On last night's The Biggest Loser, Patty Gonzalez was eliminated by her blue team after losing the weigh-in.  The week before, Patty went against her team in the temptation challenge, consuming tons of calories when it had already been decided that fellow teammate Neil would do the eating.  Last night, during her workout, Patty had a breakdown in the gym but her trainer, Bob Harper, built her up to keep her going.  After their loss, the team debated forcing a tie so the other teams could decide who goes home but Bob wouldn't allow it.  When the votes came in, Patty received three, enough to send her home.  Today, she took some time to talk to BuddyTV about her time on the show and what life has been like since she got home. 

Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.

Hey everyone this is Gina from BuddyTV and I’m talking to the latest eliminated contestant from NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Patty.  I’m wondering, in terms of having weight issues, is that something you struggled with your whole life or as you got older and got into motherhood?

It was the older. Growing up I was pretty active. Growing up here, I’m a San Diego native, we had a very very ... pretty active lifestyle. We hung out at the beach all day long and just was always, running around. Then, I grew up. I got a full time job, I got married, I got a mortgage, then had the kids. It just became a sedentary lifestyle, you know? Life got in the way.


Right. Now had you seen previous seasons of The Biggest Loser? And was this the first time you had applied to be on the show?

I had seen previous seasons and this was the first time I had applied for the show. I had gone to an open casting call here in San Diego and 18 months later, it took a while but it was very exciting and very emotional, I thought: ‘Oh my gosh!’ so, yeah.


What’s it like to go through such a big transformation all on reality TV with cameras around you? Was it harder than you expected?

Oh yeah. Yeah. It was so much harder than I though because it is very stressful, you’re sharing a dorm with 18 other people who you are clueless as to who they are. Fortunately, everybody was great but on top of those 18 other people you also have the camera crews, and the sound guys, and the directors, and the PA’s ... and, I mean it’s stressful. Cameras in your face everyday, you’ve got to deal with changing the sound, the mics, and with your trainers and everything you’re doing with them and you’re in an environment without your support, your family, you know? I missed my kids terribly. That was the hardest part.


When I interviewed Bob, he talked about how important it was to change from the inside out. How much did he help you transform what was going on in the inside?

Oh gosh, Bob is fantastic. He is phenomenal at tapping into that inside out approach because you know I didn’t get to 280 pounds for nothing. There was a lot of self-medicating myself in a sense that I would feel so caught up in the stresses of life and that was just my way to unwind, by feeding myself and fear being the stress, in a sense. He taught me so much, he’s helped me see so many things that I could not see in myself, so he definitely tapped into all that wonderful inside out approach, and that’s huge.


What’s life been like since you’ve been home? You must have been thrilled to re-unite with your family.

Oh, absolutely. Life has been great. I’ve learned to take care of me first and make me the priority and have me time. That was challenging to try and grasp because for the first couple of weeks I felt guilty, you know? I felt guilty that I was taking time away from the kids, but I’ve learned to balance it all. I wake up at 4am an have me time, and that me time includes: working out, and medicating, or doing yoga or going to spin class at the gym. It’s my time and that’s what time I have to wake up to get it, but I went away to try to learn something for myself and now to be able to share that with my kids ... that’s huge.


They didn’t really show a lot about the “goal” t-shirts and I’m wondering what yours said.

Oh, mine was to dance salsa. I always wanted to dance salsa and not run out of breath. You know, I couldn’t do that, there’s to much jiggling going on ... so now, yes! Now with the weight loss, I’m able to do it and it’s fun. Everybody’s out there to have fun and that’s something my husband and I like to do a lot and I can do it now, that’s a great feeling.


Well, we look forward to seeing you again on the finale.  I just wanted to thank you for your time, Patty.

Oh, thank you Gina.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)