Reality Check: 'Biggest Loser' contestants find new lives as trainers
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"Biggest Loser" contestants Jessica Limpert of Murrysville smooches with boyfriend Ramon Medeiros after running a marathon on last week's episode. Season finale is Tuesday.
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A year ago, the absurdity of running a marathon was something beyond Jessica Limpert's comprehension. A television show changed that.
A Murrysville native who went on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" to regain control of her life, Ms. Limpert lost weight and found love with fellow contestant Ramon Medeiros of Florence, Colo. Heading into Tuesday's live broadcast of the Season 12 finale, she contemplates life after the cameras.
"We'll just adapt; we're not fake people on TV. Just back to the day-to-day, we'll go about our business," said Ms. Limpert, who lost more than 50 pounds in seven weeks at the "Biggest Loser" ranch.
Part of her travel plans include bringing Mr. Medeiros back to Pittsburgh later this month. The two trained here for three weeks in September and October and ran a half-marathon on the Montour Trail in anticipation of a "Biggest Loser" marathon in the desert.
That 26.2-mile race was shown on last week's episode. Fifteen contestants ran through the stark landscape of the California desert, a looping course without benefit of shade.
Sandstorms kicked up during the race, temporarily stopping some runners and spreading several inches of grit over the road: "It was like running on the beach," said Ms. Limpert, who placed fourth.
"Both of them did great, and with Jessica you're talking someone who had zero [mileage] base to doing a marathon in three months," said Susie Albert, a trainer at Dean's Health & Fitness in Murrysville.
After Ms. Limpert was eliminated from the main draw of the show, Miss Albert worked with her on her fitness routine. The winner of the "BL" marathon -- Mr. Medeiros -- was awarded $25,000 and a spot in the show's finale.
Ms. Limpert said her marathon plans were done in by a nervous stomach: "I probably spent 10 minutes in the bathroom. Ramon and I were running, and I just told him to go ahead. When I saw a port-a-john, it was like seeing an angel out there."
Tuesday, the grand prize winner gets $250,000; the at-home winner, chosen by viewer votes, receives $100,000.
Although Miss Limpert works as a travel nurse in California, she and Mr. Medeiros recently accepted jobs as trainers at the California fitness resort run by "The Biggest Loser."
"Our lives have just made this huge 180," she said. "I see life differently now. I see a future.
"It's not about a number anymore. It's about feeling good. I'm excited, waiting for the finale, but I feel I've already won."
To try out for Season 13, go to TheBiggestLoserCasting.com.
• When is a "reward" not a reward? When winning puts you front and center to lose.
Lincoln Place paramedic Megan Hart was part of a team that won the preliminary challenge on TLC's "Next Great Baker" last Monday, a feat that host/judge Buddy Valastro promised would be a "huge advantage" for later in the episode.
Nope. Instead, it meant she got to be a team captain for the next, more important challenge. This is never a good thing -- if your team wins, great. If it loses, guess whose head is often first on the chopping block?
And lose they did, crafting a skinny-armed, life-size cake version of one of Buddy's sisters. Happily, Mr. Valastro said he respected Ms. Hart's talent enough to keep her around and instead marked "inexperienced" baker Minerva Vazquez for elimination.
What happened next was a rarity in reality television: Ms. Vazquez stepped up and said "I object!" She convinced the judges that hers was "the face of passion" and that kind-of-goofy teammate Tony Frys should go home.
Slapping the table and applauding her gumption, Mr. Valastro agreed.
First Published December 10, 2011 12:00 am
