|
Post Ranch Gameplay with Julio Gomez of The Biggest Loser
by Troy Rogers
The Biggest Loser Second Chances has become a
season ripe with drama and conflict unlike some
of the recent Biggest Loser competitions as feelings
and opinions are taking hold over Tracey and her
medical status in the game plus last week's elimination
of Antoine and Sean who "fell on the sword" for
others to remain at The Biggest Loser ranch. This
week saw Tracey's teammate Mo break down while
Tracey still wasn't working out in the gym while
Bob and Jillian gave The Biggest Loser contestants
even more to think about in the way of mentally
challenging lifestyle choices.
However, although Mo and Julio Gomez became friends at The Biggest Loser ranch, Tracey became the important factor in the final vote when she forced Mo to side with her and send Julio packing after four weeks of Biggest Loser competition. The next morning we hopped on the line for a Biggest Loser conference call with Julio Gomez to find out how his mentality has changed toward food since being on The Biggest Loser, his thoughts on Tracey, and what Julio thinks of Tracey's time away from the gym.
THE DEADBOLT: You mentioned that the only thing you were good at is food. Is that still the case after being on the ranch?
JULIO GOMEZ: Well, I'm not any worse at it [laughs]. No, you know, that's one of the things that Jillian broke through on there when she kept saying to me, "Have you ever been excellent? Have you ever been good enough in your life?" And what she was trying to say to me there was, "Julio, this is a lot. You're a wonderful person and there's a lot of things you can do. You just have to go through that too." That's what I got out of that whole workout at the end, was I have to stop thinking of limited. I have to stop thinking that only the things that I think of right now I'm great at. Oddly, there [are] a lot of things, you just have to believe in yourself.
THE DEADBOLT: What are your thoughts on Tracey?
 JULIO:
I personally have always liked Tracey. I think
that she had to do what she thought was right
and what she had to do to stay in the game.
I have no ill will towards her.
THE DEADBOLT: Do you think it was fair that she basically got two medical passes?
JULIO: I don't know what you mean by a pass. I mean, she wasn't medically cleared and I don't if that's considered a pass. I mean, we go on the show because we want to go workout with a trainer. And I know for her, and Abbey, were a little bit behind because they were limited physically and they were really affected. So I don't know if that's considered a pass. But she found a way to keep herself there and all the power to her.
Other Conference Call Highlights:
Did you feel a little
betrayed when you were voted off?
JULIO: Not in the least. They voted from their hearts and were very sincere. If you watch the episode closely they agonize over those votes... That was truly the relationship I had with these people. When someone comes from a place that is sincere like that, there is no way I can be angry with them. I knew going in to that vote that it was going to be one of the hardest decisions they would make for that season... I have no regrets, no remorse and no animosity towards anybody who voted to send me home.
How has your home life
changed since leaving the ranch?
 JULIO:
My house is almost like the ranch. There are
no bad choices here anymore. Anything bad has
been eliminated from our grocery list. Eating
out is very, very rare - it's like going back
to when we were kids and ate out maybe once
a week or once a month and it was a treat. That's
the way it should be, in my opinion. You can
make healthy choices out there but I think the
healthiest choice you can make is to teach your
kids how to buy food, what's in the food and
what about the preparation of the food is good
and bad. They like what I make and appreciate
what I make. I had the advantage of being able
to cook before I got there. My love of food
and obsession with food is not going to go away,
it's just going to change a little bit.
After the first elimination
you got some heat about whether you should have
gone home and not Alexandra. Do you think maybe
they just didn't understand your workout process?
JULIO: I completely think that... that was a hard week for me. The 13lbs was a good weight loss in my opinion... I had no issue getting up at six in the morning and going to the gym while a lot of people were still asleep. If you want to call it hidden from them, I guess it was. I just didn't think it was necessary to workout as a group at that time. It was a personal thing for me that I had to get over my own hump. I was not an athlete growing up so it wasn't natural for me to back into the gym, so to speak. I had to do that on my own.
How difficult was it
being a team of just one?
 JULIO:
It was good and bad. I terribly missed Alexandra
and if you go back and watch the episodes, in
every shot of me I'm wearing a black sweatband
and I didn't start wearing that until Alexandra
left. That was my little silent partner that
I kept with me and to this day I almost never
leave the house without that... I had such good
friends on that show who almost adopted me into
their teams, so by the end it was a lot easier
than when it started.
Alexandra and Antoine
recently revealed they were dating. Did she
tell you about her crush?
JULIO: I actually was very involved with Alexandra and Antoine the first week, like a father figure to them. I basically saw their budding relationship that week and I tried not to intervene or say what they should do or not do. I was good with it. I like both of them and they're both really sweet people so I thought it was a good mix right away. I think it's a great match and they look great together.
|
