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The Biggest Loser 8: Exclusive Interview with Shay Sorrells

Posted on 11/12/2009 by Gina in The Biggest Loser and Cast Interviews

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Shay Sorrells from The Biggest Loser 8

by Gina Scarpa

This week, on The Biggest Loser, Shay Sorrells hit two huge milestones.  First, she lost 100 pounds and second, she became the fastest female to ever do so on the ranch.  After dropping 17 pounds at the weigh in, it seemed that Shay was in the clear but each contestant after her dropped big numbers and lost huge percentages of weight.  Shay slipped lower and lower until she fell below the yellow line, along with her teammate Amanda Arlauskas.  Her fellow contestants decided that it was time for her to continue her journey at home and she was eliminated from the competition.  Today, Shay spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about her experiences on the show.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you decide to try out for The Biggest Loser this season?
A. Shay: Well, being 476 lbs is basically being 500lbs! That is half a ton!  That is where some people are bedridden and unable to live their life to their full potential. I had watched the show. I saw what it was about. I saw that the contestants not only made physical changes but emotional ones as well. I know that I needed help and that I needed some big changes in my life. I believed Biggest Loser would provide just that.  Also watching previous seasons I was inspired! People were getting their lives back! They were LIVING! It was amazing.


Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Can you talk a little bit about the partnership that you and Daniel had?
A. Shay: Daniel and I had an understanding of each other that was beyond what many contestants let alone people will understand. Being the heaviest person on the Biggest Loser campus set us apart from the rest of the contestants at first sight. Also, when you have been almost 500lbs, your perspectives, your perceptions, and your thoughts about your health, your abilities, your life is so very different. You do not get to that weight without issues. Daniel and I rarely had to explain much to each other because of this understanding. It was an amazing partnership and I actually consider him a little brother in many ways as well as a partner and a leader. He is an amazing individual and if he had not started his journey on season 7, I am not sure I would have had the mindset I did for season 8.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It seemed that you and Abby had a special bond. What did the love and support she gave you mean to you?
A. Shay: Abby is one of the most amazing people I have met in my life. Not only because of what she has been through, but who she was before, during and after is strong and beautiful!  From day one, Abby and I were really connected.  She asked me to be her roommate and I didn’t even know anything about her yet. That first night, and every night after, we stayed up talking, laughing, sharing and crying some, too.  I felt like we were meant to be there together as part of the healing in each other’s journey.  I looked up to Abby as a friend but she has this very maternal quality that really touched me.  For the first time, I really felt what it would have been like to have an unconditional mother’s love. I think it also helped Abby to be able to have a role again and to love someone even though she may lose them. There are really no words to describe what her friendship means to me. I am so blessed to know her and to be a part of her journey. She is AMAZING!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were you prepared for how tough Jillian can be in the gym? Is it tougher than you see on tv?
A. Shay: I do not think anyone can be prepared for Jillian! I mean, I am in the field of social work and I spend a lot of time trying to be self-aware and I knew I had A LOT of emotional baggage I was carrying. I knew that Jillian would want to dig straight to the root of all of it and rip out those roots. I knew it would be painful and that it would seem impossible at times. But with all that I had faced and been through I knew that no matter what I just had to believe in what she was trying to do because the track record is pretty phenomenal and she knows what she is doing. I also knew the more open I was and the earlier I got it all out, the better off I would be.  Jillian, just like all of us, is exactly what you see on TV, but it is only one side of her. Jill sat with me and looked through my mom’s scrapbook and read her letters with me. She sat in the kitchen and ate and talked with us. She was really down to earth and she really cared about us.  When you know someone cares and will be there if you do fall on your face, it makes it a little easier to trust them and yourself when they are beating the crap out of you.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Your weigh in this week was full of highs and lows. When you first saw that you dropped 17 pounds, did you assume you'd be safe?
A. Shay: I was ECSTATIC when I lost the 17lbs! It was all coming down to percentages and I knew that I could be in jeopardy.  I actually said to Jill after Danny had 17, “Jill, it’s not enough.  I am going home,” and she told me to stop self doubting, but I knew at that moment, it was not going to go well for me. Then, as Daniel fell below the red line, and I was below the yellow line, it was devastating. I did not want to see Daniel walk out of that weigh in. I knew he was the only person who would not write my name down, but more than that, he was my partner, my friend, my little brother and my inspiration!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I think a lot of people were surprised that you were voted out of the game instead of Amanda. What do you think the reason was behind it?
A. Shay: I cannot say what others were really thinking, I only know what they said. I don’t know if me losing 100lbs in 9 weeks deemed me as a threat, but if it did, they did not say so.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The entire season, everybody said that you needed to be on the ranch. How was the transition home and what challenges did you face?
A. Shay: The transition home was difficult as it was a learning experience and a challenge, but I have not backed down from any other challenge in life and I was not about to start now. I learned so much on the ranch, not just about eating habits and exercise, but about myself, my life, my abilities, my past, and my future. This has blossomed at home and has helped me so much. It has taken me three times as long to lose half the weight I lost on the ranch, but who am I kidding, 54lbs in 3 months is AMAZING!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you doing to get ready for finale weight and what is your goal by then?
A. Shay: I am taking life one day at a time.  I am creating a new lifestyle.  I am making conscious decisions about what I eat, what I do and how I spend my time. I am training 6 days a week with my trainers and I am making every minute count.  This isn’t just finale prep - this is life prep. My goal by finale was really lofty when I first came home, 213lbs! Although I think it would have been more than possible had I not been working 2 jobs and maintaining a house and family, now I am looking forward to being out of the 300s! So by finale, I hope to be at least 299! That would be AMAZING!


The Biggest Loser
airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on NBC.

(Image courtesy of NBC)


Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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