The guy who claimed the only thing he’s good at is food has shown he’s also good at weight loss. Julio Gomez was eliminated during Biggest Loser season eight’s week four, and he left with his head held high and plans to make it happen at home. Julio’s starting weight on the ranch was 407 pounds; today he weighs about 279 pounds (with only 43 pounds lost on the ranch).
Listen now as Julio tells us how he wished the kitchen lock-down had never happened, and why he thinks the child of Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels would make the perfect trainer. Plus, he’s pretty fond of Mike Morelli’s recaps!
Then continue reading to learn how he’s doing at home.
Julio can attribute some of that at-home success to giving up his previous fast-food drive-thru habit, which he has “completely eliminated from [his] life,” as well as indulging in his favorite activity of cooking at home. He calls it freelance cooking – he rarely uses a menu and each meal is based off of what he has fresh and available from the market or in his refrigerator. It often involves fish or chicken with vegetables, but he always finds a way to mix it up and make meals that are delicious and interesting. On the ranch he was called “The Grillmaster,” and he continues that love of grilling at home because it is a low-fat method of cooking. One of his favorite meals is to grill a lightly seasoned chicken breast and top with a homemade pico de gallo. (Try this Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa recipe created by Chef Rocco for Biggest Loser.)
Julio’s weight loss is also helped by the fact that he’s no longer a “sideline dad.” He’s always been an attendee of his two daughters’ sports activities, but he always watched, fearing he’d either embarrass himself or his girls. Now, he joins the team and the coaches, offering his spirit and humor along with his new-found athleticism. The family of four, based in Chicago, also enjoys going to the gym together, biking or walking whenever they can, and playing sports with his kids.
“We used to gear plans around my physical limitations. Now, quite frankly, we’re like anyone else,” remarks Julio, calling this change a big leap forward.
He says the hardest part of being at home is having to inject real life with normal distractions, whereas at the ranch he was only responsible for working out, eating and sleeping. He’s clearly making it work though, and might even be relying on those relationships he created at the ranch. He says he’s kept in touch with everyone, even those who made promises not to eliminate him. He says you could see they sincerely agonized over having to let him go and that he does not feel betrayed. What we saw, Julio says, “was truly the relationship I had with those people.” And that they are all “real people, with real issues, who want to change their lives.”
Julio clearly has!
See Mike Morelli’s Week 4 Recap
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