The Biggest Shocker

Massachusetts native Neil has been stirring up controversy for the past few weeks on "The Biggest Loser."

In episode seven (October 23), the contestants were informed they would no longer be playing as three teams; instead they would be broken up into trios. Jez won a challenge that allowed him to choose the trios, and he teamed himself up with Neil and Isabeau. (View episode-recap slideshow here)

At weigh-in time, everyone was shocked to see that Neil had gained 17 pounds in one week. It didn't seem plausible that anyone could gain that much weight in one week...but Neil has done it intentionally, mostly through water-loading. Everyone thought he wanted to send his own trio to elimination, assuming that he would not be voted out. After all, if he is gaining weight rather than losing it, the other players will not see him as a threat to their own success and will not want to vote him out.

His assumption was correct, as the other players voted out Jez instead. But Neil was left to continue in the game surrounded by players and trainers whose opinion of him had drastically changed. At the end of that episode, nearly everyone was angry with Neil for manipulating them.

In episode eight (October 30), in the wake of Neil's weight-gain stunt, Kae became uncomfortable with the way the game was going and announced she wanted to go home. (View episode-recap slideshow here). Trainer Bob spent his week encouraging Kae while at the same time punishing Neil for his weight gain. Bob worked Neil extra hard all week. At that week's weigh in, Neil saw his strategy pay off -- he lost 33 pounds, keeping his team out of elimination.

The trio of Hollie, Kae, and David lost the lowest percentage of weight, meaning that one of them would be voted out of the game. Both Kae and Hollie had been anxious for several days that they would be the next player to go if their team went to elimination, but in the end it was David who was sent home.

At the elimination, Neil apologized to the other players for his actions the previous week. His plan worked in his favor in episode eight, but it remains to be seen whether the other players' views of him will affect his status in the future. It still seem completely implausible that he managed to gain 17 pounds in a week and lose more than 30 the next...but the scale doesn't lie.

Tonight, as part of "NBC Goes Green" week, the Losers will compete in a challenge focuses on recycling and eco-friendly energy sources. I'll be tuning in just to see what Neil does next.