Rachel Brown
Dalton Daily Citizen
DALTON — Kelly MacFarland loves, loves, loves cake.
What the past “Biggest Loser” reality show participant loves even more however, is her health and the process she’s been through to “own,” accept and strengthen her body. The Maine native spoke at Dalton State College recently.
In her early 20s, 5-foot-tall MacFarland began doing stand-up comedy. Every joke she told was about her 250-pound body. At 30, the young comedian and actress was told during a doctor’s checkup she would likely die before her 40th birthday because of her weight and sedentary lifestyle. So she signed up for gastric bypass surgery and went to visit her parents.
“We were having cake, because that’s what you do when you’re talking about your gastric bypass surgery,” she said as the audience laughed. “So we’re having cake, and I’m pretty sure I was on my second slice because I love cake — like more than you’re thinking. Like if you visualize how much I love it, triple it.”
The conversation turned serious however, when MacFarland’s parents learned one of the possible side effects of gastric bypass surgery is death. MacFarland went for a walk around the block to clear her mind, and she realized she’d never really tried to make herself lose weight or adopt a healthier lifestyle.
So she put off the surgery, began to exercise and cut down on the cake and soon after received a call from her casting agent about appearing on the “Biggest Loser” in 2004. MacFarland appeared on the first season and competed in 10 episodes losing more than 40 pounds. She wasn’t the show’s winner, but continued to lose weight and even participated in a triathlon.
MacFarland said she now works out an hour or so a day four to five days a week and approaches dieting by trying to eat in moderation. She also encouraged people in the audience to learn to accept themselves for who they are and realize they’re in control of their own future.
“Really, you can rewrite your story,” MacFarland said. “You’ve just got to make the decision that you’re going to do it.”
Kristen Wentworth, director of residence life at DSC, said she was excited to meet MacFarland, especially after her own “Biggest Loser” style feat. Wentworth won a contest at Peak Fitness in Dalton for losing 14.5 percent of her body weight, more than 30 pounds, since the beginning of the year.
“I’ve watched the show every season since it came on,” she said. “This has been a good re-motivation for me.”
DSC foreign language major Tara Williams said she found MacFarland’s speech inspiring. Williams frequently wakes up before 5 a.m. to go to the gym and juggle her work and school schedules. Williams said she prefers weight-loss methods that don’t require surgery or chemicals that could harm the body.
“If you do things that are natural, you’re not playing with the body, you’re not changing the way it works,” she said.
Hillary Hicks, a Campus Activities Board member, said the seven-member board asked MacFarland to speak at the school in March, which is national Women’s Awareness Month. MacFarland also appeared on campus during the day in a students-only presentation.
“We had a really good turnout for her stand-up performance,” Hicks said.
