The Biggest Loser (U.S. TV Series) - Episode Format

Episode Format

Episodes are typically two hours long. Some episodes have been aired in a shortened one-hour format to accommodate "The Voice" and the State of the Union address. Each episode features some, but not all, of the following activities (some contestants may not participate in an activity with physical requirements if placed on medical restrictions):

1. Temptation:
   Contestants prepare for the first day of the week only to find a situation that involves temptation. The temptation usually requires contestants to gamble by eating or drinking delicious but high-calorie foods in exchange for what may seem to be a beneficial trade-off. The benefits may or may not be known to the contestants in advance. Examples include eating sweet foods for a chance to call their loved ones, eating a big slice of cake to win an unknown prize (which, in one episode, turned out to be an exercise bike) or giving up time with trainer for a chance to win thousands of dollars. Contestants are given a set amount of time before the offer passes.
2. Reward Challenge:
   Contestants compete to win a prize, first as teams and then as individuals after the teams are dissolved. After the challenge, viewers are shown the winning team savoring their reward while the losing team accepts their loss. Prizes range from immunity- which is exemption from elimination - to exercise equipment, phone calls home or weight prizes, which allow winners of a challenge to have a greater weight loss at the Weigh-In, or losers of a challenge to have a lower weight loss at the Weigh-In (e.g. a 6 lb weight loss would result in a 7 lb weight loss if a contestant were to win a "1 pound advantage" whereas it would result in a 5 lb weight loss if a contestant were to win a "1 pound disadvantage"). If the teams are uneven at the start of the Weigh-in, then the team that has more players may be asked to choose a certain number of players from that team to sit out. This would result in their results not being counted towards their team's total weight loss.
3. Initial Workout:
   Contestants work out with the trainers. During this segment, the trainers will often speak with certain contestants, especially those doing poorly. Usually certain underlying emotional issues are revealed at this time (such as a loss of a family member or a physical calamity), which often are the triggering events that led to the weight gain in the first place.
4. Last Chance Workout:
   Last chance workouts are often shown as grueling, final preparations for the weigh in. This is a real test of strength and trainers push contestants to their limits.
5. Weigh-In:
   Although, the show depicts the weigh-in an evening setting, the actual weight measurement occurs off-camera in a morning session and the contestants are not told of the results during this time. All contestants are weighed to determine the amount they have lost relative to their total body weight. During team-based competition, the team that loses the highest percentage wins and the losing team must send one person home. When the teams are dissolved and the show becomes an individual competition, the two contestants who lose the lowest percentage of weight are below the yellow line and are eligible for elimination. A similar setup to individual-based weigh-ins happens when the two initial teams are broken up into four teams of two or three, as happened in the second and fourth seasons. In season ten, the rules changed. The contestants are now expected to weigh in before challenges. The yellow line now increases up to half of the slots depending on how many contestants there are at the ranch. The contestants that are below the yellow line face an elimination challenge before the vote. In addition, the Biggest Loser of the week is allowed to save a person below the yellow line from elimination. Some episodes have featured both a yellow line and a red line; a contestant who falls below the red line is eliminated outright from the competition without a vote of the other contestants.
6. Elimination Challenge:
   Introduced in season nine, the elimination challenge was for the two people who were below the yellow line. In the only elimination challenge of that season, the longest one standing stayed while the other one went home. In season ten, the elimination challenge was re-introduced. The amount of people who were below the yellow line participate in a challenge to escape from the vote. The two contestants that are the least successful in the competition faces the vote.
7. The Vote:
   The final segment of the show takes place in a dining room that has refrigerators labeled with each contestant's name (active contestants have their name illuminated) and filled with that contestant's favorite tempting foods. Prior to the vote, the contestants facing elimination plead their case as to why they should remain on the Ranch (several episodes feature contestants making a "sacrificial" request to be sent home, generally a team agreeing as to which member should stay and which one should go, or one contestant feeling that they can make progress at home while another needs the Ranch setting to continue his/her progress). The other contestants are not required to honor any requests to be sent home, though generally such requests are honored. The contestants facing elimination arrive at the dining room first; the other contestants each carry a covered plate containing the name of the person they wish to vote out. In the event of a tie, the contestant or team who lost the least percentage of weight is eliminated, except if both of the contestants or teams lost the least percentage of weight. As people are voted out, the light for their name is extinguished. After the vote, the eliminated contestant is shown at home and mentions the progress they have made in their weight loss.