East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

With the much-anticipated season finale of the Biggest Loser airing Tuesday, East West caught up with Kae Whang, the contestant from Clark, N.J., who was voted off last month, but still has a chance to win $100,000 as an at-home contestant. That prize, says Whang, would be the icing on an already phenomenal year. But for the Korea-born former Private in the U.S. Army, life’s already full of promise after shedding 88 pounds on the show and even more weight since.

EW: You’ve done some exciting things since leaving The Biggest Loser camp…sum up the experience for us.

Whang: Life has changed in every aspect. My relationship with my husband is closer. We now go to the gym together and do many more things together, so it’s a tighter relationship. Also, having my family with me as part of the journey onward has been great.

EW: And the most positive aspect?

Whang: Knowing that I can do things now and not be self-conscious. I’ve gained confidence. It's been such an honor, gaining strength, empowerment, health and happiness. I feel like I’m ready to face any other challenge now.

EW: Was it a hard decision to put yourself out there in the public eye?

Whang: It was hard. But you know what, I used to watch the show and I was fed up of feeling the way I felt. I was so ashamed of what I looked like, and I was done with it. The rest has been a blessing. Surprisingly, my family was very supportive too. I honestly didn’t know how they would feel about me exposing myself to the public. But my mom was the most supportive, even though I was the most scared to tell her. She told me my health was the most important thing.

EW: Who do you think will win in the finale?

Whang: I’m as excited as anyone else to find out! It’s great to see everyone's transformation. I know for sure everyone's going to be amazed at all the transformations out there. It will be inspiring.

EW: How do you rate your chances of winning the at-home prize? 

Whang: When I was on the show, I lost 88 pounds, that’s 39 percent of my body fat. I’m
hoping now it's going to be a lot more. I would love to be honored with the title, and sure, the $100,000 prize money. But I’m more focused on being healthy and changing my life for the positive.

EW: How do you maintain your weight, now that the glare of the spotlight isn’t there all the time?

Whang: It’s not about losing weight, but about being fit. People have the idea that you have to starve and be miserable to lose weight. I eat six times a day, but I do boxing, rock climbing, triathlons. I try to keep active and have fun with it. That’s what I do and be conscious of what I do with my body. I love almond butter and organic jams. So I have almond instead of peanut butter just once a day. I like shopping at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I like organic, healthier stuff. There are so many awesome recipes out there. But it’s just all about remembering a simple formula—calories in and calories out. Write a food journal and be conscious of what you’re putting in your body. There’s nothing magic about this.

EW: What about guilty pleasures? 

Whang: (Laughs) Oh I definitely reward myself sometimes with anything I crave. You should never deprive yourself totally of something. That’s when people give up, thinking it’s hard. Just be conscious of what you do and what you put in your body.

EW: Do you get recognized in public now?

Whang: Well, being on the cover of Prevention magazine was quite something. When they announced it, I was so happy, I was literally crying. I've never seen myself like that. Sometimes I do a double take when I see myself at a grocery store checkout aisle.

EW: What types of wardrobe changes have you had to make?

Whang: Oh, I love clothes shopping now. It’s so much more fun. You feel so good after you know you've worked so hard to look and feel good. When I was bigger, I used to be like ‘what’s the point?’ Now you wanna look your best. I love it. I actually won a challenge where I won a $5,000 shopping spree. My husband and I had to give our old clothes to the Salvation Army and build up a new closet since he’s been losing weight too.

EW: What’s in store for the future?

Whang: I’m interested to see what doors open for me. I haven’t figured out what exactly I might do, but I definitely will be an amateur boxer for now and hopefully do more triathlons and half-marathons and build up to marathons.

_{1 - NBC Photo: Mitch Haaseth 3 - NBC Photo: Trae Patton}

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