by Jessica Jones
Bobby Saleem was eliminated on last Tuesday’s episode of the Biggest Loser making him the sixth contestant to leave in the show’s 15th season.
Despite his elimination from the ranch, Saleem hasn’t stopped his journey to his weight loss goal. Over all he’s lost 135 pounds since his journey began.
“It’s been difficult, but I’m really pleased to hit over the 100 mark,” Saleem said. Since his elimination from the show, he has lost an additional 40 pounds. But he said it wasn’t something that happened all at once and there was no particular defining moment in his journey.
“It was a series of small victories,” Saleem said. “Running for the first time, being able to jump rope, seeing the weight come off of me, those were all small victories that helped my confidence overall and my conversation with Bob [Harper] was a turning point for me emotionally and I think that moment with Bob was pretty special to me and it’s something that at least changed how I view myself as a person.”
Amidst the struggle to drop the pounds, the 28-year- old attorney from Chicago also battled with his sexuality. Encouraged by Bob Harper, a trainer on the show who discussed his sexuality for the first time publicly during an episode, shared his own coming out story with Saleem. Saleem eventually revealed his sexual orientation to his father. Since his return home, Saleem said their relationship has improved.
“Everything’s been great, “Saleem said. “Fortunately I was able to talk to my dad about my sexuality and I did come out to my father and it was probably the most liberating thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. He’s been very supportive and my family’s been very supportive and I feel completely blessed.”
His honesty with his father has not only changed their relationship, but it has also changed how Saleem sees himself.
“I think the biggest thing that has changed for me is I’m not so afraid anymore,” he said. “When I entered the ranch I was so scared of what my family would think about me or what my friends and co-workers would think about me and I always felt like I had to hide something about myself and now I’m fearful of nothing.”
“I am very proud of the skin I’m in, I’m very proud of the person I am. I think that’s the biggest change – that I am just so proud of who I am as a person and I have nothing to be ashamed about. I love me as a person. I am a great person and I’ve done so well. That’s probably the biggest shift that I’ve had. I’ve gone through years of being kind of torturing myself and I’ve been beating myself down and I really took away a lot of my confidence and now I’ve been building myself up again. I’m a much stronger person physically and mentally than I ever have been before.”
Going home meant trying to work what he learned on the ranch into his everyday life. So far, Saleem has been able to stay on the right track and sticks to a strict routine.
“I definitely have to work out early because I am working,” Salem said. “I work out early in the morning, at lunch and after work and for me it’s about finding a good balance.” Something that wasn’t on the show was that I have a huge injury. I have a torn ACL and that’s something I have to adapt [to]. I do a lot of spin classes, that’s something I absolutely have fallen in love with. In terms of nutrition, I’m keeping up with the 1500 calorie diet and making sure I eat the right things, so I’m keeping up with everything I’ve learned on the ranch.”
Saleem’s weight loss process is made even more challenging due to an injury, a torn ALC, but he attributes his determination to continue reaching for his goal to his trainer Bob Harper.
“It was great working with Bob. You know I’ve thought about it before, whether I would have worked well with Dolvette [Quince] or Jillian [Michales] and I think they’re both exceptional trainers, but I think Bob was the perfect fit for me, “Saleem said. “Bob knew how to modify my workouts in order to get the maximum burn and be effective and I’m not sure if I would have gotten that with another trainer, so physically he helped me get through the process, because I definitely don’t think I would have gotten through the process as far as I did with injuries I did have.”
The two connected on a deeper level as well when Harper shared his encouragement with Saleem on his sexuality.
“In terms of emotionally, I don’t think I could have connected with any of the other trainers like Bob,” he said. “Bob is a very special person and we connected on a level that I truly appreciated and helped me through my journey on the ranch.”
His time on the show might have come to an end, but his enthusiasm for slimming down hasn’t. He hopes to return to the finale another 105 pounds lighter than he was when he left.
“I really want to get under the 200 pound mark and that would be success for me,” Saleem said. “I’m going to do what I set out to do from the very beginning and that was to do my very best and whether that is to win the at-home prize or just lose a great amount of weight, I’ll be happy either way.”
