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SPANISH FORK — A Spanish Fork woman with a goal of losing 100 pounds by the end of 2015 was selected to compete in a weight loss challenge with her husband on the "Steve Harvey Show."
Katie Brimhall said she gained about 60 pounds, and her husband Nate Brimhall gained about 30 pounds after their youngest son was diagnosed with Stage 2 kidney cancer in 2013.
"It was a super stressful situation and a lot of anxiety, and we are both foodies and both emotional eaters, so we gained a lot of weight when our son Max was diagnosed with cancer," Katie Brimhall said. "He was 2 when he was diagnosed."
Now 5 years old, Max is doing great, and his cancer is in remission, but the Brimhalls have continued to struggle with their weight. Because diabetes runs in her husband's family, Katie Brimhall said they wanted to lose weight and make a lifestyle change to become more healthy.
She applied to be on a reality TV show for weight loss and was selected as a participant, but the show ended up getting canceled. Katie Brimhall said she was contacted by her casting director in late September asking her if she and her husband wanted to be on NBC's "Steve Harvey Show."
"I didn't apply like most people on the show. They contacted me to do it," Katie Brimhall said. "I was freaking out a little bit. We were really excited about it. It happened really fast."
The Brimhalls flew to Chicago and did their official weigh-in for the competition Sept. 30, weighing in at combined 449 pounds. During the contest, they will compete against two other couples for a $10,000 prize for the pair that loses the highest percentage of body fat in 22 days, according to "Steve Harvey" publicist Trisha Miller. The three couples will utilize exercise physiologist Marco Borges' "22 Day Revolution," a vegan-based diet formerly used by Jay Z and Beyonce, Miller said.
The weigh-in episode aired Friday, Oct. 16, and Katie Brimhall said she's appreciated the support of her husband during the contest.
"It's great that they wanted couples because I've decided it's a lot easier when my husband is in this with me," Katie Brimhall said. "When we are both eating the same thing and we both keep each other from wanting to eat out or eat desserts or snacks or whatever when we have big family parties and stuff. It's a lot easier to do it together."
Katie Brimhall said they were provided with prepackaged meals and pea plant protein powder for their weight-loss challenge, and they have coupled it with daily exercise. Although they can't reveal how much weight they have lost until the final weigh-in on the "Steve Harvey Show," the Brimhalls said they are both pleased with their results thus far.
"It's been a surprise for me to see how fast it's been coming off," Nate Brimhall said. "I was not expecting to see the results that we are seeing."
The Brimhalls will return to Chicago to film the final weigh-in Thursday, Nov. 12, but the air date for the final episode has not been announced.
