Blake Benge

Twenty former athletes, including NFL players and Olympic gold medalists, try to change their lives and get healthy on the new season that also features new trainers Jessie Pavelka and Jennifer Widerstrom joining veteran trainers Dolvett Quince and Bob Harper. The contestants are led by former NFL players Scott Mitchell (12 seasons in the NFL) and Damien Woody (two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots), as well as Olympic gold medalist and former professional tennis star Zina Garrison. Other contestants striving for weight loss include former WNBA standout Vanessa Hayden, three-time Olympic gold medal softball player Lori Harrigan-Mack, and a mix of former college and high school sports standouts. Season 16 also features trainer Bob Harper in an exciting new role, giving contestants a second chance at life on the show. Just when the eliminated contestant each week thinks they are headed home, they will actually be whisked away to a secret location called “Comeback Canyon.” There they will be trained by Harper, competing at a separate secret weekly weigh-in for the chance to return to the competition and a shot at “The Biggest Loser” title and $250,000 grand prize.

Week two begins with the trainers and contestants getting to know each other and reveal more about themselves, with the exception of one player who refuses to talk about what led to her weight gain. This week’s challenge has contestants busting through "walls of excuses" and racing through an obstacle course while carrying a punching bag, with the winning team getting a prize that none of the players want to be without. Then Dr. Huizenga meets one-on-one with contestants to reveal the results of their medical exams and what the future holds if they don’t lose weight, leading one contestant to storm out of the room when the truth is too hard to hear. Later, the weigh-in at the ranch reveals which contestant will be headed to trainer Bob’s Harper’s "Comeback Canyon," while the weigh-in at "Comeback Canyon" ends with one contestant leaving the competition for good.

The Kauai adventure continues for the remaining five contestants, who tackle their fears head on this week. Dolvett encourages one player to push past his fear and join him rapelling down a waterfall, while Jessie takes another on a rope-swinging adventure in the jungle. Then it’s time for a fun, Hawaiian-style challenge, a Lacrosse-inspired obstacle course with coconuts that will reward the winner with a one-pound advantage on the scale. Meanwhile, at Comeback Canyon, two players also have to face their fears in a balancing challenge 25 feet up in the air before a weigh-in sends one player home for good. Then the contestants leave Kauai and head back to the ranch, where a red line at the weigh-in determines which player is eliminated.

The contestants return to the Los Angeles Coliseum this week, where their journey began, to face their first temptation – a tailgating challenge. Each player enters a tent filled with stadium food favorites, and has to decide whether to consume the high-calorie food and possibly win the coveted prize of immunity, or walk away from the temptation eating nothing. Later, one player opens up to his trainer about issues from childhood that have continue to take an emotional toll, while one of Bob’s ‘Comeback Canyon’ contestants gives him a very special gift. Then a red line at the weigh-in sends one contestant from the ranch to a surprise second chance at Comeback Canyon, while one of Bob’s two eliminated contestants there heads home for good.

Week 10 on the ranch comes with a big surprise, when the original red, white and blue teams are disbanded, and contestants have to form all new teams decided by chance. Moving on to another trainer proves to be a difficult adjustment, especially for one player who struggles to accept the change. Then it’s time for a cooking challenge with celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, who judges which team makes the healthiest and tastiest dish and awards the winning team a valuable one pound advantage on the scale. Later, one trainer bids a tearful goodbye to their player who falls below the red line, while the eliminated contestants at Comeback Canyon face off on the scale to see who will spend another week with trainer Bob Harper.