The Biggest Loser Episode 10: Makeover Madness and Major Weight Loss

It’s makeover time! The five remaining contestants (and the three kids) will get scrubbed down, prettied up and paraded in front of the cameras. And it’s Tim Gunn! And some other guy Ken Paves! But Tim Gunn! (For more Tim Gunn, read my Project Runway recaps here.)

Here are a few lessons from this week’s episode:

• It’s about how you look.
• It’s also about how you feel.
• “It didn’t happen to you, it happened because of you.”
• Beer bars have salads on the menu.
• If you set goals and really work hard, you will reach them.

Jackson explains that this is the week everyone wants to get to because free clothes and fancy hairdos! Jackson looks about half his size and can finally dress as sharp as his personality. Joe looks kind of dashing, which I didn’t think was possible. Jeff still gives off a douchey vibe, but he is looking healthier. Tim dresses Gina up like a sexy lawyer and puts Danni in a pair of skinny jeans and, well, maybe python print isn’t the best idea? To each their own!

When Ken Paves gets his paws on the contestants’ hair, he chops and dyes and highlights and shapes and once the contestants are all prettified, they go bursting through their respective doors to cheers and hugs from friends and family. After nine weeks, the difference is remarkable. But their hard work is not over.

For the next challenge, the contestants must lose 5% of their body weight by the next weigh-in. If they meet that goal, they win immunity. If they don’t, they will be up for elimination. The contestants also face some challenges at home:

• When Jackson opens up his mother’s refrigerator, he realizes that there is nothing healthy to eat. He tries explaining spaghetti squash and his mother looks a little lost.

• Gina picks at a pile of cheese and beans at a Mexican restaurant and replaces it with a plate of lettuce and dry chicken.

• Jeff goes out to a bar with his friends and explains why cheese fries are bad.

• Joe is tempted at an Italian restaurant, but he knows that he would never stop at one slice of pizza and orders grilled snapper over a salad with a side of steamed broccoli.

• Danni is picking at a salad with her father who has also lost a lot of weight and changed his eating habits.

• Jeff’s sister has a surprise for him. They transformed his basement bedroom into a mini-gym.

While at home, the contestants will participate in Challenge America. They must lead a workout for their friends, family and community. Nothing interesting happens during the workouts, and there’s a really light turnout considering the television cameras. I mean, who wouldn’t want to exercise in front of a national audience? So moving on….

Gina struggles without a trainer at the gym. Danni has two jobs so there’s not much time for exercise, but she still finds a way to run a million miles. Joe is working out with his identical twin brother, and they’ve turned weight loss into a competition. Jeff exercises in his basement and it gives him anxiety because it’s just weird for him to not be lying in bed eating Cheetos. Jackson pleasantly takes it all in stride.

So how’d they do?

• Danni lost 10 lbs and is immune from elimination.
• Jackson lost a whopping 15 lbs and stays in the competition.
• Joe lost an insane 17 lbs and is safe from elimination.
• Jeff lost 19 freaking lbs and is safe from elimination.
• Gina lost 10 lbs so we’re stuck with her for another week.

Overall, Gina has the largest percentage of weight loss and Danni and Joe are within one percent.

This will be the contestants’ final week at the ranch. At the next weigh-in, two contestants are guaranteed a spot in the finals. For the other three, there will be a yellow line and a red line. The person with the lowest percentage of weight loss will fall below the red line and is out. Of the next two who fall below the yellow line, one will be eliminated. And we get to vote. Yes, us! ‘murica! Okay, so, can we all agree to vote out Jeff or Gina? Yes? Great. See you next week!