Biggest Loser Season 14: Teen Ambassadors Rock - And Why Jillian Calling You Out Can Be a Good Thing!

Welcome to Week Four on the ranch. Well, some are on the ranch, some are off the ranch...

I know, it sounds confusing.  Just like when last week's preview had us believing that three players were going home this week.  Alison had said that three people would be leaving the ranch, scaring the contestants (and us at home) into thinking it was them.  What she meant was, the TRAINERS were leaving the ranch for the week to visit our teen ambassadors at home.  Real smooth, NBC.  You just about gave all of us heart attacks!

So the teams were on their own for most of the week, other than some directions that their trainers gave them before they left.  Jillian's white team really worked together and pushed themselves, and with only two of them remaining they really had no choice but to step it up even more.  Jackson stepped up as the leader for the red team, which helped him as well because he was able to focus on something other than being sick and was able to do more for himself.  Bob's blue team seemed really lost.  They all kind of  fell apart without him there and sometimes went through the motions.

I was impressed when Bob got to the restaurant where Biingo's family was having dinner and discovered that Biingo's mom was following the plan along with him.  She's lost 27 pounds so far, setting a great example for him and her family.  And speaking of their family, they are living in a relative's basement because the economy forced Biingo's dad out of a job and they had to sell their house.  They said they've had their moments of crying (which is totally understandable!) but they really pulled it together and are staying positive, doing whatever they can with what they have at the moment.  I'd call them great role models for the whole country.  And Biingo got to train with a pitcher from their minor league baseball team, which only fuels his fire to get in shape so he can play the game he loves again!

Dolvett got to Lindsay's school and surprised everyone, then he talked with her at her house about the bullying she had gone through when she tried cheerleading in the past.  I love that he said there is no excuse for bullying, and Linsday can do anything she really wants.  He took her to the high school to meet some of the cheerleaders, who were very encouraging and promised to help Lindsay all they could.  You could see her confidence building, all because Dolvett made her face her fears and try again.

Sunny had a different problem.  She told Jillian that she feels pressured because she's the only child, and her parents had already decided she was going to grow up to be a doctor.  She's not sure if that's what SHE wants...and she would like to try different things to discover who she really is.  The pressure is causing her to turn to food.  Jillian took her for a crew lesson on the canal in order to start trying something new.  It was new for Jill as well, and refreshing to see her doing something outside of her own comfort zone.  After the lesson they sat down with Sunny's mom to talk.  Her mom told her that she would support her in whatever she wanted to do, since she knew in their culture it was especially difficult for women; she herself was extremely limited in what she was allowed to do.

This is a lesson for all of us.  It doesn't matter what culture you come from...there are people everywhere who feel pressured to be someone they are not.  This causes stress, anxiety, and depression, and that pressure can cause you to overeat, drink too much, gamble too much, etc.  The best thing to do is figure out who you are and be THAT person.  Life is too short to be someone you're not just for somebody else's benefit.  And I hope families see this and realize that the best thing they can do for each other is let each family member be who God made them to be, without attempting to mold them into something that doesn't fit them.

This week's challenge was a 5K, and the white team really smoked the other teams.  Danni finished first and Pam finished third, so their combined times won them $15,000 to split between them.  Pam is beginning to hit her stride and find out what she's really made of, which is a wonderful thing to see!

The trainers were back in time for the last chance workout.  Dolvett and Jillian could tell that their teams had been giving it all they had, but Bob began to worry and get a bad feeling about his group.  Bob and Jill trained their teams together outside while Dolvett used the gym.  Jillian was working with the guys on the blue team when Jeff began to give her attitude.  She could tell he wasn't even close to giving it his full effort...and even from watching at home I could see he was "phoning it in", as she told Bob.  Bob knew that she was being hard on Jeff because she cares - and he needed that tough love!  He didn't realize that in the moment...but soon he did.

That time came when everyone stepped on the scale.  Bob's team went first, with most of them pulling numbers lower than they should have.  It was certainly true of Jeff.  He was disappointed in the number, and it began to dawn on him that Jillian was right.  She explained that she knows he is capable of so much more than he's showing.  Her calling him out was the best thing that could have happened to him...he needed to be woken up, to stop sleepwalking through the workouts AND his life.  I'm sure that next week we will see a whole new attitude from Jeff...a much BETTER one!

The red team had good numbers, and the white team weighed in last.  They fell short of the other two teams, even though they had given it everything they had all week.  Pam was automatically eliminated, because there were only two of them and the person with the lowest percentage had to go.  It really stinks that just as she's hitting her stride she has to leave.  BUT...you should see her at home!  She's lost more than 50 pounds, goes ice skating with her daughter, and has even gotten her own makeover.  She looks fantastic, and it's plain to see that she feels fantastic on the inside as well.

Speaking of makeovers, the preview for next week teases that tow of the eliminated players are coming back to the ranch with makeovers.  Don't know if Pam is one of them, or if they mean two other people besides her.  The show is definitely switching things up this season, and I'm excited to see what's next!