by Gina Scarpa

 

Last week, on The Biggest Loser, Brendan won a temptation challenge that gave him the power to pair up teams for the weigh-in. Both people would be sent home if they fell below the yellow line and received the most votes. Jesse and Aaron went up against Lisa and Ada for elimination but lost. We spoke to Aaron last week and today, we hear from Jesse in an exclusive interview about his experiences on the ranch, the gameplay, and whether or not his friendship with Patrick can be repaired.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the wakeup call that made you decide to try out for The Biggest Loser?
A. Jesse: After I had eclipsed 300 lbs, I kind of lost the will to care about my weight because I figured the problem was something I could never really fix. It took my family encouraging me and telling me that they wanted the "old Jesse" back to get any semblance of determination to fix it. After a conversation with my dad about my weight's ability to change, not just my health and what I looked like, but ultimately who I was and how I acted, my mom suggested I try out for the show. And thank God she did!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When you look at footage from the early episodes and you see yourself, what do you think to yourself?
A. Jesse: I guess I avoided a whole lot of mirrors when I weighed 369 lbs so I look at that footage of myself and am honestly astonished that I let myself get to that point. And that, more than anything, leads to a significant amount of pride for all the hard work I've put in. A lot of days, the most glaring reminder of my hard work is a swollen knee or a sore ankle, but to have reminders like seeing such a significant change in myself means a lot to keep my motivation and drive high.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your opinion on the gameplay and your philosophy on temptation challenges this season?
A. Jesse: I think the gameplay began to get a little out of control as the weeks went on and I voiced that concern to every other contestant on the ranch near the end of my time there. However, I think that each person was free to look at their time on the ranch and the way that they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity in any way they'd like and those that played the game until the end played it well. As far as temptations, I learned my lesson after the cupcake temptation: stay away from temptations!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It's clear that Brendan, Fredo, and Patrick are running this game but you still had a close friendship with Patrick. Were you aware of how tight their alliance was?
A. Jesse: Obviously, no one knew the extent of the closed-door conversations that were seen on the episodes in the same way that no one would have been around to hear Patrick and me promise each other we'd never vote for the other one. We weren't aware of the tightness of their alliance but particularly Frado and Brendan made no secret about their intention to make it until the end together.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You lost a lot of weight in this week's weigh-in. What did you do to help get that great number?
A. Jesse: I honestly think that the people I have to thank most for that number are the marines that trained us at Camp Pendleton. My body was out of whack for the Camp Pendleton weigh-in (my legs, for one, were visibly swollen), so I think that a lot of the body-fat weight I actually lost at Camp Pendleton carried over to my final weigh-in. So thank you to all of the CIs that kicked our butts for a week!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was it frustrating to be sent home in favor of keeping Lisa on the ranch?

A. Jesse: It was frustrating, but my frustration was not aimed at Lisa - it was aimed at those that continued to keep Lisa on the ranch despite her requests to go home and at the expense of people that wanted to remain there. However, as I said, it was an honor to walk out that door with Aaron, and if I could go back and change the outcome, I'm not sure I would. We learned a lot that night, and Aaron and I have become even better friends and grown in our understanding of the journey that we're on as a result of everything that went on that week.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You hard some harsh words for Patrick after he cast his vote for you. What was the toughest part about that moment?
A. Jesse: The moment that I realized that my good friend had lied to me felt like I had been punched in the stomach. My being upset had significantly more to do with my disappointment in a friend letting me down than in my elimination from the show. But, in retrospect, I'm glad I stood up for myself and did not let anyone off the hook that night. I hope I wasn't the only person to learn something in that room.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Is that a friendship that can be repaired?
A. Jesse: I am not one to hold grudges, and Patrick really was a supportive and positive force for me at the ranch. We recently spoke, and I think that what I said to sum up our conversation at the end of our talk perfectly describes where we're at: I told Patrick that two signs of quality traits in people are, one, that a person will own up to their mistake and, without making excuses for it, apologize and recognize that they'd done something wrong, and, two, when someone will forgive a friend for something they did and recognize that each and every one of us makes mistakes. I think each of us demonstrated one of these traits in our conversation, and we can rebuild our friendship from there.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the most challenging part about the transition from the ranch to your home life?
A. Jesse: Simply not having Bob and Jillian around and not living with a bunch of people who you could rely on as role-models. Each and every person in that house worked their tail off on a daily basis, and I gained so much strength from simply watching them and hoping to emulate their work ethic. Once I got home, I was forced back into real life, where people simply don't exercise for four-plus hours a day. I had to find my "zone" again in a new way.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you doing in preparation for the upcoming live finale?
A. Jesse: You know, my focus in preparation no longer so much preparation for the finale as it is preparation for a continued lifestyle change. I desperately want to live this way for the rest of my life, so it's important to me that nothing changes the day after the finale. Making this a lifestyle change (as opposed to a "push to the finish line") has also helped me take pressure off of myself and relieve stress (which, in turn, I believe has been a boost to my weight loss!). Also, for me, it's much easier to motivate myself to go to the gym first thing in the morning because I want to be healthy and skinny than because I want to win money!

 

The Biggest Loser airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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