Survivor's Debra Beebe Talks Expensive Food, Losing 15 Percent of Body Weight

Debra "Debbie" Beebe was the latest victim of the J.T.-Stephen alliance on Survivor, but only after an emotional episode in which competitors were given $500 to take part in a food auction and got to see their families thanks to a sacrifice by Taj. Beebe, a middle-school principal from Auburn, Ala., talked to TVGuide.com about what auction items were cut out of the episode, losing 15 percent of her body weight, and what her Timbira teammates have done wrong.
TVGuide.com: How were those $120 fries?
Debra Beebe: Let me just set the record straight: When I laid eyes on those fries I didn't care if they were $500. I heard nothing else Jeff said, I was getting those fries. ... I won coffee and cake in [the auction] but you didn't see that. I sucked that coffee down and ate that cake so fast. ... They didn't get to show all of the auction. Like Erinn got a peanut butter sandwich that they didn't show.
TVGuide.com: You were in great shape before, obviously, but how much weight to people typically lose in the game?
Beebe: I lost probably about 15 pounds and I usually weigh around a hundred. I gained a lot of muscle weight before I went out. I really did a lot of protein and weight-lifting and that kind of stuff.
TVGuide.com: Stephen said on this week's episode that you're sweet and chatty but that something about you worried him. Do you have a ruthless side?
Beebe: I don't think I really have a ruthless side. I was out there to play... I knew my time was limited after Tyson was voted off. And so I was just doing whatever I could. You know, Timbira is going to go down as one of the stupidest tribes ever, just taking each other out because Stephen and J.T. just got us paranoid that we were after each other.
TVGuide.com: Do you think your ex-Timbira teammates, Coach and Erinn, will team up with Taj to vote out Stephen or J.T.?
Beebe: Coach has really stuck to his word; he never threw me under the bus. I've got to give him credit. I see him sticking with J.T. and Stephen. I don't see him switching to Erinn. He and Erinn never have seen eye to eye on anything. ... It appears J.T. and Stephen are definitely controlling this game right now.
TVGuide.com: How does dealing with the politics of Survivor compare with being a principal?
Beebe: I've been laughing about that, because we acted like middle school children out there. It really helped prepare me for all this. ... I also think I naturally have a bubbly, happy personality and like to have fun with life and I really think that that actually was the best attribute I had out there.
TVGuide.com: What did you tell your teachers and students you were doing when you disappeared from school for 40 days?
Beebe: Well, they didn't know exactly what I was going to do. But they were great and supported me. The story that I was trying to sell was that I was going to go to different countries to look at different school systems to help poverty-stricken schools. And I did go to Brazil, and I did see those children...
TVGuide.com: But you were really eating $120 fries.
Beebe: Absolutely. They were delicious. Actually, if I'm really honest, they weren't delicious. They were cold and crispy. I was soaking 'em in mayonnaise and ketchup and I was loving every bite.