Dancing Your Ass Off - How DYAO Star Mara Lost 26 Pounds

Photo: Mitch Haaseth

With a personal history of weight issues, and a brother who died as a result of undiagnosed diabetes, Mara Hall, 32, saw dancing as a way to get her own diabetes and weight in check. Weighing in at over 290 pounds, she began taking dance classes. By the time she tried out for "Dance Your Ass Off," she'd dropped down to 261. During her last performance on the show, which ended this week, she had dropped an additional 26 pounds. In an interview with That's Fit, she gives the inside scoop on how the show helps its participants achieve weight-loss success and what her fitness goals are for the future.

That's Fit: You struggled with weight issues all your life, and when your brother's diabetes-related death was followed by your diagnosis, you knew you needed to achieve a healthier weight. Why did you choose to try out for "Dance Your Ass Off"?

Mara Hall: I was in denial [for a long time]. Diabetes is a silent killer. It's not like other disease where you automatically get sick. You don't really know the magnitude of the disease until it hits you. I didn't exercise. I didn't lose weight. I continued to overeat. Even after my brother died, I didn't think that it couldn't happen to me. But I grew up and matured and I said, "Look, Mara, you really have to get this under control and you have to get this together, because if you don't, you're not going to make it to the age of 40." So I started working out. As an adult with early onset diabetes, I began taking dance classes in 2003. I thought it was a great way to lose weight. And "Dance Your Ass Off" [appeared in my life] right on time.

Initially, I thought that "Dance Your Ass Off" was just a dance show. I love dancing. I've been dancing -- tap, jazz, all kinds of dance -- ever since I was a little girl in Detroit, MI. Once I did some research, I found out that it was a weight-loss show as well. I thought, How great is that to be able to do what I love and lose weight as well?

That's Fit: You dropped 26 pounds during your stint on "DYAO." How do you think it helped you lose weight?

Hall: Dancing on national television helped me lose weight because it really put the pressure on. If you don't show progress you're really going to look stupid. Usually diabetics lose weight at a slower rate, so I didn't lose as much weight as I'd like to.

As soon as we got onto the show I followed the nutrition plan the doctor gave us. The calorie allotment that we were given every day was always enough for us, so I was always full at the end of the day. We never gave in to overeating.

Dancing -- hip-hop dancing -- [keeps] your heart rate going; you really, really sweat a lot, you're using everything from your head to your toes, and you burn a lot of calories.

That's Fit: This was your last week on the show. What are your weight-loss goals going forward and how do you hope to achieve them?

Hall: My first goal is to get to between 50 and 60 pounds lost. My ultimate goal is to lose 80 pounds. Then that's it, I'm stopping right there. As of right now, I don't take any prescription medicine for my diabetes. My glucose levels are normal. I have diabetes but it's manageable.

I go to the "Dance Your Ass Off" class every Tuesday at Crunch gym in L.A. I also work out like crazy every day -- sometimes twice a day.

I'm doing a program called CrossFit -- it's like a boot camp times ten. On "Dance Your Ass Off" they would have us work out for three or four hours every day. With CrossFit, I only have to exercise 45 minutes a day -- it's very, very intense. I go hard and then I'm done for the rest of the day.

Like what you read and want to learn more about "DYAO"? Read That's Fit's exclusive interview with "DYAO" creator and host Marissa Jaret Winokur.