Ali Vincent Explains Why Her New Book Is About More Than Weight Loss

Linda Vongkhamchanh ON Nov 11, 2009 at 4:01PM

I couldn't help but be in a better mood after talking to the delightful and charming Ali Vincent today. Busy touring the country promoting her new book Believe It, Be It, Ali took a few minutes to chat with me about what she made her lucky charm during her season and why her story is about more than just weight loss.

NSD: Why did you decide to write a memoir?
AV: I had many opportunities to share my story, but it’s always just a few questions during interviews and it never really gets into the heart of it. Generally, to lose weight, 10 percent of it is calories in and calories out, but I had to figure out the other 90 percent of how I let myself get there. That’s not something that they cover on the show, but it is what weight loss is all about. These are the things that people ask me about and I wanted to get it out there.

NSD: What will your fans find out about you that they may not already know?
AV: They’ll find that I’m crazy or maybe even funny—they’ll get a good sense of who I am. Whenever I heard of anything anyone had attributed success to, I tried. It might be crazy but it helped me get to my goal. They’ll find out a lot of my inner conversations. It’s not a book about weight loss—it’s really about living my dream, living a life that I created versus living a life that happened to me. And, that applies to everybody.

NSD: Many past contestants have found it very difficult to maintain their healthy weight, how did you do it?
AV: I’m in my workout clothes right now and I’m still going to go work out before my book signing tonight, but I have my bodybugg on. People ask, do you still have to do this and that? But, quite frankly, I don’t have to do anything. Whatever gets me living the life I want, I do it.

NSD: What’s one thing that you’ve learned that may help someone else lose weight or maintain a healthy weight like you did?
AV: I realized that I was living on auto-pilot and I had to stay conscious. It showed up in my body and it showed up in every area of my life. Realizing that I was making decisions based on immediate gratification and without regards to consequence was a real wake-up call.

NSD: Have you gotten to know any contestants from the seasons after yours?
AV: Yea, I’ve met all of them. I loved Heba and Ed. I Facebook Michelle and message her. I’m really close with Tara. And Helen, I was there with her at QVC. It’s so much fun. There are so many of us that are participating in triathlons and marathons and often we get to meet each other.

NSD: You started a winning streak for the pink teams since your win a few seasons ago, do you think pink has a good chance this time around?
AV: Since me, it’s been a pink [winner] and a woman every time. I think that it’s great. In my book, I talk about how people collect evidence and you give power to certain things. It doesn’t matter what color your shirt is, but for me, I gave it power and it became special to me. Pink for women, historically, is representative of women fighting for their lives and I took that energy and I ran with it. Amanda, if it works for you, then use it. If it doesn't, then don't pay attention to it.

NSD: What advice do you have for the winner?
AV: It’s going to be a whirlwind. I told Michelle and Helen. You’ll get a lot of attention and it’s going to slow down. You really have to stay grounded and remember why you started on this journey in the first place because it will get overwhelming in many ways.

For more information on the book and to contact Ali herself, visit AliVincent.com.

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