Alison Sweeney: The Biggest Winnervar  

"Stop being so dramatic! Give me a break! Leave the soap opera acting on the stage!"

No, this is not an acting class. This is not a paparazzo trying to get a rise out of a celebrity. This is Alison Sweeney relating how The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper speaks to her when she takes one of his Spinning classes at a Crunch fitness club. "Sometimes he doesn't feel like I'm putting enough resistance on the bike," she admits. "And I want to kill him for yelling at me. But he likes making me mad, because he knows I'm really competitive and that if he calls me out, he'll get my best effort. He always thinks that I can give him more."

And so she does -- just like so many of the contestants on The Biggest Loser, the NBC reality juggernaut that Sweeney has hosted for the past 4 years. It's that innate empathy that makes her such an integral part of The Biggest Loser's team – and it also informs her book, The Mommy Diet, which just came out in paperback. Read on for highlights from Prevention's exclusive interview with Alison Sweeney, and pick up our February 2012 issue, on newsstands now!

On being healthy, not skinny:

"I was never obese, but I felt ‘less than' because I wasn't as thin as other actresses. I totally fell for that low-fat craze. My goal was to be X jeans size or a specific number on the scale.

"When I saw contestants fighting for their lives on The Biggest Loser, I realized I just wanted to be healthy -- to have fun playing soccer with my son or teaching my daughter to shoot hoops. Then it was so much easier to say no to carbs, soda, or dessert, and the weight just came off."

What she tells her kids about healthy eating and exercise:

"If you're sitting in front of the TV, you can't have ice cream. But if you're running around all day, then yeah, you can. Food gives your body the energy it needs, just like Lightning McQueen [a character in the movie Cars] needs fuel."

On tackling tough emotions:

"On The Biggest Loser, we say that workouts can lead to emotional breakthroughs. I know what it feels like. I have literally been working out and crying at the same time, because I realized how hard it is to be not good at something and accept your own flaws."

Her message to Biggest Loser critics:

"I take issue with those who criticize The Biggest Loser for pushing contestants too hard. The whole point is to push them hard. Otherwise, there's no change."

Read the full interview with Alison Sweeney in the February 2012 issue of Prevention!

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