‘Biggest Loser’ put her on healthy path

POCATELLO, Idaho – Two small books in Sarah Call’s purse hold the secret to her success:

a journal and calorie-counting guide.

Call lost 39 pounds during her appearance on “The Biggest Loser” in the third season of 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 uses many of the things she learned on the program to work toward her goal of losing more weight. She told the Idaho State Journal she hopes to continue the healthy lifestyle and 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.

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 she would represent Wyoming in the competition and headed to California in April.

For about four weeks, Call went through workouts and nutrition lessons. She also had several medical tests and was given a goal weight of 159 pounds.

Call was not among the 14 people selected to stay at the Biggest Loser Ranch.

“They told me my results would not be dramatic enough,” she said.

Instead, she would be an at-home player, where she would be surrounded by old temptations without any hard-nosed trainers to encourage her.

NBC paid for a gym pass and 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 fans could watch her progress.

She attended an aerobics class in the morning and a spinning class in the evening. She started running on weekends.

Her diet changed, too. She was allowed 1,300 calories a day.

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 lost.

After the show, she put on a few pounds, but has stayed relatively healthy.

She has finished a half marathon and a triathlon, and she got married.

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.”