Biggest Loser Deni Hill Leaves on Mission for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

TV viewers may remember her as Deni Hill, the at-home winner of Season 11’s “The Biggest Loser.”  But she will soon known as Sister Hill, as she and her husband, Dell, will serve a mission in Mongolia for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormons).

I got to know Deni when she was a member of the Skills Fitness gym in Bountiful. At the time, she had just been eliminated from the Biggest Loser campus. We had fun in Body Jam class while she worked to lose the highest percentage of weight in time for the season finale.  She was successful, going from 256 to 131 pounds, and winning $100,000.

Deni and I walked together in a Deseret News 5K.

Since then, she’s given motivational speeches about her “Biggest Loser” experience, and has run in local 5Ks, 10Ks, and so on. (In 2011, she walked with me in a Deseret News 5K, and didn’t even break a sweat!)  She has been involved with local weight loss programs, including one called Beyond Weight Loss.  She also attended some of the other “Biggest Loser” finales.

Today I attended the church sacrament meeting where Deni and Dell spoke to their congregation.  Among the friends, family and other well-wishers was Moses Kinikini, who competed with Deni on “The Biggest Loser,” and had traveled from Idaho to attend.  Deni spoke about how she became converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a young woman, through the peaceful feelings that came over her when she prayed.  She shared a couple of her “miracle stories,” where good things have come into her life through faith and prayer.

As she spoke about miracles, I couldn’t help but think of Deni’s daughter, Sarah Nitta, who competed with her on “The Biggest Loser.” At the time, Sarah said her weight was keeping her from having children.  She now has two little girls — one  that she gave birth to, and one through adoption.  Sarah worked as the social media specialist for The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge in Ivins, Utah. But she recently announced on her Facebook page that she had left her job to be a full-time mother.

Often when you watch a reality series, you want to know what happens to those people after the show ends.  They’re not actors playing a role, they are real people with real lives, and they go back to the real world.  Living in Mongolia will be a challenge, but hey, after dealing with a trainer like Jillian Michaels, anything’s possible, right?