'Fat March' contestant from Pinellas County takes strides to lose weight

The Indian Rocks Beach woman accepts an ABC reality TV show's challenge as she and others try to shed pounds.

By Dalia Wheatt, Times Staff Writer
Published August 6, 2007

Shea Carpenter had tried all the fad diets - Slim-Fast, AdvoCare, Fen-Phen. But for all her efforts, the 27-year-old makeup and special-effects artist, who lives in Indian Rocks Beach, couldn't make the scale budge. A former college softball player, she had gained about 80 pounds since her days at New York's Stony Brook University, bringing her 5-foot-7 frame to 280 pounds.

"I never wanted to be the biggest person in the makeup trailer, taking up the most room," Carpenter said.

So when ABC went looking for 12 people to compete in a weight-loss show called Fat March, Carpenter jumped at the chance to slim down safely. Beginning at the starting line for the Boston Marathon and finishing in Washington, D.C., the contestants walked nearly 600 miles as they shed pounds and vied for a collective prize of $1.2-million.

You'll have to watch the show to find out exactly how much she lost, but last week, Carpenter chatted with the Times about her experience on Fat March.

In some of the promos for the show, we saw people falling and struggling and fainting. Did you have any reservations about losing this weight in front of America?

I didn't have any reservations. It just came to a point where I made the decision where it was time to do something, and Fat March gave me the opportunity to use that as a jump-start to get going. I wasn't afraid of fainting. I wasn't afraid of not being able to do it. That was my mind-set - just to go there and do it and hopefully win.

For your fellow contestants who did have a hard time . . . did you find it at all humiliating for them?

Some of the marchers may feel humiliated, but in my opinion, I think that it only shows some things you're going to have to go through to make changes to better yourself. And unfortunately, walking like that - obviously we don't know what to expect, but things like that may happen. And I think every marcher will say that, no matter what did happen, that it was worth it for them. . . . I think that it's a real positive show. It's not like the back-stabbing you see sometimes on reality TV and the cattiness. It's just very team-oriented, and I think that that's a good thing for America to see. . . . And you would be surprised online how many people are starting to walk their own 500-mile walk.

Did you think to yourself, what if I embarrass myself?

I was embarrassed for everyone that hasn't seen me in a long time to see how overweight I really got. But I just kept having to tell myself that the results were going to be worth everything.

Did anyone try to talk you out of it?

No, everybody was very supportive. I was going to make a change anyway, because I didn't go looking for Fat March. I ran into it looking for jobs online, and I just saw a posting I checked it out and it was legit.

Were you at all offended by the title?

I was caught off-guard by the title the first time that I heard it, but I think that it's pretty catchy, and it kind of goes with the whole theme of Ugly Betty or things like that.

What's your favorite healthy snack?

My new fixation is protein shakes. Those are like my snacks because it almost makes me feel like I'm eating ice cream.

What are you looking forward to doing now that you're in better shape?

Going to the beach. I live on the beach, and I rarely went before. I enjoy getting up everyday and doing two cardios a day and just doing healthy, fun fitness-type of things. My lifestyle is definitely changing because of the show.

Have you had to buy any smaller clothes yet?

Of course I had to buy smaller clothes! That was the best part.

What was your first purchase in a smaller size?

I actually went out and got a bathing suit. I went down to one of the surf shops down on John's Pass and just went in there and had a heyday 'cause it felt so good to actually get a size and not have to go to the total plus-size every time. I looked over there, but I could also go in the normal size and do extra-larges and stuff - you know, 'cause you want to see if you get lucky.

Any weight-loss advice?

Just making little baby-step changes in your life to start the process. And then increase it as you go. If you go to Taco Bell three times a day, go once. And then eventually, you won't go there at all. Walk to the mailbox and get your mail, maybe? Things like that. Or if you live next to a quick shop that's two blocks away, why drive? . . . If you're not a gym person, you could just go walking. That's kind of the point of the whole show.

Dalia Wheatt can be reached at (727) 893-8717 or dwheatt@tampabay.com.

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Catch the premiere at 9 tonight on ABC. Tune in Sept. 10 to find out who won the $1.2-million prize.

[Last modified August 3, 2007, 16:41:45]