On last week’s back-to-back episodes of The Biggest Loser, the contestants confronted a temptation that people face every day — digital distractions. Dolvett’s red team and Jen’s black team had to navigate through an obstacle course filled with digital distractions during a challenge that allowed the winning team to either reconnect with the real world and enjoy coveted video chats with their loved ones back home or get an exclusive use of the gym for an entire week.
The red team won the challenge and chose to get the exclusive use of the gym, much to the chagrin of Richard Hatch who wanted to chat with his boyfriend back home. We see Richard skip at least one of the gym workouts to instead workout at the pool in order to prove that he doesn’t need a gym in order to lose weight. And although that may be true, Richard unfortunately fell below the red line and was sent home.
Next, the contestants were confronted with something even more difficult than a temptation-filled challenge — they had to mix up teams. Although Jen and Dolvett were shocked to discover they had new teams, they still pushed their contestants to the limit. Unfortunately for Sarah Gilbert, she struggled with the team mix-up and losing Jen as a trainer and fell below the red line.
CelebSecrets4U caught up with Richard and Sarah to learn more about their experience on the ranch and how they are able to handle temptations now that they are off the ranch. They also gave some great advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle — make sure to read our Q&A with Richard and Sarah below!
The Biggest Loser airs Monday, January 25, 2016 at 9pm ET on NBC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lczs2WauM0
CS4U: How was the experience for you going into it? What did you learn about yourself? And second, what are you looking forward to in the coming weeks as we get to the end of this competition?
Sarah Gilbert: “For me, I think as a mother it was a really cool opportunity to be able to focus on myself. It was something I hadn’t done in a really long time and something that was really lacking. So for me it was just kind of learning that I could do that and that I did have the time for that but I didn’t realize I did. And just making myself a priority. It was something – it’s almost like a scare that I think that I had to learn how to do. And that was really special to be able to have that opportunity. And could you say what the second question was again?”
CS4U: Sure, what are you looking forward to as we are moving toward the end of this competition?
Sarah Gilbert: “It’d be amazing to win but for me I’m really just looking forward to learning, you know, kind of moderation which is kind of going to be a whole new adventure I think for me and my family. It’s been kind of something we haven’t really done before. You know, now it’s, you know, we’re on protein, vegetable and that’s all great. But I’m excited to try to learn new creative ways to be healthy. And I’m just really excited to see what the future has in store for my family.”
Richard Hatch: “So it’s been a really, really good experience and people know that I kind of work on any number of levels at one time. And other shows that I’ve been involved in were really, really competitive in a cut-throat kind of way. And this show has been very different from that. So it was really fun and interesting for me to kind of be involved in a show where I could compete hard because I was competing with myself and working hard. But also support the people around me. So much so that I started thinking about what I might be able to contribute in the future to the Biggest Loser and I hope to be a part of the family for a good long while and maybe even included in upcoming seasons. So we’ll see.”
CS4U: If you could bring out some advice to viewers and people in general who want to live a healthier lifestyle, what would you like to say?
Richard Hatch: “So I’ve been through this for a long time. I’m 54 years old and I’ve had weight issues my entire life. And one of the things that I’ve noticed having kind of pursued a healthy or a fit way of living repeatedly is that the more consistent and sustainably I take on whatever it is — whether it’s changes or increased exercise or focus on food — the more consistent and sustainably I do it the longer lasting it is, the more of an impact. So I daresay with the Biggest Loser experience I’ve mastered it. I daresay I’m not going to be fat again. People will warn me against saying that. But I’m at the point where I feel comfortable saying that.”
Sarah Gilbert: “For me I really think that it just starts with making a decision and sticking to it. It was something like before I’ve always started a diet and, you know, I’d have a slip up. I’d never give myself a way to live a lifestyle not completely on or not completely off, you know. I’m learning kind of to have a dimmer switch and just too kind of be okay if you make a mistake. What’s been really great with the show is that it keeps you going. I have that motivation that I want to please not only myself but I want to make sure I inspire fans and other people to be able to do the same thing. So it’s really kept me going so if I have an off day I’m just learning to give myself grace and know that I can, you know, hit it harder the next day and there’s always another day. And I think that in dieting people feel like they have to be all on or all off and a lot of times when people have slip-ups it’s all over. And just for people to know that a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean that you’re perfect all the time. It means that you’re always keeping that in mind and trying to work towards that goal.”
CS4U: This season was all about temptation and you did a couple of challenges with different temptations that you might face at home. Are you still facing the same temptations as before or is there anything else? Maybe some new temptations that might come up now that you have, you know, a new exercise and diet routine?
Richard Hatch: “Well I’d say the world hasn’t changed so I’d say the temptations will always be there. But for me personally the temptation really was quantity. The loving of food so much so that I had no sense of limit to what’s reasonable and I would just – you know, it was never candy or soda or anything like that. For many people it was. I never really enjoyed those kinds of things but I might have instead of, you know, a piece of fish I might have 12 pieces of fish. So I’ve limited it now and the temptation will always be there to have more but I feel good having learned to eat what’s a reasonable amount and then an hour later decide whether I want more of that. And it just works for me.”
Sarah Gilbert: “For me, I’m a mom so I think temptation especially with, you know, a younger child is pretty notable whenever you’re trying to make healthy choices for your family. But your child has gotten used to a way of eating. So it’s definitely been interesting kind of trying to integrate into healthier lifestyle, especially with a typical toddler who is only used to eating the junk food you were giving him before. So for me I’ve always been a stress eater too and that’s always going to be there. It’s just learning different ways to cope and different ways to handle stress instead of pulling over to a convenience store and getting a huge Dr. Pepper and a bag of chips and some candy to eat on the way to wherever you’re going. For me it’s just been kind of learning that balance of okay, I’m fine. I don’t need to shove all this junk into my body. That’s not going to make me feel any better. It’s just going to make me feel worse. So, but yes, the temptations are definitely still there for me.”
Photos: NBC
