Monday night, Richard Hatch and Sarah Gilbert fell below the line in weigh ins and were eliminated from 'The Biggest Loser.' But these two are determined and working hard for that at-home-prize of $100,000 at the finale's final weigh in. Reality Wanted had the chance to interview Rich and Sarah after their elimination and they had some really great things to share about their experience and continuing to work hard at home.

 

Reality Wanted: How many calories were you consuming daily prior to going to the ranch and how many do you consume now?

 

Richard Hatch: The number of calories I was consuming before I went on the ranch really is embarrassing. So when we sat down and looked at it, it was well over 10,000. Let's just say that...So if I'm still in the weight loss mode I'm not going to go over say 1750. If I maintain weight, then it's going to be a little higher.

 

Sarah Gilbert: For me I'd say I was typically at about 5000 calorie-a-day which is just absurd. Not quite as absurd as 10,000 calories. I mean Rich has me beat there. But what I eat now I'd say the caloric intake that doctor has assigned to me specifically was 1190.

 

Reality Wanted: What was your favorite food before and what are your favorite healthy foods now?

 

Richard Hatch: I mean I have always enjoyed really, really good food and that includes healthy food...So right from the get-go at the ranch I would make huge -- huge is the operative word -- bowls of vegetables...but now I've integrated my love of good food into a more realistic perspective of quantity.

 

Sarah Gilbert: Pizza. And actually while I was on the ranch I pretty much cut out all meat and most dairy products. I haven't completely cut out all dairy products yet. So I do a lot of roasted veggies. I do a lot of quinoa, a lot of, you know, beans, typical stuff to get protein on a primarily vegetarian diet...I do still have fish occasionally...I'd say quinoa is definitely probably one of my new favorites...and cauliflower, oh gosh, I love cauliflower.

Reality Wanted: What do you say to those people to get motivated and begin living a healthier lifestyle who don't have the resources on the ranch?

 

Sarah Gilbert: We weren't on the ranch nearly as long as some of the contestants. So I think a larger part of our journey has been at home...For me it became something about really wanting to prove to people that they could do it at home because I had to do most of it at home. You know, I did get a good jumpstart on the ranch and I don't know if I ever would have done it without that because it really gave me the confidence that I needed that I could do it.

 

Richard Hatch: I think your question's a really, really important one. And I think the idea that somehow being on the ranch makes what it is that we're doing, you know, possible is somewhat miscommunicated...There's nothing magic on the ranch...And the truth is what we do while we're there is up to us. You know the trainers aren't with us 24 hours a day...The truth is we're doing it there and it's a long process...So I don't want anyone thinking the ranch is magic. It's not. It's a great start as Sarah said.

 

Reality Wanted: An 80% decrease can seem unhealthy to some people who don't understand, and a lot of people don't go to the doctor until there's something wrong. With obesity that can be very risky. Do you think they're afraid to go to the doctor because of what they're going hear?

 

Sarah Gilbert: Yes, absolutely. I think first off as far as calories are concerned, I think what's probably more unhealthy is eating 5000, 6000, 10,000 calories a day...But thinking to health and people who are obese going to doctors for health in general, yes, absolutely. I mean, my dad didn't discover he had a lot of the problems he had until we went through the medical testing [on the show].

 

Richard Hatch: Again a good question, and I think my answer may shock people. I appreciate why you might think that drop of 80% in caloric intake could be problematic. But what happened in reality is that we would be constantly reminded to eat more...what happened was in shifting our choices, healthier, more well-rounded, etc., our calories automatically dropped. And in fact we were feeling full so much so that we were getting in trouble for not eating enough.

 

The remaining contestants are back in the gym again in another episode of "The Biggest Loser" on Monday night on NBC.

 

Photo credit: NBC