Meet Suzy - One Of The Biggest Dieting Losers
Create Your Own Ranch Magic
Many of you have asked how the Biggest Loser contestants eat and work out once they're back at home and living a normal (non-ranch) life. We recently had a phone chat with Suzy Preston, 3d place finisher from the Biggest Loser season 2, and she shed some light on her daily routine.
First off, exercise whiners beware - Suzy sets her alarm clock at 4:30 am (that is NOT a typo!) most days to get to the gym by 5 am. She has a gym buddy, a good friend, and Suzy shows up faithfully, knowing her pal "is there waiting for me."
Together, they do an hour of cardio which helps pass the time for Suzy. "The weight training to me is fun," Suzy said. "It doesn't feel like working out." So she uses visiting time with her buddy on the treadmill or stairmaster or whatever to get through that hour.
Then her gym buddy has to get home, and Suzy goes to get a bit of breakfast, fruit for example, and some coffee. Then it's back to the gym at 7 am to work on her weight training. She works with a trainer and they alternate days: upper body one day, lower body the next. If they’ve missed some days due to Suzy's schedule, they'll try to touch on all parts.
Just Like Everybody Else
Then it's off to work, just like everyone else. "I don't live on the ranch, said Suzy, who owns her own hairstyling business in Seattle. "I don't live in TV Land. I have to work just like everyone else."
Lunch is usually a salad with her favorite dressing, low-fat honey mustard made by Galeos Café. If she's eating out, it might be a turkey sandwich with one piece of bread, no sauce or any kind of fatty dressing on it.
Dinner could be another salad, but definitely something with lots of fresh veggies and protein. And fruit is something she snacks on if she gets hungry. In fact, healthy snacking is often the way she sees herself through a day. Not so much planned meals, but a careful attention paid to her hunger with a small grazing meals of fruit, veggies and protein.
"A lot of people who have weight problems don't really know what hunger is," she said. "It's good to remind ourselves what real hunger feels like."
In the afternoons after work in good weather, she loves to indulge in any number of outdoor activities. "I'm a very outdoorsy person," she said. "I can drive 45 minutes and be in the mountains. There are hiking trails everywhere, biking trails. There's a lake nearby for boating," she said.
"Personally, I love to rollerblade and skateboard and hike. I try to do something outside every day, just for fun."
The end of the day has its healthy ritual for Suzy as well. "There's a boardwalk about five minutes from my house. It's a mile to walk it. It's my place to regroup, look at the water, looking at the world God has created and appreciate my surroundings."
It's a wonderful way to end a day, and an equally wonderful way to set the tone for the healthy days to follow!