Bartlett man still in the running on 'The Biggest Loser'

Only five episodes are left on this season of "The Biggest Loser," NBC's reality TV weight loss competition, and the contestant from Bartlett is still losing. Weight, that is.

Michael Ventrella arrived on The Biggest Loser ranch weighing 526 pounds -- the heaviest contestant in the show's history -- and as of last week, he had shed nearly 168 pounds of it. The next episode airs at 7 p.m. Tuesday on NBC5.

All of the contestants are home now, awaiting the May 25 finale. We checked in with Ventrella recently, to see how he's doing so far. Below is an excerpt of the interview:

Q: How are you?A: This journey was more mental for me than physical. I was emotionally miserable. Now ... I feel great. Nothing happens overnight and I still struggle with a lot of things. I look in the mirror and I still see the same person. I suffer from phantom fat. It's really tricky. I try not to fall into my old ways where I beat myself up too much.Q: What's the deal with your hair? And that headband?A: (Laughs). A lot of it is me doing it on purpose. Before a weigh-in, Ashley and I would tease it up. I've had producers and directors come up to me and try to push it down and it would bounce back up. The headband is more for function than form. I'm not bringing back the '80s. I've always been clean cut, and I didn't cut my hair before I went on the show, so I said, you know? I'm going to have fun with it. I know the producers were totally aggravated with me ... and I get mixed reviews about it (from fans). Some people say, 'Oh, that hair is awesome! But some say, 'I cannot wait until you cut your hair.'"Q: Do you get fan mail? A: Yeah. It's always very encouraging. Very heartfelt and very sincere. You understand, with a slap in the face, how much you're impacting people's lives. The one thing they repeat over and over again, is "If you can survive, I can survive. If you can run the 5 miles, I can run the 5 miles."Q: You're a single man, any "Hey, when you're off the show, give me a call" letters?A: Yes! (laughs). I've had some things said to me ... that I was like, wow. That's pretty daring and -- keeping it clean -- that's very straightforward. I was reading one of my e-mails from Facebook out loud to my mom, and then halfway through it, I went, whoa ...Q: How many hours a day do you really work out on the ranch? A: I'd say an average of 6-8 hours on the ranch. At the ranch, you were always moving.Q: Who are you closest to in the house?A: Daris and Ashley, by far. We're always on the phone with each other. Even today, Ashley called me to see how I'm feeling. Sometimes we have a three-way call to make sure we keep each other pumped up. For us, this is a journey to defeat what we've been fighting all our lives.Q: Is there a certain food you miss? Or still crave? A: Everything (laughs). Last night, I had a craving for a granola bar. I was, like, what is up with this? But the majority of time, it's pizza. I've found a way to mimic those things in a healthy fashion. I use a pita and put it on the grill, because I like a crunchy crust. And instead of a really salty sauce, I'll use fresh tomato and basil. It might not taste exactly what I've been craving, but I can work with it. That's pizza to me.False13332000Michael Ventrella, of Bartlett, helps his fellow contestant, Ashley, build her climbing tower on last week's episode of "The Biggest Loser." False