As Survivor 49 continues to captivate fans, one breakout favorite is offering a rare look behind the scenes—long before the cameras started rolling.
Savannah Louie, widely regarded as one of the season’s top challenge competitors, recently revealed the extreme lengths she went to in order to prepare for the brutal conditions of the game. In a candid Instagram post, the 31-year-old California native detailed a pre-show diet and exercise routine that left fans both stunned and impressed.
Knowing food deprivation would be inevitable in Fiji, Louie began training her body to perform under exhaustion nearly three months before filming. Her strategy centered on prolonged fasts combined with intense workouts—designed, as she put it, to “mimic what you’re going through when you’re playing Survivor.”
Her routine was relentless. Louie would eat one large meal on Sunday night, then complete multiple workouts over the next two days without eating again until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. “If you’re doing the math, this is about a 48- to 60-hour fast with several workouts,” she admitted. “Now that I say that, it actually sounds insane—but this is what I did.”
To simulate Fiji’s oppressive heat, her workouts included hot yoga, often performed without water. Electrolytes, however, were non-negotiable. “That part was super important,” she emphasized.
As filming approached, Louie took her preparation a step further—cutting out caffeine, sugar (except fruit), and alcohol entirely. “I didn’t want to hit the beach and then deal with withdrawals on top of hunger,” she explained.
Despite the physical toll, Louie insists the sacrifice paid off. Asked by a fan whether the preparation was worth it, she responded that it fundamentally changed how her body handled exhaustion. “By the time I left for Fiji, I was used to pushing myself with very little in the tank,” she said, adding that while effective, the routine was “not sustainable for the rest of my life.”
Fans flooded the comments with praise. “Mad respect for players who truly put effort into the pre-game,” one wrote, while another added, “No surprise you won three challenges.”
With multiple immunity wins already under her belt, Savannah Louie’s preparation appears to have translated directly into performance—raising an intriguing question as Survivor 50 unfolds: how much more does she still have left in the tank?
