TRACY CHAN
Milton
Age: 44. Height: 5-7
Starting weight: 368
Current weight: 228
Standing in line for a “Biggest Loser” audition in Salt Lake City in 2009, Tracy Chan was served a heaping helping of reality.
She was the 547th person in a line that included a nearby woman polishing off a box of donuts and others ordering pizzas. And it seemed as if another 1,000 people were waiting behind her.
Chan, a 44-year-old Milton resident, thought she was a perfect candidate for the NBC show. She was 5-foot-7, 368 pounds, and she had a compelling story that included her husband’s death after a battle with cancer. But after waiting eight hours for a 15-minute group interview, Chan knew the odds weren’t in her favor.
“That’s when it hit me,” she said. “I can’t wait for some fairy to take me to the land of skinny. I have to do it myself.”
Chan never made it on the show, but two years later she finds herself in the middle of a different kind of weight-loss competition at Fircrest’s Innovative Fitness. She’s shedding pounds as part of the gym’s annual Biggest Winner Team Fitness Challenge.
Chan has worked with trainers Jesse Ewell and Shane Simmons since April 2010 and recently weighed in at 228 pounds. She lost 25 of those pounds during the first half of the competition.
Chan’s weight started spirally out of control when her world unraveled in 2002. Her husband, Tony, was diagnosed with cancer, launching an emotional roller coaster ride.
For seven years, Chan’s intense days included a full-time job at a Sumner toy company; taking her daughter, Nakayla, to swimming practice; and no time to take care of herself.
But when Tony died in 2009 and she was left as a single parent, the light bulb went on. If she was going to be there for Nakayla, she needed to lose weight. A lot of weight.
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