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EAGLE MOUNTAIN -- A Utah woman is one of the contestants hoping to lose weight and win $1 million on this season's [Burgandy Keel is home now in Eagle Mountain. As the show airs, she is still working to lose even more weight, and she's inspiring a whole community to get moving and keep healthy.
Keel's walking group meets at 5:30 every morning, six days a week. Around every corner, the group grows and grows until everyone is picked up, and then the exercise begins.
"She has inspired us big time. She's a tough cookie. She's a ‘Junior Jillian,'" says friend Christine Ishmael.
On the morning KSL News joined the group, Keel had to sit out. "The Biggest Loser" rules prohibit us from showing her on camera.
Since Keel has been on the show, she has lost weight. But you'll have to watch each week to see her improvements.
"What ‘Biggest Loser' is all about is moving the community and getting everyone healthy," Keel said.
The theme of this season's show is "paying it forward." Keel's neighborhood says she has done that by getting them walking and running every morning.
"I committed to her to waking up and exercising with her every morning," friend Chelsea Pratt says.
"You have someone you are responsible to, and something you can do socially," friend Kenneth Rawlings says.
"She keeps us going and keeps pushing us to do more and more," Ishmael says. "I feel better. I'm losing weight and feeling better."
Even after the show is over and the winner announced, Keel says you'll still find her walking in the mornings with the group.
"I hope in a year, not only is it Eagle mountain, but there are little walking groups all over Utah. I would love to see that," Keel said.
You can watch Burgandy Keel every Tuesday night right on KSL 5. The finale and live weigh-in is scheduled for Dec. 14.
E-mail: abutterfiled@ksl.com](http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/"Biggest)
