BIGGEST LOSER INTERVIEW - DENI HILL

 I met "Biggest Loser" contestant Deni Hill in my Body Jam class at Skills Fitness last week. We were both dancing away, and I realized that the woman next to me looked familiar -- but a lot thinner than when she was on the show.  

Biggeset Loser contestants Deni Hill and Sarah Nitta

 In preparation for the finale May 24, Deni has been working out 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours per day.  After she was sent home from the reality weight loss series, she decided to quit her sedentary job as an administrative assistant.

“I knew if I wanted to do this, I needed to make it a full-time job,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to have the support at home to do this.”

She works out with two different personal trainers — one at Four Pillars Fitness and another at the South Davis Recreation Center, attends fitness classes from yoga to Zumba, and puts in mile after mile on the treadmill.

It’s a far cry from the old Deni. “I watched every season of the Biggest Loser from the beginning, I would sit there with my ice cream and cry.”

And she’s looking a LOT thinner than when she left the show about four and a half months ago.  Next week at the show’s finale (May 24), she has a shot at winning the $100,000 prize for the eliminated player that has lost the highest percentage of weight.

“I do feel that I will be in the top four, and I plan to be number one,” she said.  “But if I say anything less than ‘Of course I’m going to win,’ my husband gets mad because I need to think positive.”

She can’t divulge just how many pounds she has shed, but said she’s lost at least as much weight at home as she did during her time at the Biggest Loser Ranch.  And the 59-year-old Hill was consistently among the top four players for weight loss while she was on the show. Not bad for the second oldest contestant this season.

Her advice to people trying to lose weight at home: "Personal trainers are great, but not everyone can afford it.  But many gyms and rec centers have classes that are as good as a personal trainer. Take advantage of those classes."

She said since she’s been home, she’s met many people who have been inspired to lose weight by watching the show.

“They did it all on their own, and they are heroes,” she said.  “They are totally amazing.”

Who does she think will win the “$250,000 title of “Biggest Loser?”  “I love all of the final four!  I go back and forth between Olivia and Irene, but it depends on what Jay can lose at home. It will be very close.”