EXCLUSIVE | 'The Biggest Loser' trainer Erica Lugo lost 160 pounds and worked her way to get the 'dream' job
What is 'The Biggest Loser' without its amazing trainers? These trainers are literally the backbone of the show and they too have an interesting story behind their enviably fit bodies. In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Erica Lugo, the newest trainer on 'The Biggest Loser', discusses her amazing weight-loss journey, her experience on the show and more.
How did you get into fitness and training?
Erica: I lost 160 pounds and I tracked my whole journey on Instagram. I just kind of fell in love with fitness once I started losing weight and then I just started building my brand from there.
What motivated you to lose weight?
Erica: I started losing weight about five years ago because (of) my son. I wanted to be able to keep up with him because I couldn't play with him as I had no energy at the time. And I just started walking on a treadmill at Planet Fitness. And then I just started eating better. And then, you know, my journey just kind of grew from there over time.
We see that alongside weight loss and fitness, there is an emphasis on overall health and wellness this season. Any particular reason behind this shift?
Erica: I think just fitness has changed so much in general since the show was on last time. We have social media now, we have got easier access to information, and we have kind of evolved from the mentality where you just have to work out all the time and it's just always about food and working out. And I think over time we have learned that it's so much more than just food and working out. It's a lot about getting to the root cause of why we struggle with what we struggle with. And, you know, fitness has just changed so much that I think that was, it was a perfect time and a direction for us to go in.
How was your experience being a part of the show?
Erica: I still pinch myself. It's kind of a dream come true to be able to do what I do. From five years ago being 322 pounds and to being a trainer on 'The Biggest Loser' is kind of surreal to me, but I loved every aspect of it. I learned a lot about myself. The people on my team are basically like my best friends now. We're definitely a family. It was a brand new experience that I didn't think that would change me the way it has, but I'm glad I went through it.
What was it like working with Bob Harper and Steve Cook?
Erica: Bob Harper is hilarious. At first, I was intimidated because he's done 16 seasons of the show. So it's a little nerve-wracking to be a trainer next to someone who used to be a trainer for that long. But he and I grew really close and I went to him a lot for advice and for information on how I should do workouts or what he thought about a workout. Then working with Steve was awesome too, just because we were both brand new at this. So we kind of had a united front and we always had each other's back and we always supported each other. It was nice to have someone go through the same emotion that you were going through.
Was there any contestant you most connected with?
Erica: Yeah. Shockingly, a lot with Kat (Katarina Bouton) on my team. Just because she's so young and she reminded me a lot of myself at that age and I feel like she needed someone who understood what she was going through. Then I connected a lot with Jim too. He was probably the least (likely) person that I would ever connect with, but he's such a great human, you just can't help but love him. But I loved everyone on my team. Kristi (Kristi McCart) made me laugh all the time. Teri (Teri Agular) was always like, kind of the mama bear to the team and Phi (PhiXavier Holmes) and Dom (Domenico Brugellis), they all brought their own unique personality. So it's kind of hard for me to say who I connected with the most because we all connected on different levels and for different reasons.
Do you have any message for our readers about health and fitness?
Erica: Yeah. The biggest piece of advice and this goes along with the theme of this show is you really do have to understand that how you think and feel about yourself makes such a big impact on your health and fitness journey. Because the way you think and feel about yourself is just going to kind of spill over into every aspect of your life. If you think that you're undeserving or not good enough or unlovable or whatever terrible words that you're using, that's going to show up in your relationships. It's going to show up in your career. It's going to show up in how you parent, it is going to show up with how you treat your own body. So if you don't combat that inner critic first, it's going to be really, really hard to make a change for life.
You can catch all-new episodes of the reboot of 'The Biggest Loser' every Tuesday at 9/8c only on USA Network.