Biggest Loser discussion: The makeover show (photos)

April 14, 10:48 PMWeight Loss ExaminerGail Gedan Spencer

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NBC photo

It's Biggest Loser week 15, and Filipe makes a vow to give Bob a win on the Biggest Loser finale. “I know for a fact I’m not gonna let him down,” he vowed.

• Check out these before and after photos of Laura and makeovers

The challenge: It came early in the show, to get to the good stuff – the makeovers! The contestants had to cross a canyon strapped to cables. They’d be zipping across the canyon from 110 feet high. Whee! Ron had to quit early because of his knee – lateral movements can be a killer with a bum knee. Kristin said TV wouldn’t do the canyon any justice but it looked plenty scary to me. And like usual, Tara won, even with losing her footing at one point. She won a $25,000 kitchen makeover and a room full of healthy food.

On to the makeovers: They walked into Macy’s and out popped Project Runway’s Tim Gunn. Helen couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she could fit into the cute dresses that Gunn was showing her. Then it was onto hair and makeup with Bravo’s hairdo duo of stern Tabitha and “bad boy” Brandon.

Quote of the week, from Helen: “It’s happening, and I did this.”

The makeovers were great this season – everyone looked fantastic and not at all overdone, which had happened in past seasons. Among the standouts: Tara looked just like a movie star and Kristen’s hair was gorgeous (she lost the skunky stripes). Laura looks great as a redhead. Ron’s family reunion was especially poignant. His son Max was overwhelmed at how his dad and brother looked. “I’m the big one,” Max said through tears, but big brother Mikey had a talk with him. “It’s not like you’re stuck like that,” Mike said.

The contestants and their loved ones then sat down and watched a movie about their journey up ‘til now. (The song played toward the end was It’s Your Life by Francesca Battistelli.)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bob mussed up their new hairdos with a grueling last-chance workout that included potty mouth from Mr. Harper. “I’ve traded in my glass slippers for a pair of tennis shoes,” Kristin said.

Laura had been complaining about her hip and it was getting worse. Turns out she’s working on a broken hip. Yikes! Dr. H told her no impact on that hip for 3 months. After that, Jillian had a heart to heart with Helen about milk (MILK!). As someone who’s severely lactose intolerant, the sight of someone drinking a big ol’ glass of milk skeeves me out (don’t worry, I drink lactose-free stuff).

Weigh-in: Mikey broke the Biggest Loser record for the most weight lost at the ranch –145 pounds in 15 weeks, which is mind-blowing. As Ron moves closer to getting below 300 pounds, he mentioned that he weighed 200 pounds when he was 9. Helen lost an amazing 7 pounds. Because of Laura’s broken hip, she wasn’t able to exercise and gained 3 pounds. So she and Kristin went below the yellow line. Tara lobbied to keep Laura on the ranch, even with the stress fracture. Ron wasn’t having any of her argument.

In the end, and with a close vote, Laura was eliminated and is receiving medical and physical therapy support from the show.

What do you think of this emotional episode? Did they vote off the right person?