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(S09E02) Remember last week when I said that most teams don't go in for the gameplay this early in The Biggest Loser. I will now stand corrected, as strategy definitely came into play during tonight's episode.

Most of the episode, however, was a showcase for Dr. Huizenga. I'm still haunted by that 3-D MRI image of Shay from last season, and he's at it again, this time showing us the new heaviest-ever-contestant Michael's physique under the computer simulator. He also spotlights the impact of the contestant's weight and health issues in a variety of ways, so that we at home will be sure to get the point.

I applaud The Biggest Loser for the message that we need to get off the couch and do something before we wind up like many of these contestants. But all these constant reminders are really making it hard for me to enjoy this deep-fried Twinkie.

(S09E01) That was fast. It seems like just last month we were crowning Danny "The Biggest Loser," and yet we're back at it already. The series returned to the "Couples" format for this ninth season, but that didn't stop them from finding even bigger contestants to throw at Bob and Jillian.

In fact, that was one of the first things the trainers talked about: how hard they were going to have to work to beat these guys into shape. Five contestants are weighing in at over 400 pounds, with one smashing Shay's record of 476 by coming in at 526 pounds. Two of those contestants are a set of twins weighing in at nearly a thousand pounds combined.

If being the biggest combined group ever wasn't embarrassing enough, the first thing these contestants learned was that their first weigh-in wasn't going to be at the Ranch. It was going to be in their hometowns. Outside and in front of all their friends and families. Welcome to The Biggest Loser.

The fall season of 'The Biggest Loser' ended just a few weeks ago, and we've got another one coming right up. 'The Biggest Loser: Couples' premieres Tue., Jan. 5 at 8PM ET on NBC, and the 11 teams are starting with a combined total weight of 7,236 pounds.

Life & Style magazine sat down with three of the contestants to talk about their inspirations and goals heading into the challenge. We've got exclusive excerpts from their interviews, plus read more in this week's issue of Life & Style.

(S08E13) And then there were four. Well, three. And then one. But another one, too. As promised, Alison quickly revealed which of the ladies would face off against Rudy and Danny for the quarter-of-a-million prize. But the exciting thing about these finales is seeing the amazing transformations all the contestants have gone through.

This season certainly provided plenty of "S/He looks amazing!" moments throughout. It also offered us two awesome surprises, and neither of them have to do with the winner of the show, and the $100,000 "At Home" prize.

The big challenge for Amanda and Liz was if either one of them could really compete with the guys in this finale. Last week, at their last weigh-in on the Ranch, neither of them came anywhere near what the men were able to do. I certainly didn't expect it to matter which one America chose. Rudy and Danny were going to take this.

(S08E12) As we all learned in the last episode, last week was the contestant's last week on the Biggest Loser Ranch. Now, it was time to face the real world once again as the final four contestants headed home for 60 days. Then, it would be back to the ranch for one final weigh-in to determine which two contestants were guaranteed spots in the finale next week, and which two would have to plead for America to vote them in as the third finalist.

The episode was framed and put together very nicely as a showcase for all the hard work Rudy, Danny, Amanda and Liz have put in during their time on the Ranch, and how much they've each grown and changed from this experience. It served as a retrospective of the season, in part, as well as an affirmation that the work this show is doing can change lives.

(S08E11) It was a big week, as the remaining five contestants settled in for their final week on the Biggest Loser campus. With Amanda as a clear outcast in the group, she was feeling the pressure even more to stay above that yellow line. And big weeks aren't something Amanda is known for, despite a valiant nine-pound loss last week. She's never seen double digits and spent most of the season hovering around six pounds a week.

However, as one of the smallest contestants in the game, those numbers can make a difference when it comes to her percentages. Liz, Allen, Rudy and Danny have all developed a tight bond over the past ten weeks, and you just know their dream was for Amanda to slip below so they could send her home and preserve their foursome into the Semi-Finals.

The week was big in a couple of other ways as well. Rudy with the potential to have the biggest on-campus weight loss in Biggest Loser history, while Danny was in position to break a record of his own.

(S08E10) This week, as usual, The Biggest Loser knew how to manipulate the audience's emotions. They even did it with a live audience, as Tim Gunn and Tabatha Coffey gave the contestants makeovers and then pushed them onto a stage to give a speech about their journey, both before the Ranch and since.

As always, the makeovers are a lot of fun, and a great reminder of all the amazing work these contestants have done in reshaping their lives and physical appearance. The prize for the most dramatic transformation goes to Rudy, though I thought Danny spit-polished up quite nicely. All of the ladies were lovely, but I didn't really think Rebecca's new hairstyle worked, and in fact I thought it framed and hid more of her face than her old 'do.

(S08E09) Suddenly, it's game on! After this week's double elimination, we're left with our final six competitors. Now they've no choice but to start playing the game. No more of this "who deserves to be here" crap, because there's a quarter of a million dollars on the line and they're starting to smell the finish line.

With Tracey gone, it looks like the producers have found their next "villain," though it could just as easily be a case of the whineys with another contestant -- a contestant with a history of whining.

Both challenges were endurance events, with one having the contestants jump up and grab tennis balls secured to a panel by velcro strips, and the other having them jump off a trampoline and through a hoop a couple of hundred times. When Ali announced that it took 100 jumps through a contestant's hoops to eliminate them, I was flabbergasted. I was also pretty sure we were going to see an injury.

(S08E07) As promised, absolutely everything Biggest Loser was transported to our nation's capitol, Washington DC, for the week. The contestants had to deal with vacation eating, exercising, and even their challenges and the weigh-in happened surrounded by national monuments.

It was a pretty exciting thing for our contestants, and even Bob and Jillian were somewhat in awe of the majesty of where they were. The episode wasn't as emotionally gripping as it's been the last few weeks, but I think a lot of that has to do with the distractions of everything that was going on this week.

It's hard to have an emotional breakthrough when you're away from the comfort of the Ranch and the Biggest Loser Gym, and all the trappings that have come to make these contestants feel at home. So I found myself worried as to what would happen after a week of chaos when these guys got up on that scale.

This season of The Biggest Loser has to be one of the most emotional of them all. When Abby went home last week (no spoiler griping - it was last week), it was truly inspiring to see how she's been able to move ahead with her life and let people in again. If someone whose been through one of the worst tragedies you can imagine can do that, it gives you hope that anything is possible.

This week, the remaining contestants head to Washington D.C., for a fun adventure that will take them from the Lincoln Memorial to the inside of the White House kitchen. The players also learn that they'll be competing as individuals rather than teams. Their first challenge: race around the National Mall and try to bring as many people as possible back to the Washington Monument for a public workout with trainers Bob and Jillian.

(S08E06) What's the most bittersweet prize you can win on The Biggest Loser? A trip home. Oh how great it is to see your family, but all that time at home with your favorite temptations and without Bob and Jillian kicking your ass up one side of the gym and down the other. It can also be the worst reward possible.

At this week's opening reward challenge, the winning team won tickets home. But, to make things more interesting, they also got a choice. They could take the tickets and the trip home, or they could send the other team home, thus gaining the advantage of an extra week in the gym with their trainer.

I was looking for a lot of things to happen this week, but I was a little surprised at what came about with Daniel. He's been such a positive force of inspiration and support that I was actually surprised when he had an emotional epiphany and breakdown stemming all the way back to his initial weight gain.

Eliminations on The Biggest Loser are always heart-wrenching. Much as the contestants hate being away from their families, they've made the decision to try out for the show, and once they're there, the last thing they want to do is go home and back to their unhealthy habits.

Many of them truly are fighting for their life, and you just know that without the motivation of laying it all out there on TV -- not to mention the grueling paces that Bob and Jillian put them through -- some of them might never gain control over their weight.

(S08E05) It's been a lot of fun seeing Bob and Jillian working together to help everyone on the Ranch lose weight and become better people. It was a good idea to pair up these total strangers as teams of two, so that they could develop a personal support structure. Everyone was in a good and happy place, and things were moving along.

Everyone except for Tracey. It is amazing how soundly she is despised in this game by nearly everyone there.

But still ... one big happy family, right? Wrong! This week everything we thought we knew about this season was thrown out the window, and once again a single contestant was given ultimate power in how the new face of The Biggest Loser would play out. At least until they change it again.

(S08E04) Last week's episode of The Biggest Loser was about choices. Tracey made the choice to become the most hated woman in the house. This week, the theme was again choices. More specifically, how do you choose what to eat when you have to eat out? To drive home the point, Alison locked up the kitchen and forced the contestants to eat out for every meal this week.

To make matters even worse, Tracey hasn't been able to work out at all, and as the promos showed, her frustrations with her health continued into this week. However, despite restricted exercise, Tracey dropped eleven pounds last week. Could she do it again?

Could they all hang in there to make it another week on the Ranch? See, that was funny because of this week's challenge. Everybody had to hang on an incline above a pool as long as they could. Scary thought for 437-pound Shay. But surprises awaited.

(S08E03) Perhaps as a response to no one going home last week, or maybe it was always in the cards, but tonight saw the elimination of entire teams as opposed to the individual elimination of week one that sent Alexandra home. This meant that the stakes couldn't be higher as everyone was going to have to pull their weight to shed those pounds and keep their team safe, right?

You'd think so.

In a very interesting and revealing twist, Alison announced that this week on The Biggest Loser Ranch, it was all about choices. As such, she set up several scenarios, challenges and temptations whereby people could make choices that could not only affect their fate in the game, but everyone else's, as well. Let me tell you, choices were made and all hell broke loose!