'The Biggest Loser': Week 7 Recap

By Liz Coughlin | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 1:49 PM

Abby works out on the exercise ball.

NBC/Trae Patton

For those who love "Biggest Loser," but don't have two hours to watch every week…

This week was inspiring. I cheered and cried at least five times, which is a personal record. And speaking of records, Rudy lost 101 lb. in seven weeks, beating Dane from Season 7 by a week. Congrats, Rudy! And I've been tough on Tracey (aka Crazy Eyes) in past recaps, and while she was delightfully nutty in many interviews this week, I'm going to avoid focusing on her this week.

The Drama:
It was "Face Off" week -- so the episode started with a Pop Challenge, and the winning team picked the pairs. Of course, the blue team clobbered the black team -- but I was inspired by Amanda's performance… she really hustled! The main drama for the episode was about Abby, because she realized she's achieved what she wanted out of the experience… (more analysis about Abby below). We're also starting to see some serious struggles amongst the younger cast members: Daniel and Amanda. But for some good quick drama, watch Jillian and Amanda go at it -- Amanda was struggling and she resisted Jillian's instruction, eventually realizing she needed to stop fighting the change she was experiencing.

The Challenge:
I love the big stadium-style/sports challenges -- this episode had the cast participating in a baseball-themed event, where they collected thousands of baseballs from the outfield, then used them to eliminate players from the other team. Their reward: a 2 lb. advantage during weigh-in. Since Abby had to sit out for medical reasons, the teams were even, and SOMEHOW the black team won…I still don't know how they did it. See for yourself.

The Weigh-In:
During "Face Off" week, the goal is to win three of the five weigh-in duels. The black team won a 2 lb. advantage by winning the baseball challenge, which they gave to Amanda. No shock here -- the blue team killed the black team (blue was able to create the matchups). But the big shocker was related to Daniel. It's apparent he was constantly falling short of achieving his goals; he blew it in the Pop Challenge, and his weight-loss record was inconsistent/weak at best. Meanwhile, Danny did really well against Allen. Despite her advantage, Amanda lost to Rebecca, then Shay lost to beloved Rudy, and kindhearted Abby lost to Crazy Eyes. Daniel lost to Liz, which was shocking since she is twice his age, and he is in really good shape thanks to his back-to-back experiences on this season and last season. Needless to say, Jillian will likely be zeroing in on Daniel in the next few weeks.

The Elimination:
The elimination seemed to be a no-brainer, since Abby sacrificed herself for the others, and Danny secured immunity by having the greatest percentage of weight loss for the week. Oddly, Danny voted for Daniel (perhaps a challenge to Daniel?), but everyone else voted for Abby. Please watch this clip of Abby; it's genuine and heartfelt, but also inspiring, because she was never on this show for the money or the glory. She was here to find herself again, and she succeeded!

Talk About It: Do you feel it was Abby's week to go?

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