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Inside the Cage of Health with Kristin Steede of The Biggest Loser Couples
by Troy Rogers
 As The Biggest Loser Couples narrows the field in another healthy season of weight-loss transformations, the competition is still as competitive as ever. This week saw the editor of Good Housekeeping magazine arrive to give The Biggest Loser players a multiple choice quiz on counting calories in which Kristin and Mike went head-to-head in a tie before Mike won a trip to New York for his food and calorie prowess. Next on The Biggest Loser challenge docket was a cage suspension test where each had to hold their weight where challenge champ Tara came out the winner for a fifth time to land a $10,000 prize for her efforts.
After a "last chance workout," The Biggest Loser competitors stepped on the scales for the final weigh-in where 3-pound loser Felipe appeared to be the next Biggest Loser to leave the ranch before an over-confident Kristin shocked herself by gaining 1-pound for the week. Although Kristin made a last ditch plea to Mike to keep her in the game, at The Biggest Loser deliberation table it was Kristin who was sent packing from the ranch.
The next morning we hopped on our weekly Biggest Loser conference call to chat with Kristin Steede and walk back in Biggest Loser time to find out how she gained weight, whether she knew Ron and Mike were going to vote her out, how she's changed both her workout and eating routines, and what's in store for the future now that Kristin has undergone a healthy transformation on The Biggest Loser Couples.
THE DEADBOLT: How did you manage to gain weight before the last weigh-in?
 KRISTIN STEEDE: It came to me the day after the ranch. You know, there’s a certain time of the month for a woman where her weight tends to fluctuate and I didn’t recognize what was happening at the time until after I had left. I think it’s just hormonally in combination with the stress and everything else, because diet and exercise-wise I couldn’t have had a better week. I was running farther and faster than I have ever run in my entire life. So, I mean, it really didn’t make any sense to me at the time but I kind of realized afterwards what was going on.
THE DEADBOLT: Oh, [so] it was a "female" thing going on.
KRISTIN: [laughs] Yes, exactly. And you know, it also expressed [other factors] because I was very emotional that week. And I think the emotions came from not only falling below the yellow line the week before, but it all made sense after I left. I was like, ‘That’s why,’ and everything kind of came together.
THE DEADBOLT: So I guess I can’t call you blueberry anymore.
KRISTIN: [laughs] You big blueberry. I think that’s one of the funniest things. Some of my friends actually joke around and will say that once in a while. I think that’s such a great clip, because Filipe and I are such good friends.
THE DEADBOLT: Now that you’re home, how much do you work out with your mother?
KRISTIN: You know, I do not work out with my mother all that much. We try to get together whenever we can, but I have a philosophy: ‘Do it for yourself, by yourself.’ My mom and I had tried so many diets and exercise programs together in the past and the moment my mom didn’t feel like going it was easy for me not to go, and vice versa. So now the way that I structure my exercise routine is like - I’ll let her know where I’m going and what I’m doing and when I’m doing it, and if she wants to join me - I would love for her to do it, but I don’t wait for her. I don’t depend on her. And now, actually, when we work out together it’s a treat and an enjoyable thing to do. But we are on two different schedules, two different work schedules, so we’re always on the go.
THE DEADBOLT: Did you have any indication that Ron and Mike were going to pull that voting routine?
 KRISTIN: You know, I wasn’t quite sure. I mean, obviously the week before Ron and Mike had both voted to keep me in the house and eliminate Laura, so there was a chance. Knowing that it was a game atmosphere, knowing we were so close to the end, I knew that it was a possibility. And as far as I’m concerned, in the game of The Biggest Loser you are in control of your fate. You can’t fall below the yellow line otherwise your fate is in someone else’s hand and I knew that from the beginning. So, because of my body and what had happened I had given them that opportunity. So I really don’t feel like it’s fair to blame them for elimination, because I fell below the yellow line and they did it and that’s how the game works.
THE DEADBOLT: In terms of the game, what was your favorite aspect of the gameplay?
KRISTIN: It was so terrible, like the whole gameplay aspect of it, because TV will never do justice to the relationships you form with people on the ranch. You know, you wake up every morning and you have breakfast with those people and you change your lives with all of the contestants. So there’s really nothing about the gameplay that's [there]. Like even Tara, Tara is an amazing person and an amazing competitor, I have so much respect and admiration for her. I mean, no matter what, it’s a hard game to play. And for me personally, and who I am, there wasn’t really a part of that that I enjoyed.
THE DEADBOLT: Before you got involved with the show, what was your biggest weakness, junk-food-wise? KRISTIN: Oh, boy! I would say anything chocolate related. Anything, you know? I really had a craving for sweets and I’ve actually come to the realization now that I kind of call myself a food addict. You know, when I was heavy and before I went on the show I would get a craving, or an idea of something that I wanted, and it would basically be in my head until I acted it on that craving, much like an addict would. So it was really powerful to recognize that and actually admit that to myself and then learn and work on dealing with it.
THE DEADBOLT: Does that still affect you or can you eat a bit of chocolate and be okay?
 KRISTIN: You know, I still do. I think it’s something I’ll battle with all of the time. But now I really do look at food differently. I really believe that if I want to have a cookie, I need to eat that cookie, enjoy that cookie and not feel guilty about that and maybe just compensate for it, because losing weight is all about calories consumed versus calories burned. Now am I burning more calories than I’m eating?
So if I’m maintaining my weight, I’ll eat that cookie and enjoy it, and I understand I’ll have to have it in moderation. But then maybe I have to run a little longer or walk on the treadmill. I think in the past I would associate some guilt with food, because I was heavy and I believed, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t do that or I shouldn’t eat that.’ I just want to live normally. I understand I’ll eat things that aren’t the healthiest and I can have them occasionally as long as I eat them in moderation and compensate for it.
THE DEADBOLT: At the end of the show I was surprised to see you speaking to 200 people. How did that come about?
KRISTIN: I’ve obviously been home for two months now and it was something that a lot of people have been coming up to me to talk, that had wanted to hear about my story and hear about my experience. And just being from a small community, and the show’s 'Where Are They Now?’ segment, which I think is a fabulous part of the show, it’s all about what people want to do. You know, some people want to run marathons and some people want, like, Mandy with her children. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to potentially speak to people and help people with what I’ve experienced and learned on The Biggest Loser, which is kind of how that whole segment kind of came about.
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