'The Biggest Loser' votes Adam Hurtado off the weight-loss ranch

The Biggest Loser eliminated Adam Hurtado during Tuesday night's broadcast of the NBC reality weight-loss competition's sixth tenth-season episode.


"These last six weeks I've learned a lot about myself, most importantly, that this is something I can do. This is something that is possible. My eyes were open when I lost my mother and it made me realize that I need help," Adam said following his ouster.

"The changes I was able to make here wasn't just about the physical change and weight-loss, but it was about believing in myself and being proud of who you are, and never forget where you came from." 

"Never forget the adversity that you faced and what you've overcome to get where you are today. America, next time you see me, I'm going to be a leader in my community -- I want to be the person that my mother always believed I could be. I want to be making a difference and show people that this is a battle we can win."

Adam, a 26-year-old non-profit manager from Santa Ana, CA, was voted out of the competition by the opposing Black team after his Blue team teammates lost the season's second Blue vs. Black team weigh-in and then ended their voting in a 3-3 tie.


However unlike the show's usual Blue vs. Black weigh-ins in which all the members of both teams weighed-in and the team with the lowest overall weight-loss percentage was deemed the loser, the week had featured a special twist.

Dubbed "you're only as strong as your weakest player," the theme had required each team to select one member of the opposite team -- the person they felt would post the lowest weight-loss percentage -- and have only that person's weight-loss represent their team at the weigh-in.

Both teams' selection decisions were not revealed until the weigh-in, where the person who lost the most weight kept their team safe from elimination.   


In addition, the episode also featured the teams competing in a 500 meter long dragon race where the Blue team gained the option to reject the Black team's first choice if they desired.  The Blue team's dragon race win was aided by an earlier cooking challenge victory in which they won a 10-second head start in the Race.

Later on at the weigh-in, the Black team's first pick was Jessica Delfs, a 27-year-old professional bridal consultant from Tucson, AZ, and the Blue team opted to express confidence in their team member and not block the selection. 


The Blue team chose Elizabeth Ruiz, a 31-year-old medical assistant from Lawrence, MA -- which seemed to be the obvious choice based on her poor results at prior weigh-ins. 

All the remaining contestants from both teams also weighed-in but the their results were irrelevant and it came down to only Elizabeth and Jessica's weight-loss percentages.

Elizabeth lost five pounds and posted a 2.29% weight-loss percentage.

Jessica needed to lose more than five pounds to beat Elizabeth, but she only lost four pounds with 1.42% weight-loss percentage -- numbers that fell too short for the Blue team to avoid elimination. 

Alfredo "Frado" Dinten, a 43-year-old futures commodity trader from Staten Island, NY, lost the most weight from the Black team with 14 pounds and a 4.55% weight-loss percentage -- resulting in an emotional moment since it was the first time he's been under 300 pounds in 14 years.


Anna Wright, a 39-year-old administrative assistant and songwriter from Atlanta, GA, only lost three pounds with a 1.05% weight-loss percentage.  Given her numbers were the worst showing from the Black team, they were thankful the Blue team had not picked her to square off with Jessica.

Mark Pinhasovich, a 31-year-old bartender and recruiter from East Brunswick, NJ, on the Blue team, lost 16 pounds, posting the biggest weight-loss percentage of the week.

Adding insult to injury, the Blue team also learned every team member except Jessica had posted a weight-loss figure which would have defeated Elizabeth.

After deliberating among themselves, the Blue team members met with The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney and revealed their elimination votes. Mark, Jessica and Jesse Atkins voted for Adam, while Adam, Lisa Mosley and Aaron Thompkins voted for Jessica.

The Black team then voted to eliminate Adam, as they felt he posed the biggest threat due to his possession of a progressively increasing weigh-in advantage he had won several weeks ago.


During a post-show update, Adam -- who left The Biggest Loser ranch weighing 322 pounds -- said he now weighs 264 pounds and wants to serve as an inspiration to his community by reaching out through the YMCA.

"To see people inspired from what I have done has made this whole journey a success for me -- My life came full circle now and I found purpose," Adam said. "It's something I've been searching for for so long, and now that I have it, I don't want to lose it."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski