Last night saw the second temptation challenge take place in the Biggest Loser house and the contestants battled to win the right to receive a letter from home.

Rick was very down last night following his collision with Sadie during the challenge. Fairly emotional, he said,

‘It was an accident, it couldn’t be helped but it all just came to a head then and just sort of, I don’t need to be here for this anymore,’

His ankle is still bad and he was considering dropping out because it would mean he wouldn’t be able to train so strenuously. But, wife and Biggest Loser partner, Michelle said she wanted to stay so they decided to soldier on. Rick said he would stay to support his wife.

Letters From Home

Each contestant had to complete a challenge to win the right to get a letter from home. Their loved ones had put pen to paper to give the contestants motivation, encouragement and to tell them how proud they are of them. It was a very emotional session in the gym as each contestant was reminded of the people they had left behind.

Richard set the challenges and had all of the couples in the gym doing cardio while he called each contestant forward for their challenge.

The Challenges

Katey was up first. She thought the letter would be from her boyfriend. Her challenge was 75 shoulder presses in 2 minutes. She completed the challenge and won the right to get her letter.

Kevin was next with 40 shuttle runs (one side of the gym to the other) in 2 minutes. He thought he was going to barrel through the walls of the gym because he was really going for it. He was really desperate to get his letter as he thought it would probably be from his son.

Dave and Mark were up next. Dave’s letter was from his wife who is ill at home. He is her full time carer and wants to get fit so he can carry on looking after her. Mark’s letter was from some really good friends of his. They were both determined to complete their challenge. If either one didn’t do it, the other wouldn’t receive their letter either!

No Pain No Gain

They had to hold an isometric squat (stand with their back against the wall and slide down til their knees were bent at 90°) for 2 minutes. Mark was obviously in pain from the get go but Dave, as always, put a brave face on it. They both completed the challenge and got their letters. The pain was worth it.

Eunice, whose letter was from hubby had to do 101 steps in 2 minutes. She worked really hard and the effort she was putting in was evident as her face got redder and redder. Unfortunately, she didn’t get through enough steps and didn’t complete the challenge. Richard wasn’t able to give her the letter from home.

Sadie and Michelle were called next. Sadie said she didn’t want to fail regardless of the letter. They had to lie down on the floor with their forearms on a Bosu board in the Plank position and hold it for 2½ minutes. Again, like David and Mark, if either failed, they both did. Sadie’s letter was from her Grandma and Michelle’s was from her sister Natasha. Although both of their bodies were shaking they both completed the challenge.

Look into My Eyes

While Michelle was doing her challenge, Rick kept shouting across to her. Miriam said,

‘Rick was a bit weird when Michelle went up to do her challenge to get her letter. He kept shouting out to Michelle about pretend you are an iron girder – you won’t twist and you won’t bend. I don’t know if it was some hypnosis thing but definitely a bit strange!’

Brute Force

Jennifer and Michaela were next. Their challenge was to lift a power bag from the floor onto their shoulders and then drop it and repeat that 45 times in 2 minutes. Jennifer ‘went at it like an animal’ according to Richard but Michaela dropped the bag back down almost politely!

Both Jennifer and Michaela were expecting the letters to be from their sons. Both ladies completed their challenge and won the right to get their letters.

Consistent All the Way

Level headed, consistent and even tempered was how Richard described his next ‘victim’, Maria. Her challenge was to do 101 steps onto the Bosu board in 2 minutes. It’s an uneven surface making it more difficult than a Step. Her letter was from her boys and, by keeping a steady pace she completed her challenge.

Rick had to do 101 bench presses in 1 minute to get his letter but he missed out and didn’t quite do enough. So, he missed out on his letter.

Romance isn’t Dead

Miriam and Carol had to stand on a Bosu board facing each other, hold hands and squat so their knees were at 90°. They had to hold this for 2 minutes. All the way through, Carol was talking to Miriam, encouraging her to hold on as both their legs turned to jelly! They completed the challenge even though Carol wasn’t sure if a letter from home would ruin her focus. Miriam’s letter was from her Mum and Dad and Carol’s was from her hubby. It was addressed to Mrs C Brown, The Love of My Life, Slimtown. Awwwwww!

Jamie, desperate to hear from his girlfriend to make sure she was ok, had to do the bell ringer on a piece of gym equipment. Attached to a weight was a lead which he had to pull past his body in a ‘bell ringer’ motion. He had to do 101 in 2 minutes which, with his shoulder did seem to be hard work for him but, it paid off and he completed it with 7 seconds to spare!

Temptation Challenge

With the temptation challenge, each couple are faced with two plates. Each plate contains the contestant’s favourite food and is each worth 260 calories. One of the plates has a prize on the bottom. The prize last night was a day at a spa for the person who won it, with the full use of a gym and a well-earned massage. If one of the couple won the prize they could pass it onto their partner.

Eunice and Miriam were faced with chocolate and cookies and cream ice cream. Eunice loves chocolate and instantly started salivating at the sight of it. But, their resolve set in stone, they decided not to eat the food.

Katey and Carol also decided not to go for it. Faced with chocolate biscuits and cheese pizza, it was a hard choice for them. Carol even considered going for it so she could give the spa day to Katey! But, they decided not to so close to the weigh in day.

Jamie and David had pate on toast and a cheese and onion sandwich to contend with. Dave pointed out that they were in the bottom two last week so they should pass on it. But Jamie decided to go for it. Pate and toast is one of his faves. He ate the food and turned the plate. He had won the prize. Dave said,

‘And now I’ve just got to persuade you to let me have it!’

Maria and Michaela got Tandoori chicken but, decided to give it a miss. Maria did replace the lid very reluctantly though.

Too Tempting

Michelle said that her nightmare would be to see a chicken burger when she lifted the lid on her plate. Lo and behold, there was a chicken burger! Rick was tempted with fries and ketchup. They took the challenge and tucked in. Rick was really hoping to win the spa day but Michelle was the lucky one.

Mark and Kevin had two pizza slices and a scotch egg. Mark said he was really surprised the scotch egg had so many calories in it and that he ‘luuuuuved’ them. They decided to go for it.

¾ of the way through the first slice, Kevin said he really enjoyed it and when he had finished he was really full. He won the spa day but, like the gentleman he is, he gave it to Mark!

The last couple, Jennifer and Sadie, got a pile of fudge and four pieces of fried chicken. Jennifer just stared at the fudge open mouthed! As much as she loved the look of it, she didn’t want to risk it. She said,

‘The thought of putting all that sugar into my body now was something that I just never relished at all.’

Sadie wanted to go for it and Jennifer admitted she wanted the prize more than she wanted the fudge. So they ate what was in front of them.

Jennifer won the prize making eating the fudge worth it. She did say one piece would have been enough and that all of them felt like mud sliding down her throat.

Tomorrow is weigh in day. How much weight will the contestants have lost? Will their hard work this week keep them above the yellow line?