Ada Wong, 28, lost 99 pounds, gained self confidence
By Leigh Lawson * Special to the Times
Many women don’t let anyone know their number on the scale.
Ada Wong stepped on for the entire world.
Wong, 28, did amazingly well on “The Biggest Loser,” starting at 258 pounds and losing 99 of them. At the Dec. 14 season finale, Wong finished as one of three finalists competing for the show’s $250,000 grand prize. She and contestant Alfredo Dinten eventually lost to winner Patrick House.
Wong attributes her success to keeping strict goals. For her, the show was a last resort.
“The show was my one opportunity. If I couldn’t lose weight on the show then I knew I wouldn’t want to ever do it.”
Wong had been heavy all her life. Though she earned good grades and had a good job at Google, she wasn’t happy.
“Weight loss was the one thing I didn’t have a handle on.”
She knew of the reality show before she applied.
“I couldn’t watch the show before. It made me sad to watch others who were losing lots of weight when I couldn’t.”
When she finally did allow herself to think about it, she wondered if being on TV would keep her more accountable.
“I thought about it, but for a long time I didn’t have the courage to do it. I didn’t want to be embarrassed. I didn’t want to be displayed in front of America.”
One day, Wong had a burst of courage. Before she could talk herself out of it, she told her friends she wanted to audition for the show and asked them to help her make an audition video. Wong said she and her friends took so much time doing the audition video, she couldn’t back out of it.
“I didn’t think my chances were good since many people were competing to be on the show. I just submitted it and thought that, well, at least I tried.”
The studio called her back.
From there, that initial momentum that led her to apply never relented.
Wong’s initial challenge was a stair-climbing contest with two other contestants to qualify for the show’, according to the NBC’s website. She qualified and moved on.
“I was thankful for the opportunity. I didn’t want to waste it. Once I started losing weight, I wanted to succeed,” Wong said.
On the show, contestants compete to win $250,000 by losing the highest percentage of body weight. Each week, contestants are in danger of being eliminated from the show if they don’t lose a set amount of weight. Eliminated contestants competed for the $100,000 at-home prize based on the highest percentage of weight loss.
The show was filmed outside Los Angeles in Calabasas. Contestants stayed at “The Ranch,” a health resort complete with exercise equipment, nutritionists and chefs. But contestants weren’t there to relax.
“It was definitely stressful because everyone was up for elimination each week. You had to bring your A-game and stay above that yellow line,” Wong said.
On the show, the yellow line determines which contestants have to compete for elimination that week.
When Wong did compete, she did well. Near the end of the show, the contestants ran a marathon. Wong beat the show’s record for a female runner, finishing in 4:38:48.
Wong realized how much weight she had lost during the show on a challenge where contestants were made to compete with added weights strapped on them to signify the weight they had lost, she said.
“Prior to that I didn’t see see how much I actually accomplished. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t see the weight I was losing.”
At that point, Wong had lost 73 pounds. She had to wear weights around her ankles and knees. She wore a weighted vest.
While contestants were competitive, she said everyone on the show got along, and there are a handful of people on the show she became good friends with.
“You go on the show with a bunch of strangers and you don’t think you’d be making good friends.”
Before the show, Wong tried a range of diets that didn’t work for her. Sometimes she lost weight with crash diets but she always gained the weight back. Other times, she didn’t lose any weight at all. Before the show, exercise was never a part of her diet. “I didn’t like it, I wasn’t motivated to do it. It was easier to just not eat.”
On the show, Wong learned healthier eating habits, and now that she is home, she’s been putting that knowledge into practice. On the ranch, a huge part of her weight loss came from exercising.
“I just kept moving, I didn’t necessarily run 10 miles at any point or all day long. Now (exercise has) been a routine and I’ve grown to like it. Now I run, hike, snowboard. I have more energy than I used to to do some of the things I like to do.”
Another new staple is Greek yogurt, which is denser than lowfat yogurt. Before the show, she went for ribeye steaks marbled with fat. After returning home, she ate a ribeye but the richness gave her indigestion.
“After eating a clean diet, I no longer crave fatty foods. Now I naturally gravitate toward leaner meat.”
Since she’s returned to her home in Santa Clara, Wong’s life has changed dramatically.
She and some of the other contestants are in the early planning stages of starting a weight loss charity. Much like the show, the charity will select overweight individuals and fly them to health spas.
Wong has bought a whole new wardrobe. She said she’s been shopping more than she used to, and she tries styles she wouldn’t have when she was heavier.
“I buy (dresses) a lot now. And I can wear skinny jeans.”
People often ask her for weight loss advice. For the most part, she said, Americans know what foods to eat and that they should exercise. But they have to want it.
“If you can’t commit fully to anything in your life, it won’t happen for you. You have to think about your commitment every day.”
Wong said people don’t need to overdo it and burn out on a new exercise routine, but there’s a balance they need to be aware of.
“You need to put in the work,” she said.
