Two weeks ago, one “Biggest Loser” contestant left after a shocking weigh-in revealed he and his partner packed on pounds. Nine pounds each, to be specific. Given that fact, it should have come as no surprise when Don, the remaining member of that pair of brothers, put on a repeat performance to earn his own exit this week.
So why was it such a shock anyway?
Maybe because it took some really rebellious moxie for lone twin Don to go for that unofficial “biggest gainer” title after his curse-filled tirade last week, wherein he not only insisted he never meant to gain weight the first time around, but told off trainers Bob and Jillian for daring to suggest otherwise.
Or maybe, as one eagle-eyed reader pointed out, the real shock was missed by many viewers: Don didn’t gain weight at all.
Sure, Don’s earlier nine pounds really happened, and his subsequent denials about it being intentional never rang true, but the extra six pounds that showed up on the scale this week were actually the result of a three pound loss.
Confused? You’re not the only one.
Although it was never mentioned during the show, the starting weight for Don was adjusted to his pre-gain total. That means even though he stepped off the scale at 289 two weeks ago, his starting weight was just 280 on Tuesday night’s episode. In order to get down to a six pound gain, Don dropped weight.
Despite this loss-presented-as-a-gain, Don did admit his overall results were intentional and he wanted to go home.
The other gainer of the night, Don’s temporary partner Irene, did gain six pounds. Her reason was simply to help Don out the door.
And Irene deserves some credit. She gained, but unlike Don’s past performance, she didn’t treat trainers, teammates and the home audience like they’d never seen the show before by acting surprised or denying what she did.
“Well, I did this for my team,” Irene explained. “We knew that Don was ready to go home and (I gained weight) to ensure our teammates would be safe.”
As for the rest of the team, they didn’t even bother to debate his exit and simply voted Don out scale-side by a show of hands.
Of course, that was just one of Tuesday night’s exits. Following the Don-related drama, the off-ranch gang joined the on-ranch crowd and with their four weeks of immunity finally over, they were forced to vote out the first member of the barely known Team Unknowns.
So, farewell, Don. Bye-bye, Red Shirt Lady (er, Lariamly).
Ree Hines hopes this officially marks the end of self-sabotaging players this season. Follow and tell her what you think of all the shenanigans so far.