Rachel Frederickson made a very rare sighting in Minnesota on Sunday.
The Biggest Loser champion, who shed an astounding 155 pounds over a decade ago, was recently spotted in athletic attire, sporting a royal blue workout jacket paired with black Capri leggings, sneakers, and a crossbody bag.
She had on no makeup with her red hair worn in lose natural curls as she held onto a pale pink Yeti container.
The 35-year-old former TV personality has maintained a low profile, choosing a more private life in the Midwest. Presently, she works as a customer insights and analytics manager at Land O’Lakes.
This month, her name has resurfaced due to the premiere of the Netflix series Fit For TV: The Reality Of The Biggest Loser, which began on August 15.
Rachel Frederickson impressed viewers nationwide when she secured victory in The Biggest Loser contest in 2014, transforming from 260 pounds to just 105 pounds—a remarkable 155-pound loss. She has now reappeared in the public eye.
Her dramatic weight loss during her time on The Biggest Loser captivated audiences in 2014 when she won the competition, dropping from 260 pounds to a mere 105 pounds.
The new docuseries has put a spotlight on Frederickson.
This transformation is being revisited in a three-part documentary exploring the workings of the series, with Frederickson’s significant weight loss being a focal point.
Fans went wild over her ‘after’ image because they thought she was ‘underweight.’
The Netflix show also explored how trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels were put off by the drastic weight loss.
‘Rachel came out, and she had lost so much weight, it was … shocking,’ Harper said. ‘Jillian and I were just in horror.’
The television show, which ran from 2004 to 2016 on NBC, and had a one year reboot in 2020, came under fire for what some consider extreme methods used to help contestants shed weight.
It was claimed that some behind-the-scenes people wanted contestants to consume only 800 calories a day while working out eight hours a day.
Turns out Frederickson – who was a favorite on the series – is doing very well these days.
Frederickson made a very rare sighting in Minnesota on Sunday
The Biggest Loser winner – who lost an impressive 155lbs 11 years ago – looked sporty with a royal blue workout jacket with black Capri leggings and sneakers
She had on no makeup with her red hair worn in lose natural curls as she walked through a parking lot
She is currently a customer insights and analytics manager for Land O’Lakes.
Before the gig, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management from the University of Minnesota in 2020.
Frederickson, 35, qualified for The Biggest Loser by tipping the scales at 260 lbs., but was soon showing a loss at each weekly weigh in.
The former high school swimming champ shared in a 2014 Today essay after her victory that she had gained the weight after falling in love and moving to Germany with a foreign exchange student.
‘Fast forward to a lonely, overweight girl,’ Frederickson, who was working as a voice actor at the time wrote.
The former TV held onto a pale pink Yeti container and her cell phone
It has been years since the 35-year-old TV star has been seen in public as she has opted for a quieter life in the Midwest
Her name has come back into the fray this month as season one of the Netflix series Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser kicked off on August 15
The new docuseries has put a spotlight on Frederickson. It is a three-part documentary that is taking a closer look at how the series worked
Part of the series has focused on Frederickson’s shocking weight loss. Fans went wild over her flattering ‘after’ image because they thought she was ‘underweight’
The Netflix show also explored how trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels were put off by the drastic weight loss. ‘Rachel came out, and she had lost so much weight, it was … shocking,’ Harper said. ‘Jillian and I were just in horror’
‘I spent most days alone working from my home vocal studio. A job I loved, but loneliness I hated. I made a decision to start fighting for myself again.’
Frederickson has shared she lost 155 pounds, 56-percent of her body weight, by following a strict 1600 calorie a day diet.
Attending three to four exercise classes a day, including Zumba and spin, helped her win the $250,000 prize Frederickson told People at the time.
Frederickson’s big reveal created a lot of online controversy, with many viewers commenting she had become too thin.
In an appearance on Thomas DeLauer’s podcast in 2024, former The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels spoke out about her decision to leave the show.
‘She was unhealthily thin, to say the least,’ Michaels said.
‘When Rachel Frederickson walked down that stage looking dangerously unhealthy, I quit permanently.’
In her post-win essay for Today, Frederickson had a different take.
‘When I stood on stage at the live finale, I had never felt stronger,’ she explained.
‘I had accomplished everything I wanted to do. I was extremely proud of myself.’
However, those feelings soon disappeared due to the comments over her weight loss controversy. ‘People tried to bring me down and (privately) succeeded,’ she said.
The television show, which ran from 2004-2016 on NBC, and had a one year reboot in 2020, came under fire for what some considered extreme methods used to help contestants shed weight
It was claimed that some behind-the-scenes people wanted contestants to consume only 800 calories a day. Pictured in 2014
Frederickson concluded her 2014 essay with, ‘There will always be other voices in life. The trouble comes when you stop listening to your own… I found strength in this struggle and I am listening to my own voice again!’
In 2016 and 2017, The New York Times ran several articles reporting on how difficult it was for The Biggest Loser contestants to maintain their weight loss after returning to their regular lives.
Dr. Kevin Hall, who was a metabolism scientist at the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the time, studied the after effects and found the body’s metabolism slows down a lot during weight loss as it fights to maintain the status quo.
‘It is frightening and amazing,’ he told the publication. ‘I am just blown away.’
In a paper published in 2017, Hall found that following a diet and 80 minutes a day of moderate exercise such as walking or 35 minutes of vigorous exercise such as running would keep the weight from creeping back on. It is unclear if Frederickson has maintained her weight loss.
She is not on social media and her LinkedIn profile does not include a photo of herself. The voice actor left the business and started a T-shirt business in 2015, and went on to get a degree in logistics, materials and supply chain management from the University of Minnesota in 2020. According to her bio, she currently works for Land O’Lakes.
