The Biggest Loser: Temptation Nation premiered Monday night on NBC with multiple temptation challenges, heartbreaking stories and the elimination of contestant Britney Anderson.
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Britney, a 27-year-old health unit coordinator and make-up artist/hairstylist from Kissimmee, FL, became the first contestant ousted from The Biggest Loser after she fell below the yellow line by posting one of the two lowest weight-loss percentages on her team, and then her teammates voted her out instead of her aunt Tonsheia "Toy" Grandison, who was also in jeopardy.
The Biggest Loser debuted with 16 players arriving at the ranch to change their lives. Every player was paired with a loved one except for original Survivor winner Richard Hatch and Erin Willett, who previously competed on The Voice. The two reality TV stars were therefore paired up even though they had never met each other before.
New show host Bob Harper then asked the contestants to immediately work out on treadmills. Bob kept offering the players large amounts of cash -- starting with $5,000 and eventually working his way up to $25,000 -- as more time elapsed and the incline on the treadmills increased. Bob offered the money in exchange for them quitting and leaving the show.
No one took advantage of any financial temptation. As contestant Colby Wright put it, "You can't buy thin," and everyone else agreed their health was more important than money.
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Afterward, the players entered the gym and met their trainers Dolvett Quince and Jennifer Widerstrom. The trainers had been watching the contestants and got to choose their own teams.
After alternating picks back and forth, Jen ended up with siblings Luis Hernandez and Roberto Hernandez, spouses Colby and Hope Wright, father/daughter Rob Kidney and Sarah Gilbert, and mother/daughter Vicki Clark and Lauren Clark.
Dolvett selected spouses Jacky Kmet and Stephen Kmet, Toy and Britney, Richard and Erin, and best friends Whitney Clay and Felicia Buffkin.
Everyone had their first workout the following morning, when Erin revealed to Dolvett she had previously suffered from bulimia as a desperate attempt to fit in with music-industry expectations. Erin wanted to be known for her vocals rather than being fat, but she couldn't believe she had stooped so low.
Toy also later revealed to Bob and her team that she failed to save her son, who accidentally drowned at her home. Toy has been battling extreme guilt since his death, saying it was her fault she didn't save him.
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The season's first challenge later commenced. Each team was required to unload a truck filled with 30-pound bags filled with money and drop them onto a scale. Once all the bags were unloaded, a ladder attached to a tall building would fall. A "power couple" from each team must then climb the ladder and choose one of two temptations at the top.
Richard and Erin won the challenge for "Team Dolvett," defeating power couple Luis and Roberto on the other team. Richard and Erin had to choose between keeping $40,000 for themselves or giving their entire team an eight-pound advantage on the scale. Although there was hesitation, the pair jointly decided to grant their team the advantage, and everyone was thrilled.
At the weigh-in, Bob revealed The Biggest Loser will now be implementing two scales at a time so one player from each team can weigh-in simultaneously to directly compare results.
Bob also explained the two players on the losing team to post the lowest weight-loss percentages would fall below a yellow line. The losing team must then vote out one of those contestants.
Below are the results of Season 17's first weigh-in:
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"Team Jen"
- Hope: Dropped 10 pounds from 232 to 222 pounds, posting a 4.32% weight-loss percentage.
- Lauren: Dropped 11 pounds from 234 to 223 pounds, posting a 4.70% weight-loss percentage.
- Vicki: Dropped 11 pounds from 237 to 226 pounds, posting a 4.64% weight-loss percentage.
- Colby: Dropped 18 pounds from 339 to 321 pounds, posting a 5.31% weight-loss percentage.
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- Sarah: Dropped 17 pounds from 267 to 250 pounds, posting a 6.37% weight-loss percentage.
- Rob: Dropped 20 pounds from 326 to 306 pounds, posting a 6.23% weight-loss percentage.
- Luis: Dropped 23 pounds from 308 to 285 pounds, posting a 7.47% weight-loss percentage.
- Roberto: Dropped 24 pounds from 348 to 324 pounds, posting a 6.90% weight-loss percentage.
"Team Dolvett"
- Erin: Dropped 10 pounds from 238 to 228 pounds, posting a 4.20% weight-loss percentage.
- Jacky: Dropped 14 pounds from 304 to 290 pounds, posting a 4.61% weight-loss percentage.
- Felicia: Dropped 14 pounds from 234 to 220 pounds, posting a 5.98% weight-loss percentage.
- Richard: Dropped 13 pounds from 314 to 301, posting a 4.14% weight-loss percentage.
- Whitney: Dropped 10 pounds from 253 to 243 pounds, posting a 3.95% weight-loss percentage.
- Stephen: Dropped 11 pounds from 309 to 298 pounds, posting a 3.56% weight-loss percentage.
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- Toy: Dropped eight pounds from 316 to 308 pounds, posting a 2.53% weight-loss percentage.
- Britney: Dropped 7 pounds from 253 to 246 pounds, posting a 2.77% weight-loss percentage.
In total, Dolvett's team posted a 4.28% weight-loss percentage -- which included their eight-pound advantage -- against "Team Jen," who posted an impressive 5.85% weight-loss percentage.
Jen's team therefore won the weigh-in, and Toy and Britney fell below the yellow line for "Team Dolvett."
Once inside the voting room, Richard voted for Britney, Jacky voted for Toy just based upon their weight-loss percentages, Felicia voted for Britney, Erin voted for Britney, and then Stephen sealed Britney's fate with his vote.
"It's okay. I understand. Thank you everybody," Britney told the group before demanding Toy "kill it" going forward.
In a post-elimination update, Britney fell from 253 pounds to 229 pounds since she began her The Biggest Loser weight-loss journey. Since shedding 24 pounds, Britney got herself a very supportive boyfriend and can now fit into sexy clothes she initially thought she could never wear again.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski