In one of the most shocking, and frankly unnecessary, eliminations in all of Biggest Loser, Rick de Roque was sent home last night. “I was definitely blindsided,” he said about the outcome. No one watching or likely in that room expected to see Rick leave so soon. 
He lost 63 pounds in the five weeks he was on the ranch, and since going home has dropped a total of 120. In the name of game play, the big guys are probably glad this contender isn’t in their way anymore. And the elimination did not slow down Rick. He’s doing better than ever at home.
We talked to Rick following his elimination. He told us the most important thing he learned from Bob and Jillian – that he’s able to push himself harder than he ever knew. He also talks to us about what happens at the ranch that makes contestants so confident in taking on their weight loss on their own at home.
That transition from the isolation of ranch life back in to the demands of home life is the one thing that trips up most contestants, and it was no different for Rick. But he says “once you get in a routine it all works out pretty well.” The routine is what helped him find balance in the face of family, work, demands and temptations.
On a mission to lose 175 pounds by finale (the coveted 50-percent weight loss to be considered for the at-home prize), Rick’s following a very balanced diet at home. His daily meal plan looks something like this:
- Breakfast: Total cereal with a piece of fruit
- Snack: 3 cups of strawberries, 1 cup of blueberries. He takes this to work each day and has half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
- Lunch: Sandwich
- Dinner: His very own “chili” recipe: chili seasoning loaded with vegetables like broccoli, spinach, squash, and chicken breast
- Snack: A banana in the evening
His fitness efforts are primarily focused on cardio, an activity he reminds burns the most calories. He does four to five hours of cardio each day, split between before and after work. He also does weight training three hours a week (one hour on each of Monday, Wednesday, Friday) to help him strength train; he does this with circuits.
“You learn an awful lot about your self at the ranch that you can’t at home,” says Rick. He’s no doubt taken that education back to Arkansas and using it to completely transform himself, and even some of his family members, too.
