'Biggest Loser' Contestant Kristi McCart Opens up About Continuing Her Journey After Elimination (Exclusive)

Kristi McCart's journey on The Biggest Loser may have been cut short after being eliminated from the competition in last week's episode of the USA Network reality series, but back home in Florida, the attorney and mother-of-one has embraced a new lifestyle both physically and mentally.

Ahead of Tuesday's all-new episode of the rebooted Biggest Loser, Kristi opened up to PopCulture.com about her experience going from "super fan" of the original show to her transformed life now, recalling how perfectly everything fell into place after she decided to apply to be on the show. Less than a day later, Kristi got the call to interview for the show, and not long after that, she was on the bus to The Biggest Loser campus.

"I didn't really have a lot of time to second guess or question it," she told PopCulture of finally arriving on campus, where she received her first weigh-in number of 264 lbs. "I don't know if there was a true 'A-ha!' moment from the beginning, but it felt like everything was coming together organically and things were supposed to happen."

Coming into the competition, Kristi had a bit of a surreal feeling, but knew she couldn't let herself "take this for granted."

At first struggling with having left her husband and young son at home for the first time, Kristi soon found herself pushing in the workouts and competitions week after week while transforming not just physically, but emotionally.

"When I realized it was me going home, it was a heavy, sad feeling, because I didn't want to lose Erica [Lugo] as my trainer, and I didn't want to lose the bubble I was in," she recalled. "I didn't believe 100 percent in my ability to continue at home."

Afraid she would fall back into old habits once she got home, Kristi threw herself into her new routine, and found herself with a whole new mindset, one that has allowed her to stay healthy and active.

"Going into [The Biggest Loser], I tried to control everything," she revealed. "I was a very Type A personality, but I didn't exercise a lot of control in myself and working out. ....Now, I don't have to exercise control to be in control. I'm finding an inner peace without having to be so spastic with everything around me."

To people who might be in the same place as she was before going on the show, Kristi urged them to ditch any "personal shame" about where they are and thank themselves for taking the first step.

"[Pre-show Kristi] is the girl who took the first step," she noted. "She's the one who applied for the show; she's the one the one who thought there could be more to there life. ...They're the same person but probably a little braver."

The Biggest Loser airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on USA.

Photo credit: USA Network