A "Biggest Loser" reject wins after all

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Not making the final cut to be on the TV reality show "The Biggest Loser" was devastating for Terena McCarter.

But, six months later, McCarter, 34, is 80 pounds lighter and getting ready for her own "Big Reveal" at the end of October.

The Huntsville woman glows as she tells how her life has changed in ways she never imagined.

She wants other overweight people to know they can change their lives too — with small steps and a support network.

For McCarter, it started in January when she auditioned and made it through several rounds of casting for this season's "The Biggest Loser" (the show airs Tuesday nights on NBC).

She spent three months on Cloud 9 thinking she finally had a shot at changing her life by losing weight for good. There's a lot of intrigue in the casting process, she said. It builds excitement.

But that final call never came in March.

Being rejected, as she calls it, was a disappointment to her and others who got close to being on the show.

On an Internet message board used by potential cast mates, another woman who also didn't make the final cut, Carrie, posted that she had made up her mind that she would not be fat when the show premiered Sept. 11.

"I wrote back, 'You know what, starting Monday we'll do it together,' " McCarter said.

Others were interested, too. Carrie found a free blog site where about 20 strangers from around the country formed their own weight-loss support network. All had been rejected from "The Biggest Loser" or ABC's TV weight-loss show "Fat March."

Today, the group has its own Web site at www.reality-of-weighting.com, where they encourage one another and exchange recipes and tips.

Their motto is "no excuses allowed." The only rule is members must submit their weight — pounds lost or not — every Monday. There is no particular weight-loss plan. People choose what's right for them.

"This time, I said I would not count calories. I would not count carbs, and I would not follow any specific plan other than starting to exercise and drink water consistently," McCarter said.

She's not taking weight-loss medication and has not had any type of weight-loss surgery.

Instead, on that first Monday in March, McCarter decided it was time to exercise.

"I have four children, and they all ran out and got their scooters and bikes and I headed out for a walk," she said. "By the time we got back, I thought I was going to die. My legs were burning and I was out of breath."

She had walked a mile.

Instead of dwelling on being out of shape, McCarter decided to start walking every day. Then, almost immediately, she became self-conscious about being the "fat lady" walking around the neighborhood.

What would she have done if she had made it on the TV show?

"Thank goodness I never had to stand in front of the world on TV in spandex," she said. "And that was one of the questions they asked us. I told them it wasn't the world that scared me but the people I know.

"But I could live with it because I'd know it would be the last time anyone would see me like that, and it would make me more confident."

So she clung to that thought and kept on walking.

By the time she was able to walk three miles and it seemed like no effort, McCarter began to crave some private time for herself. She began getting up early in the morning, before family duties started. Before long, she wanted to go walk farther, but couldn't find the time. And she started to jog.

That first try, McCarter said, she made it probably a 15th of a mile.

"I could not breathe and, just when I thought I could go no further, I told myself just one more mailbox," McCarter said. "Each time, I'd go one more mailbox when I thought I could go no more, and before I knew it, I could go half a mile."

This past week, she ran five miles.

In recent weeks, she's completed two 5K runs and a fun run with her children.

Through it all, she's still a fan of the weight-loss shows.

"My heart goes out to them, especially when they cry, because it is a huge emotional issue," she said. "I am so thankful I'm not there. I think it would've been a neat experience. But, at the same time, I really feel like I have a higher sense of pride in my accomplishment because they didn't do it for me."

And she's not finished. McCarter's goal is to lose 50 more pounds.

"It's a long way, but I know I'll get there," she said.

At the end of October, she and the other "reality-show rejects" will meet for the first time in Las Vegas to celebrate their accomplishments.

McCarter said her life has changed because she's choosing to be as healthy as she can be.

"People need to know that they can lose weight on their own. They don't need to be picked out of thousands to be on a reality show," she said. "Yes, that would be exciting. But they can do it — all it takes is one more mailbox and one more glass of water."