by Gina Scarpa

 

The twists never stop on The Biggest Loser and last week, Alison announced that only one person's weight would count for their entire team's. For Danni, it wasn't a huge deal since she's the last member of the white team standing. For Joe and Jeff, the fate of their teams rested squarely on their shoulders. When Jeff came up short at the weigh-in, his blue team decided to eliminate David, saying that he would fare best at home. We talked to the police officer from Oklahoma in an exclusive interview about his journey on The Biggest Loser ranch and his success at home.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your motivation for trying out for The Biggest Loser?
A. David: Well, I couldn't do it all on my own. I tried and failed on a number of occasions, as is typical with many Biggest Loser contestants. Earlier in the year, I had tried and failed at a foot pursuit and that was a low spot in my life, professionally. Ten or twenty years ago, that wouldn't have been an issue. I told my wife, "I gotta do something," and I found out about the casting call in Dallas. That was a sign that it was something I should take a shot at. God worked his little miracle and I was able to take the day off to go to the casting.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Tell us about your working relationship with Bob and if you were happy that he ended up being your trainer this season.
A. David: They had asked me before I got on the ranch about who I would take and I said that I would like to have Bob. I liked how he dealt with people. He was actually more than I had ever hoped for. There was a real, personal stake in it for all of us. My relationship with him was very close. There were times that he needed to go after a workout. He's a busy guy! But there were other times where he didn't need to leave the ranch and he would just sit beside me on the rowing machine.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Throughout the season, you and the other contestants meet with Dr. Huizenga.  What was the scariest part about those meetings for you?
A. David: The scariest part was realizing that it wasn't all physical - that my mental and emotional state directly affected my physical state. I hadn't anticipated hearing that. Physically, I knew the damage I was doing but yeah. That other part was scary.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I feel as if we didn't get to know you as well as we could have during your time on the ranch. What do you feel America should know about you?
A. David: Well, I would say that I'm probably a lot more animated in my life today than the typical Eeyore that I appeared to be. I had a strategy on the ranch and that was to stay below the radar, to not be a whiny crybaby and get that kind of attention, or just give up and not give 100%. That was my strategy and that probably what played out on screen. America needs to know that I do make my family laugh and there's a smile on my face all the time today.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It was quite an interesting twist this week, with only one person's weight counting. How confident were you feeling in Jeff to pull through for your blue team?
A. David: I think I even said it on the episode that when we were on the stage and it rolled on to Jeff, that he has numbers that go back and forth sometimes but he's a pretty solid player. I thought, "Okay, at least it's not me." I really was pretty confident that Jeff could do it.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What do you think about voting someone off because they're ready to continue their journey at home, more than others?
A. David: I think what doesn't get said a lot of times... I'm not going to speak for everyone else, but I was told that I would probably go home early. Three people out of the fifteen are going to be finalists so I'm probably going to go home early. Embrace it so you work as hard as you possibly can to stay on the ranch, but don't act like the world crashes around you when you get eliminated. That's going to happen to most of us. We had a conversation a week or two earlier and they said, "What we're afraid of is once you get that brace off, you're gonna kick our tails. Before we go to individuals, this is something we're going to have to consider." That's fine, it's part of the game.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's been the biggest change you've noticed in yourself since you went on The Biggest Loser?
A. David: My community will tell you it's my attitude, my family will tell you it's my activity level. Before The Biggest Loser, i would spend hours in front of the television, not wanting to do anything. Today, my family is saying, "Can we slow down a little bit?"

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa