Soap opera fans have watched her for years as Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives, and now Alison Sweeney is taking on a new challenge -- hosting The Biggest Loser. She tells Rachael that she can empathize with the show's contestants. "I struggled with my weight when I was a teenager and a young adult," Alison admits. "But when you're on TV, it's a little different -- you're working with very slim actresses who are all around you and it's uncomfortable. And you get the criticism from casting directors -- you know it's a problem in this industry -- but I finally dealt with it. I realized, this is what I want to do for a living -- I want to be an actress, I want to eat right and be healthy, and I want to live a long life, so I found a way to make that work."

Alison tells Rachael that she used to incorporate her baby son into her workouts. "I started when he was an infant and I used to do arm curls with him. You can also do triceps. I had a whole routine down with him." Her son is a toddler now, but Alison continues to exercise with him, taking him on walks and hikes with her husband. She has also become a spokesperson for Gerber's Graduates for Toddlers, a program that aims to educate parents about nutrition for their little ones. "You'd be shocked at how many kids' first vegetable was a French fry," Alison says.

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Gerber Graduates for Toddlers