She did not play the game brilliantly. She shot herself in the foot. Nothing wrong with game playing but she is not playing her cards right. What you do first is build friends. All she did is make enemies of everyone. Nobody is going to trust her now and they shouldn't. All she did was create a target on her butt.

30toGo - I agree....there was nothing brilliant about Tracey's game play. However, to have the producers introduce these types of challenges that we saw last week this early in the game just goes to show that drama is more valuable to ratings than weightloss.

On the side note, Tracey plays the victim perfectly so she can blame this on whoever except herself! I personally do not buy into her act. For now I stand on the fence towards her and believe that she is a manipulative person who will play and "fake" her way along as far as she can go. She is not there to help herself lose weight or change and has made it very clear she is only there to play a game. Too bad she can't see the big picture!

Folks... I hate to bring up that old song and dance of "it's in the editing"... but I do believe in this case it is. According to this interview with Liz, Tracey is not as bad as she is being portrayed:



But who knows.

Another very interesting interview. Thank you very much for sharing!!

I'm not seeing the comparison to Vicky here. Firstly, like many people have said, Vicky was very smart in how she went about playing the game and was ultimately successful, whereas Tracey hasn't been subtle in the least and is now alienated from everyone else in the house. Secondly, while they were both playing the game, Vicky's actions seemed downright malevolent and calculated, whereas I got the sense that Tracey didn't necessarily have bad intent with her actions--she's just really bad at making spur-of-the-moment decisions. Yes, she risked Mo as well as herself and led Daniel and Shay on, but ultimately she seemed more confused than mean-spirited. It's almost as though she's trying to be like Vicky (who, after all, did make it to the final 3), but just isn't conniving and evil enough to do it successfully.

It seems obvious to me that she's doomed whatever chances she had on the show...but realistically, given her starting weight, she didn't have that great of a chance to win anyway.

I think she's mean enough, just not smart enough to pull a vicky

I have a problem believing that Tracy lost 11lbs last week. That would have been her 2nd week on the ranch and we all know what happens the 2nd week - plus she didn't have a trainer. With all the drama that she caused I find it really hard to believe that she lost 11lbs by doing basically nothing. You didn't see her work out all week - plus she had an injury!!!!! Ok producers - I know it's all about the ratings but please make it a bit more realistic and not so obvious that you've rigged the scale!!!!!! Coach Mo lost only 1lb and he actually made an effort to work out on his own. I call BS! I'm really losing my respect for the show.

I'm a medical writer (30 years of experience) and have been wondering for weeks what happened to Tracey on that first show. I thought it might have been a heat stroke, but when Dr. H. announced her spiraling CPK levels tonight, I have to conclude she either suffered a heart attack or an inflammation of her heart. That's the only kind of medical event that produces such high CPK levels.

Of course I could be wrong, but it's so weird that they've been so specific in past seasons about contestants' injuries, and yet this season, they're dancing all around what happened to Tracey. It may be that she requested that her condition not be revealed, and she's certainly well within her rights to ask that we respect her privacy.

I have no desire to cause Tracey any embarrassment, but those high CPK levels certainly seem indicative of a heart problem to me. The way Dr. H kept saying, "you had so much damage to the muscle..." well, the heart is a muscle and it's the only muscle that could put out that much CPK in response to an injury. If it was a hamstring or whatever, he would have said so, and a muscular injury of that type would not spike CPK levels to 17,000. Something's going on and Dr. H. was right to pull Tracey off the exercise grid. Remember, she was in the hospital for more than a week, so something serious must have happened.

Even though I didn't like how Tracey acted last week, I am saying some prayers for her full and speedy recovery.

I would like Tracey to just remember who she is. She is a beautiful woman, a wife, and a mother. She needs to keep her head up and keep doing what she needs to do to be healthy and to develop new habits. Don't get discouraged. April

Interesting interview, thanks for posting it.

I'm almost positive what Tracey has is Rhabdo. I went to the ER about two weeks ago and after discovering high CPK levels they admitted me to the hospital and told me I had Rhabdomyolysis. The level that CPK levels rise to vary from person to person and the causes of Rhabdo vary as well. It can be from trauma to the brain or heart, however I believe that hers stemmed from the amount of over-exercising that took place to her body in the first episode. She did enough damage to herself in that first challenge to pass out on the beach-her body telling her that something was wrong-and then did not stop. She was in the hospital so long because they have to push IV fluids to flush the enzymes out of the body so there is not damage done to the kidneys and liver.

I'm glad they've finally addressed issues like this on the show. I think it's really important for people watching to know that these contestants are suffering through some very real injuries, and even better to understand how they work through them.

There are many reasons for elevated CPK levels, including injury, rhabdomyolysis, myocardial infarction, muscular dystrophy, myositis, myocarditis, malignant hyperthermia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. It is also seen in McLeod syndrome and hypothyroidism. See the National Institutes of Health site for additional info.

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I agree. I didn't like her from the start. The way she acted during the first 1 mile race was uncalled for. The way she talked about Daniel, and acted during the race, was unlike anyone else. Maybe she was just trying to be competitive, but to me, it was a red flag. I knew she was going to be trouble right then and there. So far she has betrayed her partner and stabbed others in the back. I feel bad that she's sick, and I do understand what's wrong with her as my boyfriend is a doctor and explained to me what her blood test results mean, but still. That's no excuse to act the way she does. And, as you put it, if she truly cannot control what she does or says, then she needs psychological help. (When she collapsed during the 1 mile race I thought, for sure, that she was faking it. I'm glad to see she was not. As I said, I do feel bad that she's sick, but at the same time relieved that she really is sick and wasn't faking it for attention, as I thought she was. I see others have posted the same opinion, so at least I know I'm not alone in thinking this!)

I sometimes think she was "planted" in the show to cause drama, because so far that's all she's done. Please tell me, why do her eyes go all wide and crazy all the time? It reminds me of someone I know, someone close to me, who does have psychological issues. Something tells me that until she gets voted off (which I'm sure she will) she will continue to anger everyone else.

I don't understand why she doesn't just worry about herself, and about getting healthy, and just do her own thing, and leave everything else be. Yes, this is a "game" so to speak, but it's also about other people's lives! This isn't about winning money, in the end, it's about losing weight and being healthy! That's much more than a game to me. She needs to realize this.

I just feel it's unfair for Mo to be paired with someone who can't train. I don't have a lot of sympathy for her....certainly I do for her health problem, but it's very odd she's losing weight with no exercise. The first week she was in the hospital, the second she voluntarily gave up the trainers, and now she has no choice but to not train. I wish they'd have put Mike with Julio....I guess it still wouldn't make a difference, but it is asking a lot of Mo to carry an injured player, and he was having back pain himself. It just seems such a waste to have been on the ranch 3 weeks (although tonight they said it was four? Guess that is BL time and not real time!) and not to have worked with Bob/Jillian at all, except for nutrition input.

Well, it is possible for people to lose weight without exercise. Depends on their caloric intake.

I agree. I feel bad for Mo. He needs a better partner. At this point I don't think Tracey should even be allowed to remain on the show. She's sick and can't exercise. What she needs is bed rest and IV fluids. Maybe her health will improve, but I doubt it. I too have a hard time believing she's losing weight without exercising at all. However that will only last so long. Eventually that'll stop and she'll need to exercise again, otherwise she'll hit a wall and stop losing weight.

Agreed, but given the circumstances of Tracey's rapid onset and duration of illness, I ruled out most of the other causes of high CPK. The fact that she hasn't been exercising at all, but her CPK levels have continued to rise is highly suggestive of a heart problem, unless she just totally broke down every major muscle in her body. But Dr. H. keeps saying "muscle" in the singular, not plural, so I believe he is referring to a specific muscle, namely, the heart. Having said that, I know I could just be be playing a doctor not on TV, and talking to myself. But that was my armchair diagnosis.

I've been doing some reading since I first posted and understand now that Tracey over-exercised and pushed her muscles to the point of failure, so they were actually breaking down, and she probably had rhabdo. If that is so, it's unconscionable that this was allowed to happen. I noticed a nurse with a specialty in cardiology posted something about wondering why they didn't out a heart monitor on Tracey. With her grey color and lack of responsiveness on the beach, I wondered that, too.

I LOVE this show; it's inspired me to lose 51 pounds in a healthy way and keep them off, and to make lifestyle changes to include more exercise in my week. But I do think the producers need to be more responsible about preventing injuries to the contestants. Tracey had a life-threatening event. That's not fun TV.

I'm not sure how I feel about Tracy. I feel bad for her but don't like her attitude.

One thing I am not clear on. Did Dr. H. tell her she can't lose weight or just that she can't exercise? I think it would be strange that he told her she couldn't lose weight. Did she misinterpret it? I hate to say this but if it was this easy to lose the weight with just managing her diet & not exercising, how is she doing it & why couldn't she do it before?

I also wish they would tell us what's wrong but we do have to respect her privacy.

if that first race did cause Tracey a life threatening injury, then I imagine NBC is trying to cover their @ss by protecting her. Maybe to the point of not getting voted out ever. Time will tell. Lawsuit? Whatever happens, I hope that in the future NBC doesn't start out with such difficult challenges.

The Dr. said she couldn't exercise, not lose weight...from what I remember...

I think Tracey is the new Ron. You know the one who doesn't work out heavy in the gym but still loses weight and manages to make it to the end. I think Ron may have been a little smarter. He managed to make friends throughout his stay there. Tracey does have Liz as a friend. I wonder who else is her friend. All I can deduce is that Shay is not a friend. No idea as to her standings with the other people.

I think that Tracey should not be so selfish and offer to go home. The fact that she can't work out is not what this show is about. I guess we learned how coniving she was last week when she had control of the weigh in. Contestants like her is what brings this show down. She should have volunteered to go home last night and let the black team stay.

It's not that odd; people lose weight all the time with diet only. The question is how much of her weight loss is body fat vs. muscle, water, and other lean body components. Additionally, her physical condition could certainly explain her weight loss. I know people have already mentioned this, but I think it's becoming fairly obvious what her problem is. We don't know for sure as they haven't actually come right out and stated it, but her condition and symptoms as related by the show seems very consistent with "rhabdomyolysis." Dr. H's conversations with Tracey about her CPK levels certainly lend credence to this speculation. "Rhabdo" can occur with overexertion of unfit individuals in excessive heat. Muscle tissue is destroyed, and this causes a cascade of problems, especially with the kidneys. With all the IV fluids Tracey received in the hospital, it's certainly conceivable that she could lose weight in the form of water after her release. Additionally, if she has experienced muscle breakdown, that would also result in "weight" loss. Not the kind she would want to lose, however, if her goal is to lose excess body fat for the long term.

Here is a little info on the condition:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis

http://bone-muscle.health-cares.net/rhabdomyolysis.php

Hmmm......I don't know about that. For one, I am sure there are stacks and stacks of legal papers that the contestants sign to absolve NBC and TBL of fault.

Furthermore, we know that they undergo all sorts of tests, but frankly, stuff happens. We all know of someone who is given a clean bill of health, then a couple of months later, drop dead from a heart attack. I am sure that NBC's lawyers have instructed them to test the contestants extensively, beyond a reasonable doubt.

I am also really suspicious about Tracey's (physical) illness. (Let's not go there on mental.) I mean, 4 weeks in, and she has not even been in the gym at all? That certainly is not normal. I mean, think of all the injuries TBL has had in the past. I mean, Dr. H was concerned about Ron's heart, and even HE was cleared to at least swim.

I mean, she cannot swim. She cannot work out only arms or only legs. She cannot even walk. Now, does that sound like some general muscular issue to you? It sounds pretty serious to me. Every other time someone is injured, the thought has always been, "Yes, you are unhealthy, but you need to lose weight more. You could die if you exercise, but you will definitely die if you don't"

The only thing is, I would imagine that the show would definitely send her home if she is having serious heart issues. I cannot imagine in a million years that they would keep someone with major heart problems on the show, even if the contestant begged to stay. And let's be honest. Tracey needs to lose weight. But, I do not think she is in dire shape if she doesn't. She is definitely on the smaller side, and could probably do it at home.

So, I honestly do not know what is going on.

LOL, it sounds just like rhabdomyolosis, which has been mentioned several times here with links provided. It is a serious problem. The reason they don't want her working out is that strenous exercise can break down muscle tissue. Her CPK-MM levels were too high already and after a week of swimming, they began to rise again. This puts her at risk for kidney failure.

Personally, I'm surprised they don't just send her home. This sounds like too complicated of a problem to handle while still trying to attain significant weight loss. I guess we'll see.

I don't know what's going on with Tracey and her behavior but I don't like it.

One thing I will say is that I have worked with a reality show producer before and just from my experience with that, they do kind of guide you on your behavior. Not to mention the magic of the editing room. However I can't honestly believe that the producers would tell her to lie to the people she made promises to. And whether it was the producers' idea to have her win both challenges, for her to say "If you want to win, put in the work," was very hypocritical. If the producers are deliberately making her look bad, I'd be pissed if I were her. Maybe there will be some interviews later on after she leaves the ranch and we'll know more - If that's really how she acts or there was some coercing and editing. I think I remember Vicky writing in her blog that she had to stop watching the show because she couldn't stand the way the producers were making her look.

See, this where I think it is good for all the people who complain that they should have a show for disabled people. Tracey (and Ron from last season) are showing that despite injuries and the inability to work out strenuously, you can still lose weight.

I feel bad for Mo cause he seems like a nice and mellow guy, and Tracy is just dragging him down. She is kind of....scheming.

I think Tracey needs to be voted off so she can concentrate on getting her health back. Not sure she is going to be able to ever exercise strenously while she is at the ranch.

I do not care for Tracy. IMO she comes off as not getting it, phony, and drama queen. I can not stand one more exagerated give me attention facial expression. I know the producers have no control at this point since the players are all home now, but they could send the editors back in to give her less TV time.

Yeah, that deer caught in the headlights thing she does is getting old.

She may be under better medical supervision at the ranch.

Tracey has been continually caught in lies on tape. She is a manipulator and I feel sorry for Coach Mo. I wish they would go back to single eliminations so they could get rid of her and keep him. Everything about her is phony and she has that wide-eyed "insane" look to her. I can't stand her and I am so waiting for her to go home.

Just a couple of thoughts about Tracey -

I think she quite possibly suffers from mental illness.
Her actions have really put an "X" on her back. Not smart so early in the game and back to back made it worse.
I was so angry with Tracey that I was yelling at the TV screen. How so incredibly selfish to not consult Coach Mo - both times! Just unacceptable.
It made me real sad that *no one* clapped when she lost 11 lbs. I get why no one reacted. But, still...two wrongs don't make a right AND it is a weight loss show for begesus sakes.

There's plenty of smart people with empathy on the show. Tracey is an "average" person with no real street smarts. She hasn't really got a clue that her actions are mean and vindictive. Honestly, Shay asked her to be honest and she really thought she was !

Nope, Tracey just seems to be one of those people who goes through life on autopilot

I get the feeling that Tracey thought as viewer she would make a better participant and knows how to play the game and perhaps felt she would show us all how to play. This is just a game to her - nothing more, nothing less. While the others are obvioulsy there to win the game too I also see their desire to succeed at weightloss. I'm not seeing this desire to lose weight in Tracey.

I agree with your post. It is consistent with Jillian's words at the weigh-in of "I think you're full of cr**!". Tracey needs counselling. What I don't get is that some would paint her as a role model.

I'm curious about these "lies." What exactly did she lie about? She didn't actually tell Daniel that she would not make Shay weigh in. She just said she didn't want to see Shay go home. If she watched through the week and thought Shay was working harder than Daniel, why wouldn't she put Shay up? Same thing with the pink team. She didn't say that she would go along with what the team wanted. She asked them what they would do for her and they essentially offered nothing in exchange for getting what they wanted.

This is The Biggest Loser and it seems a bit on the ridiculous side that a player would get upset because they had to weigh in.

It's too bad that Tracey is not as protective of Mo as you are of her.

"Playing the game" is generally a season-long process in which the players are eventually stressed & intoxicated to the point where they adjust their morals & standards. That Tracey has already adjusted hers is startling.

I can not agree with your post. The lies you speak of may have been concocted on the cutting room floor. In order to stay on the ranch a player need not win every challenge nor lose the most weight each week. Players need to lose more weight than 2 of the other players on the ranch( as singles). If she continues to do this then she deserves to stay, thats the rules. Pretty sure they won't send anyone home because they are not a nice person ( as we have seen in the past). It is not Traceys fault that she loses a higher % than someone else. Obliviously she made better food choices last week than the others or the outcome would have been different.

My.02

Again, I ask for an example of her loose morals. I watched the show and saw nothing other than her eating some cupcakes and jumping for 2 lbs. She didn't actually lie to the other players (or if she did the lie was not actually shown on the show.) Both of her actions can be explained by her not being on equal footing with the other contestants because of her hospitalization.

I like Mo too, but I respect someone that would make an effort to crawl over the finish line instead of giving up like most people would. Tracey's actions in one episode don't erase my initial view of her.

As for Mo, no one can complain that Tracey walks all over him. If he lets her, that's his choice, and that's something that he has to learn.

I don't do this very often but I had to. I love this show except that people get kicked off each week. The show is inspirational and motivating. I just don't like the fact that people get kicked off. All the people that sign up for this show really need to be there learning everything they can. Wouldn't everyone win if they were to all stay for the duration? I have been able to still watch the show despite my aversion to the elimination.

Tracey on the other hand, to me, is what is wrong with the world!! If we could all help eachother succeed then we would all be successful. When one person is out for themselves it changes the entire spirit of the challenge.

I dislike Tracey to an extreme degree. I sincerely hope that she gets kicked off ASAP so that all the rest of the players can get back to being one big happy encouraging weight loss machine.

i really like tracey, i think she is one of the least-dramatic ones on the show, everyone else is freaking out and letting emotion get the better of them but she stays strong and loses weight and hasn't even had am actual gym workout.
go tracey!

Let me tell all of you something...I have watched this show since the very first airing! Tracy needs to go!!! She is rediculous!! The reason I watch this show is because these people have the absolute biggest hearts I have ever seen and it touches me and makes me want to be a better person....that is, except TRACY!!! She is mean, scarcastic and is all about her 24/7! She is always contemplating the failures of every other member when she should be working on herself and working as a team. I don't know what the hell is going on with the show...but NO ONE LOSES WEIGHT WITHOUT WORKING OUT!!! Especially when they all had to eat out last week? Please!!! She has haD the life of Riley the entire time she's been there and I question if her weight loss is even valid without some kind of help in the way the other members are losing weight and in the way that is far against the rules! If she can lose all this weight without excercise and JUST eating right...shouldn't she be the first one to go home? Because, obviously she can do it by herself without Jillian or Bob!!! Does anyone see the ******** in this? Honestly!!! NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN ON THAT RANCH AND LOST WEIGHT WITHOUT WORKING OUT!! TRACY...I WANT TO KNOW WHAT RULES YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY BREAKING OR IF THE SHOW IS FIXED!!!! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you serious? Of course people can lose weight through diet alone. Over time it will be usually be inferior to diet plus exercise, and people who lose weight through diet alone ultimately plateau or often regain the weight because a good portion of the weight loss is muscle tissue, but it is certainly possible to lose "weight" without working out. I prefer to lose body fat, but I am not in a weight loss competition which is based soley on the numbers on the scale.

If Tracey cannot get herself into the gym eventually, she will not be able to win the Biggest Loser. But she could conceivably stay for quite awhile if she loses the minimum and manipulates other factors in order to avoid elimination.

Slow down there buddy.

Well, what's the point of TBL? To lose weight, become healthier and win the 500K. If Tracey's losing weight, it shows how awesome she is with her diet and how well she can prepare for the Weight-In. So by your statement, Shay and Liz should get booted because they lost the most weight and they don't need it?

This is an emotional journey for all of them, but deep down, it's simply a game. It's a game, no one can deny it. If the show wanted to revolve around self-improvement, eliminations and the final prize would be removed in a flash. But it's not, in a game, you only think about yourself, not the other people because only ONE person can win the game, and she wants it to be her.

I'm sure they can rig the whole entire game for Tracey,

The prize money is $250,000.

It still adds the same dramatic effect that I was trying to display in my post.

Another week of Tracey I guess!!! I cried watching Mo get voted off........but he did seem to have genuine affection for Tracey.......says a lot about who he is!!