An interview with Amy:
The Biggest Loser Roundup: Amy P. "Oblivious" to Sabotage, Feels StrongerAmy Parham, the latest cast-off from The Biggest Loser ranch, is the epitome of a success story. Her youngest son was diagnosed with Autism five years ago and Amy, needless to say, felt the pressure. The intense stress caused her and her husband/teammate Phillip to gain weight. So when the duo was chosen to be on the show, they never anticipated being the victims of a nasty alliance. Phil is still safe, but unfortunuately only halfway through the show Amy was sent packing. Fancast caught up with Amy and asked her all the burning questions. She shares her thoughts on the Heba/Brady/Vicky alliance, how she felt going home without her husband, and some of her diet secrets!
How did you feel having to separate from Phil?
Well, we work together and we’ve have been married for 20 years. We spent a lot of time together. So it was really strange to come home and take care of things alone and paying bills alone and everything. But we’ve got a great support system here and they made it a lot easier for us to adjust.
Did you feel like the Blue Team ganged up on you last night?
Well this is the thing, when you guys watch the show I’m watching it with you and I’m learning things just like you are. And so I didn’t even know until last night that Brady and Vicky had gone into the room and had this whole discussion with Heba about Phillip. It was not accurate in any stretch of the imagination. I think that they felt that they needed to make up that little story in order to strengthen their alliance with her and to turn her more against me. I have no idea what she was really thinking. But seeing them come to that drastic of a measure almost makes me feel like they were a little concerned.
There’s a lot of speculation that Brady drank a lot of water before the weigh-in as sabotage so he could send you home. Did you think that might be going on at the time?
You know, I’m really naïve and kind of oblivious. At the time, it did not even cross my mind that he only lost three pounds and that he could possibly have done that. I don’t know why I didn’t think that. But after watching it last night I think he did that. I mean I don’t know that for a fact, but I’m just saying that has to be the truth. But I tried to use it to my advantage in my negotiations with Heba. So I guess we’re all going to see next week who it is that pulls the big number. But if it’s true that he did [cheat] then we would probably expect a big number from him next week.
What was your opinion of Heba?
You know, the girl is really funny and fun to hang around with. And I feel like in a different circumstance we would just really like each other a whole lot because she’s so much fun. But in this circumstance, in the game situation, it was tough because she’s very strong. She’s very opinionated. It kind of made it tougher living circumstances. But she’s really funny and she’s got a great personality. And she’s smart and I think she’s a great girl. It’s just the circumstances of a reality TV show.
A couple weeks ago during the temptation challenge where Heba won from eating all those donuts, if you had to do it over again would you just be shoving those Reese’s Cups in Phil’s mouth?
Oh absolutely… or in my own mouth. I mean that is the one thing that keeps me up at night - if only, if only, if only. You’re not 100% sure that if you don’t have a Reese’s Cup you won’t just completely fall off the wagon and go crazy. There’s all these things going through your mind. So it’s just a really scary thing and you only have a minute to decide to your strategy. But if I had to do it over again I’d march myself over to the bagel table and I could’ve eat two bagels and beat her by 200 calories.
What was it like this week to go back to Dr. Huizenga and get some better news?
That really felt good, especially for Phillip. He was really starting to have some serious medical conditions. When you’re married and you love somebody you worry more about your spouse than you do yourself. That really made me happy for Phillip that he had gotten such a better physical report because I want to keep him around for 20 more years.
How have you helped each other maintain the weight since the show?
What we do is we get bulk food like chicken and broccoli and things like that. And we make like a whole pile of meals at the beginning of the week and we put them in individual containers. So we take our food with us to work to make sure that we eat several times during the day. That’s one thing I learned on the show is that I wasn’t eating enough. I would just go all day without eating and then just eat everything at night. So that really helped me to learn to eat every four hours. And then we go to the gym together. It’s kind of like we have our own little ranch here in South Carolina.
What weight are you at now?
I’m at 145. Well it’s a Size 6 in everything but tight jeans. I would really like to be at 120 by the finale. I know that’s kind of lost to me at this point because I’ve only got six more weeks but I’m working hard at it.
What made you apply for the show?
I used to sit and watch the show and eat ice cream, and cry because I wanted to be one of those people. I felt like a hamster on a wheel; life had kind of taken over me. I wasn’t taking over my life. I didn’t know how to get off that wheel and I felt like I needed something drastic to happen. And then I’m reaching out for whatever I can find. And the show just seemed like a great opportunity, but really a long shot. But I just decided to go for it and thank god that I was chosen.
Did you feel a kinship with Bob considering you’re both from the south, where there’s an abundance of obesity?
I think Bob is the greatest thing that ever happened. But I think it’s true that in the south there’s a very high percentage of obese people. And it’s sad because it’s embedded in the culture to fry everything and batter everything and to add lots of salt and lots of sugar, and lots of everything horrible for you. So it’s sad that it’s like that, but we’re trying to change the next generation in our family so that’s the way you start.
What would you say is your hidden secret for snacking healthy and burning calories?
Well one thing that I really like to do is I like to take yogurt and put it in the freezer .And then at night, I want a snack, then it’s like a frozen yogurt. And it tastes like sorbet or something but it takes a long time to eat it. I’ve always been an ice cream-aholic. So that gives me a feeling like I’m having a little ice cream even though I’m not. And then as far as burning calories, I always try to keep it different. But I love going to group classes at the gym because you can’t cheat. And so if you don’t have your trainer there pushing you, then everybody in the class working together kind of pushes you. And I love to run, get out real early in the morning while it’s dark, and go with my iPod and just run in the neighborhood -- and run until the sun comes up.
In addition to losing the weight, what’s the best thing about this experience for you?
I’ve learned that I am a lot stronger. It’s about realizing the strengths inside of yourself and relying on the strong person that you are. Since I realized that I am a strong person, it’s translated into the weight loss area and in many other areas in my life. I can be stronger in business. I can be stronger in the way I deal with my children. I can be stronger in just any circumstance that comes across my path.
Link: http://thebiz.fancast.com/2008/10/the_biggest_loser_roundup_amy.html#more
