Sisters Stephanie Taulealea, 40, and Tiffany Young, 36, are more like twins than big and little sis. Both of them attended nursing school together, had a double wedding, moved into a home together with their husbands and even started having children at the same time. Both sisters also had gastric bypass surgery, but gained most of the weight back.
Stephanie and Tiffany are two of the five women that make up Lifetime’s DietTribe in season 2, which premieres this Friday, October 2.
Just like the first season, the weight loss reality show will follow the lives of five women for 120 days under the motivating fitness training instruction of Jessie Pavelka and the mental health support of psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser.
DietsInReview had a chance to talk to Tiffany (Stephanie got caught in traffic and was only able to catch the tail-end of the interview) just a few days before the premiere of their hit series. Here’s a recap of our conversation:
Reality Weight Loss shows are tough. Why did you decide to be on DietTribe?
(Tiffany) My whole life, I have always been a part of a tribe and I’ve always had a weight issue. A lot of people would like to be a part of a weight loss reality show and for me, DietTribe is so positive, and considering the direction my life was in, I was ready. I wanted to lose weight but I did not want to lose weight without my sister Stephanie losing weight also. We were supposed to do this journey together and we did.
What did you learn about yourself over the 120 days of the series?
I learned to take time out for myself as a mother, as a wife and as a working woman. I learned to do away with any guilt around this because making time to focus on myself and my health makes me better at everything I do. I also learned what it is like to take a challenge, accomplish a goal and feel your body burn, really burn, during a workout. Before I may have stopped once I felt that burn, but I learned that you can keep going and get passed it.
This season’s series has a new twist: You have to compete in a triathlon in addition to losing 50 pounds. What was that like?
My first thought about competing in a triathlon was that I’m not getting into a bathing suit! No way! But that changed once I started to really physically prepare and train. What was challenging was that we were also trying to lose weight. Most people when they are training for an event like this can eat carbohydrates. Since we were trying to shed pounds, we had to limit our carbs. But we learned so much about nutrition from doing both. 
You and your sister had gastric bypass surgery and gained some or most of the weight back. How does the experience of being on DietTribe differ from weight loss surgery?
Gastric bypass surgery is a great tool for someone who is out of control and needs help. DietTribe taught us that healthy living is a lifestyle, not a diet. I know now how to eat clean and what it feels like to eat clean. I no longer want to eat until I’m stuffed. My skin feels more vibrant, my body looks completely different than from what it looked like after I had lost weight after surgery. And that is because of the lifestyle factors of eating right and exercising.
Tune in to DietTribe on Lifetime, this Friday, at 9 pm ET/PT to meet the entire tribe. DietsInReview will also recap each episode once it airs in case you miss one.