biggest Loser stage, looking healthy and
trim after her pregnancy during Season 7. In a
season filled with second chances, there’s bound
to be someone in this group of 16 that will inspire
you to take charge of your lifestyle if you want
it bad enough.
The first challenge of The Biggest Loser premiere saw the round of 16 complete the last mile of the Season 7 marathon that contestants ran during last year’s battle for the title of The Biggest Loser. The reward for the challenge: immunity and the ability to choose their partner for their remaining time on The Biggest Loser.
Interestingly in Season 8, Daniel Lee of Season 7 returns as the 16th contestant, previously the heaviest ever in The Biggest Loser at 454 pounds, hoping to finish what he started. As the Season 8 marathon began, some walked, some ran, but all pushed forward toward finish line in the one mile challenge that saw the competitors look ahead to Dan who crossed the line in a well-deserved first place.
Determined, with legs too weak to compete effectively,
Texas homemaker, Tracey Yukich opted to crawl
the last 100 feet to the finish line, as the
other contestants gathered to help her with
the last few feet. Collapsing at the finish
line, Tracey mumbled a few incoherent words before
passing out, which made for early drama at the
outset of Season 8. Down came the paramedic
helicopter to take her away for a sobering display
of exactly where an unhealthy lifestyle can
lead.
 Both
Tracey and Coach "Mo" Dewalt of Louisville,
Kentucky, who also had a tough go of the one
mile, remained in hospital for observation while
the rest of the Biggest Loser group finally
made it to the ranch, where everyone revealed
their individual skeletons in the closet. Intriguingly,
the new Season 8 competitors come from all walks
of life under the theme of second chances, which
includes everything from family tragedy of a
widowed wife who lost both her husband and children
and a heroin addicted parent to others who have
simply packed on the pounds after marriage,
and of course, Daniel.
As the season settled into the usual premiere format, Dan picked social worker Shay Sorrells of Newport Beach as his partner since Shay is the largest of the group and felt he could relate to Shay’s early stage of competition. The first weigh in revealed that Shay, not Dan, now holds the biggest ever contestant title on The Biggest Loser, with a starting weight of 476 pounds to which Bob gasped, 'What?' However, Shay now has the perfect teammate in Dan, who’s starting Season 8 at a trimmed 312 pounds, which proves a Biggest Loser lifestyle makeover IS possible.
The first workout came and the contestants were scared, and so they should have been as the competitors will be training with BOTH Bob and Jillian throughout the season. The only thing they have to do is "do." It’s all in your head. The mental play became obvious, however, when 476 pound Shay made the conscious choice to quit when pushed by Jillian. All she had to do was another 20 seconds on the stair climber. Mind over matter. As viewers know by now, any extra second is progress and energy well spent.
With the competition on the line for one contestant, Bob and Jillian stepped in and gave Shay an extra 10 minutes to change her mind on her own. Seizing the opportunity, Shay pulled herself together and returned to the gym amid a warning from Jillian who revealed how she won’t play the victim game. Also, Coach Mo returned to the Biggest Loser competition after his low blood sugar and low blood pressure were stabilized for game shape.
 Next
came a visit from Dr. H. who told the Biggest
Loser 16, point blank, that they’re all incredibly
sick. Just how sick? Sick enough that top-notch
researches have flocked to The Biggest Loser,
eager and excited about the process of non-surgical
weight loss. The contestants underwent a battery
of tests for metabolism, nutrition, diabetes,
and more, which also included a personal survey.
Tulsa, Oklahoma youth pastor Sean Algaier was
in complete denial, as he couldn’t see the health
complications on his survey. When Dr. H. delivered
the grave news that indeed Sean has Type 2 diabetes,
denial soon turned into utter shock.
As the Season 8 premiere of The Biggest Loser reached the final weigh, the first episode results saw Shay with a loss of 17 pounds in one week while Dan shed 12 pounds in his return to The Biggest Loser. Excellent effort, as some say, spreads pride around. The next pair revealed a loss of 18 pounds for Des Moines student/nanny, Rebecca Meyer, and 6 pounds for Amanda Arlauskas, of Butler, New Jersey while Brooklyn engineer Rudy Pauls shed a whopping 28 pounds to the 8 pounds of Commerce, California custodian Dina Mercado. Antone Dove of North Carolina lost 18 pounds, while freshly Type 2 diabetes diagnosed Sean burned away 22 pounds.
As the weigh-in continued, Liz Young of Tennessee and musician Danny Cahill of Oklahoma lost 10 and 24 pounds respectively. Interestingly and certainly inspirational, Liz confessed that it once took her a year to lose 10 pounds yet she was able to accomplish it with only a week at the Biggest Loser ranch. Indiana Firefighter Allen Smith and Abby Rike of Texas were next on scales, which produced smiles all around as Allen lost 19, while Abby lost 15 pounds.
Although much progress was made during the
Season 8 premiere of The Biggest Loser, Alexandra
White of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Julio
Gomez of Algonquin, Illinois walked away from
the first week in disappointment. Alexandra
didn’t hide her frustration over the efforts
of Julio, who she felt should have lost a lot
more than her13 pounds. After all, she’s a young
woman of 20 and Julio, 400, started more than
100 pounds heavier.
Rounding out the competitors, Coach Mo had to take the lead for the purple team since Tracey remained in the hospital and didn’t make her way to the ranch. In the end, Mo lost 19 pounds to stay above the yellow line, which gave Tracey a second chance.
 When
it was all said and done after the Biggest Loser
weigh-in, the black team of Alexandra and Julio
faced elimination. Julio pleaded with the group
to let him stay since he let them all know that
he’s in the game for his girls, while a teary
Alexandra stressed how hard she worked and busted
her butt every day during the week.
The first three teams voted for Julio to go home, while the next three felt that Alexandra would do a better job continuing from her personal abode. The tie-breaker saw Alexandra become the first person to be sent home from The Biggest Loser, only because a certain spark convinced the green team the 20-year old student could succeed at home.
The final update proved them right as we saw Alexandra’s continued progress after leaving the ranch the first week. She’s already lost 60 pounds and is well on her way to hitting target weight for the finale. Interestingly, Alexandra also divulged that she has a crush on someone at the ranch and that America will have to watch to find out who!
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