Ship Shape - An Interview with the Navy Wives of The Biggest Loser: Special Edition

Tami: It sucked waiting, but it was a relief knowing it was done and over with first thing in the morning, nothing you could do after that to change it.

Tina: Our reactions were true… the first time. If they had to redo the scene then you had to act surprised. But from what I saw, all of our reactions were the original reactions.

Brian: It wasn’t exactly clear in the show - were you at the ranch for ten days, then home for seventeen weeks?

Jessica: It was actually ten days that we were at the ranch. Other days were spent at a hotel before and after the ranch, two days before going and two days after. That was for medical screening and stuff. They wanted to make sure we were healthy enough to endure the ranch, and before sending us home, they wanted to make sure we were okay. Then I think we were home for almost four months before the final weigh-in.

Tami: We were all disappointed when we found out that we weren’t going to be on the full season show and be there for three months, but let me just tell you... I was counting down the days, after the first workout with Bob!

Brian: Now, let’s talk about some of the events associated with the first episode. Tell me, what was life like on the ranch? Was it all eat-sweat-sleep, or were there periods of boredom? Homesickness? Fun?

Jessica: Life on the ranch was work. My husband was deployed, [I was] away from my three kids, tired, sore, all the while going through this adventure. At one point, we were all so sore that when we tried going to the bathroom, we didn’t sit… we FELL on the seat and hoped for the best!

There was a lot of exercise. I did more exercise during that time at the ranch than I did some days in basic training when I was in the Army!

I don’t think we were ever really bored. There wasn’t time to be bored, except when we were stuck in a van one day off and on for eleven hours. That was the day of the first weigh-in. We were miserable! But through the homesickness, missing our husbands and kids, the hard core exercising, we managed to have some fun. Leave it to the Navy wives to have some fun at the most awkward or inconvenient times. We were told not to talk to the camera or sound guys. We were told not to look at the cameras. PUH-LEASE – I guess they forgot who they were working with! We would always mess with everybody that crossed our paths, it didn’t matter who they were. We were determined to have some fun and we definitely did.

Tina: We all have three children. so of course there were times when we missed our kids. But there were no periods of crying. Tami missed her husband a lot; she was the newlywed of the group. Me, I was on a “vacation” because I knew my kids were in good hands. So, the ranch experience was EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EAT, SLEEP!

Tami: It was basically eat, work out, and try to sleep through Dari's snoring! I ended up sleeping on the sofa the whole time. There might have been a couple of laughs. On the ranch, Jessica got so serious and focused on her workouts that she didn't talk as much as usual. And, well, not everyone gets along all the time.

Brian: I can understand that, there’s a lot of pressure, everyone’s tired and hungry, and there are going to be moments where the irritation takes over.

Tami: Both teams had their moments with each other. When you get four women in one little bungalow working out like crazy every day, everyone worrying if they were doing all they could do, we were all tired. There are definitely going to be moments, and we all had them.

Dari: There were moments of fun, but our focus was trying to make a life change. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, including childbirth. We missed our kids terribly! There was no time to be bored – if we were bored, we knew we had to do more cardio!

Brian: Was the initial weigh-in the lowest point of your adventure? Did it bother you to wear those unflattering outfits?

Jessica: The initial weigh-in was very stressful. I mean, I would barely get in a bathing suit to go to the beach with my family and there I stand in front of crews – mostly men might I add – cameras, Caroline Rhea, my friends, the competition… everything sagging and hanging out... it was horrible!

Dari: The outfits were HORRIBLE!

Tina: I can say that the initial weigh-in was heartbreaking. My first reaction was DENIAL. I felt that it was no way that I weighed as much as they said I did. Those outfits were ridiculous. We all tried to adjust them to fit us more flattering, to no avail.

Tami: I just hated the thought of my husband knowing the actual digits. My best friend kept saying that she couldn't believe I was going to be on TV letting everyone know the digits when she has known me for thirty years and has never known them. It was a little hard to take.

Dari: The weigh-in was one of the most humiliating experiences, but the whole time on the ranch was horrible! Not the people or the cameras, but the physical exercise and lack of down time.

It looked like we were in pain – and that was so real. We worked out one day for seven hours. Ninety minutes of cardio in the morning, and another ninety before we went to bed. A hundred push-ups and hundred sit-ups. Two hours with Bob in the gym and whatever “homework” he gave us. One day it was to hike the trail around the ranch five times. I couldn’t do it. I still would like to go back and try it again now that I am fit.

Brian: Was that table of “temptation food” actually tempting? Are there often temptation foods laid out?

Jessica: The temptation food at the weigh-in was actually pretty disgusting. It was all of our favorite foods, but to see them all put together like that was just very unappealing. It actually kinda made me sick to look at it.

Tina: There was candy laid out in the confessional room, but that room was loaded with cameras. There were even cameras filming you when you were not filming yourself for the confessional! So if you were stupid enough to eat it, you knew you were being filmed doing it.