'The Biggest Loser: Couples' ousts contestant Moses Kinikini

The Biggest Loser: Couples eliminated Moses Kinikini, a 47-year-old garage door installer from Shelley, ID, during Tuesday night's broadcast of the NBC reality weight-loss competition.


Moses became the fifteenth contestant ousted from the competition's eleventh season after his Blue team posted the lowest weight-loss percentage at the fifteenth week's weigh-in and he was subsequently voted off by the rest of the season's contestants.

"I've been well over 400 pounds for over 10 years. Through this experience on The Biggest Loser, I have been able to reach limits that I never thought my body could get to, but I do have a lot more to go in my journey of my weight loss. I was reminded of that because I am still a little too heavy to jump off the Sky Tower," Moses said following his ouster.

"I am leaving New Zealand with all the tools I feel I need to be able to go back home and start my life to help my family get a better life just like my father did when he left New Zealand to help his family move forward in life."

The Biggest Loser's fifteenth eleventh-season episode began following the elimination of Courtney Crozier, a 22-year-old student and restaurant manager from Valparaiso, IN, after her Red team -- of which she was the only remaining member -- posted the lowest weight-loss percentage at the fourteenth week's weigh-in, resulting in her automatic elimination.


The teams then learned they would be traveling to New Zealand, and as a result, they took off in an airplane that night and landed 13 hours later in Auckland, New Zealand the next day.

The Green team led by new trainer Cara Castronuova, veteran trainer Jillian Michaels' Black team, and the Blue team guided by veteran trainer Bob Harper met with The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney upon their arrival and learned they would be competing in one of the week's challenges.

Alison explained the contestants would have to climb up 1,027 steps to get to the top of the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and reaches a height of over 1,000 feet.

Once the three teams completed their task, they learned they would have the option to take the stairs back down or get dropped from the top of the Sky Tower while attached to a cable.

Ken Andrews, a 49-year-old pastor from Pasadena, CA, was terrified of heights, but he wasn't the only one. Bob was present at the challenge and wanted to participate, but he was equally as scared as Ken. Bob then promised Ken he would get dropped from the Sky Tower as well if Ken could follow through with the opportunity and take the plunge.


All the contestants, including Ken, and Bob ended up gathering the nerve to jump off the tower. However, Moses and Rulon Gardner, a 39-year-old gym owner and motivational speaker from Logan, UT, were not able to take part in the activity because their weights still surpassed the maximum weight capacity the cable could safely hold.

The contestants had to be 280 pounds or less, and Moses was 286 pounds, while Rulon weighed 318 pounds. Jay Jacobs, a 53-year-old entrepreneur from West Orange, NJ, also couldn't jump because of a heart condition that restricted him from participating in such a thrilling yet risky activity.

After mostly everyone on the teams jumped, the group then went hybrid racing on small yachts. The skill and strength it took for them to sail the boats was enough to give the contestants a solid workout.

Afterwards, the teams worked out with their respected trainers.

However, it became apparent there was some awkwardness amongst the Green team -- which included Ken, his son Austin Andrews, a 21-year-old radio board operator from  Pasadena, CA, and Moses' daughter Kaylee Kinikini, a 20-year-old student from Shelley, ID -- and their trainer Cara.


Ken was having second thoughts about Cara's effectiveness as his team's trainer, coach and dietician. He noted his team had not lost much weight at the previous weigh-ins and as a result, Ken decided to talk to Cara and address his concerns about her questionable expertise and potential as an inspirational leader and motivator.

"What I think the solution is -- and you're not going to like this at all -- I feel like those two individuals [Bob and Jillian] have a level of expertise that maybe nobody else has because they've been doing this routine for as long as they have," Ken told Cara after they took a walk together to speak privately away from the group.

"It's fine. If you want to jump ship, go right ahead. If you think you're going to lose more weight over there next week, we'll see what happens. Okay? I've done nothing but f***ing work for you, okay? I've been here 24/7 every step of the way since day one, since we were walking around the field day one, Ken," Cara yelled.

"You've had amazing weight loss. Training with me this whole time, guess what? Brett's not here anymore. He lost three weeks in a row. Maybe my method works, maybe it doesn't. I think it does since all three of you guys are still here. You wanna f***ing jump ship!? Jump!"

Ken said he knew Cara had the heart and desire to help him lose weight and work around his injuries in the gym, but he needed improvement from her and wanted his trainer to get into his face more and not allow time for rest. After Cara calmed down, she said she would do exactly that.


The following day, the three teams met with Alison again for the week's next challenge. She instructed the teams to run a 5K race over the rough terrain and hills of New Zealand. She explained they would be required to run down a path where they would hit a crate bed, streams, sand dunes, and finally the beach which presented the finish line.

The teams were told they must run as a team and needed to stick together, because the first team to make it to the end as a unit would win the challenge. The winning team would receive a helicopter ride to an island and enjoy a scenic lunch together.

The Blue team -- which consisted of Moses, Irene Alvarado, a 26-year-old student from Portland, OR, and Olivia Ward, a 35-year-old opera singer and plastic surgery office manager from New York, NY -- ended up winning the challenge and the Green team came in second place.

However, Irene and Olivia opted to give up their adventure for Kaylee, so she and her father Moses could spend that quality time together as a family and enjoy an afternoon away from the stress of the competition.

The next day, all the teams participated in their last chance workouts altogether, with Bob, Jillian and Cara all helping the contestants simultaneously.


Ken then mentioned he felt like Cara really had challenged him throughout the week and was beginning to think of her in a better, more positive light. In addition, Cara put everything she had into the training and admitted she didn't want to go home like fellow new trainer Brett Hoebel -- who was sent home last week after his entire Red team was eliminated from The Biggest Loser -- and wasn't going to go down without putting up a big fight.

Later on that night, The Biggest Loser: Couples' fourth team weigh-in -- the season's first three-team weigh-in and its fourteenth overall elimination weigh-in -- commenced.

Alison explained the team with the lowest weight-loss percentage would lose the weigh-in and be put up for elimination. She said the person with the highest weight-loss percentage on the losing team would receive immunity, but the season's remaining contestants must then vote off one of the other team's members.

Olivia was the first member of Bob's Blue team to step on the scale. She started off the week weighing 174 pounds and dropped to 172 pounds after she lost two pounds, while Irene fell from 164 pounds to 161 pounds after she shed three pounds. Moses remained at 286 pounds, losing zero pounds over the week.

The Blue team lost a total of five pounds and posted a 0.80% weight-loss percentage.

The Black team was the next to step on the scale. Jay gained two pounds after he rose from 270 pounds to 272 pounds, but the rest of Jillian's team came through for him. Rulon fell from 318 pounds to 311 pounds after he lost seven pounds, while Hannah Curlee, a 32-year-old human resources representative from Nashville, TN, dropped to 164 pounds from 168 pounds after she shed four pounds.


The Black team lost a combined nine pounds, posting a 1.19% weight-loss percentage.

It was then time for the Green team to weigh-in. Kaylee started off the week weighing 168 pounds but gained four pounds after she rose to 172 pounds. Kaylee claimed her diet wasn't right all week and Cara told her she had to gain more self control. Cara, frustrated over Kaylee's weight gain, knew it was out of her hands at that moment.

Green team member Austin then stepped on the scale. Austin started off the week weighing 263 pounds and dropped to 255 pounds, losing eight pounds, while Ken fell from 253 pounds to 247 pounds after he lost a total of six pounds. Ken then thanked Cara for her help and support.

The Green team lost a total of 10 pounds and posted a 1.46% weight-loss percentage.

Alison then announced the Blue team would face elimination, but Irene received immunity for posting the highest weight-loss percentage on her team.

All the contestants were then given time to deliberate, and Olivia told the group she wanted children very badly with her husband and feared her time was running out. She suggested that she needed to stay on The Biggest Loser in order to continue her weight-loss journey successfully. Meanwhile, Moses told all the teams he thought his time was up and that he should not stay over Olivia.


The contestants then revealed their votes. Hannah, Jay, Austin, and Ken all voted to oust Moses from The Biggest Loser: Couples, while Kaylee felt she had to vote for Olivia because she could not vote against her own father. Four votes were enough to constitute for Moses elimination, so the other contestants did not have to announce their votes.

In a post-elimination update, Moses, who started The Biggest Loser: Couples weighing 440 pounds and left New Zealand weighing 286, currently weighs 273 pounds. Moses said he brought his father to the school where he had received his education in New Zealand, which started their family.

Moses also decided to bungee jump off the Auckland Bridge, as he said it was always his dream to go bungee jumping but he could never do it because he was overweight. He admitted he could now do whatever he chooses to do in life, and his weight would never stop him again.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski