http://www.hulu.com/embed/3DcMp0tbeHTWQLjaS1f1rg/i191

I watched the latest Biggest Loser reunion show last night (it aired on Wednesday) and loved it!  You can watch the whole thing in the video above (I love Hulu!).  The producers have finally hit on a great recipe for making a reunion show – focusing on the inspirational stories that continue long after the show wraps.  I loved seeing some old friends make the episode, enjoyed the different physical challenges they put together, and thought the stories were great.  Of course, my favorite portion of the show was when they focused on Dr. Huizenga – he’s the real brains and heart behind the incredible weight loss that happens on the show.  It’s his years of experience with the NFL that really set up the format of extreme weight loss that makes it all work.

I have to admit, the only thing that rubbed me wrong were all of Jillian’s under the breath comments about Ryan, the season one winner.  It wasn’t a surprise – he has been open about the weight gain long before any other winners admitted their own struggles.  About 50% of Biggest Loser contestants put significant weight back on – while that sounds like a lot, it’s far better than the national average.  Typically, about 90% of people that lose weight put most or all of it back on.  I only point that out to say it’s not shocking that a former contestant would have regained weight, especially from the first season.  The reality is that the show has learned a LOT over the years on how to do Biggest Loser; the rules have changed from typical reality tv filming where most shows like the Apprentice and Survivor only take 30-40 days to film the whole season and don’t have the host of emotional and psychological issues that come with weight loss and extreme isolation for a period of filming that can take as long as five months.  Season three (my season) was the first where they actually started letting contestants have contact with each other during the months off the ranch before the finale because they realized it really helped with the motivation and ongoing weight loss process.  Anyway, it just rubbed me wrong to see one of my inspirations back in the day talked about like that – especially since he was there as part of his rebooting his pursuit of health (much like Erik came back on the reunion show last year).

That aside, though, the show was GREAT!  And I even made the show … for a few milliseconds …  What were your favorite parts?