Can you believe it is the last week on the ranch? Where did those eleven weeks go? I want to take the start of this blog to thank all my family, friends and fans for all the AMAZING support. WOW, my heart melts each week as I read messages from people who are truly inspiring. There is no better feeling than knowing so many people have your back. THANK YOU!

This was probably the most emotionally trying week on the ranch. I think my favorite part was being able to sit with Jillian and watch my journey. When the song “This Girl is on Fire” played my eyes just completely welled up. Jillian themed that song for me and I am just so privileged to take on that role! How far I’ve come still shocks me and I think it will continue to shock me. This just shows NEVER GIVE UP! I was the last remaining White Team member – I did it and no one can take that away from me!
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Isn’t it a little bold to say you’re curing diabetes, was my first question for Biggest Loser’s Dr. Robert Huizenga, better known as Dr. H. He asserted that not only can it be done, but Biggest Loser is blazing the trail where curing diabetes is concerned. Yes, a reality show is doing more than his standard medical peers.

We spoke this morning in preparation for tonight’s episode in which the contestants will spend their last week on the ranch. As everyone says their farewells, they’ll meet with Dr. H one more time to find out, aside from their scale weight, how they’ve changed their bodies and their health. For Gina, she’s leaving the ranch without the type 2 diabetes she arrived with.

“If we can keep Gina at the levels she’s at tonight for the next 2-5 years, we’ll say we cured her diabetes,” said Dr. Huizenga.

How is that so? Right now, Gina’s diabetes has been reversed, or is in remission. As Dr. Huizenga explained, they’ve returned all the indicators to normal. To achieve cure, they have to stay that way for the next several years.

Gina’s not the only one turning back time on this disease. Young Lindsay, one of the teen ambassadors featured this season, is celebrating a complete reversal of her pre-diabetes. Doing so at such a young age is better and easier than trying to go back when she’s forty, explained the doctor.

“It’s like putting the toothpaste back in the tube,” he analogized.
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Was this not the BEST episode so far? I just have to say WOW and ugh WOW to everyone’s transformations! I mean HOW COOL was it to get styled up by Tim Gunn! He was the nicest person, so real and he really knows how to pick out a pair of pants- LOVE IT. Then, being scooted off to Ken Paves’ salon? HELLO!! I think my favorite part of that process was having Ken work on my bangs. He said that these bangs would have attitude and spent very detailed time on them. Both these men have quite the eye!

I think we are the luckiest cast as we get to GO HOME for our makeover reveal.  I cannot wait to show all my friends and family the progress I have made; they will see the new person I have become – inside and out!

I don’t think I slept at all the night before my reveal. I couldn’t wait to have my make up and hair done for the first time AND to see which outfits Tim had picked out for me. When I saw those gold skinny jeans, I about DIED! First of all, they were a size 12, second, HOW HOTT are these? I feel like a movie star!
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We are immediately thrown into a pop-challenge after the week 8 weigh-in and brought to a field where we see life-size day one photos of each of the remaining contestants. The object: each person must run their colored cinder blocks over and cover another contestant’s photo. The last person whose photo remains uncovered must leave the ranch for the entire week. I lose my footing right off the bat and completely DECK it against the hard cinder block. The wind is knocked out of me as I felt the corner of the block jab into my ribs and leg. There is a reason Joe nicknamed me “Grace” on the show! I know I have to get up and continue.

It’s between Jackson and Gina as the final blocks are placed. Jackson pleads to the rest of that cast that he should go home. He believes that Gina needs a redemption week and that he would thrive off the ranch. We respect Jackson’s wishes and save Gina – but that wasn’t the end. Jackson had to choose someone to join him. Now Jackson AND Jeff will begin the week facing their fear of leaving the ranch.  This changed the tone for the whole week!
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For those of you who don’t know, ONDerland is the seemingly mystical place of weighing in the one hundreds for all the contestants.  Tonight was my night to hit that goal! Last week I weighed 201…

Another mystery… we walk into the gym and something isn’t right. Allison Sweeney is here and she always has a twist – Work Together.  If we can collectively lose 70 pounds or more this week EVERYONE gets immunity!! Plus, THE KIDS ARE BACK!! Sunny, Lindsay and Biingo take on the fitness challenge again to help us lower our 70-pound goal to 60. They answered four of the five nutrition questions right and BLEW all five fitness tests out of the water. This reduced our weekly goal to 61 pounds!

The Challenge: we had to dig our way through several sand mounds to find pieces of a flagpole. We then had to assemble the flagpole and hoist it up at the end of the pier. We finished the challenge with only five seconds to spare – that gives us ten more pounds off our goal! Now, we only had to collectively lose 51 pounds.
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