When it comes to exercise, ‘Biggest Loser’ coach Lugo just does it

Q: You lost 160 pounds. Did you have a moment where you said, “That’s it”?

A: Oh yeah. I tell everyone it’s my lightbulb moment … . I’ve been a single mom for six years and when my son was around 3, I got home after working all day and I’m sitting on the couch eating Cheez-Its or Goldfish, whatever it was, and he looks up at me on the floor and asks me to play with him, and I looked at him and I tell him, “No!” And something in me just thought … “Wow, I brought this kid into the world. He did not ask to be here. And I can’t even do something as simple as have energy to get up off the couch.”

But I mean, I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. Ever since I was a preteen I started struggling at that point, so when you have your own child or when you have a moment that kind of makes you feel like you just hit rock bottom, that was my rock bottom.

Q: Was the exercise difficult to incorporate into your lifestyle?

A: Yeah. I mean for me, I just started getting on the treadmill. You know, I tell everyone: Even though I’ve lost all this weight and I’ve kept it off for over five years now, it’s still a decision I have to make every single morning when I wake up. Just because I lost all this weight doesn’t mean I magically got better. It’s something I have to make the choice of doing every day and it’s still a challenge on days.

Like today, it’s cold and gloomy … and I was like, “Man, I’m just so busy now and I have so much to catch up on, I don’t need to work out.” And I had to honestly talk to myself laying in bed this morning and I had to make the decision and force myself to go to the gym. So I don’t ever say count on motivation or count on inspiration. You’ve just got to count on habits and discipline, is what you have to count on.