Is the red team's Melissa lying?--My Biggest Loser update

...and I have a suggestion for the show's producers

I'll admit, it's not always easy to read contestants on Biggest Loser. Is the show manipulating them by showing close-ups with certain looks on their faces, editing things carefully to portray them in a certain way?

I have no trouble believing that Biggest Loser producers are capable of those kind of shenanigans, simply because conflict is what creates drama, which (in their minds at least) equals ratings.

However, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I've mistrusted the Red Team's Melissa from the beginning. I even mentioned it to my daughter early on. Then, I revised my opinion of her because she was seeming like a nice lady.

Now I'm back to my previous lack of trust.

One of the big issues in last night's episode was trainers Bob and Jillian's certainty that Melissa has been lying about throwing two weigh-ins, despite Melissa's tearful and emphatic assertions that she was telling the truth.

I actually posed the question of Melissa's truthfulness on Facebook, and here are some of the responses I got:

--"I CAN NOT STAND Melissa!! I think she is lying! No way could she have lost the pounds she did week 1 and then 2 weeks of what 0?? Cause she gained a pound then lost a pound right? And then what she lost tonight? I need her to leave soon cause she makes me angry!"

--"I am not sure if she was lying, but no matter what it was WRONG for Bob to yell and curse @ her in the weigh in last week. I was waiting for her hubby to stand, be a man and tell Bob not to talk to his wife like that."

--"She was absolutely lying. physiology and biochemistry tell you that. they can pretty much tell you how much weight theyve lost before the weigh in if they do their calculations right."

--"Ohhhhh, She was lying. The proof was in her sudden weight loss, when she had to try disproof that she was throwing the weigh ins. She is one of those people that are 'good' at lying and knows when to cry or act mad to get everyone to believe them. I felt really bad for the green team. It really irritated me for her to be laughing that one of them were going home."

--"It seemed pretty obvious to me that she was lying, and it bothered me that she threw in the "I swear on my kids life" comment...I don't think that comment should ever be said."

One reader even suggested--and this is a thought that had occurred to me--that Melissa has convinced herself she's telling the truth:

--"Honestly, I think she has so deluded herself that she didn't throw the weigh-in, that she now really believes it. OJ syndrome. :-)"

Well, we may never know the truth--but if Melissa and her husband are really that devious and bent on game-playing, THAT will come out.

As for who went home last night...

I've got to say that the green team of Miggy and her daughter Migdalia quickly became two of my least favorite people on the show. To me, they appear to be two of the most unpleasant women I've ever seen on Biggest Loser.

I admired their strength, determination and resolve early on. But the Rushmore-sized chips on their shoulders quickly soured me on them.

So, Migdalia was missing out on seeing her husband before he left for Afghanistan. I'm truly sorry about that, but as I understand it, she was aware of this when she signed up for the show.

She seemed to spend most of her time sulking and pouting and generally having a rotten attitude. Contrast this with last season's Abby, who had lost her husband and two children in a car accident, but was gracious and positive throughout.

Her mother, Miggy, comes across as downright unpleasant. While I can't blame her for disliking the red team's Melissa, she is showing her dislike in a very ugly and un-classy way.

I wouldn't have minded both of them going home, but I'm sure the fact that Miggy's staying will serve to create even more drama.

My suggestion:

Biggest Loser producers have demonstrated in the past that they are NOT reading my blog and/or taking my suggestions, but here I go anyway:

Please, next season, feature some contestants who are not so enormous that we see minimal transformation during the show.

For me, one of the best things about the show is watching these really overweight people slowly morph as the show goes on. It's truly inspiring!

Lately, most of the contestants have been so huge that even when they've dropped 100 pounds, the most you can say about them is that their faces are a bit slimmer.

Again, my usual disclaimer: I'm not saying this as a Skinny Minnie. I've battled excess weight my entire life. AND I'm really happy for the extremely obese people, like Shay and Daniel, who have transformed their lives.

But for the purposes of the show, how about having some contestants that are just really overweight--not really, really, REALLY overweight?

Is that terrible of me?