Previously, on The Biggest Loser. Pigs in mud! Again! This footage never gets old, does it?

Tonight the contestants face The Warehouse and apparently they’ll face a crucial decision which will split the group.

And initial training reveals devastating results! Sean takes a tumble and Shannan is talking to John and saying he’s no longer in the competition.

And Bob points at us and tells us we’re the Black Team again! Awesome!

Other things happen, too. Would you like to know more?

We start with the Commando again. He’s got them lifting sandbags over their head and he says if they’re getting sand in their eyes, close them!
He wants them to show him who is worthy to be in the house. He takes Bryce and Carrianne aside first to give them a look.

Bryce tells Steve he wants this more than Steve can possibly know. Bryce wants to look pretty for his girlfriend, awwww!

Steve wanted to test Bryce’s strengths and Carrianne’s courage. Carrianne is a little disappointed at Nicole being in the White House while she isn’t.

Steven, 29, not the Commando Steve, is struggling. Commando asks him why he wants to be there and Steven says he wants to be there for his daughter. He’s a single dad and he wants to be healthy so his daughter can be proud of him.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you can do it.” “I can do it.” “Yeah? No? Really? Can you do it?” “Yeah!” “Well get yer backside up the hill, let’s do it!”

The Commando wanders over to two of the girls and tells them it’s not their time today, then a guy and a girl. But he tells them not to give up.

Michelle (while showing off Epic Cleavage) looks to either side and can see people on either side leaving and she didn’t know what was going on.
They’re still doing pushups, but they’re down to four fatties out on the sand.

Commando says it’s not over yet, there’s still one more challenge, they’re not in yet. Do they think they can beat the fifteen in the house? Will they do everything he says? They all say yes, of course.
Steven expresses doubts about how much more he can do.

They head off down the beach in one of the Hummers. Michelle thought they’d be competing for a position into the house… but they arrive at an aircraft hangar with a private jet in it, four chairs and a big ass TV.

They’re all a bit baffled, wondering what’s going to happen… when Bob and Jillian come on the screen! Weeeee!
“I’ve had contestants in the finals every season on The Biggest Loser. I don’t like to lose.”
Bob says he’s been training for The Biggest Loser for five seasons in the US and now for a third season in Australia!

“You four are coming to America, to be trained by us.” “You will be our black team. You will have no temptations, no challenges. Take a good look at each other, look deep into each other’s eyes, because one of you four is going to be The Biggest Loser.”
Steven is stoked!
“You are now the Black Team.”
The plane is going to take them to LA to meet Bob and Jillian for real.

Bob says that Shannan and Michelle need to be very worried about the competitive side of Jillian and Bob, because for the first time they’re going to be working together.
“Is this for real?!” – Bryce

“You stink!” Don’t know who said it, but funny.

“One last thing. Your t-shirts and one last call home.” Awww, thanks Commando Steve!

Steven calls his Mum and his little girl. He says it’s sinking in that he’s not going to get to see his little girl for 2 or 3 months.

Carrianne rings her Mum and is in tears pretty much instantly. “I’m going to America, Mum!” “Aww honey, that’s fantastic!”

Michelle rings her Mum too. She’s really close to her Mum, they’re the only girls in the family. She tells her Mum that she got chosen to be on the Black Team and go to America and train with Bob and Jillian. “Is that alright?” Her Mum’s a bit odd, apparently. What part of being trained by Bob and Jillian would be not-alright?!

Bryce rings his girlfriend and they’re both in tears. She sounds… happy? I think? She says she’s very proud of him.
Bryce says it’ll be really hard to be away for that length of time but it’s a short term sacrifice for a long term gain.

Commando Steve closes the plane on them, Carrianne is very excited but also nervous. And determined.
Bryce says the Black Team is going to kick arse and cause some problems for the people in the House.

First day of real White House training! Shannan and Michelle come trotting up the drive. They’re both looking forward to getting stuck in, meeting them all, finding out how they’re going.
They’re all sitting in the lounge. With Rachel stroking JJ’s hairy leg. Um, okay.

Michelle comes in and asks them if they’ve managed to wash all the mud off. Heh. Someone complains about some still being stuck in their ear.

Both trainers congratulate everyone for making it. Shannan says they’ve got a duty of care to find out the health status of everyone on the show.
If people are starting with a variety of different conditions, that can kill them. But getting fit and healthy can eliminate those problems, then you look good, feel good and you’ll last a lot longer! And who wouldn’t want that?

Sean’s asked first and he says that he only found out during the medical checks prior to the show (HA HA!) that he has Type 2 Diabetes, mainly due to his weight and being so overweight. Sean said he couldn’t drive anymore as he’d fall asleep at the wheel, even fall asleep whilst in the middle of a conversation on the phone.
Shannan is shocked that Sean never even went for a checkup with all his symptoms.

Shannan says he’s going to treat them all like athletes and he expects them to behave as such. What that means is that they need to be vigilant and be responsible about getting things like insulin checked and done.
Shannan also states that diabetes can be treated by a healthy diet and a fit and healthy lifestyle. Hopefully what they’ll do with Sean in the next couple of months will manage to get him off the insulin.

First girl off the ranks is Alison, she has asthma. Exercise induces an attack. She thinks that without all the weight maybe she wouldn’t have a problem at all.
Asthma doesn’t really work like that, but being more fit will at least let her handle it a bit better, probably.

Next up is Debbie, who is “insulin resistant”. Which is just short of the diabetes. She doesn’t want to have to get jabbed by needles all the time.
Michelle says that they’re all representative of a lot of people out there in TV-land. She mentions the diabetes and Alison’s asthma, but also references someone being anaemic, without saying who. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it’s one of the young girls, probably Nicola. Just for my own fun to see if it’s ever revealed so I can be right about yet another thing! ;-)
Michelle wants to see what they can do about all their health issues via good old fashioned exercise and healthy eating.

JJ has high blood pressure. 140 over 100. I guess that must be high, since Shannan said so. Shannan says the change in diet and the increase in fitness and decrease in weight, his blood pressure should come down.
Apparently people’s hearts have to work a lot harder, both to pump all the blood around to all the lard filled extremities, but also to pump it past all the lard lining the blood vessels. Shannan said that too, only he didn’t say lard.

John had a suspected heart attack in June. He woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains. In the morning he took himself to the hospital.
Shannan is horrified that John waited till the morning to get to a doctor, apparently that’s a big risk to his life.
His wife’s first husband passed away and she doesn’t want to lose him. And he doesn’t want to lose him either!
There’s some serious restrictions and consequences with what’s happened with his heart. So they need to go and have a chat in private. Shannan says it’s a very personal thing and needed to be just between trainer and contestant.
Sam says they were hoping it was nothing serious, but it was worrying them that it could be.
Shannan says that John’s heart condition is the most serious medical issue of everyone in the House.

After the break Shannan says that when he came up the driveway, they had a connection. John told him he was there for a reason.
John’s wondering if he’s going to be thrown out of the house.
Then Shannan says that there can’t be a cash incentive for him (why?) so he’s no longer in the competition for the cash prize.
“That’s fine.” – John
But he’s still in the House and will still play the game with everyone else, but there’s some seriously strict guidelines he’ll have to adhere to.
John seems okay with all this, since he didn’t really come on the show for the money, he was always going on it to get his life back.

Shannan sets out the list of restrictions on his activity:
A maximum of 30-40 minutes mild walking, up to 3 times a day.
No jogging, running, lifting, straining or any other form of strenuous exercise.
Your pulse should not exceed 100 beats per minute while doing this exercise.

John had no idea his condition was so serious, he didn’t know he could just drop dead, right there and then.
“It’s a scary thought.”

“Mate, you’ve got a chance to become a hero of the people. Heart disease is still the biggest killer of Australians. I want you to prove to people that you can lose weight and get yourself healthier with moderate exercise and diet.”
Shannan says he’s going to be a special project on the show, they’re going to make him healthier and give him his life back.
In an aside Shannan says that there’ll be no beating about the bush. He sticks to the rules, or he’s out.

Taking a break from the recap here to just give a hearty thumbs up to The Biggest Loser for going out on a limb like this. This is a huge, huge risk that could easily backfire on them. John is essentially a ticking time bomb, he’s already had a heart attack while sleeping and while that’s no guarantee moderate exercise will set him off again, there’s also no guarantee it won’t.
They could have taken the easy route once more and not let him on the show, as they’ve presumably rejected other people for being too big a risk, or waited until the medical issue became critical and then sent them home, as Jules and Sam had happen last season.
John’s weight loss is likely to be unspectacular. He’ll probably only lose a kilo or two the first week and then probably only a few hundred grams every week thereafter. He’s not going to be this season’s Chris and wind up looking like skin and bones.
But he’ll be a great example for everyone out there who thinks you need to be working as hard as the rest will be in the House in order to lose weight.
This has earnt them some pretty major brownie points with me. :-)

And now, back to the show!

John explains to his fellow blokes what the situation is.
And now it’s time to train.

Shannan explains that first they need to warm up. John gets to do gentle walking laps around the area the rest of the blokes are doing some more serious exercise in. He’s feeling a bit left out, but he says he’ll have to get over that.
“I’m going to take you to the max!”
Shannan says he doesn’t think they realised how hard he was going to push them this first session. It’ll hurt and for some it will be too much and they’ll want to quit.
“I will literally push you to the point that you have to get to.”

Sean is struggling right from the start. Shannan starts running along behind him pushing him along. This isn’t going to end well!
Yep, down he goes! Ow!
Then he tries to get up and falls right back over. Shannan gets him back up and moving though.
Sean says that all he can think is he’s done, he’s going to die, his heart is going to explode, his lungs are going to explode.
He goes down and leans on a pillar in a crouch, telling Shannan he’s not getting oxygen into his blood. Shannan tells him he doesn’t think his blood sugar has dropped too low and it’s not going to be something he can use as an excuse.
Shannan: “How’s blood glucose?” Medic: “Fantastic. We actually know that he can go out pretty hard and not get much of a drop.”

Shannan’s disappointed, he’s shattered. Because there was nothing medically seriously wrong with him, but he’s had a sit down already. Blood glucose was fine, oxygen was down a little, but only two points, breathing was fine. He’s using them as an excuse and he’s done it his whole life. Shannan said he got the medic here to prove to Sean that there’s nothing wrong, it’s all in his head.
Shannan tells him he’s capable of more and if he wants a long journey in the House, he’s going to have to be brave. Shannan says in an aside that not finishing training sessions will peg him as a weak link.
Garry confirms in another aside that they’re already looking at him as a bit weak.

More running up and down the lawn, Sean getting back into it too. He managed to run 50m twice, back to back. Sean says in an aside that it proved that Shannan was spot on, it’s all in his mind, he can do it!

Cosi gets complimented on his pushups and Shannan says he looks pretty fit, runs fast. Shannan thinks he’s given a big warning to everyone else that he’s going to be a contender.

Shannan’s also impressed by Garry, the biggest by far, and how he’s keeping up quite well with everyone.

Michael has thrown in the towel, Shannan thinks, even in the warmup. The last contestant to do everything by a long way. Shannan thinks he’s looking for shortcuts.
“What was my rule?” “Don’t put your knees on the ground, sir!” JJ’s getting more and more annoying.

Shannan throws Michael’s promise back at him from the first episode. He wants to know why Michael promised him he wouldn’t give up, and now he’s not giving it his best.

The lads have done it really hard. But Shannan says they’re capable of much more.
Garry says he’s learnt not to give up. Sean’s learnt he’s got to start believing himself. Shannan says to them all that they’ve got to cut the excuses.
Michael says the other guys put him to shame, he comes from a sporting background and he couldn’t even do the situps!
Michael starts to break out into tears.
“You don’t lose someone’s respect in one session. And you gain my respect back by talking like this and being so honest.” – Shannan

Girly training time now!
They’re inside warming up on the cycles and treadmills.
Michelle says the first training session sets the tone and helps them understand what they’re capable of. She wants to see who can stand the pain and who buckles.
Alison can’t even remember the last time she did any specific exercise.
“You want to stay in this house? This is what it takes!” – Michelle

And now we get Sheridan telling us all yet again that being 26 and never having had a serious relationship is pretty sad. No, what’s pretty sad is judging your self-worth on whether you’ve had a serious relationship!
“Sheridan do not fall on me! So help me, you fall on me and I’m going to make you do this for two hours!” – Michelle, whilst relaxing underneath Sheridan.

Debbie is next for the one on one time. Michelle quite sensibly didn’t get under her, since she gave up and fell down. Then gives a really lame effort at tug of war with Michelle and a towel. Then breaks down into tears, hands on thighs with Michelle. Which is fine since it shows Michelle’s cleavage quite nicely. :-)
Debbie is there for her kids. They’re a lot of the reason she’s there, but also for her.
She’s doing that “exercise” where you press your back against the wall and “sit” on the invisible chair. Bitching and moaning like a major drama queen. “It’s burning!” Sook!
She says she didn’t know her body could do the things she’s been doing. And that this week there’s a lot of woman here but next week there’s going to be a lot less of her!

Rachel gets it next. She’s kneeing the pad while Michelle holds it, while in a side bit she’s saying that, if she’s honest, she’s just lazy. She needs a good kick up the bum.
Michelle was expecting a young girl with a bunch of energy, fat, but plenty of energy. But instead she got a girl who was out of breath after just two minutes.
“The only time you stop is if you’re going to be sick. And if you’re going to be sick, I want to see it!” – Michelle, Queen of the EW!
Michelle says the good news is that she’s young, so her recovery times will be very good.

Alison is next. She’s practically falling out of her top. I think she needs a better sports bra!
She tries to take a shortcut while doing “laps” of the gym, she didn’t touch the door like she was supposed to. And Michelle noticed and told her to go back and do it, no shortcuts!
She breaks into tears a little at the end of her session, with a side bit of her explaining that she was amazed she’d managed to make it through the exercise.
Alison tells Michelle she wants to be a role model to her girls.

Michelle wants them to walk out the door with the knowledge that every training session is going to be hard, but they can do it!

All the fatties come in as a group and find a letter on the kitchen sink. “Ooooh!”

“Most of the food has been taken away,
a major decision will be made today,
make the right choice and you’ll see what’s in store,
now head to the Warehouse to find out more.”

Rachel thinks they’re going to have a challenge and one of them will be going home.
They check the fridges and indeed, pretty much everything is gone. There’s two napples left in one fridge though! That should last them… two minutes?

So off they go!
Everyone decides to tell us they’re all baffled as to what’s going on. Very useful commentary, thanks guys.

The Warehouse area is pretty run-down. Sean says it’s kind of surreal, nobody knew what was going on and nobody would tell them. Alison says it’s a bit scary!

The Warehouse itself is pretty dimly lit… except for a bright light shining down on Ajay! Who actually has a decent dress yet again. Pretty little red number. Boggle.

Apparently the decision they make within the Warehouse will make the difference between staying and being eliminated.
Monica tells us she really badly needs to stay. So does Garry.

The Biggest Loser is not only about training your bodies, but also your minds. A lifetime of poor food choices has been the cause of their downfall and has lead them here to this moment.

Every week they get a chance to make amends for the poor choices of their past.
On either side of Ajay are two crates. Inside, two different types of food. Eating the right food could give you the edge.
It seems they’re going to be given a choice.
Alison was worried they’d have to eat crap all week!

And inside the two crates are…
Yummy red meat!
And…
Squicky smelly seafood!

Rachel says she could smell it from a mile away and it made her nauseous.

They’ll still have the basic food groups in the house. But the food they choose will be the core of their diet for the week.
Sean says the red meat will give them a lot of energy, but the seafood has a lot less fat.

Most people are okay with picking the fish. Some aren’t.
JJ – “They always say feed the man meat.”
Sean says JJ likes to have a stir.
JJ asks the girls who are saying no to the fish, is it because they don’t eat it normally, or…? They reply that they just don’t like it. To which JJ responds with the, “Too bad, too sad, get used to it” type line. Which goes down about as well as you’d expect.
Rachel says the line about JJ being a pain in her arse then.
Then Sheridan tries to be the adult and tells JJ off, saying that the way he just spoke to the girls was utterly inappropriate. Well, he is single, ladies…
JJ has an aside then to say that it’s basically 12 versus 3.
Sheridan tries to explain that they’re trying to work as a team and that the girls are prepared to bend to be part of the team but what he just said is not helping the team.
And JJ replies again with too bad, too sad, etc.

How is this man still single?!

Sheridan goes on in a side bit to say that JJ obviously has some misogynistic tendencies. I don’t know that they’re tendencies, I think they’re full blown character traits…
Even the guys aren’t real impressed with his attitude.

Nicole really wanted the meat, but she’ll put up with the fish because it’ll be the healthier choice.
Why nobody hit on the idea of just not eating that crap if they don’t like it!

Ajay reminds them all that their first competitive weigh in is not far away!

JJ goes off on another ramble about how he thinks they all think they’re on a holiday. Sprawled out on the couch, etc. He says he’s not there to muck around. Win or lose, he’s there to lose weight and get healthy. And it aggravates him that they “haven’t got it.”

They bring all the seafood back to the house. But they leave it out on the bench to show Shannan and Michelle first. I’d’ve had it right in the fridge. First, seafood stinks. Second, it stinks more if you leave it out. Third, you’ll get food poisoning if it stays unrefridgerated too long.
Shannan and Michelle are both very happy with the decision. Shannan says seafood is high in protein and high in essential fatty acids and very low in calories, generally.
Michelle says the important thing to remember is how you cook it – grill it or steam it, never fry it. Frying it adds 50-75 calories on top of the regular calorie amount.
Shannan tells them that they don’t have to miss out. If they go to a fish and chip place they can get the grilled fish while their mates get the fried and it’s not a problem.

And then Debbie decides that it’s like, super important that Michelle and Shannan know that some of the girls gave up red meat in favour of the fish.
Yes, I’m sure the anthill really needed more poking you idiot.
Cosi is pretty unimpressed, thinks it’s not school camp, too much whinging!
Michelle asks how it was unanimous if they didn’t all really want seafood. And the girls try to say they knew it was the healthy option.
And JJ butts in to say that he put his bit in and that’s the real reason. He wants to do the right thing by the trainers, he’s fair dinkum about things. They were all there trying to make a decision and 12 made the right decision. Sheridan tried to interrupt and correct him and he shut her down and said he’s speaking now.
In an aside, Sheridan says she’s not going to be frightened of him, he needs to shut up and listen more. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT KISS FIGHT FIGHT. Wait, how’d that get in there.
Rachel has clued in that JJ is just always trying to stir the pot. Nicole thinks it’s definitely something he’ll get eliminated for. John is pretty amused by it all.

And now we’re off to America. Awesome!
The Black Team get picked up in a black limo. That has a light-up floor inside. More awesome!
And lights on the roof! Awesomer!
They’re all talking in the limo, wondering if the others would be jealous.

They arrive at the ranch and Bob and Jillian come out through the front doors.
Bob is very excited about this. Jillian seems pretty psyched as well. She gets another group of rejects to groom.
Nicole knows it’s going to be a huge thing, their lives will be changed.

Jillian explains again that they have a huge advantage. No challenges, no temptations, no weigh ins.
And they’re with Bob and her. “We’re the best. We’re the originals. We’re it.”
Jillian lets them all in on the fact that the White House folks will not be happy to see them back. They will want the Black Team GONE.
Bob and Jillian are going to give them the tools they need to wipe the floor with the rest of them.
“So, when we say jump, you say?” “How high, Miss?” – Bryce

“There’s absolutely no turning back, I’m gonna do it.” – Michelle (the fat one, not the trainer)

First they’re going to go weigh in so they know where they’re starting from.

“And Michelle? I love you buddy… but I’m going to crush you.” – Jillian
“Back in Australia they have no idea that there is this force being built to come back into that White House and just start kicking ass and taking names.” – Bob

Tomorrow night the Black Team has their first weigh in!
Also, the first temptation breaks some friendships apparently, as Garry says that if anyone caves in and does the Temptation, he’ll be voting for them. Very interesting!

And we close with an ominous call for John on a mobile phone… In other words, his daughter had her baby and it’s the call to let him know that it all went fine. I bet that’s all it is!