14 DAY TRIAL // Season 15 of the hit weight loss series The Biggest Loser wrapped up the other night, crowning former star swimmer Rachel Frederickson as winner, after she lost 59.6 percent of her starting weight. As the controversy around whether she might have gone too far with the weight loss continues, she’s finally speaking out on the matter.
Frederickson was 260 pounds (117.9 kg) when she entered the competition and, through a combination of diet and exercise, she went down to 105 pounds (47.6 kg), which many considered an unhealthy weight given her height.
In fact, even two of the trainers on the show were shocked to see how much weight Rachel had lost when the time of the big reveal came – and cameras were right there to document their reaction, as the GIF below can confirm. Many viewers at home reacted just the same.
However, in a press conference after the show, Rachel said that she lost the weight the healthy way, insisting that there was absolutely no reason for concern where she was involved.
“With my journey, I truly found the person I want to be. So, it's about the lifestyle for me, and now, adding in the maintenance lifestyle, adding work, and finding the balance and adjusting the exercising. I think this is all going to become a rhythm and it's just so exciting … I've never felt this great, and I know I'm going to feel even better,” she said, as cited by Yahoo! TV.
She talked of finding balance now that she’s no longer on the show and of doing maintenance work to keep the weight off.
“I went to an extremely heavy weight, and now it's about finding that balance in my lifestyle and maintaining this active, healthy, strong person who has come out during this seven-and-a-half-month journey,” Rachel explained.
In a separate statement to Us Weekly, the Biggest Loser winner stressed that she had finally gotten the body she felt most happy in, while adding that she was aware she would have to work hard to keep it.
“I’ve never felt this great before. I’ve officially found that proud, confident girl that I’ve lost! I was an athletic, national level swimmer, and to have that athlete come back again is a truly, amazing feeling. I’m going to embrace the new me and continue this journey and my body is going to balance and find this rhythm with this new maintenance and it will be perfect,” Rachel said.
Rachel lost the weight over a period of 7 and a half months, 4 of which were spent on The Biggest Loser ranch with trainers and medical staff, and 3 and a half on her own, following the instructions handed to her during her stay at the ranch. She followed a 1,600-calorie daily plan and attended as many as 4 separate exercise classes.
