Losers turn flab to fab

BOUNTIFUL — It really isn't whether you win or lose, but how you played the game — even if you're as competitive as Heather Hansen of West Bountiful.

For more than three months, she played the weight-loss game on NBC's reality series, "The Biggest Loser" at a secluded ranch near Los Angeles. She survived physical challenges, grueling workouts and the threat of getting ousted by teammates — dropping 56 pounds in the process.

As one of the final four contestants, she then went home for five months before the Dec. 13 weigh-in to determine the $250,000 "Biggest Loser."

Viewers expected the contestants' stunning flab-to-fab transformations. But Hansen's announcement that she was five months pregnant was the biggest surprise. Even though it disqualified her from the competition, Hansen said she has no regrets about the timing of her pregnancy.

Last week Hansen reflected on the "The Biggest Loser" experience at her Bountiful office where she's an American Family Insurance agent.

"I got pregnant the first week I got home from the ranch," she said. "We'd wanted to have a child right after Bella (her 2 1/2-year-old daughter), and weren't able to. So it was a complete surprise, but a welcome surprise. I'm 36, and I want to have a bunch of kids. The show is so temporary, and real life is so permanent. I never felt like it was a loss."

Erik Chopin, a New York deli owner, won the $250,000 by losing 214 pounds — 52 percent of his original 407-pound weight. Hansen, who started out at 223 pounds, would have had to drop more than 110 pounds to best Chopin's percentage. Hansen said during the last few weeks on the ranch she realized she wouldn't win.

"I couldn't have come back at 111 pounds; it's not feasible," she said. "But I thought if I wasn't going to win, it had to be Kai (Hibbard) to finally get a female. I hope the show will make some changes in the future, and have both a female winner and a male winner."

Hibbard, who became close friends with Hansen, took second place by dropping 118 pounds from her original weight of 262 — an all-time record for any female contestant.

Were appearances deceiving?

Of all the contestants, Hansen and Hibbard sparked the most harsh comments from viewers on NBC's Web site. Over the course of the season, Hansen was shown in controversial situations, such as accusing a teammate of not working hard enough, trying to form an alliance to eliminate a teammate, and heatedly arguing with her trainer. Hansen blamed the show's editing.