by Gina Scarpa and David McAlpine

This week, on The Biggest Loser, one player was given more power than they bargained for.  After winning a temptation challenge, Tracey was able to decide which player from each team would weigh in and only that player’s weight would count for the week.  Several teams approached Tracey, making a request that a certain person be allowed to weigh in but when it came time to make decisions, Tracey did whatever she wanted.  Her power trip led to the orange and red teams falling below the yellow line and Antoine and Sean, of the red team, decided to sacrifice themselves so that Shay and Daniel could stay in the game.  Today, Antoine spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about his experiences on the show and how his progress is going at home.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What motivated you to go on The Biggest Loser?
A. Antoine: Besides the fact that I was extremely overweight, I received a letter from my aunt after graduating from college in 2008 and she told me that I need to make sure I stay healthy. My aunt, who is also extremely overweight, expressed how she wished someone one had told her this after graduating from college, because it was then that she started to live a unhealthy lifestyle. After getting my aunt's letter, I started going to the gym but I struggled with staying motivated and, after a short time, I stopped. Also, my father passed away at a young age and I always felt the same thing would happen to me if I didn't straighten up and take my health seriously.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Had you ever tried out for the show before?
A. Antoine: Nope, this was the first time.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Why did you try to eat the cupcakes at the temptation?
A. Antoine: I ate the cupcakes at the temptation because they looked tasty and I wanted one. [laughs] We learned, on the ranch, that the key to losing weight is based on simple math, calories in and calories burned. At the temptation, I remembered the fact that I hadn't met my calorie budget for the day and I had some to spare, so I ate two cupcakes. Now, that doesn't mean that it's ok to eat 1700 calories in cupcakes, but it is ok to have stuff like that from time to time if you work it into your calorie budget.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: We saw a lot of mixed reactions last night, but what were people really saying about everything that Tracey did?
A. Antoine: People were very disturbed by Tracey's decisions and I think it relates a lot to what Shay said while she was on the scale which was: so many of us have allowed other things to control our lives and we came to the ranch to take back control of our lives and health. No one wanted to have one person control whether or not their team went home that night.  We all wanted the scale to be the deciding factor.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you think you had a chance of going home at the weigh-in?
A. Antoine: I did not expect that Sean and I would be going home at the weigh in. We felt pretty confident that whoever Tracey chose to weigh in, out of the two of us, we would be safe.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the toughest part about the transition home?
A. Antoine: The toughest part about the transition home was integrating all of the parts of life (work, family, activities, etc) we left when we went to the ranch back into our new lives that are very exercise/workout focused. I struggled before going to the ranch with working out because I felt I couldn’t find a good balance with my job due to the fact I traveled a lot and I couldn't find the energy to get motivated after working from 8-5. But I eventually found a schedule that worked for me and I have stuck to it ever since!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How are you trying to keep in shape now? Do you have a goal to reach before finale night?
A. Antoine: I have taken up kickboxing and boxing now. The workouts that boxers and MMA fighters go through are out of this world! The workouts are very challenging and they require a lot of strength and agility training which I really like. I do have a goal to reach before the finale night, I would like to get down to at least 205 lbs. by then.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How are you and Alexandra doing? Does it help having that support system from another contestant?
A. Antoine: Alexandra and I are doing GREAT! It helps so much to have a support system especially if they are going through the same challenges that you are. Alexandra and I learn a lot from each other and we really help each other out in anyway we can.


The Biggest Loser airs Tuesday nights at 8pm ET on NBC.

(Image courtesy of NBC)


Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa and David at twitter.com/davidmcalpine

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