Teresa Caldwell, 56, of Austell, has never run a mile. Suzanne Proctor, 44, of Mableton, is addicted to snacking. Belinda James, 42, of Acworth, despises the fact that she has to take medication for type 2 diabetes. All three hope their time as contestants on Atlanta’s Biggest Loser will change all of that, and more.

“We all have the same problem: somewhere along the way, we just let ourselves go and saw the weight pack on. We’re doing this to lose weight and get our minds and bodies back to a healthy state,” Caldwell said.

WXIA Atlanta is sponsoring the contest, which features 12 contestants picked from more than 900 applicants to embark on a 12-week weight loss program, much like the “Biggest Loser” reality show on NBC. The contestants are split into two teams, a red team and a blue team, and are weighed each week to find out who has lost the most and the least amount of weight. The two teams swap weigh-ins each week, then the two with the lowest weight-loss percentages from that team appear on “Atlanta & Company” on Wednesdays to make their pleas to the public to stay on the show. On Fridays, the TV show will announce who has been voted off of the program.

Caldwell knows all too well the pressure that comes from being one of those two, as she sat on the blue team’s “hot seat” at the first weigh-in two weeks ago.

“That was so nerve-racking, I don’t want to be back there again. Thankfully, I was not voted off and have stepped it up since then. My son offered to train me, but I’m a little anxious about that because he will have no pity on his poor old Mama,” Caldwell said.

Both teams meet twice a week for an hour with a trainer from WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where the assigned trainer gives the contestants tips for healthy eating and trains them in both strength training and cardio.

Jenny Swift, the red team’s trainer and a Sprayberry High School graduate, said she trains with a motivational approach, encouraging her team members to be and do their best while giving them personalized attention.

“It is about losing weight, but I’m more concerned about getting them healthy and getting them to a place where they feel their clothes fit better and they are breathing better, sleeping better, physically feeling the difference rather than focusing on strict number goals,” said Swift, 23.

But Proctor, one of Swift’s red team trainees, said the workouts are not always easy. “I’m not afraid to say I talk about her when I get home,” Proctor said, with a laugh.

All three Cobb County residents have different stories and reasons for wanting to lose weight.

Caldwell had open-heart surgery in February 2008, and after surviving the surgery, she decided she needed to make some changes in her life. She quit smoking after 41 years of being addicted to cigarettes and started walking every day, but found that was not enough.

After realizing she weighed more than she ever thought she would and becoming a grandmother, she knew she wanted to be there to see her two grandchildren (and one on the way) grow up, to play with them and to gain her confidence back. Her ultimate goal is to lose 50 pounds, run that mile she’s never been able to run, and to do all she can to be sure she keeps her heart healthy. She lost her job recently as an administrative assistant for IBM when her division was outsourced, so she applied, knowing she would have the time to focus on exercising and eating right.

James, also a member of the blue team and a substitute teacher for Cobb County Schools District, is a single mother of two with Type 2 Diabetes and wants to be an inspiration for her two sisters, who are also living with the disease. She ultimately wants to be rid of the disease and drop her medication so that she can be healthy for her children and focus on her ultimate goal — to become a teacher.

Proctor, a freelance marketing expert, battled depression as a single mother of her son, Ari, who will be 4 in April. He has been diagnosed with autism. She noticed she was breathing heavily just climbing the stairs of her two-story home and was snacking mindlessly, especially on her biggest vice: Cheetos. Eventually, she gained 60 pounds and said she wants to be healthy again so that she can keep her mind and body sharp for her son.

The contestants began workouts and were put on meal plans starting March 1.

“The first week was like coming off of a drug addiction. It was hard to make so many changes, but once we got over that initial shock, it’s become easier,” Proctor said.

“But I still have my moments. A neighbor brought over red velvet ice cream to my son the other day and it was like he was having a love affair with that spoon in front of me. I about wanted to tackle him, but I didn’t, and I didn’t steal his ice cream either,” Proctor said, sharing a laugh with Swift.

For more information on the contestants and the contest, visit www.11alive.com/life/contests/atlantas_biggest_loser/.