Every season on "The Biggest Loser," there comes a time when the contestants have to face a tough decision -- consume big calories in exchange for an advantage in the game or stick to the program and trust that hard work is the way to win. Well, as is often the case, this season a couple of players thumbed their noses at option B and banked on a jumbo sugar fix instead.
It all started after the remaining competitors learned that it was time to put the red vs. blue vs. Danni game to rest. Bye-bye, teams; hello, singles (and the old yellow line)!
Of course, team-of-one Danni didn't really care, and biggest-loser-of-the-season-so-far Gina didn't mind either. But for Francelina and Alex, being without a team meant being without a safety net. So when host Alison Sweeney offered up a sweet-filled, holiday challenge, they were undeterred by the stats -- such as the fact that American's buy 58 million pounds of chocolate in the week leading up to Valentine's Day. They just cared about 2 pounds -- the amount of weight they could add to their weight loss total for the week if they ate the most calories during the challenge.
Alison turned off the lights and left the "Losers" to eat whatever they wanted to in the dark.
Michael decided to bow out early. "I'm sitting down to take a stand," he said.
Danni went one step further. In addition to eschewing the chocolate-covered this and pecan-filled that, she made the most of her time in the dark by working out.
But Francelina and Alex? They dug in -- and then some. Cakes, cookies, brownies and more were gone by the time lights came back on. In the end, as Alison revealed, Alex consumed 1,036 calories and Francelina, the winner of the temptation challenge, ate 1,150 calories.
Winning actually came with more than a 2-pound perk. It also came with an extra 2-pound advantage for one other player -- Francelina's choice. In an unexpected move, she gave it to her closest competitor, Alex.
When trainer Jillian Michaels found out about the big binge, she pulled Francelina, Alex and Jeff (who enjoyed a couple of sneaky bites when the lights were out) aside and told them, "If you play, then you have to pay."
They paid plenty in the form of one grueling workout, but when it came time for the weigh in, one of them was still at risk.
All of that exercise and a 2-pound bonus still couldn't keep Francelina above the yellow line. In fact, with a loss of just 2.76 percent of her weight, the only thing that saved her was that the person who fell under the yellow line with her (with a 2.75 percent loss) was someone the other players perceived as a bigger threat in the game -- Michael.
What did you think of the temptation challenge? Do you think the right player went home in the end? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.
Related content:
- 'Loser' contestant drops nearly 100 pounds to be better cop, dad
- Slideshow: Meet the players of 'Biggest Loser' 14
More in The Clicker: