'The Biggest Loser' Winner: It's Ali Vincent's time

Ali bested the boys -- and conventional wisdom -- to become the very first female to proudly call herself  "The Biggest Loser."

Fans had a big say in the outcome of tonight's live finale on NBC: They voted online to decide whether Mark or Roger should be the third finalist to compete for the prize along with Ali and Kelly. The thinking going into the evening was that a victory for Roger -- the former football player who started the game at 363 lbs. -- would mean defeat for Ali because Roger still had so much weight to lose.

But conventional wisdom was dead wrong.

Roger reached the finals, but conceded that he'd hit a plateau when he and the other contestants left "The Biggest Loser" ranch and continued to work on their own at home in advance of tonight's final weigh-in. In all, he lost 164 lbs., or 45.18% of his body weight.

Ali, too, conceded some challenges -- including late-night visits to the freezer for a frozen yogurt fix.

But in the end, her "warrior mentality" -- dating back to her days as a championship synchronized swimmer -- served her well. Ali entered the game at 234 lbs. Looking trim, toned and plenty confident, she needed to lose only 105 lbs. to upset Roger -- and she handily passed that benchmark as she weighed in at 122 lbs. In all, she lost 112 lbs., or 47.86% of her body weight.

And there's another number staring back at Ali: She takes home $250,000 for her troubles.

The other finalist was Kelly, a nurse whose struggle with obesity prevented her from having children. She started at 271 and lost 109 lbs.

Bernie took home $100,000 for being the "Biggest Loser" among the contestants who were eliminated from the ranch, but continued to lose weight at home, on their own.

It's too soon to say whether Ali's victory will quell criticism that the NBC reality show is biased in favor of men, who seem to lose weight so much more easily than the women. Some have questioned whether the show should create a second category -- so that one woman and one man can take home the title each season.

Jillian Michaels, Ali's trainer, has dismissed that notion, saying it would be a cheap victory. Prior to Ali's weigh-in, she offered this message for women struggling to lose weight: "Make impossible your favorite word. Invite the challenge."

-- Rene Lynch

Ali has lost a total of 99 lbs. and is gunning to become the first woman to win the title of "Biggest Loser." But her trainer said Ali's also prepared to call it quits if her weight drops too low.

As Ali raised two perfectly toned arms in victory after it was revealed on Tuesday night's show that she landed a spot in the finals, it was impossible not to look at her trim figure and ask: How much more weight could she possibly lose?

Her trainer, Jillian Michaels, said that was the subject of a frank discussion. The conclusion? Ali made a pact with Jillian that she will not fall below 120 lbs., even if that target weight puts the title out of reach. "120 lbs. is our cutoff," Jillian said Wednesday. "We don't want her to get unhealthy. There's a bigger message here about getting healthy -- not just losing weight [to win the game]."

Is America ready for a woman to finally win "The Biggest Loser?"

'Cause that's who's calling the shots.

It was ladies night this week as Ali and Kelly -- Kelly!! -- dropped big enough numbers to land the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the final leg of this race for $250,000 and the title of "The Biggest Loser." The last two male contestants -- Mark and Roger -- are competing for the third spot. The ladies assumed they'd control the vote to decide who that third spot would go to, but they had a rude awakening: The public will do the voting at nbc.com/thebiggestloser. (The live finale is Tuesday, April 15).

A vote for the already rail-thin Mark could boost the chance of a win by one of the women, as Roger still has more weight to lose. But absolutely anything is possible with these four fierce competitors.

Now in its 5th season, the NBC reality show has never seen a woman win it all. That has led critics to charge that the show unfairly favors beefy, athletic guys who can win the physically demanding challenges that grant immunity as well as drop massive amounts of weight. A win by a woman would help counter such talk that women just can't lose weight like men.

It certainly looked like it was going to be business as usual this season, as the men banded together and positioned themselves to pick off their female counterparts, one by one.

But the return of Ali -- who had been booted off the show earlier in the season as part of a strategic maneuver -- completely changed the metabolism of the game.

Turns out, she drops weight like a boy, and has also helped reinvigorate the only other surviving female, Kelly, to drop it too.

"I've waited five years to see a woman win this thing," Jillian said during Tuesday night's show. Perhaps the trainer only has a week to go.

What do you think? Is Jillian going to wait some more? (And what about Kelly? Could the seeming straggler continue to fly under the radar and walk away with it?) Or will Bob and the boys ultimately take it away?

-- Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Fiona-Lee Quimby

Ali won't jeopardize health to become 'Biggest Loser'

Ali has lost a total of 99 lbs. and is gunning to become the first woman to win the title of "Biggest Loser." But her trainer said Ali's also prepared to call it quits if her weight drops too low.

As Ali raised two perfectly toned arms in victory after it was revealed on Tuesday night's show that she landed a spot in the finals, it was impossible not to look at her trim figure and ask: How much more weight could she possibly lose?

Her trainer, Jillian Michaels, said that was the subject of a frank discussion. The conclusion? Ali made a pact with Jillian that she will not fall below 120 lbs., even if that target weight puts the title out of reach. "120 lbs. is our cutoff," Jillian said Wednesday. "We don't want her to get unhealthy. There's a bigger message here about getting healthy -- not just losing weight [to win the game]."

Is America ready for a woman to finally win "The Biggest Loser?"

'Cause that's who's calling the shots.

It was ladies night this week as Ali and Kelly -- Kelly!! -- dropped big enough numbers to land the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the final leg of this race for $250,000 and the title of "The Biggest Loser." The last two male contestants -- Mark and Roger -- are competing for the third spot. The ladies assumed they'd control the vote to decide who that third spot would go to, but they had a rude awakening: The public will do the voting at nbc.com/thebiggestloser. (The live finale is Tuesday, April 15).

A vote for the already rail-thin Mark could boost the chance of a win by one of the women, as Roger still has more weight to lose. But absolutely anything is possible with these four fierce competitors.

Now in its 5th season, the NBC reality show has never seen a woman win it all. That has led critics to charge that the show unfairly favors beefy, athletic guys who can win the physically demanding challenges that grant immunity as well as drop massive amounts of weight. A win by a woman would help counter such talk that women just can't lose weight like men.

It certainly looked like it was going to be business as usual this season, as the men banded together and positioned themselves to pick off their female counterparts, one by one.

But the return of Ali -- who had been booted off the show earlier in the season as part of a strategic maneuver -- completely changed the metabolism of the game.

Turns out, she drops weight like a boy, and has also helped reinvigorate the only other surviving female, Kelly, to drop it too.

"I've waited five years to see a woman win this thing," Jillian said during Tuesday night's show. Perhaps the trainer only has a week to go.

What do you think? Is Jillian going to wait some more? (And what about Kelly? Could the seeming straggler continue to fly under the radar and walk away with it?) Or will Bob and the boys ultimately take it away?

-- Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Fiona-Lee Quimby

'Biggest Loser': Serve up some shock!

Is America ready for a woman to finally win "The Biggest Loser?"

'Cause that's who's calling the shots.

It was ladies night this week as Ali and Kelly -- Kelly!! -- dropped big enough numbers to land the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the final leg of this race for $250,000 and the title of "The Biggest Loser." The last two male contestants -- Mark and Roger -- are competing for the third spot. The ladies assumed they'd control the vote to decide who that third spot would go to, but they had a rude awakening: The public will do the voting at nbc.com/thebiggestloser. (The live finale is Tuesday, April 15).

A vote for the already rail-thin Mark could boost the chance of a win by one of the women, as Roger still has more weight to lose. But absolutely anything is possible with these four fierce competitors.

Now in its 5th season, the NBC reality show has never seen a woman win it all. That has led critics to charge that the show unfairly favors beefy, athletic guys who can win the physically demanding challenges that grant immunity as well as drop massive amounts of weight. A win by a woman would help counter such talk that women just can't lose weight like men.

It certainly looked like it was going to be business as usual this season, as the men banded together and positioned themselves to pick off their female counterparts, one by one.

But the return of Ali -- who had been booted off the show earlier in the season as part of a strategic maneuver -- completely changed the metabolism of the game.

Turns out, she drops weight like a boy, and has also helped reinvigorate the only other surviving female, Kelly, to drop it too.

"I've waited five years to see a woman win this thing," Jillian said during Tuesday night's show. Perhaps the trainer only has a week to go.

What do you think? Is Jillian going to wait some more? (And what about Kelly? Could the seeming straggler continue to fly under the radar and walk away with it?) Or will Bob and the boys ultimately take it away?

-- Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Fiona-Lee Quimby