Contestant: Kristi McCart
Age: 32
Hometown: Riverview, Florida
Occupation: Family law and estate planning attorney
Starting weight: 264 pounds
I’ve steadily gotten heavier throughout my life, but I didn’t realize I had an actual problem until I had my first child 19 months ago. When I was breastfeeding and pumping, I was eating so much more than normal without gaining anything. But as soon as I stopped, the pounds piled on, and I quickly surpassed the weight I’d been when I gave birth.
I stepped on the scale one day and thought, “Holy crap, what have you been doing for the last 16 months?” Honestly, I just stopped paying attention—to my diet, my health, and my needs. As a new mom, I’d started focusing solely on taking care of my son and my husband. At the same time, I launched my own law firm, and I had zero time and energy to give to myself.
On top of that, I’ve had an unhealthy relationship with food since childhood—my parents are divorced, and traveling between two households that were run very differently meant I never knew exactly when my next meal would be. Now, I live with my husband, who doesn’t have a great diet. He can guzzle Mountain Dew without gaining weight, but when I eat like him it’s a different story.
Kristi McCart
I’ve also always thought of myself as a “healthy fat person,” because I’ve never had high blood pressure or cholesterol or been diagnosed with any serious issues. I feel like a drunk driver who has never gotten caught. I’ve never hurt anybody else and I haven’t hurt myself by overeating and being inactive, but I know it’s going to catch up to me. I’ve struggled with getting pregnant for the second time, and I wonder if my current weight issues have contributed to that.
Watch Kristi’s audition video:
I saw a post on social media a few months ago about auditioning for The Biggest Loser, and thought, “Okay, it’s time to really do this.” I wanted to take control of my health. But part of me was hesitant because I had a young child and signing up for the show would mean being away from him for up to 11 weeks while filming. I had to have a hard conversation with my husband about that. I told him, “If I do this, you’re going to have to pick up all the slack at home. Feeding, watching the baby, organizing care, cleaning, everything, alone.”
“I’m ready to own my health.”
He was completely supportive. “You’ve wanted to lose this weight for years,” he said, and in five minutes he had me convinced this was the right thing to do for me and my family.
Still, being away from my baby and my husband hasn’t been easy. I’m only two weeks into filming right now, but this is the longest I’ve been away from my son. I don’t know what milestones he’s is hitting without me. We’re not allowed to have cell phones or use social media while we’re filming, so I have zero contact with him.
It’s incredibly tough, but I know my husband and so many friends and family members are making sacrifices so that I can be here, which makes me feel even more motivated to do them justice and give it my all. I’m ready to own my health the way I’ve owned every other part of my life. I’ve been laser-focused on my career and my relationships, and now I’m going to bring that drive to getting healthy on The Biggest Loser.
The Biggest Loser will air on USA Network for its 18th season in January 2020.
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