Last week The Biggest Loser returned for its new and improved 17th season on NBC. With Bob Harper as host, we watched as Jen Widerstrom and Dolvett Quince picked contestants for their teams and started them on their difficult weight lost journey.
One of those contestants, Britney Anderson, came to The Biggest Loser ranch with her aunt, Toy Grandison. Both were picked to be on Dolvett’s team and viewers got to see them battle through the first workouts on the ranch.
Britney said that going on the show represented “starting over my life for me.” After her father died of a heart attack when she was just 16, Britney had to help her mother take care of her younger siblings. When she was 18, she slowly began gaining weight due to a poor diet, lack of exercise and her busy schedule with school and work. Her “aha moment” came when she bought a pair of pants and then couldn’t fit into them just a month later.
At the end of the first episode, Britney steps on the scale and reveals that she weights 253. After one week at the ranch, she lost a total of 7 lbs. Unfortunately, both she and her aunt fell below the yellow line and her team voted to send her home, making her the first eliminated contestant of the season.
CelebSecrets4U spoke to Britney about her experience on the ranch and what she learned from the few days that she was there — make sure to read our Q&A below!
The Biggest Loser airs Mondays at 9 PM ET on NBC.
CS4U: What was it that helped you kick start?
Britney Anderson: “Well, let’s be honest. You saw how hard it was for me to do some of the things. And you know being yelled at and being pushed to saying, “You know go get this. You can do this. Let’s go. Let’s get it.” You know that’s hard work. So that was something that you know some people need. Like a drastic change in order for things to happen. And that’s what happened to me.”
CS4U: I want to know. I mean being eliminated first could probably be like a little bit discouraging. What do you do to stay motivated to make the right choices to stay eating healthy and working out all the time?
Britney Anderson: ” Things that I do to stay motivated is to remind myself as to why I started this. You know I thought I was doing it because I wanted to be healthier. You know I wanted to live. I wanted to do things. And you know, my family has a history of diabetes. And my family has a history of high blood pressure. So these are things that I definitely don’t want in my life. And if want to you know continue to be a role model for my family and also you know in the future of course I’d like children, I want to make sure that I’m there for them. So you know just the motivation of thinking about my future and what’s great for me is what keeps me motivated.”
CS4U: My question to you is mental strength. Let’s talk about the mentality that it took for you to do well or to do what you did on the show. How tough was that on the show?
Britney Anderson: “Mentally, that was really, really tough. But I – I will be very honest is that the main thing that I could honestly do is was just trust God. And if he brought me to that situation then I knew that there was a reason for it. So I just went in for it and said, “Okay, god. I trust you. We’re going to go for this.” Am I scared? Yes. But, let’s just see what happens.”
CS4U: What was it is like working with Dolvett and what was something maybe that he showed you or said to you that you took home with you?
Britney Anderson: “Working with Dolvett was amazing. I mean let’s just be honest. America loves him and I love him too. He – he definitely – what I think what I took the most was for him being able to see a part of him in every single one of us. And having him break us out of our shell and allowing – and making sure that we knew to trust ourselves. That was something that I appreciated because that was one of the hardest thing for me was that I didn’t trust myself. I didn’t trust my own voice. So, him pushing me to that point of saying, “You can do this. Trust yourself. Make sure that you look out for yourself.” You know, I appreciated that. And it is definitely working on my journey now.”
CS4U: And what was it like going into the competition with your aunt because I know you said you know when you were eliminated that god brought you there so that he could come with you. So what was that experience like for the two of you?
Britney Anderson: “It was amazing. I love my aunt. Like if you ever see us together, we’re really crazy. We act like sisters. So, it was fun because I have that support person you know. And all I can say it was an amazing experience. I love my aunt. And I do stand by you know what I said that for you god brought me there for her to get to where she needed to be because you know sometimes it’s hard to let go. And as you guys saw that you know that struggle with my aunt you know of losing a child. That’s hard for anybody. So, I’m appreciative that I was able to be that willing vessel.”
CS4U: What were your feelings on the scheme of this season’s Biggest Loser temptation? Did the temptation make the process that much harder?
Britney Anderson: “I think – I think what made it harder would probably be admitting to the fact that sometimes you – you give in to that temptation. And you never really want to admit to giving into temptation because sometimes that would feel like a wrong thing. So it made it a little hard to come out of the shell. But at the same time, it was like, “You need this. You need to admit that sometimes you give into temptation. So as soon as you admit that, then the healing process can begin.”
CS4U: Can you tell us what you learned about yourself in this process?
Britney Anderson: “What I’ve learned about myself is that listening to my own voice and trusting myself, it isn’t that bad at all.”
CS4U: Okay. And you have any advice for anyone who is facing a similar challenge?
Britney Anderson: “My advice to everyone else would be don’t hide behind the light or don’t behind – don’t hide behind anyone else’s light. You were given that light for a reason. So, let it shine. Keep pushing. You know sometimes it’s hard. It’s not going to be easy but it’s definitely worth it. And you can do this.”
