Interview with Biggest Loser’s Eliminated Tom Desrochers and L.T.

The Week 2 casualties from Biggest Loser: Families were Tom Desrochers and L.T. (Little Tom), the Boston-based father/son duo that created the Grey Team. They were a clear choice for winning, but now that may not ever be (don’t rule out those famous Biggest Loser twists!).

I spoke with Tom and L.T. the day after their elimination aired. They both sound happy and grateful for the two weeks they had on the ranch. “It sucked to be gone so early, but there was nothing we could do,” remarked Tom Sr. I asked L.T. about Heba and Ed failing to keep their word by voting out the Grey Team, after they had saved the Orange team in week 1. He said he knew if they fell below the yellow line, they’d be gone, and that this was a game, no mixing business and pleasure.

Since returning home, L.T. and Tom Sr. have continued eating healthy and exercising. L.T. is now down 92 pounds, and his father has lost 77. L.T. says that driving a cab at night, as he does, always meant there were no healthy alternatives to the fast-food diet he was living off of. Now, he brings his own food. He also uses a resistance band that he can shut in the door of the cab and get in some resistance training during lags in his shift. “Other cab drivers find it comical, but they’ve started asking questions,” said L.T.

L.T. shows no slack in his dedication to maintaining his healthy post-Biggest Loser life. He says he manages temptation by completely avoiding it. He stays away from people who drink, smoke and dine out regularly. He coaches youth football to occupy his time, and he uses three different gyms to keep from getting bored. Best of all, he says he quit smoking the day Jillian informed him he’d be on the show and has no plans of ever going back.

As for Tom, he’s also committed to this new life and says his old pill bottles are all the motivation he needs. Prior to Biggest Loser he took nine pills each morning, had high blood pressure and diabetes. Today, he takes zero pills and the illnesses are gone. He keeps the pills on a shelf in front of his mirror to remind him of a life he doesn’t want to return to. Tom has also done the grocery shopping with his wife since returning home, which has helped her to lose nearly 30 pounds, and does a lot of cooking (see his Curried Turkey and Cauliflower Soup recipe from last night).

The boys were mixed on their opinions of their trainer, Jillian Michaels. L.T. said that “not many people like her” inside the gym, but outside she’s very caring. “It’s a love/hate relationship.” As for his father, “You can keep Jillian, I didn’t care much for her,” Tom declared. He thanks her for saving his life, but didn’t care for her methods, the way she spoke to them like children or her “mouth.”

L.T. even let us in on a little behind-the-scenes info- that gym where they sweat it out for eight or more hours a day? There’s no air conditioning! Tom and L.T. were quick to point out the numerous windows and fans throughout the gym.