(S09E06) In honor of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, so conveniently on NBC as well, the contestants of 'The Biggest Loser' got to spend their week working out with the world-class athletes at the Olympic training center in Colorado. The vacation, along with the higher altitude, impacted how their bodies reacted to their workouts, leading to smaller numbers on the scale, and one startling result.

To make matters worse, Alison informed them they would not only be competing this week as individuals, instead of teams, but that two of them would be sent home. It was the return of the dreaded red line. The contestant falling below that would be eliminated immediately. The next two lowest percentages of weight loss would fall below the yellow line and one of them would be going home. But even that process wasn't quite as expected.

The first challenge of the week was individual as well, but it was still Gray v. Red all the way to the finish as Melissa and Sam were neck and neck. Melissa was holding onto the slimmest of margins, until she slipped off the slide board on slide number 492 out of 500. It had to be an absolutely heartbreaking loss.

She was consoled ever so slightly by the fact that the top three finishers would all receive advantages at the next challenge; an homage to the three medal place finishers at the Olympics. Red's Lance surged toward the bronze position, but was unable to overcome Yellow's Sunshine, who secured an impressive victory for the newest team in the house.

They kept that streak alive, as the advantages turned into disadvantages at the Immunity Challenge. After thinking about it, they probably regretted sabotaging one another, but that's exactly what happened. The challenge was to hit an opponent's target five times, thus knocking them out of the game. Melissa and Sunshine both gave theirs to Sam, who returned the favor right back at them. Not doing well in the prior challenge proved to be advantageous.

It also proved beneficial to not be seen as a strong physical threat. Ashley, the heaviest female on campus, and Darrell and O'Neal, both nursing damaged knees, wound up the final three competitors. O'Neal cemented the Yellow Team as a force to be wary of by getting his final shot off moments before Darrell could eliminate him.

On the scale, O'Neal again performed, dropping nine pounds despite having Immunity. Michael came several pounds shy of beating Rudy's 100-pounds-in-seven-weeks record, but shed 11 pounds and is very close to at least matching it. It's great seeing him with a true sense of motivation to continue working hard. Miggy continues to impress, now two weeks out from surgery, by posting the second highest percentage of weight-loss for the week.

Daris had a big week as well, and we learned that while Michael may have the raw numbers, it's Daris that holds the honor of having the highest total percentage of weight loss thus far. That's good news and bad news for Daris, as it also clearly marks him as a threat to win the top prize, thus painting a huge target on his back.

Melissa, with no immunity to back her up, again faltered and gained a pound. That's the second time she's done so this season, and coupled with a one-pound loss a few weeks back, she's had probably the most erratic weight-loss results of anyone ever on the show. Back at home, she insists those results were real, and she just had to persevere. She's down to 175 pounds, a 58-pound drop, and enjoying boxing and working out with her kids.

Back on the Ranch, Alison eliminated the vote. Instead, she said the remaining bottom two contestants would compete to see who could stay on campus. It was an odd challenge, with each of them crouching and pushing a pillar into the bottom of a torch with the tops of their heads. First torch to drop is out.

The contestants were pleased, though, because it meant they wouldn't have to vote to eliminate two parents, Black Team's Darrell and Orange Team's Cheryl. Unfortunately, we'll all have to wait until after the Olympics to see who wins. We can also look forward to the dividing of the contestants into the Blue and Black teams, apparently divided in a surprising way by someone; a way that Jillian asks, "How is this even fair?"

[Catch up with clips and full episodes of The Biggest Loser on SlashControl.]


My Pound for Pound Challenge

I'm starting to understand how Melissa feels. At this point, I'm down a total of three pounds from my starting weight, despite working out daily and completely changing my eating habits. Clearly I haven't got this figured out yet at all, or my body has decided to be very resistant to any kind of change. I've got a three week break, during the Olympics, to right this train. I'm going to have to get out there and start running despite the cold and snow to keep my heart rate up even longer. I'm rather sick of seeing numbers over 220 pounds at this point.

• Starting: 224 lb.
• Week 1: 222 lb.
• Week 2: 225 lb.
• Week 3: 220 lb.
• Week 4: 218 lb.
• Week 5: 221 lb.

Share your own journeys in the comments, which hopefully are going better than mine, and join the "Pound for Pound Challenge" so your win can be a win for your community, too.