Biggest Loser: Interview with Matt Miller
Last Friday I was invited to participate in a conference call interview with Matt Miller, who was eliminated from “The Biggest Loser” during last Thursday’s episode of the reality weight-loss TV series. I’m doing a story for the Standard-Examiner, which will eventually be posted on Standard.net.
Those who watched the “Where Are They Now” segment will remember that Matt has lost 114 pounds, and was shown hiking the ruggedly beautiful Adams Canyon. Since I live in northern Utah, I can tell you that Matt would never have made that steep climb his previous weight!
He also proposed to his girlfriend. “It was very exciting to get to propose to my girlfriend like that,” he said during the interview. “And I’m just glad that she said yes.”
Here’s what he had to say during the interview, where media took turns asking questions:
Q: What was the biggest personal obstacle you had to overcome?
Matt Miller: You know, my biggest obstacle was before I went to the show, one thing you don’t see televised on the show was I was actually moving around and walking around with a cane quite frequently. Earlier this year I pretty much was walking around with cane all the time. And so I had bad back injuries from prior accidents. So for me, getting an opportunity to be on the show, I went through all the medical testing with Dr. H, and they all believed in me, and they worked with me.
And so when I was on the ranch, that’s one thing that I was overcoming and realizing that I can do things again – and getting that I-can attitude versus I-can’t attitude, because I was really boxing myself in prior to The Biggest Loser, and that’s why I was gaining a lot of my weight. I was just like, ah, I don’t want go do this because I’m hurt or, you know, I had all these different excuses.
Q. As a former wrestler, have you started incorporating some of the old workouts that wrestlers do — wall walks, crab crawls — any of that stuff, in your at-home workouts?
Matt Miller: I’ve been incorporating some of my old wrestling-style workouts. I feel like a lot of the old wrestling is a lot closer to the cross-training that you do nowadays anyhow. So I’ve been doing, you know, the crab crawls and running. For one, I travel a lot so it’s a big obstacle for me to get to the gym sometimes. So, having that formal background with the wrestling has helped out a lot.
Q. Which workouts were harder, the ones with Bob in the Comeback Canyon or the ones on the ranch themselves?
Matt Miller: I would say they’re both equally hard in their own way. You know, Jen had her way of really pushing us and working with us, and so did Bob. I would – will say that Bob didn’t really give me a break at all whereas Jen would give me a bit more of a break. So it seemed like it was a little bit more intense sometimes with Bob just because of that factor. But they both were tremendous trainers.
Q. Now that you’re not going to be heavily working out with a world-class trainer, where’s your motivation coming from now?
Matt Miller: It’s about me wanting to get back to where I was at, being able to create that lifestyle again that I once had. And I’m really moving in that direction. That said, I also said it on national television and it’s something that I’m going to be working hard towards, it’s going to be tough, but I’d like to get my six-pack back by finale. So we’ll see how that works out.
Q: Will you watch the show like a regular TV viewer?
Matt Miller: Yes. I’ve been watching it, and it’s very interesting to get to watch it on the outside. And I’ve enjoyed it. There’s just a lot that you don’t — obviously there’s only so much you can compact into an hour on the show and there are just so many hours of footage that you don’t ever see of the hard work everyone’s doing, and, you know, everything that trainers are doing with you and working with you on emotional scale too. So it’s very interesting getting to watch it, but it’s a lot of fun.
Q: How long have you lived in Utah, and what brought you to Utah?
Matt Miller: It’s – I’ve been off and on in Utah for probably the last seven, eight years. I came out here because of business. We do a variety of different types of businesses, from fulfillment to — for other companies, selling — doing a lot of marketing for other companies too.
Q: What’s the name of your company where you work?
Matt Miller: We have several different companies out of the same office. One of them is called EPX Body. We do IONU distributing which is a fulfillment company, and we have a few other businesses out of there that we work – that we do. I think that’s basically we do out of Layton, Utah.
Q: Do you enjoy the Utah weather and hiking?
Matt Miller: You know, it’s – I love living out here. Every single time I get an opportunity, I like to go hiking and go outside and do my exercises outside just because I enjoy being in the outdoors. And getting to be here at Layton, Utah, in the Rockies and such, I love it. I hike pretty much every day that I can whenever I’m actually here. And Adams Canyon, if I don’t get to do it every day, I try to do it at least a couple of times a week if I’m not traveling.
Q: What would be your tips for successful traveling and staying healthy?
Matt Miller: You know, that’s a big – it really is a big, I guess, obstacle for you when you’re traveling and trying to get healthy. For me, I just try to find my time slot to at least try to get in a minimal of an hour to two and a half hours a day of working out. So whenever that may be, in between meetings or in between different business ventures, I try to find that time slot.
And then when I’m doing it, whenever I do it, whether it’s walking, hiking, about every five or ten minutes I’ll start to do push-ups or burpees and air squats, and I do, you know, maybe 20 to 30 of those, and then I’ll go for another five or ten minutes. And I really just try to make it as intense as I possibly can in that allotted time period.
And as for eating healthy, it gets very, very difficult because you’re always having these options of eating poorly. So I try to make the best decision that I can.
One thing that I’d been doing is like talking to (dietitian) Cheryl Forberg. She’s been very helpful. And she tells me to bring — like if you want to cut up cucumbers and bring them with you when you’re traveling and do like beef jerky and things like that, things that aren’t going to expire but you can take on airplanes and also when you’re driving, to do so.
So I really try to do the best that I can to have healthy snacks only. And then when I go to restaurants, I try to make the best choice that I can. There’s always a salad at every shop that you go to. So I usually try to get like a grilled chicken salad with maybe vinaigrette type dressing or olive oil and vinegar. And then I try to do maybe just a sweet potato versus a regular potato, or I substitute some of the other items for like broccoli or cauliflower and stuff.
So it’s really about making the right choices when you’re there even though it’s very difficult, you can still get a wonderful meal and a healthy meal.
Q: What’s the biggest change in your nutrition?
Matt Miller: The biggest change for me has been the kind of foods I eat. I would eat hamburgers and fries, pizzas if I wanted. Or I if I went to sushi, I got fried sushi – rather than regular raw sushi.
When you’re working out on the ranch, Dr. Cheryl and also Dr. H get with you and make sure that you’re doing the proper type of nutrients for you. And so you have to hit that on a daily basis. And mine happened to be close to a couple of thousand calories a day, is what I consume.
So with that, I try to make at least 30% to 35% of that protein, about 30% to 35% of carbohydrates, and then a very equal portion, the remainder, and fats, but try to make it healthy carbohydrates, healthy proteins and healthy fats whenever I’m doing it. So that’s really kind of what my macro nutrients are based on on a daily basis.
Q: Can you give us some tips that you would share with other people who feel constrained by their current physical condition?
Matt Miller: Yes, absolutely. I grew up where I had an I-can-do attitude. I actually grew up as an obese kid. And so I got into shape from being an obese kid by just trying to focus into sports and harness all of my energy into sports and trying to learn how to eat right, but I also had sports that really helped me to go to the next level.
And so for me, when I had that I-can-do attitude when I was younger and then I had these different accidents and I kept on finding these excuses why I can’t do something. And it’s a matter of just really focusing in on getting up in the morning and just, if it’s you just doing walking around your house for, you know, 30 minutes. Just get up and start moving.
And then really start focusing that you’re going to, eat these healthier meals and get on the proper nutrition is a big key in your weight loss. So even if you can’t work out a lot, make sure you start eating right, and you’ll start feeling your body get better and better throughout time. Obviously moving is going to be a big key for you. So even if you have to go shopping at Walmart, go grab a cart and hold on to that and walk around for 30 minutes while you’re getting your groceries.
And just starting to get yourself to be active again is the biggest thing that I found that is important. And so for me when I was on the ranch, obviously you don’t have really a choice. You’re pushed to overcome those obstacles.
But I’m so happy that I was chosen to be able to be one the select few to be on the show, and it was a great honor. And because of that, they helped push me and break through those barriers that I had set up for myself.