Neill and Amanda

Name:Neill Harmer Starting Weight: 317 lbs
Eliminated Weight: 292 lbs
Hometown: Bethany, Oklahoma
Favorite cheat food: Pizza or Hamburgers
Goal for '08: To be happy with my body, for the first time in my life.

Name:Amanda Harmer
Starting Weight: 204 lbs
Eliminated Weight: 185 lbs
Hometown: Bethany, Oklahoma
Favorite cheat food: Chocolate chip cookies
Goal for '08: Win the runner up prize on The Biggest Loser, of course! I want to start the new year (and my thirties) healthier and stronger than I've ever been.

1.) What was your big turning point -- either during the show or before that made you realize you needed to lose weight?

Neill: Starting a few months before the show, I had started to notice that after work, in which I work at a desk for 8 or more hours a day, I would get home and have NO energy to do anything! All I wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch TV. I know now it had to do with my diet—all the soda I was pumping through my body and horrible fatty, greasy foods. Looking through a calorie book now, I was eating and drinking well over 3,000 calories a day! I was tired of not being able to have energy to play with my son and do stuff around the house. I knew I needed a change and The Biggest Loser came along and changed my life for the best!

Amanda: My big turning point was when I got my wedding pictures back from the photographer almost three years ago. I couldn't believe how big I had gotten! I looked puffy because I had gained so much weight. I got pregnant very soon after that and didn't ever have a chance to lose it all. My weight has gone up and down and back up again since then. I realized on the first day at the ranch at the first challenge how out of shape I was. We ran less than a mile, and I thought I was going to drop. That was a really low moment also.

2.) If you could go back in time, would you go on the show with the same weight-loss buddy? Why or why not?

Neill: I would 100% of the time pick Amanda to go to the show with. Not only did she help push me, but it has brought us closer together. Our marriage has been so much better since the show, not only have we never felt better, we are getting along better than we ever have!

Amanda: I can't imagine going on the show with anyone else! Even though Neill wasn't liked much in the house, I was so proud of him. He's my best friend and biggest motivation (after my son). We learned a lot about each other, and it's made our marriage that much stronger. We both managed to stay genuine and true to our goals, and we can be really proud of that. We didn't get caught up in the game-play, and ultimately, that hurt us.

3.) Who worked harder at losing weight—you or your partner? Tell us why.

Neill: Totally Amanda...she is a machine!

Amanda: It's so hard to tell who worked harder at losing weight. Losing weight is not just a physical process. It's a lot more than eating right and working out. Most of us at the ranch had some serious food issues, and our weight loss became an emotional exercise as well. I think Neill was perceived as not working as hard as I was by the rest of the contestants. What I know to be true is that he worked out so much emotional stuff at the ranch. He's that much stronger working at home now. I think we both worked harder than we ever have in our lives, and we can both be proud of the jobs we've done.

4.) What do you think your biggest weight-loss obstacles will be now that you're dieting on your own?

Neill: The hardest thing for me now that I'm home is moving enough. I sit at a desk for 8 or more hours a day! I get an hour workout in the morning and an additional two more hours at night, but during the day I'm locked to my desk.

The one thing I thought would be an obstacle but has not been, has been eating right. The day we got home, we went through our cabinets and got rid of TONS of food, and went out and spent well over 500 on good, healthy food. And even though my office caters food every Monday (usually pizza, or Mexican or whatnot—always unhealthy), I sit and watch everyone else eat that while I'm eating my hummus burrito and carrots.

Amanda: Our biggest obstacles now that we're home is figuring out how to fit everything into our already busy day. I'm having the hardest time with the workouts and finding time to do those. I still have to work, do chores, spend time with my family AND workout two to three hours a day. It's tough to balance.

5. ) Who do you think will make it to the end of the show and why?

Neill: I think grey team, Trent and Roger, will make it to the end because they are the biggest guys on the show and guys do seem to have the advantage on the show. As far as the team I WANT to make it to the end, that would be yellow team (Kelly and Paul). We just got along with them so well cause we had a lot in common. I want to see them do really well!

Amanda: I don't know who will make it to the end. I know that I thought that we would. I would like to see someone who was playing the game straightforward take it all. For that reason, I'd really like to see the yellow team or the orange team win.

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

Neill: I think the question that most people ask is, "What did they cook for you?", and I always have to tell people we did our own cooking, cleaning, laundry—everything. It was no different than being at home, except for the food was bought for us and we had trainers telling us to work out!

Amanda: So much happened behind the scenes that will never make it to the air; from mooning the director, to Dan's hilarious songs, to homework that went on until 10 or 11 PM. I think the thing I would like most people watching to know is that this experience was so much harder than it looks on TV. We worked out 4 to 6 hours a day from the very first day on the ranch. We cooked all of our meals. It definitely wasn't a day spa.

7.) What advice can you give other people who are hoping to lose extra pounds?

Neill: Get a personal trainer who will yell at you and hold YOU accountable. Had I not had someone like Jillian, I don't think I would have ever succeeded. And as cliche as this sounds, JUST DO IT.

Amanda: The best advice I can give people who are wanting to lose weight is to push yourself harder than you've ever pushed during workouts.

8.) What strategy did you use to try and stay on the show? Why don't you think it worked?

Neill: You know, our strategy was to be ourselves! Not to change who we are just to stay longer. I did not want the people who knew me at home to think, that's not the Neill I know. In hindsight we would have lasted longer maybe had we been more political and used a different strategy. Or just not fall below the yellow line, but that's way easier said than done!

Amanda: Our strategy for staying on the show was to try to stay off the radar and keep the heat off of us. When we went into the game, we promised each other that we wouldn't manipulate and undermine people to get ahead. We wanted to stay genuine and take as much from this experience as we could. I think we realized pretty early on that if we fell below the yellow line, we'd probably go home. We had formed friendships not alliances, and we realized that was a bad strategy. We tried so hard to stay above that line, but it just didn't work out for us.

9.) Do you think anyone was portrayed unfairly on the show?

Neill: As narcissistic as this is going to sound, I think I was. I was shown to be LAZY. I am not lazy. I freely admit I had the hardest time the first week there, being that I was in a new place, new food, working out 4-6 hours a day, away from my son, away from family and friends,etc. I DID NOT handle that well. But then you see a turning point in me and I worked my ass off. But for some reason people still saw me as lazy because of the first week. All I can do is prove I'm not lazy and you will see that at the finale!

Amanda: I'm not sure how this season's cast will be portrayed on the show. I know that it's not realistic to be able to show everything that went on. I just hope that everyone is portrayed accurately, and that will make for a great show!

10.) Did anyone act differently when the cameras were off?

Neill: I think we all acted a little differently, just because it can be hard to get used to being comfortable in front of the cameras.

Amanda: I don't know that anyone acted differently when the cameras were around. I do think that some people were playing the game, and that caused them to act differently than they would normally. We were in such an extreme situation that extreme behavior was bound to come out. I have a lot of respect and love for each and every person on our show. We've gone through such an unusual and amazing experience together that we have a really tight bond. I was disappointed in some people when we left, but I hope it was all strategy and that it wasn't personal.

Do you think Neill and Amanda should have been voted off the show?

• Yes
• No

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Posted by Michelle McIvor on January 15, 2008 04:03 PM