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'Biggest Losers' find their strengths on emotional show

The emotional portion of the battle of the bulge came to the forefront Tuesday night as contestants reached personal epiphanies about their strengths and struggles.
/ Source: TODAY contributor

As “The Biggest Loser” contestants approached the 10th week of the competition, they’d already seen huge progress on the scales. For some, including Justin and Moses, that meant weighing in over 100 pounds closer to their goals than when they began. But no matter how many pounds players had put behind them, they still had another big job ahead of them — overcoming what led to their weight problems in the first place.

The emotional portion of the battle of the bulge came to the forefront Tuesday night as contestants reached personal epiphanies about their strengths and struggles.

Black team member Hannah found her moment of revelation as many others had before her — under the critical gaze and tough talk of trainer Jillian Michaels. Hannah started her week in the gym with a bad attitude after temporary team leader Marci chose her for some one-on-one time with a trainer. That seemingly innocent gesture tapped into Hannah’s sense of insecurity and sent her into a moody spiral. 

Jillian spotted Hannah’s weakness and pounced — in a good way. After convincing the former purple-shirt player to channel her anger and tears into an all-out treadmill run, Jillian finally had Hannah believing she was as strong as any of her competition.

Ken, from the red team, found his focus during an exercise that required him to regain the 91 pounds that he’d lost so far by wearing a loaded backpack. While recalling earlier times when he carried that much weight around, Ken wept and revealed that his experience had allowed him to accept something he never expected.

“Part of the reason it was so important for me to come here was because, whether it’s my trainers or my teammates, everywhere I look, I receive the comfort and the love that I haven’t felt like I deserved,” Ken explained. “So being here has been a real healing time for me.”

Red-team-turned-black-team member Sarah overcame her own barrier Tuesday night, too. Three years ago a car wreck left her with broken bones and real chance of never walking again. Determination got Sarah back on her feet, but the emotional damage lingered longer.

During her first training session with Bob Harper since officially electing to be part of the black team, Sarah realized she had to face her fears to achieve her goals. Once she broke through the anxiety, Sarah put her “baby muscles” to the test with an intense workout.

Unfortunately for Sarah, her personal high point in the gym didn’t help her when it came to the scales. The black team lost the weigh-in, and Sarah’s four pounds just weren’t enough to secure immunity. That left Sarah the odd one out in her team’s tight alliance and the obvious choice to go home. 

Ree Hines wonders how many pounds “Loser” hopefuls dropped in tears alone this week. Follow and tell her your best guess.