'The Biggest Loser' eliminates Matthew Miller, sends Jackie Pierson to Comeback Canyon

The Biggest Loser: Glory Days eliminated one contestant for good and sent another to the show's new Comeback Canyon during Thursday night's NBC broadcast of the reality weight-loss competition's sixteenth-season. 


Matthew Miller, a 31-year-old business entrepreneur and former high school football standout from Grove, OK, was ousted from the competition for good after losing the weigh-in at Comeback Canyon against fellow contestant Gina Haddon, a 41-year-old makeup artist/photographer and former cheerleader from Rowlett, TX.

"I feel very honored that I was selected to be able to take this journey. I'm definitely a better person because I was selected. The Biggest Loser has definitely helped me and will be a life-change for me for the rest of my life," Matt said following his ouster.

At Comeback Canyon, veteran trainer Bob Harper works with two contestants, who get the boot from the ranch, every week. At the end of each week, there's a separate weigh-in after which the person with the highest percentage of weight-loss gets to stay at the canyon for another week and the losing contestant must go home for good.

Eventually, Bob will take only one contestant back to the ranch so they can rejoin the original competition and resume competing for the $250,000 grand prize.


Matt dropped from 317 to 315 pounds, losing two pounds and posting a 0.63% percentage of weight-loss. Gina fell from 207 to 204 pounds, shedding three pounds and posting a 1.45% weight-loss percentage.

Later in the episode, Jackie Pierson, a 36-year-old clinical care coordinator and former high school basketball MVP from Pacifica, CA, automatically got eliminated from the Blue Team led by newbie trainer Jessie Pavelka after she fell below the red line at the weigh-in by posting the lowest weight-loss percentage on her team. Jackie now joins Gina at Comeback Canyon and will train with Bob.

During last night's The Biggest Loser broadcast, host Alison Sweeney explained the challenge. Each team's trainer was sitting high above a pool on a diving board. Three members on each team had to keep their trainer above the pool by pulling a rope supporting 15% of the players' combined body weight. If the entire team let go, the trainer would fall into the water.

The team to finish in third place would lose its trainer for the whole week, and that ended up being Dolvett Quince's Red Team. The second-place team was only afforded the opportunity to utilize its trainer during the last-chance workout, and that happened to be the White Team led by newbie trainer Jennifer Widerstrom.

First place went to the Blue Team, so its members could train with Jessie for the entire week.


Once the weigh-in commenced, Alison explained there would be a red line, which means the person to post the lowest percentage of weight-loss on the losing team would automatically be ousted.

The Red Team first stepped on the scale one by one.

Rob Guiry, a 26-year-old head rugby coach at Western New England University and former rugby player from Springfield, MA, fell from 405 to 396 pounds. He therefore lost nine pounds.

Jordan Alicandro, a 32-year-old regional sales manager and former high school baseball standout from Surrey, BC, Canada, dropped from 266 to 259 pounds, shedding seven pounds.

Scott Mitchell, a 46-year-old bill collector and 12-year NFL veteran quarterback from Mapleton, UT, lost seven pounds after falling from 295 to 288 pounds.


Blake Benge, an 18-year-old student and former high school soccer and track standout from San Clemente, CA, fell from 204 to 199 pounds, losing five pounds.

The Red Team lost a total of 28 pounds and posted a combined 2.39% weight-loss percentage.

The Blue Team was up next.

Lori Harrigan-Mack, a 44-year-old director of hotel security and former three-time Olympic gold medal-winning softball player from Las Vegas, NV, fell from 263 to 258 pounds. She lost five pounds.

Jackie dropped from 254 to 252 pounds, dropping two pounds.


Damien Woody, a 36-year-old ESPN analyst and two-time Super Bowl champion from Mendham, NJ, lost five pounds. He fell from 331 to 326 pounds.

The Blue Team lost a combined 12 pounds and posted a 1.42% weight-loss percentage.

It then became time for the White Team to weigh-in.

John "JJ" O'Malley, a 22-year-old bouncer and former Arizona State University football player from Scottsdale, AZ, dropped from 335 to 328 pounds, losing seven pounds.
   
Toma Dobrosavljevic, a 33-year-old senior project manager and former high school soccer, football, volleyball and baseball player from Addison, IL, lost four pounds after falling from 275 to 271 pounds.
     
Howard "Woody" Carter, a 46-year-old car salesman and former Arena League football player from Las Vegas, NV, dropped from 346 to 342 pounds, losing four pounds.

Rondalee Beardslee, a 28-year-old nursing student and former high school basketball, football and softball player from New Lothrop, MI, stepped on the scale next and learned she had dropped from 236 to 234 pounds, losing only two pounds.


Sonya Jones, a 39-year-old PE teacher/coach and former All American softball player from Springfield, IL, shed six pounds. She fell from 227 to 221 pounds.
   
The White Team shed 23 pounds altogether and posted a 1.62% weight-loss percentage. 
   
The Biggest Loser's episode concluded with an update on Matt's weight-loss progress. He began the competition at 386 pounds and dropped to 272 pounds, losing a whopping total of 114 pounds. Matt proposed to his girlfriend after dating over a decade during a hike up a waterfall. 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski