Tomorrow night The Biggest Loser: Couples winner will be announced on live TV, but not before an unprecedented vote by America to narrow the final four down to three. Trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels have been there through the entire full-sized season pushing contestants to drop those extra lbs and get their lives back in shape. Fancast got the full inside dish from these two on the show and some tips on shedding some extra weight.
What do you guys think about each other as trainers?
Jillian: He’s a great trainer. I mean, he’s - I think that he’s a lot tougher than a lot of people would imagine him to be. And I mean, yeah, he’s a great guy, obviously. He’s very nice and very caring. But when he gets in the gym, he’s definitely all about business.
Bob: I think Jillian is probably one of the best trainers in not only the country, but the world. And I’ve seen them all. And she actually has made me become a better trainer. It’s always been fun being in the gym with her because it’s like when she and I are in the gym together, it’s like a dance off. She’ll be with one of her contestants and she’ll just be like, you know, doing something crazy with them. And I’ll be like oh, okay. Well I’ll show - I’ll try that and I’ll raise you one.
Is there any behind the scenes stuff that the audience doesn't get to see?
Bob: I just wish that they really could see that kind of commitment that Jillian and I put in because we’re not only in the gym with them. I mean, we are there on-camera, off-camera. I mean, Jillian’s team is at her house and my team is at my house. I mean, we just - we have this relationship throughout the whole season and it’s just - it’s so much more than just Jillian and I in the gym training with each other or us in the kitchen cooking up meals together. We’re completely bonded with our contestants.
Throughout all of the different format changes each season - individuals, couples, families - which is your favorite?
Jillian: I do appreciate the fact that you need to help the contestants work on their interpersonal relationships and deal with their codependency, and their unhealthy behavioral patterns within the context of their relationships. But as the game began to dwindle down and family members began to go home, it allows you - or I’ll speak for myself. But it allows me to work one-on-one with them and they don’t have the security blanket, they don’t have that person to run to - that comfort zone. I like for them to be uncomfortable. I like for them to be vulnerable and raw. And to me it helps them open up and it helps them become a new person which is hard to do when you define yourself within the terms of your relationship. So I like working single.
Bob: I like working singles, too. I mean, there was an example on the show when the brothers -- Mark and Jay -- when they finally separated at one point, you really saw Jay kind of flourish. And so it just seemed like he wasn’t in the shadow of his brother.
Did you ever expect this show to be as far-reaching in terms of inspiring other people outside of the show to lose weight?
Bob: I think from the very beginning when this show started, I said to Jillian - on the side of a road when we were trapped in a car together, really getting to know each other that this show was going to reach out to a lot of people and speak to a lot of people. I wasn’t surprised at the success of the show. I feel like this show inspires millions of people across the world now. And it’s not just people that need to lose weight. It’s people that are continuing to lose weight or maintain their healthy lifestyles.
Jillian: I did not know. He always knew and I did not know. And I had a lot of anxiety about everything from the name to people misconstruing our intentions. And he was like you’re wrong. The message is going to come through. We’re doing amazing things here. You’re wrong. You need to calm down. You need to trust. He was being Bob.
Did you have any misgivings about the name of the show?
Jillian: I hated the name when I first heard it, I was like people are not going to take this the right way. What does this mean? And as much as I know how wrong it is to worry and I know that it drains your energy, and I tell all the contestants, you know, do everything you can and then give it to god and don’t worry - is because I struggle with all those kinds of issues. So I was concerned and I was like what if they don’t see, you know, the method behind the madness? What if they think the name is nasty? I definitely had a lot of concern about how it would be perceived. And, you know, at the end of the day Bob was absolutely right that the bigger message has come across. And, you know, the show is not only a big part of American culture. It is worldwide. It’s in 35 different countries.
Is there anything you do after the show is finished to help make sure contestants are maintaining their new bodies?
Bob: Well I think that Jillian and I set up these - set up a foundation at the very beginning to show them that this - these are all the tools that you’re going to need to live a healthier, happier life and realize that with life comes ebbs and flows. And there’s going to be weight gains and weight losses. But if you manage to learn what you can learn while being on this show, and that is that you’ve got - at the end of the day, you’ve got to eat a little less and you’ve got to move your body around a little bit more.
What's the best advice you could give someone who's looking to lose weight but can't afford exercise classes or organic foods, etc?
Bob: And so there are ways to do it. There are great frozen food - frozen vegetable products. You can go to Costco and you can still shop healthier in these inexpensive places where you’re buying in bulk and still be able to eat the way that we would want you to eat on the show.
Jillian: Yeah, he’s absolutely right. You get fruits and vegetables that are frozen. You buy things that are in season. You clip coupons. You go to Costco and you buy in bulk. When you go to fast food, pick the healthier places, make the healthier choice. Don’t get the Big Mac and the fries. Get the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and the apple slices. You can buy Bob’s book and for the price of Twenty-two dollars, so you - you know, you get the world’s greatest trainer. All you have to do is read it. It’s a one-time investment. And when you have the information, you’re empowered to make the right choices and you can create any destiny that you choose by making the right choices.
Bob: And the main thing is to not use the excuses like I can’t afford a trainer. I can’t afford organic food. Don’t use the excuses. Work with what you’ve got.
If you could get rid of any one junk food item at the grocery store, what would it be?
Bob: Soda
Jillian: Anything with trans fat.
Are you concerned about the audience voting on the final third contestant on tomorrow night's episode?
Bob: I think - I mean, I think that it’s a really tricky thing because America hasn't seen everything that all these four contestants have gone through. I guess I’m kind of uncomfortable about it because they don’t have all the information, you know. It’s like, I think, that we all talk about needing information and it just seems that they only get what they’ve seen on the show.
Jillian: I was just disappointed because Biggest Loser is not a popularity contest. It's about numbers.
Does the format of the show threaten the health of people who are trying to lose weight past the point that they should?
Jillian: No because I’ll say this. Like with Ali, I won’t say obviously what the situation is with who is at home and who isn’t but her and I have talked about it. And as much as she wants to win this, we’ve decided that she will not come in below 120 pounds, under any circumstance. And the idea is like hey, when I had the weight to lose, she beat everybody in the house. When she had the weight to lose, she had the highest percentage of weight loss overall - beyond Roger, beyond Mark and beyond any other boy in that house. So, you know, at that point in my mind, Ali is the winner. With that said, she cannot go below that weight. She can, but it would be unhealthy for her and she’s about sending the right message.
The Biggest Loser: Couples finale airs live tomorrow night on NBC at 8 PM EST. Watch recaps as well as Mark and Roger's for your consideration pleas here.
