Weight-loss reality show contestant continues healthy ways
Sunday, January 20, 2008 1:59 AM PST
POCATELLO (AP) — Two small books in Sarah Call’s purse hold the secret to her success.
A journal and a calorie-counting guide.
Call lost 39 pounds during her appearance on The Biggest Loser in the third season for the NBC reality program in April 2006.
She represented Wyoming, where she grew up, but had lived in Pocatello and was enrolled at Idaho State University at the time. In nine months, she went from 214 pounds to 175 pounds.
More than a year after the show ended, Call still uses many of the things she learned on the program to work toward her goal of losing more weight. In a story published Saturday, she told the Idaho State Journal she hopes to continue the healthy lifestyle and one day return to the show for a season finale.
Call knew she would be perfect for the show after seeing segments of The Biggest Loser while visiting her parents during Christmas break in 2005.
‘‘It was destiny,’’ she said. ‘‘I was like, ’I am going to be on that show.’’’
An athlete involved in track, volleyball and basketball, Call said she still gained about 30 stress-related pounds in college. She tried fad diets, but nothing really worked.
‘‘I failed all my life at this,’’ she said. ‘‘This was the thorn in my life.’’
Call was one of about 600 people who attended an audition in Salt Lake City, moved on to the second phase of casting, was interviewed and asked to make a video.
She was told in March that she would be representing Wyoming in the competition and headed to California in April.
For about four weeks, Call went through strenuous workouts and nutrition lessons. She also had several medical tests and was given a goal weight of 159 pounds.
Call was not among 14 people selected to stay at the Biggest Loser Ranch, but would become an at-home player.
‘‘They told me my results would not be dramatic enough,’’ she said.
Going home meant she would be surrounded by old temptations without any hard-nosed trainers to encourage her.
‘‘I was going back to being a failure,’’ she said.
NBC helped out by paying for a gym pass and a psychiatrist. A nutritionist also called her to keep tabs. Every workout and everything she ate was posted on her Web site, which was linked to The Biggest Loser site so that fans could watch her progress.
She attended an aerobics class in the morning and a spinning class in the evening. She also started running with her then-boyfriend during the weekend.
Her diet also had to change. She was only allowed 1,300 calories a day. Splurging on a piece of cheese cake meant eating vegetables for the rest of the day. She had to break a lot of bad eating habits.
She learned to stay away from vices such as peanut butter, and found new favorite dishes, such as salmon. Going out to eat was hard, but she used her calorie guide book to make the best possible decisions.
In September 2006, Call went back to California for the season finale and to see her total weight loss. She never expected to win, but was proud of the weight she did lose.
After the show, she put on a few pounds, but has stayed relatively healthy.
Since then, she has finished a half marathon and a triathlon, and is married to Kasey Call, the man she met when she started the process.
She works out at least five days a week, incorporating swimming and running into her regimen.
Call said the experience has left her more self-assured. She believes that she now has the tools and the drive to reach her goal weight.
‘‘I am confident,’’ she said. ‘‘You don’t just change physically, you change emotionally.’’
