Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
The Biggest Loser's Sione Makes Fitness His Life
Sione Fa has not only been a fan favorite on this season's The Biggest Loser: Couples, but a front-runner as well. Competing with his Tongan cousin Filipe, Sione lost a whopping 116 pounds during his 10-week run, while also realizing his passion for educating his community on nutrition and exercise. Sione's small four-pound loss in his final week on the ranch resulted in being voted out and missing the chance to claim the grand prize by a few short weeks. Fa, who has lost 130 pounds to date, spoke to TVGuide.com about why he preferred to train with Bob and how being on The Biggest Loser has led him to a new career in fitness. TVGuide.com: Why do you think you only lost four pounds this week and do you regret participating in the temptation challenge?Sione Fa: I think everybody has their weeks when they have a low number and this was the first time I fell below the yellow line. Everybody else there had at least been under once or twice before...
Sione Fa has not only been a fan favorite on this season's The Biggest Loser: Couples, but a front-runner as well. Competing with his Tongan cousin Filipe, Sione lost a whopping 116 pounds during his 10-week run, while also realizing his passion for educating his community on nutrition and exercise. Sione's small four-pound loss in his final week on the ranch resulted in being voted out and missing the chance to claim the grand prize by a few short weeks. Fa, who has lost 130 pounds to date, spoke to TVGuide.com about why he preferred to train with Bob and how being on The Biggest Loser has led him to a new career in fitness.
TVGuide.com: Why do you think you only lost four pounds this week and do you regret participating in the temptation challenge?
Sione Fa: I think everybody has their weeks when they have a low number and this was the first time I fell below the yellow line. Everybody else there had at least been under once or twice before.
The temptation, you know, I look back on it and it was kind of crazy. But if I go back into the moment, it was a lot of power being handed out. Obviously when you look back, you're like, "Wow, I ate all that stuff, maybe that affected the [small weight loss]," because I basically got kicked off by a pound. Maybe I shouldn't have [participated], but if I was to get put back in that moment, I'd probably do it again.
TVGuide.com: Can you talk more about why you left Jillian in Week 10 to go train with Bob?
Fa: Her training style is awesome; she's a great trainer, I don't take anything away from that. When we did train together, I gave it everything I had, physically. It's just that emotionally [Filipe and I] connected better with Bob, and obviously that showed. On Biggest Loser, one thing people don't realize being on the ranch, is that it's just as much emotional as physical there. We're taken out of our life. We can't talk to our families, can't talk to our kids, can't talk to what I like to call "normal people." It was just a conflict in personal issues more than anything.
TVGuide.com: How far into the process did you realize that you wanted to become a trainer yourself?
Fa: I knew that I couldn't go back to my old life and my old career, [and] I knew I wanted to make health and fitness a part of my life forever. One day it was like: Be a trainer. I'm still in the process of taking the test to get certified, but my plan is to create a business.
TVGuide.com: Are you still training your family?
Fa: Yeah, it's more like phone calls now. My sister was a little embarrassed about [breaking down in the Where Are They Now piece], but sometimes it takes that to kick in and she's actually lost 12 pounds since that.
TVGuide.com: How are you preparing for the finale?
Fa: The finale is a deadline for us right now, but I'm trying to just take advantage of every day because I'm never going to be in this situation again. I'm never going to be able to show America the end result. But you know what? I'm trying not to focus on everyone else and where they're at and what I have to do to beat them. All I'm going to do is give it my all, do everything I can, so no matter what happens on that scale, I know that I'll come out on top.
TVGuide.com: What's your typical regimen?
Fa: I'm more of a morning workout person, I'm there at 7. I do strength training for about an hour and a half and cardio for another hour, hour and a half. Of course, not everybody is going to be able to wake up and do two and a half hours, but we're trying to lose weight and when I get to the maintenance stage, that's going to be a lot harder.
TVGuide.com: Is it easier for you to keep up with the exercise as opposed to the diet?
Fa: They have to go hand in hand. If I'm not making wise decisions on eating, I can feel it in my workout. Food now is a fuel for me and it's not just something that's going to occupy my time while I'm watching a movie or because I'm bored. You can be in great shape but eat like crap and you're going to feel it. So for me, I have to give my body the good fuel. Otherwise, I'm not going to be able to work out as hard.
TVGuide.com: How do you think your partner Filipe will do without you there?
Fa: He proved it when I went home for the 30 days. He worked his butt off, did everything he possibly could to get me back on the ranch, and he got me back. I have no doubt that not only is he going to do as good as he did then, but he's going to do better.