by Alison Cox
Week three of The Biggest Loser Couples saw the
emotions creep into the Biggest Loser ranch, as
the mother of the heaviest competitor in Biggest
Loser history, Maria Ventrella, made a passionate
plea to keep her son in the game. Although The
Biggest Loser Couples pits pairs against each
other for Biggest Loser battle, for some Biggest
Loser ranchers their time in the game is literally
a do or die situation. That's exactly how Maria
Ventrella felt when The Biggest Loser competitors
narrowed down their votes after Maria and Michael
fell below the yellow line. For the sake of her
son's life, Maria urged her fellow Biggest Loser
Couples mates to send her home so Michael can
get the help he needs and truly begin the road
to recovery with The Biggest Loser.
The day after week three of The Biggest Loser Couples, we jumped on the phone for a few Biggest Loser minutes with Maria Ventrella to find out what both Dr. H. and trainers Bob and Jillian can do for Michael and how Maria is staying motivated at home after her time on The Biggest Loser ranch.
THE DEADBOLT: From a mother's perspective, aside from Michael's will power, what do you think that Bob, Jillian, and Dr. H. can do for him?
MARIA VENTRELLA: They are great support. Bob and Jillian really are terrific trainers, they know how to help you and if you have any pain, how to go around them, I guess Dr. H., too. It's just a great group combined together that help you and losing weight drastically the way we are you need the best to help you, because without that you would never be able to succeed. And when you're losing a hundred pounds, a hundred and fifty, two hundred pounds you know, you definitely need that know what they're doing and they have the best.
THE DEADBOLT: Now that you're at home and you don't have direct access to Bob, Jillian, and Dr. H., what kind of motivational reminders are you using at home to aid your diet and exercise regime?
MARIA: Well, every morning when I wake up, I decide, "You know what? This time I'm going to go to the gym." And the motivation is the way I feel just knowing my day is so different. Before, all I did was, "Oh, my legs hurt me. My back hurts me." I would always complain. Now I'm not like that anymore. I'm feeling great, I'm looking good, which I can't believe it, and I just love the way I feel. That's my motivation. And of course my son, too, just motivates me so much in there and knowing how good he's doing. I want to keep up with him and say, "Hey, I'm doing it just as good as you are."
Other Conference Call Highlights:
The Gray Team swapped you at the weigh-in, but with your 4lbs weight loss, would the result not have been the same either way?
MARIA:
Yes. When that happened we knew that no matter
which way it went, either one of us would have
gone below the yellow line. It wasn't a matter
of being upset with them because they chose
to switch us, we were more upset when they said
Mike wasn't working hard enough. I know for
a fact he was and he lost 10lbs that week. Michael
is friends with them and I think they were just
concerned.
How did it feel hearing that Michael maybe wasn't giving it his all?
MARIA: Watching that sort of upset me because I know how hard he worked and they only showed the parts he was relaxing in, not the parts where he was working hard. You don't lose 10lbs in one week being lazy. If you remember the week before, he did bring the big numbers, but your body sort of stops at one point. You can't lose 15lbs every week, your body isn't made to do that. We know what he did, it's just a matter of their opinion, but it's not how we feel. He did really great and is continuing to do great.
How is Michael doing at the ranch?
MARIA: Michael is doing great, he's continuing, he's changed a lot. He's just determined to get to his goal. He really understands now what this opportunity has brought to him and you'll see in the show that he is doing very, very good.
What was going through your head when you had to say goodbye to him?
MARIA: I was worried. My son and I are very close and I was afraid that when I left he would fall behind with the depression, because that was the biggest part of his weight gain. But I'm happy to say that I think it opened his eyes. He woke up and understands the reason why he had to be there and he has now changed. He's a completely different person, physically and mentally and everything. He's a go-getter and I'm sure he'll be there at the finale.
Has your relationship changed with him since being on the show?
MARIA: I think the journey has made us even closer. I miss him a lot. Michael is a character and he brings so much life to a room when he walks in, and I miss that at home but I know he's doing something to help him get healthy again, so I know we'll have some good times in the future.
How did you find it being a student this week and not having Bob and Jillian?
MARIA:
It was harder because Bob and Jillian knew what
problems I have with my knees and getting hurt
the week before that, so I had a lot of things
against me where I couldn't pick up the weights
or do a lot of things because of my hand. If
it wasn't student-teacher week, I probably would
have lost more weight because even if I had
pain, they would have forced me to continue.
Whereas my son had more sympathy for me, I think.
How could a son want to hurt his mum? He could
never do that!
Going back to your injury last week, what exactly happened?
MARIA: It was a matter of me avoiding going into the pool. I have a deadly fear of water and instead of falling in the water when I lost balance, I dove into the concrete. I didn't think I would hurt myself that bad, but I had a panic attack and couldn't control myself.
Do you think that Melissa threw the weigh-in?
MARIA: Yes. I think she knew she wasn't the one who was weighing in and her thoughts were as long as her weight wasn't counting, she was going to try to keep the big number for the week. She's a very smart lady and she's playing the game.
How did you keep losing the weight at home?
MARIA: Determination! Once I got home I understood that this is making me feel good. Originally I went to the ranch thinking about saving my son's life because of his big amount of weight, but it was a matter of waking up and saying, 'This is for you too, you're feeling great, you're feeling good, continue'. I feel so much better.
