It's hard to believe that just four years ago, Jessica Delfs weighed 385 pounds.
That is, unless you are a regular viewer of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" - and apparently many students at Marana Middle School are, judging by how loudly they cheered when she visited their school last week.
Delfs, 27, grew up in Oro Valley, graduated from Pusch Ridge Christian Academy in 2001 and still lives on the northwest side. She competed on the most recent season of the weight-loss reality show, making it to the ninth episode before she was eliminated. When she began, she weighed 285 pounds. Now she's around 185 and has remade herself into a traveling motivational speaker.
On Jan. 5, she talked to more than 600 Marana Middle School students about the importance of making good food choices because if the children learn good health habits now, she told them, "You're never going to be the sad, 385-pound girl that I was."
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She talked a little bit about the lap band surgery she had that helped her lose 100 pounds before she tried out for the show the first time, for season 8. She would audition for two more seasons before being picked on the third try for season 10, which aired its finale last month.
"I was desperate," she told the students about her decision to have surgery. "I thought the only way to lose weight was to let somebody cut me open."
Delfs asked for a show of hands to see how many students like to eat at McDonald's. Hundreds of hands shot into the air.
She talked to them about the calorie differences in food selections there and at Taco Bell and told them they can still eat at those places but challenged them to make better choices when they go.
"Be smart. Take control of your life. Take control of your calories," she said.
After the half-hour presentation, she signed dozens of autographs for the students, who walked away grinning.
Courtney Torgrude, 13, said the biggest thing that stood out for her was "counting my calories and watching what I eat."
Dillan Fleming, also 13, said he plays sports and thinks about calories sometimes, but now he will think about them more.
In an interview, Delfs said she focused on food because the TV show already shows so much exercise.
She makes it clear she's not a registered dietitian but feels she learned a lot on the show through all the study she did there - which doesn't get aired - and through weekly meetings with the show's doctor. "I'll just tell you what I know and what I've done and what I think works," she said.
Physical education teacher Amy Corner said it was natural to invite Delfs to talk at the school now because the school is implementing a new exercise program. Corner has been administering a new three-year grant the school received in the fall that will change the school's PE curriculum and is paying for new cardio and sports equipment.
"This seemed like the perfect thing, to have her come and do this," Corner said.
Delfs said it's not hard finding a balance between traveling to advocate for healthy habits and trying to live a "normal" life.
"My 'normal' life got me to almost 400 pounds. This is my 'normal' now," she said. "And I'm OK with that."
Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at sshelton@azstarnet.com or 807-8464.
