by Gina Scarpa

 

Last week, on The Biggest Loser, Courtney and Jen lost a challenge and were banished from the ranch for a week. However, it seemed more like a reward when they were giving a list of things to choose from to get them through that week, from necessities to luxuries. They chose to forego working with Brett, their trainer, and lost the weigh-in. As the person with the lowest percentage of weight loss, Jen was automatically out of the game and today, we spoke to her about it in an exclusive interview.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Your dad, Jay, has said several times that he came on The Biggest Loser for you. Did it take some convincing to get him on the show?
A. Jen: It's funny actually. It never took convincing him to get on the show. I had to convince myself to ask him because I thought, "Never in a million years would he do this with me." I'm also in business with both my mother and my father. For us, it would be really 2/3 of our company being M.I.A. That was something that I had to think about. It took me a while.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You and your dad went back and forth between trainers this season because of twists in the game. Did it benefit you, though, to learn all the different training styles in depth?
A. Jen: Yes, most definitely. I feel so fortunate to have taken the path that I took on that ranch. Even though there were obstacles, I felt as though it was almost a metaphor for life. There are things you're going to come across that you didn't expect and you need to figure out how to overcome them. The journey that I took made us better, stronger people. I'm proud of the person that I am for it.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: On last week's episode, you and Courtney had a week away from the ranch but when you got the shopping list, it almost felt like a prize. Did you both feel that way?
A. Jen: At first, it definitely did feel that way. First of all, we are in this spectacular mansion. You lose a challenge, you end up in a mansion. Something's gotta be wrong. We had an amazing house to live in with all these luxuries that we could take part in. It was definitely something out of the norm. You lose a challenge, you don't get squat. We felt like we lucked out.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Courtney said that she wanted to buy Brett and was upset that she didn't speak up to you. Did you feel that you made that decision for her?
A. Jen: Knowing what Courtney had gone through... Marci had gone home a couple weeks before and they are very close. I wanted to do everything and anything possible to support Courtney and make her feel comfortable. She was in a situation that she had never come across before. It definitely was something that if I had known how worried she was, there is no doubt that I would've given the opportunity for us to be with Brett. She mentioned it after the fact and I felt awful. I said, "If you had told me, I would've given it up in a second." She was also really wanting to have that time to talk to her mom and be able to use the phone calls for that. We also used our time on the phone to talk to Brett. He gave us great homework and we followed everything

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you feel that not having Brett is the sole reason that your team lost the weigh-in or were there other factors?
A. Jen: No, I think Brett's an incredible trainer but I don't think not having him was the reason why. He put together amazing workouts. I gotta be honest, when we were on the ranch, our trainers couldn't always make it to the ranch so we were responsible for our own workouts. Our trainers would give us homework. We followed everything he told us to do. What it boiled down to is that we were overtrained. Courtney was hitting a plateau and for myself, I was getting so small that my body was just not giving up weight the way it used to. I believe it was the overtraining. We were burning the right amount of calories and eating well. I can only attribute it to that.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the toughest part, for you, about leaving the ranch?
A. Jen: The toughest part... I have grown so close to everybody. The bonds that you build with these people... I don't think I could find it in any other life experience going forward. I think the hardest part was not having the support system of everybody there who knows what you're going through. There's no distractions - no cell phones, no internet, no television. There was a kitchen stocked with the best stuff in the world. Yes, we cooked it ourselves but we learned how to do it. Back home are the same temptations that brought you to The Biggest Loser and you have to keep your blinders on. You can be thrown off course in a moment's notice and realize you're not losing weight anymore. You're gaining it. Fortunately, I stayed as focused as possible and kept going in the right direction.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You look amazing now! What have you been doing at home?
A. Jen: Oh my word! I'm working out like a fiend! I still very much am. I've fallen in love with running. I absolutely love running and I have a goal to run a marathon. I know that that's something that's attainable for me in the future. It'll definitely be post-finale! I don't know if I can fit that into my 3-4 hours of working out per day. I don't think my body would allow that... or my knees, for that matter! I love running and I love spinning! I know it's non workout oriented but I love shopping too! I'm buying clothes that I'm able to feel good in. There's no better feeling than being able to fit into a pair of jeans that I would've worn as a child.

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

Follow Jen @JRushJacobs and Gina @ginascarpa