Biggest Loser Finale - SPOILERS (Page 4)

Sorry I'm coming in here so late and I haven't read all your replies...

When I saw Helen's legs and how thin they were, I could tell she would win even before Tara and Mike weighed in. Tara and Mike looked great but they still had some way to go from the waist down compared to Helen.

I think what we saw with Helen and Jerry was that if you didn't have a lot of muscle to begin with, it's easier to net bigger weight losses vs. the contestants with more muscle like Blaine, Dane, Sione, Filipe and Tara. Jerry and Sione had similar starting weights but since Jerry had much less muscle than Sione, Jerry ended up much lighter than Sione. Muscle is hard to put on but it doesn't go away that easy either especially if your dong things like triathlons.

a bit of a side note to all of this.  remember when they showed shannon at home and she was roller skating?  she was skating with one of our local roller derby teams...i do remember seeing somewhere that she was joining up with the derby.

this should make next season even MORE exciting!  (yes, i'm a huge derby fan)

Like stay on a gameshow that would push you to a "possibly unhealthy" low weight for the opportunity to win $250k?  You can look at it two ways, mom threw daughter under the bus to stay on the show, or both made a decision and the daughter has more time to lose weight in a healthy manner and the family has an extra Quarter of a Million dollars. 

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Herlen --> smokes and sauna .. thats how she did it ! LOL just kidding .. i'm glad everyone in the end got their life back ..

I too would like to see some number OTHER than just percentage of weight lost.

One of the first seasons they factored in Body Fat percentage lost into the finale.  But I have a feeling that probably favors the guys since most chicks cannot get as low as the guys and still be healthy.

A fitness factor would be nice too...but would defnitely favor someone who is more athletic.  I mean, that's just obvious if you look at Helen vs. Tara.  Tara would have kicked her butt all over any fitness challenge.

It's a tough nut to crack...not sure what the solution is, but defniitely wish they would find a way to make the finale into a "more rounded" winner winning.  Not just someone who starved themselves.  Though it doesn't always happen.  I don't think Michelle looked starved when she won.  Can't comment on Ali...I was deployed when that finale aired.  But Michelle looked perfectly okay for sure.

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Tara is 20+ years younger than Helen, I hope that she could kick her butt in a fitness challenge.

Why would you use other criteria other than % of weight loss for the winner in a weight loss show. This is the first time I have heard any complaining about someone being TOO thin.

I think it is because when you are Helen's age and older you skin will not bounce back as much as with Mike & Tara. I don't think Helen looked that good but she will bounce back a little weight and look great.

Someone won that most people didn't want so people want to change the rules - kind of ridiculous.

FYI - I was cheering for Mike.

I think at the start of the show, only a few have a realistic shot of losing the highest percentage of body weight. You can look at the contestants early on and tell who they are. Those with the small frames and lower muscle mass have an advantage over the rest. Sione was never really a threat to win it all because he is naturally a bigger muscular guy under the body fat. As others mentioned, neither did people like Dane, Blaine, Kristen. etc.

Beyond that, I think there are also other factors that give advantages and disadvantages. Some need to lose a lot more than others to get to a healthy weight. I also feel Tara had a HUGE advantage over everybody else. The rest had carried their weight for many years or their whole lives. She put on 140 lbs in a couple years.


I think to be fair, they need to try to create a more even group of contestants. Not so much by age or gender, but by looking at things like starting weight, lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, goal weight etc.

I'm trying to remember what season it was...but it was a dude that one and he looked about as bad as Helen did last night.  He later told people that he'd used some whacky diet involving a lot of cayenne pepper and diuretics and stuff....

So we've been saying to change the rules for QUITE some time...not just this round...or at least I have been.  I never liked it after they took the body fat percentage out of the equation....

Fixed that for you, because someone does something like this every season. From the first season, Ryan admitted that he cut so much water that he "peed blood." That chick from Alaska said that during the last week she ate nothing but Jello and sat in the sauna for hours. Matt Hoover used to be a wrestler. Nuff said, because these guys are the experts in cutting water to make their weight class.

Water manipulation is rampant in any sport that has a weight class. It's not the healthiest thing to do and can be dangerous, but done correctly it won't do any permanent damage. Heck, I read how a powerlifter cut 30 lbs. in the 48 hours before weigh in. I can guarantee that 24 hours after the weigh in, Helen probably weighed in at around 130.

I was pulling for Mike. The kid grew up and he also took responsibility for his actions. You're right, Jen, that he has a bunch of loose skin around his waist and he really looked odd when he walked. It's like his whole middle jiggled. I'm not trying to be mean. I like the guy and I actually feel bad for him about the loose skin since the only way to get rid of that will be through surgery. Loose skin doesn't just affect the old. I remember Heba from last season at the finale. Her boobs hung down to her waist.

This show is my one guilty pleasure. It's kind of like looking at the Kramer painting: the show is a loathsome brute, yet I cannot look away.

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And yet everyone still watches.  NBC will continue to run the show as is until that changes.  Why would the modify a product that is working as designed?

Helen is supposed to be on Ellen Today so we can see what she looks like now that she is not completely dehydrated.