“The Biggest Loser” Season 12 premiered Tuesday night, and as usual, it introduced us to a group of hopeful contestants and passionate trainers ready to tackle the extra weight! It looks like it’s going to be a great season!
Unfortunately, someone had to go. 60-year-old Debbie Lounds from Ann Arbor, Michigan was eliminated after losing only six pounds at the weigh-in. But since first arriving at the ranch, Debbie has gone from weighing 239 pounds to 215 pounds. Watch her “Where Are They Now” video above!
Here’s what she told us staying on track at home, her new diet, and what she thought about new trainer Anna Kournikova!
Q. What kind of challenges did you face when you first got home? Has it been difficult for you to stay motivated?
No, it hasn’t been difficult at all. I think that’s one of the advantages of coming home early. I was on the Ranch long enough to learn new ways to eat, new things about nutrition, and to get in the habit or at least to become more open minded about exercising.
But the challenges that I’ve had mainly are just challenging myself to go higher, to exercise more, to go beyond my comfort zone.
If anything those are the challenges that I’ve had. I live by myself and so the meals are not a problem. And I think like I said, one of the advantages of being sent home early is that you haven’t become so ingrained in being away from everyone and everything that when you go home it’s like a, you know, a big shock.
So there weren’t a whole lot of challenges I had to face other than just establishing a routine for my exercise and going to work and spending time with my family and people who I care about.
Q. What kind of diet are you following now?
Well the caloric intake that I was given is 1,286 and I try to stick pretty closely to that. And I’m a real creature of habit. So usually in the morning I have a cup of strawberries, half a cup of blueberries, the (Fage) yogurt. Then I’ll have a Kashi bar for a snack, and a nectarine.
Because of the gastric bypass surgery I don’t eat a lot of meat. So like today for lunch – from Whole Foods – I bought this mixture of kale, collard and turnip greens, and I put tilapia fish on top of it and okra. And I’ll eat that the rest of the week.
And I’m really kind of crazy in love with these McDonald’s Southwest Chicken Salads, so I get grilled chicken on that for dinner. On Sundays I make one meal that’ll last me the whole week. And that’s basically what I eat! I don’t eat meat, I don’t eat rice, I don’t eat pasta or a whole lot of potatoes, and I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables!
Q. What did you think of Anna as a trainer?
She looks so sweet doesn’t she? And she’s a very pretty girl, but she’s a real task master. She works you hard and she doesn’t let up and I thought she was really good. I think that she cares a lot about us and emotionally involved and also wanting us to – wanting to see us succeed.
I thought she was a great trainer. She gave us some difficult tasks to do, where our workouts were strenuous and – because we’d never really exercised before. I thought she was good. I thought she was very good.
