By: Linda Vongkhamchanh

Jan 06, 2009

Name: Michelle Aguilar

Start weight: 242

Elimination weight: 162

Hometown: Saginaw, TX

Favorite cheat food: Any dessert, but mostly Oreos

1.) Do you think the parent/child teams or the married couples teams have the advantage and why?

Michelle: At first glance it would be easy to say the parent child teams are at an advantage to win this, but I think the strong men from the married teams will be hard to beat!

2.) Has your partner contributed to your weight gain before the show?

Michelle: Since my mom and I spent so much time apart, it is hard to say that she was a direct contributor to my weight gain. For me, it was more of an emotional response to the pain of not having my mother around that was the weight gain factor.

3.) Do you think losing weight with a family member is easier or harder than going it alone and why?

Michelle: I don't like doing anything alone, being able to have someone here to be an extra support is a great idea. I just hope no crazy family drama comes out!

4.) What was the turning point in your life when you realized you needed to lose the weight?

Michelle: It's hard to say when that moment happened, but one that stands out is the first time I bought a size 20 pair of jeans. I slowly was putting weight on, but a size 20 is a size 20, no matter how cute you can accessorize it. I kind of freaked out that day and knew something major has to be done!

5.) Who worked harder at losing weight—you or your partner?

Michelle: I think my mom and I worked equally as hard, but we were stronger in different areas. She was emotionally [stronger] and I was physically stronger.

6.) What advice can you give to people who want to lose weight? What's the best advice you got?

Michelle: If you want to lose weight, then stop making excuses and do something about it! There is no magic pill—weight loss is achieved through hard work! The best advice I received was: if and when you mess up, forgive yourself and move forward!

7.) What's your favorite workout?

Michelle: My favorite work out has been spinning. It took some time to get comfortable, but once I got the hang of it I was hooked!

8.) What's the best advice Bob or Jillian has given you?

Michelle: One of the perks of working with Jillian is that she has the best advice. The catch is that you need to be listening and put it to action. For me, I responded best to her advice on facing my fears. I was getting stuck and sitting in my fear, but she made it very clear that if I wanted the fear to go away, I had to jump! "Face your fear and do it anyway!"

9.) What's your favorite meal?

Michelle: I love when things are simple, so we created a protein shake [that] was easy to make and tastes amazing—kind of like a milkshake, but its healthy!

10.) What is one thing that happened behind-the-scenes that no one would know from watching the show?

Michelle: Life behind the scenes is totally boring, most people have no idea what its like to work out 6 hours a day and then just sleep because your body hurts all over!